spirituality – Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot

Tarot Q&A: Your Advice Didn’t Work

What to do when a Tarot reading doesn’t work for you

Q: Your advice didn’t work. I tried the finger lacing and imagining, but I still feel weird and anxious and I don’t know why. Why didn’t the reading work?

Back in the days of twenty ought and seventeen, in the days of the second civil war on a bird-logo social media site (I was on the side armed with BBQ spatulas and a sense of humor) my handle was “ffs NOW what”

I’m sorry the “Vibe Check” post didn’t help in the way that you hoped it would. Tarot is an art form. I have no answer for why it didn’t “work” any more than I can say why some people don’t like cookie dough ice cream. It’s all about individual preferences. There is nothing good or bad about any of it either way.

Buuuut….I would like to circle back to the part of the post that talks about how if the visualizations didn’t quiet the noise, then it is something individual to you.

If the anxious feeling doesn’t have a clear trigger, and it isn’t a matter of vibing off of *gestures wildly* everything that is going on in the world right now, then you are up against something much harder to deal with – yourself. Honestly facing your own emotions is one of the hardest things any human can do.

As a first step, not as a whole solution, it can help to shift from “why not?” to “NOW what?” Action Eases Anxiety layouts are my favorite for this.

Grab a deck of cards, think about the vague anxiety that is bothering you, do your thing with the shuffle, and draw two cards. The first symbolizes the situation now. You can revisit the why of everything later, in a different kind of layout if needed.

The second card gives you an idea of what to DO next. Most of the time, just having an idea about what you want to do helps, even if you never actually do it.

I only do private readings for Ko-Fi supporters. If you want a second opinion on a reading you do or have other questions please feel free to use the Ask the expert form like you did this time. I’m happy to help!

But again, I’m sorry that these uncomfortable emotions are hanging around for you. I’d like to help, but Tarot isn’t the answer for everything. Some people find more inspiration and guidance in astrology, runes, meditation, Tai Chi, book clubs, listening to music, going to museums, going for a run, going to therapy, playing dungeons and dragons, taking a nap, or sitting and staring into the psychological abyss while having a hot cup of coffee or tea – the possibilities are endless. It’s just a matter of finding the right thing for you.

Keep trying, keep looking, and you will find the perfect match for you.

Tarot Q&A: Feed the Happy

Q: You talk about doing one card “daily meditation” readings as a good way to learn to read tarot, but then you also say it’s bad to get a reading too often. Which is it?

A: I know that seems like an out and out contradiction, but underneath it is more of an apples to oranges comparison.

The bottom line, I suppose, is that working with intuition, spirituality, and creativity doesn’t make logical sense all of the time. Explaining this stuff with full logical consistency is like explaining the Mona Lisa using algebra. Both are right. Both are good. They are just different and don’t overlap a lot.

Same thing with open “daily” meditation one card readings and using a larger, more complex layout to explore a particular question. Both are good. Both are right. But there are some key differences between the two.

As I see it, the thing that answers your question is to feed the happy.

First, lets look at the meditation readings. I talk about this in PeaceTarot, my ebook that teaches you how to do these handy little DIY Tarot readings. The daily in this context focuses more on the time-frame of the reading. It isn’t trying to make some grand prediction about the future, it’s just a helpful, guiding idea to contemplate over the scope of a day.

If you want to do that every day – cool. If you don’t feel it and only want to pull a card when the mood hits – equally cool.

My recommendation is to feed the happy. If the structure and regularity of an every day practice is comforting to you, then by all means read every day.

If reading every day feels like a chore or burden, then by all means follow your feelings and read only when you feel you want or need it.

Tarot readings should feed the happy – if regularity and routine is the food that feeds your happiness squirrel, do that. If following your instincts feeds you happiness through the squirrelly chaos of life, do that.

Feed the Happy applies to other readings too. It’s not the act of Tarot reading too much that is the problem. It’s reading the same question over and over and over that becomes a problem. When you do that, you aren’t feeding the happy, you are feeding the fear.

The “When will I meet my soulmate” type of question s a very common example. Some people HATE getting the real answer: find a way to be happy without a romantic relationship. That kind of happiness is exactly what attracts the right person to you. Contentment, inner peace and self confidence are wildly attractive if not downright sexy. I’ve seen it dozens of times over the years of reading for the public. After they reject their answer several times, and multiple reading have re-phrased their answer a half-dozen different ways, it just stops and reflects that fearful spiral. To break out of the fear-feeding, they either have to focus on a different question or stop Tarot altogether for a long while. The repetition feeds into fearfulness and stops the reading from feeding into happiness.

I think Ted Andrews’ guidance is best. He only read for people once or twice a year. I’ll read more often, but not always the same narrow question.

So which is it? Both! Routine or instinct: Use whichever makes you feel happy and un-pressured about it. If a reading feels unsatisfactory – step away from the cards and come back later.

But generally speaking,read Tarot cards as often or as little as you want. Open one card guidance is especially suited to an every -day habit. It is easy to make it into a comforting little ritual if you like. Or not. Just following your instincts is good practice too. But at the same time, don’t long-read the same focused question more than once or twice a year. Especially if it is a very emotionally charged topic.

Thanks for a great question!

Happy to answer questions like this here in the blog. Ask me anything for a blog answer using the form on the Ask the Expert page.

See you at the next sip!

Like the Tarot that Sage is pouring into your cup? Buy Sage Sips a virtual coffee on ko-fi. A portion of the proceeds in August 2026 will be donated to World Central Kitchen.

Deck: Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmun, used with permissions Publishing Goblin LLC

New Deck N’at

Usually I agonize over every deck I’ve bought. I have to really really REALLY feel it before I’ll shell out the cash for one. I’m frugal, and I don’t spend on hobbies and entertainment unless it strongly moves me on some level. Or if it is yarn to make a holiday gift.

Maybe that comes from being born and raised in Appalachia – real, south of here, ruby red, mountain Appalachia – BUT I’ve lived in the Pittsburgh area long enough that I consider this is my hometown whether yinz like it or not. When I accidentally stumbled across the Pittsburgh deck on social media it was an immediate ‘shut UP. Take my money’ impulse. Luckily for me, it turned out to be a very affordable deck.

The guide book is being shipped separately, so I’m winging it with this reading.

Career questions have crossed my path lately. I pulled these cards with the generic question in mind of “am I on the right path with my career”

Any “right path” question lends itself to a classic “pathway” card spread, which in turn is a more modern, nuanced version of the old-school past/present/future spread. I don’t have to tell you for the millionth time that exact predictions are not only impossible but unhelpful. As always, I read a three card pathway as:

Influences of the past – how old experiences are either influencing your perceptions of the current situation or, often, this is a reminder of old skills or lessons that you can bring forward to help you now
Current energies: things about the current situation that are asking for your attention, or pointing out any blind spots.
Moving Forward: This is a possible strategy, a good next step or a suggestion about how to best adapt to this situation.

In a “TaoCraft Path” layout, I emphasize your choices, which is what builds the future rather than predict it. For those, I add a fourth card that suggests an idea to help support the direction you are headed if you choose to keep it, and a fifth card that suggests how to change directions if you want. Today, let’s keep it simple.

In a typical RWS deck, I often read wands as your relationship with yourself – the inner world . I don’t know, yet, if that is what the deck creators intended with the suit of “nature” but that’s how I’m reading it today. I look at it through a very Taoist lens of working with your own true nature, THAT kind of nature just as much as the rocks and trees kind of nature. No question the World and the Moon cards are vibing just like every other deck, at least in relation to this particular question and layout.

Of course, being a collective energy reading, it is by the nature of collective energy readings, vague and dilute. This things are always much more impactful when it is private, customized and focused just on one person.

Two out of the three cards being major arcana confirms big career energy right now. There might be a time of stress at hand, to go with these big energies, but it doesn’t feel like anything you can’t handle. It feels like growth, in a big but good way.

Knights are associated with action. Play to your strengths. Do you. Do what you know well and above all what you enjoy. This is a comfort zone move, yes, but one that has serious wattage behind it. Showcase every skill you have, both from formal trained and from raw life experience.

The World hints that you have lots of options right now, the world is your oyster. Now is a good time to decide which direction you want to go, because many paths are open. In the predictive use, the World card has always been considered a good omen. You are in a good spot to build something good if you have the courage to start and a clear vision of what you want (out of all those many possibilities)

The Moon reminds us of natural cycles. To know if your current career or career plans are right for you, look at the context of your life…where in your life cycle or the life cycle of this job are you? Are you starting? Is there room to grow? Do you need more? Do you need less? Is this a good fit for where you are in life right now? How does your career fit into the rest of your life and it’s cycles?

I’m curious what the deck authors intended. Look for more with this deck in the days ahead.

It’s a fun deck. Just having it means something. We’ll see what unfolds.

Have a good week!

The Pittsburgh Tarot deck is by Ed Simon and Steve Teare and is available (with the guide book) through Microcosm Publishing

Modern Art!!

Energy path layout: Fading emerges, current energies, growing energies

Modern art!

Just for a fun comfort watch, we’ve be re-watching the Peter Capaldi seasons of Doctor Who. When Matt Smith left and Peter Capaldi came into the role, I wasn’t sure what to think as is the case for most Doctor Who fans when regeneration time comes around. Then they showed the old “Fires of Pompeii” episode where Capaldi had played the role of Caecilius the marble merchant. When toga-clad Capaldi raised his arms in a BEHOLD gesture and declared the Tardis to be “MODERN ART!” I’m like ok, ok…he can be the Doctor now.

If Tom Baker was the Doctor you wanted to be your dad, David Tennant was the Doctor you wanted to be your friend, and Matt Smith was the Doctors you wanted to be in your family, then Peter Capaldi was the Doctor I wanted to BE.

Why is my Whovian fan-girl side bringing up this obscure Doctor Who reference? Because Caecilius’ enthusiasm is exactly the vibe for this week’s reading.

When the world is on fire, sometimes you have to indulge in something you enjoy just to support your own sanity. Extra credit if it is something easy, simple and close at hand, like watching a favorite TV show or allowing yourself an extra scoop of ice cream. Or a beer. Or six. Or eating an entire cake with a spoon. Double extra bonus points if you have a sense of humor about it. Why not express yourself in the quirkiest, happiest most playful way that you can?

This is a week for passionate artists and creatives. It’s giving me itchy knitting fingers. Wait until you see this new hat pattern.

The fading energy card feels like early week energy. There is a ‘ get while the getting is good’ vibe about it. If you are feeling inspired, act sooner rather than later. This is the knight of cups after all. Knight cards are all about action. Cups are emotions. Grab the chance to express yourself and how you feel as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Don’t wait to appreciate your modern art!

The current energy card feels attached to the later part of the week. Sword cards are more precise and intellectual than cups, but they too can hint at action. Swords are connected to the classic element air, and the single upright sword on the ace card has a sweeping, lifting, rising energy. The word INSPIRATION comes strongly to mind here. If you have been in a creative slump, or feeling uninspired in any context, keep your eyes open and be ready, that may turn around soon. Inspiration is on the way, it seems.

For those of us who have had to focus on practical, mundane day-job energies, the ace feels more like getting a second wind. It is a hint of revitalizing an old project rather than beginning something new. Which energy carries the week for you depends on where you are starting out today (Merry Monday everyone!) If you are coming into the week fresh after the weekend, then fresh starts ahead. If, like me, you have a weekend work schedule hang in there. A fresh gust of wind beneath your wings is on the way.

The Chariot from the major arcana is the card representing growing energies. This also gives the impression of movement and flow through the week as a whole. The mental image here is of waves on a lake, as opposed to heavy surf on an ocean beach. This feels like movement and self expression, but gentle forward movement instead of a tidal wave.

There is absolutely no logical reason why, but clear quartz points and herkimer diamonds come to mind too. Lore around clear quartz is that it is an energy amplifier. Quartz points, especially tourmalated quartz (clear with small spiky inclusions of black tourmaline) are thought to support guidance (the spikes and points symbolize something ‘pointing the way’ for us.)

The keys for the week are self expression, creativity, art, increasing energy, and gentle forward progress.

So go, make life into your own work of modern art.

Like what you read in Sage Sips? Please subscribe – its free! You can use the search bar to explore the archives. Help me keep Sage Sips free for everyone without ads or paywalls. Buy me a virtual coffee on ko-fi and I’ll send you a personalized email Tarot reading as a thank you gift.

From the Archives: Clair-ity

From the Tarotbytes (originally published in 2009) archive on Sage’s Second Cup blog:

Clairvoyant is a pretty well-know term. It means psychic, or someone who sees the future, right?

Nope.

Not entirely. The real root of words like “clairvoyant”, “clairaudient”, “clairsentince” means clear – clarity of sight, sound or feeling.

Once again, predicting the future is NOT a part of the picture. Functionally, these terms refer to intuition, and how we interpret that non-linear, symbolic information that we call “psychic” or “intuitive”. It doesn’t matter whether you believe psychic information is spiritual in source, or just a higher function of the right brain hemisphere, seeing any situation a little more clearly may seem “psychic”.

Being able to listen to subtle clues from our environment and from within ourselves is the root of clairvoyance.

Clairvoyance is technically clarity of vision – like the word voyeur. Many times when working with intuitive information it comes to mind in the form of mental images. These mental images are much the same as memory, imagination, or daydreams. It doesn’t mean that the psychic is hallucinating or literally seeing things that aren’t there. Quirks of language may make it seems that way…but it isn’t what is really going on at all. If we say we “see” something, it really means that we are tuning in to subtle visual/ mental images. Yeah…it is all in our head. But like J.K. Rowling said in the “Deathly Hallows”…”Just because it is in your head, Harry, doesn’t mean it isn’t real” The images may not be “real” but the guidance and inspiration they give is quite real.

The same is true for Clairaudience. The “audio” here is sound, usually spoken words. Once again, this isn’t a sound outside the head that is a mis-perception of the environment or a hallucination that mimics a sound that really isn’t there. It has the same dream-like, imagination-like quality as clairvoyance, but in sound form. Most often this is spoken words, and is what people who “channel” often report. They just repeat or write down the verbal information that they sense.

Again, language makes it seem as if there is a physical component that just isn’t there. We may say we “hear” a spirit, or “hear” a phrase, but it isn’t a literal sound. Sometimes, the information will come as memory of a literal sound…a bit of music that is somehow significant, or the sound of waves for someone who loves the beach, or the sound of birdsong for someone who loves to camp…that sort of thing.

Other senses can come into play when doing intuitive work. These are less common, but are worth thinking about. This can include smells…which is a very potent way to trigger specific memories. For example pine, cinnamon and oranges are strongly associated with Yule holidays while flowers might evoke springtime memories. Either of those may help bring about a specific insight when doing or receiving a Tarot or other psychic reading.

The same is true of physical sensation. Feeling hot or cold, or feeling a heaviness in a particular body area might be significant.

Taste seems to be the rarest intuitive sensation of all, at least in my experience. For the most part, we are visual creatures, so mental images are very common intuitive messages. Words follow a close second, which makes logical sense, given how important language and speech is to our daily lives. So if any of the other senses come into play during a reading, they are likely very significant are are worth our attention.

Our senses are a part of our human experience, so they are naturally a part of our natural intuition as well.

Try now…what sensations are you most aware of now…temperature, smells, body sensations, images from old memories, a word or phrase….if you let your mind wander, what is the first thing it wanders to? What is the first thing to capture your attention?

Now, what message does that sensation, image or word hold for you?

Best wishes to you all for a sensational week!

Meet your reader (Sage’s Bio)

Pathway

This is an actual Tarot reading I did a couple of years ago. As you can see, the recipient kindly gave me permission to use it here in the blog. This is the kind reading you’ll get if you support Sage Sips on ko-fi now.

Reading from The archives: Use the search bar to find Tarot readings, Q&A, BTS and more.

Q: You drew a card for me on Halloween which was (and still is!) really meaningful, so lovely to connect with you again. I saw your Instagram post and would love to have you pull a few cards for me if the places haven’t been filled, but no worries if not! Happy to have a reading via the blog 🙂

For ******

First of all, thank you so much for your kind words!

I’m always so happy to hear when a reading is helpful….after all, that’s why we do these things! But the same is true as the last reading: If you have any questions, complaints or need any clarification with the reading please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Since you didn’t specify a topic, I’ll just move ahead with an open-to-anything point of view.

Your Cards Today Are:

Influence from the Past: King of Coins (Pentacles)
Current Situation: Three of Swords
Moving Forward: King of Swords

General Pattern

All cards are minor arcana, which in a layout this small is no real statistical surprise. Intuitively it feels like a bit of reassurance, that nothing really major is stirring the energies for you right now. It is all pretty business as usual more than it’s not. It has a feeling that business as usual for you entails being really good at what you do. Business as usual is kicking butt and taking names from the feel of it. In that vein, it feels like a very plain-talking, no nonsense kind of reading. It also feels like most of the reading energy is pointing toward work and career thoughts, which would go right along with having a coins card right off the bat like that. The repetitions are asking for attention. You have two swords, which connote action, the element of air, intellect and logic, authority, or your connection with society and culture at large. Knit all of that together and my attention is pulled to using cold, calculating intellect when it comes to work, especially when dealing with the authority structure, or any vying for promotions or power within the structure of the workplace. “Power Play” comes to mind along with an old episode of M*A*S*H where the Colonel accuses someone (Frank? Hotlips? Klinger?) of “going over my head so many times I’m getting athletes scalp” I guess the shorthand for that would be watch out for power playing brown nosers at work. The other repetition is the two kings. Kings connote leadership. It feels like the situation may be asking you for leadership, confidence, self-starting, standing up for yourself….even if you are already good at that, it feels like the skills you have will be put through their paces, and you may even be pushed a tiny bit outside your comfort zone in that respect. I ‘hear’ (meaning the intuition comes as words instead of feelings or images) to “Hang on and be brave” There was a great meme about spirit guides (the lady) you (the boy) and a life lesson. Here is the photo part if you want to take a peek: https://goo.gl/images/gdXriU Your guides feel like they are reminding you they won’t lead you anywhere you are not ready to go, but since you are ready…buckle up baby!

Background & Context: King of Coins

This part is the reminder of competence you have, and that you are more than ready to meet leadership challenges at work, or any other part of life, really. The King of Coins as a card connotes wealth and success, so a note of reassurance there again. I hear “build on past skills and successes” I’m not clear whether that means use your skills and knowledge that you have in hand to fullest advantage, to build new skill and expand your knowledge and experience…or both. It doesn’t feel like a job change as much as an expansion of the current situation.

Current Situation: Three of Swords

Classically, this tends to be a bit darker, more dire card across all of the decks and references that I have. Often it will set me off on maternal lecture mode about be safe, keys out, park under lights, and all that usual lecture….but not so much for you today. This feels more petty than malicious. It isn’t the devil or dark side card for good reason. This feels petty, and small, and contained to one aspect of life, like office politics. “Watch out for petty backstabbers” comes to mind. Very office politics, but also heavy on the petty….like an annoying mosquito that can drive you mad if you let it, or just brush it away. The more calm, detached, intellectual and swords / mental-focus the better.

Moving Forward: King of Swords

You know how I read cards…the cards have suit, element, layout position, and general card meaning. But each card, based on all that other stuff, can have a different spin or ‘flavor’ of message; advice (something to consider doing) caution (something to consider avoiding) or validation (acknowledgement, encouragement, cosmic thank you) There has been a lot of validation energy so far. This has a little more of an advice spin. The card feels less like it pertains to you and more like it represents an ally…someone in the hierarchy at work who you can cultivate an working relationship with, who can be a mentor of sorts. “Have your back” comes to mind. Like someone who knows your skills, sees your potential. It feels like it might be literally a male figure of some sort. Does any of this ring a bell for you? I’m not sure how else to understand the card, because it has a not-you but someone who can help you sort of symbolism around it. Beyond that it is dark – meaning no signal, not evil or bad kind of dark. It feels like that is the card or energy telling me that is a singular message from this card….seek out a mentor or ally at work.

Summary

This part is like a psychic “cold reading” where I free form give you any impressions that come to mind. In readings that have a topic or question, this part might connect to that or the cards….or it might not. In an open reading like this one, it just stays in the open frame of mind.

Often it starts with colors, or crystals or both. In this case I see citrine. It associates with the solar plexus chakra, and therefor confidence. Wear or carry it for confidence at work. It also resonates with the King cards, and the coins suit because the golden color has to do with wealth, career, luck and to some extent leadership.

I taste butterscotch, with lemon scent in the background. That might be a continuation of the golden color associations. Butterscotch may symbolize comfort, while lemon in aromatherapy is very cleansing and energizing. Lemon may be important relevant to work, as diffusing some lemon fragrance, lighting a lemon scented candle, or using anything lemon after work might do two things…first it would be a clear transition signal. It could remind you work is done, clear any annoyances or negativity from your day, and let you know to shift into family/home/private life mode. It will also lift your energy…stress or pettiness at work can put an extra drain on your energies. Lemon could help neutralize that and lift your energy after a long day. Don’t use citrus oils on your skin if you will be in sunlight within the next 12 hours…it can cause sun sensitivity. Also don’t put it on your skin if you have autoimmune diseases as it enhances immunity (a good thing in cold/flu season for most people)

And there the energies step back. I hope this helps!

Best Wishes,

Photo: Witches Tarot by Ellen Dugan and Mark Evans, used with permissions published on LlewellynPublishing.com

Weekend Oracle: Wonder Full

Sometimes happiness is something you have to do on purpose.

The energy today, at the start of the weekend, continues along the same thread that we saw at the start of the week in the “Strive to Abide” week-ahead reading.

This card comes from the Alleyway Oracle of Secrets by Seven Dane Asmund. The Alleyman card (art by voidbug) is intended to represent awe and wonderment, as is often found with a chance encounter with a mysterious embodiment of the Alleyman within the original deck’s fictional lore.

If you like thought provoking fiction I highly recommend The Alleyman Podcast.

But back to today’s card.

If you can strive to abide, then you can choose happy.

Deliberately. On purpose. In the middle of disaster.

It’s not easy. I wouldn’t want to imply that it is. It is a black belt level fight with yourself.

I read somewhere that we humans are hardwired to spot threats and dangers long before we process the good things. It’s evolutionary survival.

But so is happiness. It’s hard to survive when your mental, emotional, and physical health is disintegrated by constant stress, pessimism and negativity.

If you aren’t feeling it – ok. Abide. Feelings are temporary. Feelings can be influenced. Causes have effects and you can be the cause that has the effect of you feeling a little better.

The mind body connection flows both ways. Decreasing stress can improve physical health, and caring for your physical being can improve your mood.

If memory serves, it is a Buddhist premise with some solid physiology sprinkled in.

Arrange your face. The face is highly innervated. Arrange your face into a small Mona Lisa smile and keep it that way for a few minutes. The feeling represented by the facial expression and body posture you’ve adopted can sleep into your emotions however you were feeling at the outset. That may be why Buddhist teachers mention posture and facial expression as a part of beginning to meditate. It sets up a positive feedback loop. Body posture improves meditation which reduces stress which improves physical health which improves mood….you get the idea.

It may not be our first instinct to see beauty and good things. We are wired to focus on threats so we can avoid or mitigate them. Today’s card is a reminder (akin to the high priestess card in the RWS Tarot) to use our big old homo sapiens brains and step in and deliberately appreciate the good that saturates our existence. If it wasn’t there, we wouldn’t exist to appreciate anything. Look around. You aren’t actively in danger right now, are you? (If you are, what the hell are you doing staring at a screen reading this?!)

Take a breath.

That is a life giving miracle, right there.

Do you have the means for your next meal? Are you wearing clothes? Obviously you have an electronic device to entertain you and connect you to other people. This train of thought reminds me of the scene from the 1990s Robin Hood where Morgan Freeman’s character tells Kevin Costner’s Robin of Loxley “You whine like a mule – you are still alive!”

I can’t remember where I saw it, or if there is any logic or facts or data behind it, but I think I’m latching on to the memory of a 2 second social media clip because there is some level of truth to it….bursts of emotions, even the most painful ones, last 90 seconds unless we mentally grab onto them and keep replaying them in our mind.

If the Chariot card from Monday reminds us that we can choose to abide then today’s Alleyman card reminds us the world is full of wonder that we choose to see.

Thanks for reading! See you at the next sip

Buy me a coffee on ko-fi during the month of June 2026 and the proceeds will be donated to ACLU in celebration of Pride Month

Low Tech Ritual

Also on Sage’s Second Cup blog

Our hot water is out.

Sure, I’ve done my fair share of complaining about boiling water on the stove to keep us and the kitchen sanitary like I’m Ma Ingalls and this is 1826 or something. That’s in spite of the fact that I’m doing it in an air conditioned house with an electric stove and not over a wood fire in some hovel hole of a cabin in the wilderness. I LIKE it here in the future with electricity, indoor plumbing and whatnot.

But you know what they say about clouds and silver linings. Or as author Richard Bach put it “there is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.”

Hmm. Maybe that plus the narrow mountain top ridge image from the “Summit and Crossroads” and “Move with Charisma” tarot readings is a solid hint to re-read Bach’s Illusions or finally get around to reading The Razor’s Edge. That’s idea, too. Book reviews over on Second Cup – but none of that is the point. Back to the hot water thing.

The problem with the stovetop hot water is that it is a sloooow way to do things.

The beautiful part of the stovetop hot water is that it is a slow way to do things.

I especially noticed it bathing. The slow acts of putting the water on to heat, cleaning the sink, moving the soap from its usual shower spot to a place on the countertop within reach; trivial things to be sure, but it takes on an almost ritual-like quality.

It was a mindfulness trap.

Without intending it, it dropped me into a meditative mindset. Instead of quick, thoughtless and profoundly mundane, I found myself engaging with the moment. It wasn’t the usual quick hop shower. This was a thing.

The same can, and does, apply to Tarot reading.

It doesn’t matter what you ritual IS – it matters what your ritual DOES.

Whatever your process or ritual, it shifts you from the everyday world into an engaged frame of mind. The ritual and process of a Tarot reading shifts us from mindless to mindful. Whatever your ritual, habit or process might be, it makes tarot reading into a thing.

Spirit speaks in whispers. Tarot and its attendant rituals, even the casual ones, helps us to hear those whispers.

Using a reading cloth, or a particular shuffle pattern, having a dedicated space, lighting candles or incense or whatever you do when you do a reading all has the effect of slowing down our normal pace. Those objects and activities aren’t sacred, but the mindset they create is.

Tarot reading rituals are a mindfulness trap.

The pattern quiets and comforts. It is like giving a toddler a new toy or handing a banana to a hungry monkey. Some routine or ritual that is a built in part of beginning a reading comforts and quiets our logical mind enough to help us hear our intuition and the quiet whispers of spirit and energy.

A wonderful as the modern age and its indoor plumbing may be, some things are ancient and still powerful. Often the most powerful things are the quietest, and the simplest, like a low tech ritual.

Raise a mug to civil rights

“Buy me a coffee” on Ko-fi during the month of June 2026 and get a daily meditation style Tarot reading by email as a thank you gift. All proceeds will be donated to the ACLU in support of their work to protect LGBTQIA+ equality and civil rights. Happy Pride Month!

Feel the Feels

from the archives

What’s in your cup this morning?

Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.

The Alleyman’s Tarot deck was extra rowdy this morning. It was sliding out of my hands and spewing all over the table after just one shuffle.

Today’s card is the Ace of Cups.

I’m sure it is just because of the great finish on the cards and the fact that I’m not exactly little miss coordination this morning, but it seems like chaos is part of the message today.

Cups have to do with the element of water, so you have all of those metaphors. Of all the properties of water, the movement is what comes to mind. It’s the “water can crash” part of Bruce Lee’s famous “be water my friend” interview. Cups also traditionally symbolize emotions. Another way of understanding the suit of cups is our closest relationships. Nothing touches our emotions like love, romance, marriage, family, children – all of our closest relationships.

The ace always touches on the essence of a suit. The ace of cups today is pointing square at our emotions and emotional state.

It is, after all, storm and hurricane season.

A couple of years ago, at the end of 2019 when the pandemic hadn’t fully hit, I did a series of readings. It seems like the energy environment was ringing everybody’s bell – hard. I must have had at least half a dozen different people say that they were having intense emotions or anxieties that they couldn’t explain which drew them to the reading. In some ways it’s hard to believe that is already two and a half years ago, almost three. In other ways it’s hard to believe that it has been ONLY two and half years ago.

Still, time has passed and that particular storm of emotion and energy has passed right along with it.

The same advice still applies, however.

I’m not talking about true mental health issues here. Those deserve respect, and the skills of a professional. Tarot isn’t for that. It can help, certainly, but Tarot is excellent for coping and gaining insight into normal ups and downs that we all experience at one time or another. Tarot helps all of us surf the crashing waves of human existence.

It’s like the extra slippery-slidey Alleyman’s deck today. Sometimes life just gets chaotic energy sometimes. Over on my personal blog “Sage & Stuff” I call it the squirrel rave after that internet meme that says “I don’t have ducks, I don’t have rows. I have squirrels. And they are having a pagan rave.”

When you are in the middle of a squirrel rave or a hurricane or life’s crashing waves or whatever metaphor you like, the ace of cups is reminding us that our emotions are still our own, regardless of the surrounding slippery crashing chaos. You don’t have to take on the energy and emotions around you.

For some people that is easier than for others. We all have our own unique levels of empathy. We all have our unique levels of stress tolerance. We all have our own individual skin thickness when it comes to stress and emotions.

Which reminds me of a pediatrics lecture I heard a very long time ago where the doctor quoted some sort of old adage along the lines of “some kids are carrots, some kids are eggs. If you put one in hot water it goes to mush, but the other just gets hard boiled.”

Whenever a wave of emotion hits, especially if it feels out of character for you or feels disconnected sometimes it pays to do a little bit of an empathy check or an intuitive sensitivity gut-check.

This is one time where we can bring imagination, visualization and the mind-body connection into play for our benefit.

Imagine this:

Think of something that you can imagine to be protective. This is imagination, so it can be anything. Imagine a shield of energy like a comic book superhero. Imagine a wizard’s invisibility cloak. Or a Faraday cage that real-world screens out electromagnetic signals. I like to think of it akin to Violet’s shield power from the Incredibles Disney-Pixar movie. Imagine you are surrounded by whatever force field invisibility cloak fortress-of-solitude symbol that you chose.

Then do an emotions check. With that protective visualization in place, what are your emotions now? Is that thing you’ve been feeling quieter now, as if it was something outside of you that has been pushing your buttons? Or is it inside your super-shield with you?

It is easy to shrug off difficult emotions and blame it on things like being empathic or mercury in retrograde or whatever. It’s natural to want to keep difficult emotions at arms length at least until a situation settles down or we heal enough to actually deal with them.

There is an up side to it. Sometimes the emotions really are out there and once you sort that out you can get back to being the laid back zen low pressure center of the hurricane.

Sometimes emotions are the tempest in a teapot, all yours to deal with. Sometimes emotions are a storm warning vibrating to let you know what the energy environment holds. The still waters inside your cup are still yours to keep no matter what is on the horizon. Both take courage to keep the cup strong. The emotions inside the cup are your feels to feel either way.

Thank you so much for reading and listening. I appreciate each of you and a special hello and welcome to new subscribers and social media followers. I’m always grateful for any likes, subs, shares, follows, questions or comments that you can spare.

The blog, podcast and youtube channel are not monetized by me: your energy message comes first here, not advertisers’. Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi where the shop, memberships and virtual coffees all support the creation of this unique (almost) daily Tarot content.

See you at the next sip!

A Mask That Lets You Dance

Today’s card is from The Normal Tarot second edition by Seven Dane Asmund. They describe the card as being connected to dreams and deeper meanings. I get the sense of two threads of meaning connected to the card today. One, connected to the dreaming part, another tied to the visual image on the card of masks and dancing. Of the two, the mask part seems to carry the larger energy.

For the dream part, I get a sense of yes, you are right. If you have a hunch about what a dream meant, you are right, it is what you think. The next few days to maybe a week feel like the right time to do shadow work, dream journaling, read about dream symbolism and so on.

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate”
Carl Jung

Visually, my attention is drawn to the masks in the masquerade scene. Masks are a kind of safety. Literally when it comes to airborne viruses. Socially masks can be a shield of safey that shows a carefully curated portion of our authentic self so we can dance freely until our full face can be free too. You are not lesser if you protect some inner, precious side of yourself. Sometimes a mask is like the face shield on a hockey helmet. Sometimes a mask is the thing that can let you dance fearlessly.

“Live the best life you can. Life is a game whose rules you learn if you leap into it and play it to the hilt. Otherwise, you are caught off balance, continually surprised by the shifting play. Non-players often whine and complain that luck always passes them by. They refuse to see that they can create some of their own luck.”
Frank Herbert, in Chapterhouse Dune