Tag: tarot readings

Merry Equinox! Fall Schedule 2026

I’m very pleased to announce the fall schedule for Sage Sips and TaoCraft Tarot.

There is none.

Tarot is now all a joy-filled labor of love. No freelance artist hustle. Just the joy of reading -and reading for you.

Private readings are still available and I still have every one of those 30+ years of tarot reading experience BUT they are only available to Sage Sips blog supporters on Ko-Fi.

Buy me a coffee (or join the Brew It Forward membership tier for unlimited one card email readings at your request any time while your membership is active) and a portion of the proceeds are donated to a different public service organization each month. The rest is used to create Sage Sips in a way that is free to everyone with no ads or paywalls.

For September 2026 the donation from the ko-fi proceeds supports the American Library Association in honor of Love Your Library month and their upcoming Banned Book Week.

As for the blog itself, it’s not on a regular posting schedule. It’s all pirate radio style whatever whenever. Please subscribe with the box on the right of this page to get every single bit of tarot content that I create or subscribe to Sage Sips on Substack to get most new posts as they drop.

Typical Sage Sips posts can include:

  • Daily meditation style one card Tarot readings
  • Action Eases Anxiety Tarot readings
  • Tarot Q&A
  • Oracle card readings
  • Tarot readings with other layouts
  • Tarot behind the scenes aka Tarot reading how-to
  • reposts from my other blog, Sage’s Second Cup

Merry Equinox! I hope to see you around here. Please feel free to explore the pages from the top menu or use the search to explore the archives. There are literally THOUSANDS of Tarot posts for you to browse covering every card of the RWS deck and more.

You have to make it before you can break it.

Layouts are easy. Titles are hard.

Tarot layouts are no great secret. You can write one any time you want. We pro (retired, semi-pro, just reads cards a lot) tarot readers do it all the time. This is where you ask the questions you want answered. Basically you name what you want the cards to tell you. When you go into a reading with a clear, firm idea about what each card represents, then you get a clearer idea and a more usable message

Owl and Bones Tarot and Daily Tarot Girl are especially good at it.

Granted, Lenormand and some readers are a little more chaotic and free-form, but in my experience it pays to have a layout in mind before you start a reading. It is a foundation and reference point that keeps things anchored when you are in the flow of intuition.

If you are going to pull a message out of the aether, it pays to have some place solid for it to land.

Last night’s lunar eclipse was a potent one, associated with closure, release, and transformation. That Glasgow Witch describes it as the bookend to the September 2024 eclipse. If the past two years are a cycle, a liminal space in time, a phase of transformation, now that the second bookend has been set in place it begs the question of “now what?”

Chances are you already have a good idea about the direction things are headed. If not, however, that can spark a little worry and that is where the Action Eases Anxity layout comes into play. Coming up with an idea about what to do can reduce anxiety just as much as actually doing the thing. Action Eases Anxiety is a good, fast look to help bring things back to center when life is going off the rails

But what about making the original plan before it all goes sideways?

I wrote a four card layout for just exactly that. I tried to call it “Timeflow” or something overly clever. Now I think I’m just going to call it “The Plan”

I’m more of a Marvel fan, but I am a bigger fan of adaptability, so my planning is always going to be in the vein of DC comic’s Captain Cold:

  • Make a plan
  • Execute the plan
  • Expect the plan to go off the rails
  • Throw away the plan

So if Action Eases Anxiety is for step three when it all goes pear shaped, The Plan is for step one. This is for making the plan that you expect to eventually toss and the method for making a new one in its place.

The four cards layout spots are:

  • Let it rest (things to set aside for now. Come back later when the time is right)
  • Let it go (things release. Cut this loose and move on)
  • Cue it up (things that need some attention or preparation)
  • Let it roll (put your attention here. Conditions are good)

Another reason that Tarot works is because a picture truly is worth a thousand words. Subscribe to Sage Sips on WordPress or Substack (it’s free!) so you’ll get a notice when a post an example Reading of “The Plan” layout sometime over the next couple of days, probably Sunday (it’s Friday now) That will give you a good picture of what “The Plan” layout is like.

See you at the next sip!

If you like what you see, then please buy me a coffee on ko-fi or join the Brew it Forward membership. $1 from every virtual coffee and membership proceeds are donated to a different food security, disaster response, or public service organization each month. August 2026 will support World Central Kitchen.

The remaining proceeds go toward creating and web hosting Sage Sips so that it can be free for everyone without ads or paywalls.

When you buy a virtual coffee, it unlocks DM access where you can request a one time, one card email tarot reading as a thank you gift. Brew It Forward members get unlimited one card private Tarot readings anytime at your request. Please visit the Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot ko-fi page for details

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

Hoist the Questions

Hoist is a fun word.

It’s kind of pirate-y and fun. As in “Hoist the colors” just like Pirate baseball fans used to do. Now they hoist traffic cones and in a city where parking chairs are sacrosanct (IYKYK) it kind of makes sense.

But back to Tarot. I’ve been thinking about open readings. Open readings are the ones with no particular question or topic in mind. From the readers side of the table, these can be challenging to do. For the client, it can be a great reading if for no other reason it can raise questions to be asked.

It’s like we were talking about in “Tarot and the Art of Not Knowing” the other day. Sometimes you don’t have any clue there are gaps in what you know.

Open readings are often validating, reassuring, and let you know you are going in the right direction. I did a thank-you reading for a blog supporter recently that was exactly that. All minor arcana cards, lovely validation energy included with the reassurance that any hiccups along the path at hand were likely to be short-lived.

Great news for the sitter. As the reader, these readings always leave a little niggle or two behind. What if it didn’t help? What if they thought it was scammy and trite and vague like a bad newspaper horoscope?

Questions are key. Some of the best parts of reading come when the person getting the reading starts answering questions. Of course, this part is easier in-person, but the conversation is equally valid when it happens over time through email. Email is as valid for communication in Tarot as it is in work and business. Its as valid as any written document or printed page…although I still think pen and paper carries a little extra magic somehow. But that’s beside the point.

The point is, whenever you get a psychic reading, hoist the questions! It helps to dial in a general reading to better meet your individual needs even when that message is really just “You are doing great kiddo. Keep up the good work.”

Thanks for reading. See you at the next sip

Tarot and the Lo-Teks

Yesterday’s post was, obviously, about a new shop item on my ko-fi page. All the proceeds from my ko-fi page go toward web-hosting Sage Sips without ads, keeping the Substack paywall-free, and maybe generating a few donations for causes I care about (more about that in a later post.) I’m not going back into business. Handwritten Tarot readings are not a money-maker.

Trust me, I’ve tried it before.

I originally offered tangible, pen and paper Tarot readings years ago, when AI was the stuff of cyberpunk fiction – not anything anyone actually used in normal day-to-day life.

I’ve always been a William Gibson fan, dating back to Neuromancer. I originally offered handwritten Tarot because it was cool and niche. Bringing back handwritten Tarot is more the Lo-Teks from Gibson’s short story turned Keeanu Reeves movie, Johnny Mnemonic.

I never imagined that a person to person email with a digital photo would seem low-tech next to computer-generated art and writing, but here we are. Physical paper and handwriting seems like ancient, mysterious wizardshit by comparison.

If you want a talking type of reading – eesy peesy. There are psychics by the dozens out there doing that and it is up to you to figure out if they are trustworthy or not. (The Tao of Finding a Psychic might help) As far as I know, there are only a handful of us working in the typed-word and email formats, and fewer still that do handwritten pen and ink readings.

“A thought is powerful, the spoken word even more so, but the written word is the most powerful of all”

Sallie Christensen, psychic and author

I’m not going back into business, but I am offering these readings as a quiet rebellion against AI. This is my Lo-Tek Tarot.

Handwritten Tarot is magical and powerful – arguably even more so than spoken in-person ones. This kind of Tarot can never be digitally replicated. My bad handwriting and cringy doodles show you they are 100% real, 100% HUMAN .

Handwritten Tarot has all the advantages of any distance reading: You can’t unintentionally give body language cues. There are no leading questions, no stage mentalism, no tricks – these readings are pure spirit and intuition. No drama, no AI slop – just quiet wisdom in the ancient way of pen and ink writing.

Please include your name, U.S. mailing address, and question for the reading with your order. If you don’t include a question or topic, no problem! I’ll automatically do an open style reading and let intuition lead the way.

Sent folded into a standard #10 envelope, this Tarot reading is discreet and private. This is highly customized folk art with no refunds or exchanges. Available to USA mailing addresses ONLY.

This nominal charge is only to cover the cost of paper, postage, driving to the post office and the extra effort that these take to create.

Just like always, these readings are highly customized ephemeral folk art for entertainment and personal spritual enrichment, and do not predict the future. No refunds or exchanges or any of that other business-y stuff. Caveat emptor and whatnot.

Order one from my ko-fi shop HERE if you are interested in giving it a try.

My Tarot Valentine: It’s about the how.

It seems like this is the year.

I don’t know if this is an actual thing out there or just what I’m doing in my little world, but it seems like this the year for dialing it all down. Eat the rich, screw the capitalism, forget the elaborate bougie over the top holidays…it’s about the small, thoughtful and meaningful.

That’s about all that’s affordable these days, anyway.

So maybe it’s the year for some real talk about Tarot. I have nothing to promote, nothing to sell and no one to persuade. If you want a reading with me, great. Support me on Ko-Fi where the proceeds go toward creating Sage Sips and keeping it ad-free. If you don’t want a tarot reading, cool. Keep reading the blog instead. But don’t complain to me if you don’t like the free advice.

Valentine’s Day seems like a good place to start. This is the year for a construction-paper card, a single carnation or a box of chalky conversation hearts.

Love, romance and relationships are a fundamental, important part of being human. Tarot can be wonderfully helpful as we think and feel our way through relationships of every type and definition. It’s incredibly important and it’s no wonder that romance is one of the most asked Tarot Reading questions.

From the beginning, from the very first readings I did professionally in the early 2000’s, I’ve defined Tarot cards in terms of relationships. The major arcana is our relationship with personal growth and life as a whole. Pentacles are our relationship with career, money and the physical realm. Swords are our relationship with authority, culture and society.) Wands are our relationship with ourselves in terms of spirituality, passions, philosophy and so on. Cups are our closest relationships, the ones of emotion and heart, of romance, family and friendship. The suit of cups are Tarot’s Valentine cards, in a way. This feels like the year to turn romantic Tarot readings on its head, like the two of cups reversed.

It’s no wonder that romance readings are the trickiest to do. As good as Tarot is at dealing with deep emotions of a romantic relationship, they are really shitty at dealing with the superficial, outward aspects of it.

How to deal with a broken heart? How do you deal with loneliness? How do you get on the path to a meaningful relationship? How do you shine your light so that special someone can find you? How can you play your part in the relationship you have and help make it last?

Tarot readings can help work through those things.

When will you meet the love of your life? Will your ex come back? Is this the year the big relationship will happen? – No idea. Tarot readings, at least the ones that stem from subtle energy and intuition (spirit if you will) are silent when it comes to that type of thing.

How to find the love of your life?

Simple. LOVE YOUR LIFE.

If you aren’t happy with life without someone, how can you be happy with life with

Think about it.

Think about the type of person you want to be romantically involved with.

Is that person all wrapped up in how lonely they are and preoccupied with wondering when the right relationship will come along –

OR is the partner you envision happy, healthy, and engaged with their life as it is?

Sometimes, the best way to find your soulmate is to let go of the notion of ever having one. Sometimes the best way to find your soulmate is to stop looking for them and be the person you want to have in your life.

When it comes to Tarot Readings, it isn’t about if and when you will meet that special someone. It’s about the how.

Like attracts like. Happy attracts happy. Love attracts love.

I love a good rabbit hole

Hello and Welcome!

I was just on one of my favorite websites, Crystal Vaults.

It’s a good browse.

I love a good rabbit hole – a website with enough meat on its bones that you can browse and read and spend a little time and get good, solid, reliable, time-tested, usable information. If tiktoks, reels and shorts are a thin potato chip, then a good website is a full sized sandwich. Maybe a piping hot bowl of stew. If your lucky, it is the information equivalent of a full meal.

I like to think that TaoCraft Tarot is an all you can eat buffet of Tarot.

I’ve been at this for years. Decades. What started as small side freelancing to earn a little extra income for school expenses turned into 30 years of Tarot reading experience (almost 25 years of that as a professional) writing and blogging all along the way. Not all of it was on this platform, but a surprising chunk of it has been.

I love a good browse.

I hope you all will like browsing here, too. Welcome. The library is open. Feel free to use the search bar to dive into the Sage Sips / Taocraft Tarot archives. Enter a topic or tarot card and see what you can find.

Thanks for visiting!

Squirrels – 365 Ducks – 0

I just deleted a Tajitu layout that’s been dangling on the YouTube channel with almost no explanation and no associated post for nearly a week. Click HERE to read today’s brand new Taijitu layout for this week.

Clearly, filming the cards in the morning and writing the blog in the evening isn’t going to work.

That’s it. I’m done.

I’m done trying to promote what I do. If a message or idea is meant for you, it will find you one way or another no matter what I do – or don’t. If my post doesn’t find you, another one with the same message will. If I’m the right psychic for your Tarot reading – you’ll find me. If nobody wants or needs my readings, ok – I’ll use that time for other writing. Or knitting. Or baking cookies. If somebody wants this kind of Tarot, I’m right here, same as always.

That being said, I choose to move forward in harmony with the mysterious. I intend for all of our highest and best. If you intend for your highest and best, just try and stop it from landing in your lap. Cue that old Blondie song. If you want it, your life’s calling will find you one way or another, whatever it may be, (even if it is something you never imagined before, like being a Taoist, witch and email Tarot reader.)

Plus, I dunno who made the original, but the ducks and squirrels thing should get a truth in memes award….

Raving Squirrels – 365, Line Ducks – 0

No more schedules. Tarot happens when it happens.

Why ?

This isn’t a scam. This isn’t even a freelance business anymore. I have a day job. It isn’t my ‘dream’ to make a living doing Tarot. My dream is for doing Tarot readings for people to remain part of my life’s work.

What I want to do Tarot for people who are looking for a spiritually advanced, emotionally mature, responsible style of reading. I want to help people, and be fairly compensated for my time, decades of experience and expertise. At the same time, I want you to get a quality, highly professional reading in return for your time, attention and money. That’s what ‘fair energy exchange’ is really about.

THUS and therefore….I’m going full pirate radio for real this time. Stay tuned for random Tarot goodnesses: collective readings, behind the scenes, how to DIY read tarot and, if you use the AMA form, lots of free Tarot Q&A. Please follow the YouTube channel, this blog, the Substack (or all three) and you won’t miss a thing, no matter how random and chaotic it all gets. You’ll still get authentic collective energy Tarot from a reader with 30 years of experience, inspired by intuition – not marketing, not a schedule, not a money making bottom line. And you get all of that for FREE, but with a side order of hope that you’ll buy a paid private reading, too.

If you want something private and personalized, that’s not drawn from the collective energy: Hit my Ko-fi page for some of the most genuine, authentic and affordable email Private Tarot readings on the webber tubes.

Thank you for listening to my fifty-umpteenth void screaming TED talk about Tarot on the internet otherwise entitled I’m not a scam, I’m just tired of the scammy BS I keep seeing out there.

See you at the next random, unscheduled, rant-free Tarot-only sip!

Read more: The Tao of Finding a Psychic (or a tarot reader you can trust)

Policies Page (not a business anymore, but I’m still professional, transparent & up front about this stuff)

Rave on my squirrels!

I totally judged this book by its cover

For September and October, I’ve decided to indulge in one of my favorite Tarot decks, The Alleyman’s Tarot and explore one of my newest ones, The Normal Tarot, both by Seven Dane Asmund of Publishing Goblin LLC who kindly gave permission to use his decks here in the blog.

My unboxing and earlier posts have all of the requisite fangirling about the Alleyman’s deck, which after a few years of using it is STILL a masterpiece. This deck (including the premise and lore built around it with the podcast and more is like a Stradivarius in the hands of master violinist. I know that sounds like a brag, and it is. I’m that good, and it is too.

When the chance came to 7DA’s first (I believe) deck, I didn’t hesitate, largely because the guidebook cover was love at first sight – a line drawing of a skeleton, cards and the title How To Normal Tarot: Staring into the Seething, Unknowable Chaos of the Universe for Fun and Profit.

That pretty much sums up Tarot work. Some folks really, REALLY don’t like the unknowable part. They want pat, canned platitudes and answers that they WANT to hear (not the guidance they NEED to hear.) Predictions are 1. impossible and 2. baby food for unready souls.

I’m not here for that. If you want “accurate predictions” you need to go find another psychic.

I’m here to give you a hearty soul-meal and some navigation tips for the seething unknowable chaos.

If you are ready for that ride, if you want to experience the wisdom that Tarot really offers, come along.

In September and October, I’ll be using the Alleyman’s Tarot deck for the Week Ahead choose your card readings and the Normal Tarot deck for our Weekend Oracle posts, simply because the deck isn’t a RWS clone. For the members only posts over on ko-fi I’ll post some longer-layout readings following (or inspired by) the layouts in the guidebook.

So fill up your metaphorical coffee (wine/tea/whatever) cup and come sip and stare into the chaos with me.

See you at the next sip

Want an affordable private tarot ($10 to $30) with a reader with 30 years experience and no appointment needed? Email Tarot on ko-fi and memberships on ko-fi all support this free tarot blog – no paywall at all.

Card: Death from L’oracle Des Dames as seen in the Alleyman’s Tarot deck

Blah induced glow up

I don’t know if I’ve done one of these tidy-up-the-website things since I’ve been on Bluesky or not. If not, Bluesky – let me introduce myself.

If you are not new to Sage Sips blog, then thank you for putting up with yet another one of these. I’ll admit – I’ve followed that “reintroduce yourself for new followers” advice a little too enthusiastically some years. Equally important, I’m grateful to everyone who has read Sage Sips for a while or follows on any of the socials. That goes double for those of you who get private readings with me. I truly appreciate you. If these posts and readings are any little help at all, it’s worth it to keep things fresh around here for you.

The differences aren’t big, nothing that major has happened since the big re-brand in 2018, but a little infusion of energy and attention still helps every now and again. If Halloween is ‘witch’s new year’ consider this the pre-new-year housecleaning in my little corner of cyberspace.

I’m in late August BLAH mode anyway, so it’s a good time to take a week off from the usual readings and recharge a little.

But back to the re-introduce yourself thing. I always feel weird and awkward about the background and bio part. I’d much rather talk about Tarot behind the scenes or do readings or teach Tarot how-to. But still, a refreshed bio is probably for the best so you can know what kind of internet rando you are reading.

Here is the same old bio, edited down a little bit:

Private email Tarot readings, memberships, virtual coffee and shop purchases all support this no-paywall blog

Hi! I’m Sage.

I’m the author of Sage Sips blog, PeaceTarot and free ebook TaoCraft Portfolio

I’ve been reading Tarot cards since around 1992 which adds up to 30 years of experience with intuitive work and intuition development (!)

I didn’t originally start out to be a professional Tarot reader (who does?) At first I did readings for friends (why PAY for it when you can DIY it?) A close friend suggested I go online with my readings (forever grateful!) I’ve given psychic Tarot readings through Keen, Advice Trader and AllExperts. After doing literally hundreds of online readings (I stopped counting at 500) I opened my own Tarot practice with ModernOracleTarot.com, the Tarotbytes blog and the now-defunct Quirk & Flotsam shop on Etsy. In 2018 I re-branded everything as TaoCraft Tarot featuring the Sage Sips blog. In 2025, life happened, and my Tarot work circled back to the beginning as a hobby with this blog (and the private email Tarot readings that help support the cost to create the blog and host a half decent website.)

The TaoCraft name is drawn from my love of Taoist philosophy. My work will always be guided by the principles of simplicity, authenticity, and kindness. The name is also a nod to both magickal craft and and regular crafting including one of my favorite hobbies, knitting.

My pen name, Sage, is inspired by both aromatherapy and the wisdom of Taoism and Tarot.

The herb sage has a comforting, familiar scent and flavor that most of us know from breakfast sausage and holiday turkeys. In aromatherapy, Sage incense and essential oil can support a calm, optimistic mood. Most of all, the word sage means something or someone who is wise. Tarot and Taoism both give us very sage advice.

Comfort, calmness, wisdom and a feeling that things are going to be alright are all qualities that I hope you’ll experience when you read the blog or read your personalized Tarot email.

I’m Sage Sips on Substack and Sage.Sips on all of the usual socials. I mostly interact with BlueSky and Threads, so drop by and say hello.

Email readings are always available 24/7, no appointment needed! Click HERE to order anytime. Email readings have always been my specialty, and my favorite to do. You can trust the process because they are pure intuition and spirit- there is no way for me to read body language cues or ask leading questions.

Thanks for reading. I always appreciate your time and attention along with any likes, follows, shares or kind comments that you can spare. I wish you all well. See you at the next sip!