Tarot readings and card discussions
Text to post evening 5 December 2020
Please follow the blog (right hand column on laptop, scroll WWAAAYYYY down on mobile) and both video content (as seen on the YouTube channel) and print only content comes right to your mailbox. I hate spam, but if I’m going to be checking email anyway, I’m good with reading my favorite blogs all in the same go. Especially short posts like the this and the daily cards.
Get comfy.
The comforts of home is something no in-person psychic or Tarot session can give. It’s like the whole Schrodinger thing. An observer just observing changes the whole thing. Sort of. Or something like that.
No matter how it is done, a live spoken reading can never have the mind to mind impact of reading your message at your leisure and in your greatest comfort. Calling this a READING is no accident of language. It’ a cosmic hint as I see it.
If you go to a psychic, then you have to put on your shoes and your public face. No matter how familiar, homey or welcoming their workspace may be, some degree of social conditioning kicks in – on both sides of the Tarot table. Even if the psychic comes to your home or party, the same idea applies. With a stranger in your home, you are in a different mind space than you would be under everyday circumstances. The message given by spirit is identical to any other format, but the way the message lands in your mind and heart might just be a teeny tiny bit different because of those social filters. It brings another person into the system, just like peeking in the box adds an observer into the system and interacts with the results of Schrodinger’s thought experiment. Or it least that is my meager understanding of it.
Social isn’t bad. Having another person affecting the system is in many ways the whole point of it. If you could figure this out on your own, you wouldn’t want a reading in the first place. Two eyes see with greater depth and clarity than one (related post: “Parallax“) In-person readings meet a basic human need for human interaction that written readings can’t quite replace. Phone readings fill that roll too. They are live, real-time, fill a social need while being covid safe. In-person work is valua ble, which is why I plan to bring them back on a part time basis for Halloween 2021, depending on how the vaccination distribution goes.
A Tarot reading that you actually read is something entirely different, and something very special.
With a distance Tarot session…be it email, video, or handwritten pen, ink and paper…there is no social filters, no schedule, no expectations. The words from spirit stream to you directly, in whatever cocoon of comfort and privacy that you choose to create. Wear your comfiest clothes. Listen to your favorite music. Grab your favorite bevorage or snack. When you engage with a distance reading in your own way, in your own place, in your own time, you engage with spirit from a place that is most fully and authentically youriself. You engage with energy and spirit on an more intense and mentally intimate level.
It’s that elfcon time of year. Even staying home, scaling down, and celebrating inside of your own four walls, why add to the season’s to-do list? Why tie yourself to a scheduled phone call when you can take in your reading in a time and a place and a way that suits your schedule best?
Intuition has a comfy bias. In my experience, the most powerful messages are given when we are both deep inside our comfort zones, with the cozy turned up to 11. On my end, coffee and fuzzy slipper socks will most likely be involved.
Spirit is everywhere. Energy is everywhere. Where we are relative to each other makes no diffrrence at all. The connection to that everywhere-energy and everywhere-spirit is strongest when we connect to it from our respective places of comfort and confidence.
Order a reading any time you like on the website home page. All of my layouts are available all the time now, at the lowest price possible. Please scroll down through the whole list here. It’s the widest variety of layouts and prices anywhere that I know of. I’m confident that you’ll find something you are comfortable with.
Wishing you all a cozy evening.
When I do a reading, the first thing is to talk with you about your question, topic of concern, or you OK for an open reading. Then we shuffle the cards, put them into the layout you ordered (by email, you get a photo of the actual real life cards, by phone I’ll list them out for you, or whenever in-person readings come back, you can see them for your self.
Once the cards are ready, the first part in all formats bigger than a one-card, is what I call the “general pattern” where we look for any clues from the patter of cards taken as a whole. One of the things we look at is the number of major vs minor arcana cards. Of the minor arcana cards, we look at what suits are showing and how many of each suit are there.
“Negative space” is an idea from art and sculpture. The art-thing itself sets shapes and boundaries in and around the space it occupies. Kind of like a paper snowflake where the cut out parts are shapes too. Like the hearts in this one (Found this on a Google search. you can get the pattern at papersnowflakeart.com)
Sometimes, if three of the four minor arcana suits are showing, intuition will pull toward the suit that is missing as if it is being conspicuous in it’s absence and is sending a message by not showing up.
2020 has been a heck of a decade, and hindsight is 20/20 too. When we look back what can we learn? Surprisingly, I found one of those negative space, conspicuous in its absence kinds of messages when I looked back at the broad swath of cards that have shown up in the past year, a couple of patterns emerge. Early in the year, there was a preponderance of Pentacle cards, with their earthy, practical, pragmatic advice. The message was to not judge ourselves too harshly as we did what needed done during the early days of the covid pandemic. If it took pajama days and pandemic snacks to cope, so be it. If it took nuts-and-bolts, one foot in front of the other suiting up and masking up and putting food on the shelves….well, let’s just say the rest of us are very grateful. Then things shifted. Later in the Summer and Fall Cups cards stepped forward with a shift toward the intuitive and the spiritual. Wheels and worlds, Towers and Magicians, even the Devil card (Shadow Side in the Witches Tarot deck) put in an appearance.
But no Death card.
At least not in any prominent, repeating, attention-getting way. Given the profound tragedy the pandemic has brought and continues to bring, it is a wonder that the card didn’t show up every other day. With so many lost, this year has brought profound and permanent change to so, so many families.
Early in the year, there was a lot of zeitgiest, general-culture, general-society energies. If we look at the Death card from that perspective, then its absence makes more sense. Not intending to be callous toward the worst that has happened, if we remove tragedy from the card (as is its actual use and meaning….we all know the card actually isn’t a harbinger of literal death)
The Death card is about permanent change. When permenant change is conspicuously absent, maybe the big scary change isn’t so permenant on a large scale cultural level.
We’ll never regain and never forget those who were lost. There may be permanent scars from all of this. But in the end, in the very very long run, life just might get back to OK.
The Seven of Wands specifically is associated with effort, challenge, sometimes conflict. When you combine that with the wands’ suit meaning of your relationship with yourself (the element of fire, inner passions, philosophy, spirituality, etc.) It brings mental challenge to mind.
It may have to do with setting healthy boundaries, protecting your inner world and mental health from unhealthy connections. That is work, but it is worth the effort.
It may have to do using planning and strategy to overcome a challenge. Working smarter, not harder, is always worth the mental effort.
There is an element of success, or being on the path to success, over conflicts and challenges even though effort is required to achieve that success. On of my favorite interpretations comes from Ellen Dugan who adds overcoming conflict with “Style, wit and humor” to the mix. That always brings characters like Han Solo from Star Wars, Captain Mal from Firefly or Deadpool from Marvel comics to mind for me. Thom Pham dials in to this same energy when he portrays the Seven of Wands with Obyron, the bon vivant warrior in Game of Thrones. So the advice here would be to keep your sense of humor and meet challenges with your own flourish. That will be worth the effort in how it helps to keep your stress levels down if nothing else. Laughter is good medicine.
Wishing you a day of style, humor and overcoming any obstacles that comes your way.
Here in the U.S., literally at the exact time as the election results were being announced in favor of President-elect Biden, Trump’s lawyers held an inept and thoroughly mocked press conference at “Four Seasons Total Landscaping” a lovely garden supply place nestled between an adult bookstore and a crematorium. Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up. Internet hilarity has, of course, ensued. As a result I can hardly look at the word “seasons” and keep a straight face. The “Seasons of the Year” layout name had to go. I offered to give a reading to the person who could come up with the best new name for it. Know how many people participated? None. Zero. Nobody.
*sips hot cup of schadenfreude*
I’m over it.
Not the laughing at the fall of the worst administration in U.S. history part. THAT is actually pretty entertaining. I’m over finding some cutesy-pants name for the layout. “Year Ahead” says what it is. Clear, straightforward, it works. I’m also over trying to “market” what I do here. I am a wise, skilled, experienced psychic. I’m here if you need me. I’ve done my part: Made my presence known, put things in order, and put a candle in the window metaphorically speaking. The sign on the cyber-door says open.
Beyond that, I can take a hint. None of the promotions have ever really connected with people. It feels like all the giveaways and special offers come from a place of fear and worry. I like to imagine I had a chat about the whole marketing thing with my fictional, snarky, dgaf alter-ego, Zombie Cat.
We’re both over it.
It’s just not the right vibe for this place. TaoCraft is about authenticity, simplicity, honesty, compassion – all the treasures that a Taoist influence has to offer. All of the layouts are now available all of the time, including Zombie Cat’s yes/no. The prices are as low as I can afford to make them – all of the time. It’s a fearless, solid, steady, and reliable energy. Really good Tarot needs that kind of environment.
Tarot is a respite in an emotional storm. Tarot is a light bulb over your head just when you thought you were all out of ideas. You can’t build those things out of solicitous, cutesy-pants, attention seeking energies.
If you want real, genuine, honest, skilled, experienced…and yes, affordable…Tarot guidance, I’m here for you. Normal pants and all.
Distance Tarot including the Year Ahead and Zombie Cat’s yes/no layout is available for order anytime, no appointment needed on the HOME PAGE
It’s way easier said than done.
It is true that we are time lords in a sense, creating meaning and holidays at will. People created holidays in the first place, so we have the power to change them at will and then change them right back if we choose to do so.
Easy enough.
The hard part is the emotions, the pain of separation, the homesickness. Nurturing, closeness, being with those we love is a deep, primal need. It’s no wonder that language ties separation to physical illness; homesick, heartache. We can celebrate any darn holiday on any darn day in any darn way we want. It is, however, really hard to feel celebratory when the people are out of place.
Which is why people traveling and gathering at Thanksgiving last week in spite of the warnings and covid dangers is a tragedy in the making.
I understand what might drive people to do it. Heartache, homesickness, loneliness and separation are powerful motivators. I get it. I feel it when certain songs trigger certain associations with past events…we’ve all been there one way or another. We would do anything for one more holiday, one more moment with a loved one.
Why would you put something so precious so at risk when a small shift in perception and a shifting a man-made habit now could preserve the future? Time lords see bigger pictures and far beyond instant gratification.
I understand the need to be with loved ones and the pain of being separated from them at holidays, but at the same time I would undergo any exile in order to keep them safe and healthy. The only thing that takes precedence over the consuming desire to be with them is the desire to protect and care for them.
It’s hard, but you can celebrate your chosen holidays any damn time you want, twice if you take a notion. Celebrate all the way from Thanksgiving to Groundhog Day if you want to. You can bring celebration to any day you want. You can’t bring back the dead. The worst may still happen, but wouldn’t you want to know you did all that you could to prevent it?
The world card is a great comfort in these kinds of times. It shows us the bigger picture in terms of space in addition to time. It gives us that wider perspective we need in times like this. All of the cosmos is connected. As long as your loved ones are in the World, we are together for the holidays. Keep them them safe, keep them here. Stay here with us. Be safe. Be well. Take a look at the big picture, and take your place in that wider world. Time and space can’t take the togetherness from you when the whole wold is one place in a connected cosmos.
I hope you all had a good week. I don’t know about you, but I’m still on turkey overload and enjoying the start of elfcon season. I don’t know why but it seems easier this year. I’m probably massively forgetting something. But with what I am remembering, the YouTube channel will definitely only post once, maybe twice a week, but hopefully the blog will be a bit more active. That I can do in between batches of cookies.
Left: Queen of Swords. Swords are intellect, and queens are nurturing leaders. Think. Help but help smart. Triage and mind your resources. It reminds me of something I once read about UNICEF. They are a good way to help because they have infrastructure in place, and know what is truly USEABLE in an area. If the help doesn’t match the need, you are either throwing paper towels at a flood or donating a high end laptop to a village that doesn’t have electricity. Don’t let ego or impulse trip up your naturally generous nature or helping impulse. I read a Tweet recently that has a valid point: before you send a donation to a senate race in another state, donate food to you local food bank. Supporting good public policy is critical to do long term good, but a meal for a hungry child in your own town is a much more urgent need. In short, put your efforts and energies where they are truly most needed, not necessarily where your first impulse goes, no matter how well intentioned that impulse might be.
Center: Three of Cups. Here’s that Richard Bach quote I was telling you about in the video. “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.” This is a good time to celebrate the non-genetic family that means the most to you. They are pure gold in times when families of blood can’t (or choose not to for their own good) be together.
Right: Ace of Cups. Inspiration. This card comes with the mental image of a coin being dropped in a cup. Inspiration comes, it can’t always be sought after. Sleep on it. Put a problem aside just for a minute if you can. The something-else that you do, the other -thing that you think about just might inspire the answer you were seeking in the first place. Creativity has to do with connecting disparate dots as much single minded focus.
Happy week everyone!
Emperor Tarot, magic spells and Time Lords
The idea of time niggles at me when it gets close to a new year. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Doctor Who. Consider this if you will: Time is arbitrary and a portion of time is as much under our control as it is for the fictional Gallifreyans.
Actually, not time itself, but rather the way we name and talk about time is arbitrary. This present moment is the one time under our control.
Right now for me it is a Friday night in November 2020. Cool. Gregorian is good. According to the Julian calendar, it’s something like two weeks ago. 2020 a crazy year? No problem – just call it 5780 as it is on the Hebrew calendar. Let’s hear it for 2563 B.E.!
“Time has no meanings except the ones we give.”
I honestly don’t remember if that is something I read, saw on a poster somewhere, or if is from one of the poems I chucked out in the final edit of Triquitera – but it captures the niggly idea about the arbitrary side of time. Take Thanksgiving, for example. It’s less the day than it is the things we DO. No doubt holidays are deeply tied to the time of year in their aesthetic and energy. I suspect it comes from a time when we celebrated the natural seasons rather than cultural or religious things. Thanksgiving is, essentially, a harvest festival. Regardless of season, couldn’t any gathering with family to enjoy a special meal be Thanksgiving? If you can’t celebrate on the exact day you usually celebrate, would it be any less meaningful if you did the exact same things with the exact same people a week later? Or months later?
Have you caught where this is going yet? Yes, I’m looking at you bare faced germ bags that value your individual fleeting entertainment over human life. Cultural events and social stuff change all the time. It won’t kill you to stay home, wear a mask and celebrate differently this year – but catching a potentially lethal contagious illness just might. Or kill someone you love. Or kill someone that someone else loves. If you put your “freedom to celebrate the holidays” over life and love, then you are a slave to present moment, not a master of it.
With the slightest effort we can all be Time Lords.
We are the ones to place meaning on time…we are powerful enough to observe and celebrate whatever thing at whatever time we choose, either individually or collectively. Thanksgiving or Christmas or what-have-you can happen any day or time that we say it happens. That’s exactly how it all started. Thanksgiving happens on the fourth Thursday in November in the U.S because the 1941 congress said so. Or it is celebrated the second Monday in October because Canada said so. Christmas is the 25th of December NOT because of anyone’s actual birthday, but because Emperor Constantine ordered it – probably as a tactic in archaic culture wars.
Holidays and traditions derive their meaning from the intense personal emotions and connections we place on them. If we give holidays their power, then we have the power to assign when and how they happen. If by necessity, the time and manner of celebrating a holiday has to change for the sake of human life, so be it. We have the power to change it. We have the raw power to imbue any time, any place and any activity with all the love, all the emotion, and all the meaning of a holiday. We have the power to help each other through the normal, natural feelings and disappointments that come in times of change and uncertainty. And we have the power to change it all right back again when the crisis is over. We can dominate time through compassion and adaptation. We can take time itself in our stride if only we have just the tiniest bit of the compassionate, protective strength that the Emperor card teaches.
Or, if you prefer, the lesson the Grinch teaches. Even if a green furry dude take all the stuff, the holiday still happens. Even if one year out of your life is different, the holiday still happens because your intention makes it so. Holidays happen inside of you, not out in the world in the best of times. If you give the day meaning, if you suffuse any time with emotion, meaning and commemoration, then that holiday – that time – is yours.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating next week. For the holidays, remember the classic TV specials: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Charlie Brown and friends shows us that Thanksgiving can happen with any food, with any one (or alone.) Just like Whoville after the Grinch stole all the STUFF, the time, the holidays still come. Maybe next year we can better appreciate how the holidays always are for those who can’t gather with friends or family for whatever other non-pandemic reason every other year. Home is where the heart is. Home is where you hang your hat. This year, home is where you nose is …or it should be. The day will come and go with precisely the energy and import that you give it. If you give it bitterness and resentment because you have to change your usual plans in order to keep the people you love alive…then that is just what you will get – a day of bitterness and resentment. If you give the day the same good will and cheer that you always do, then you get a day of celebration regardless of circumstances. It’s about the people, not the circumstance. In this oddest of years, the best way to show love for the people you card about is to keep your nose, and any germs that might be lurking in it, home where you live.
Left: Six of Swords. Go with the flow. Obstacles are more perceived than actual, which goes right along with the rant about Thanksgiving. The art on the card tells the whole story of this energy and advice from the card. From the seated figure’s point of view, the swords are looming, perhaps intimidating obstacles, blocking the view at the very least. But the standing, rowing figure can see that their canoe is in wide open water, able to go in any direction, clear sailing and smooth water all the way to the distant shore. How good or bad this week is all depends on your perspective, and your willingness to look, steer, ride with the water’s flow.
Center: Queen of Pentacles. “Hearth and home” comes to mind. Since everyone and their nose will be home, do what you can to make the here and now, the home where we are, all just as comfy as possible. Make a round of hot cocoa for everyone. Pop a little popcorn, and set as much of a lighthearted tone as you can. If you just aren’t feeling it, that is ok. Honor the mood. Drawing from the Charlie Brown cartoon – be Snoopy. Use whatever is at hand to make as much relaxation and fun for everyone in your current bubblespace AND for yourself.
Right: Three of Swords. This is much of a watch-your-back card as the minor arcana has to offer. Watch out for pettiness, politics, family squabbles. This isn’t to the level of the Devil card, by any means. But look at it this way – if we all shelter at home, we are also sheltered from toxic disagreements and toxic energies whe might otherwise tolerate for the sake of the holiday. Don’t let them drag you down. Distance is a help for that in any year.
Wishing you all the very best of the season. Not sure how this coming week is going to go schedule-wise. I’m OPEN for the season for email readings. Being at home just us is pretty normal, so I don’t see any delays changes because of the holiday. It IS still that elfcon time of year, so I’m not sure what will happen with the socials and YouTube channel.
Don’t forget to comment with your ideas for naming the “Year Ahead” layout. The winning name will be announced Dec. 1. The best name suggestion gets a reading by email. Insert all disclaimers here.
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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