Category: Tarot Cards

Tarot readings and card discussions

Sit down!

Another way to understand reversed (upside down) cards in a Tarot reading.

I don’t know who enjoyed the cartoons more, my daughter or me.

Kids in the early 2000s had way better shows to watch than we did. But then, I’m old and decrepit and had to wait for Saturday to watch them. Still, Spongebob and Jimmy Neutron rocked.

One of the funnier bits in Jimmy Neutron was when Jimmy and Cindy used double negatives to get the teacher to give them permission to leave the classroom. When Carl tried to use some sort of complicated quadruple negative, all he got from Mrs. Fowl was a loud “Sit Down, Carl!”

Sometimes reversed Tarot cards are like Carl’s double negative attempt and they need to sit down.

Energy flows like a river. Tarot can point out where the current flows most freely…and where there are rocks in the way. Sometimes there are whirlpools and eddies and quiet pools. Reversed cards can make things go in circles if you get too tied up in them. There is a general notion that if a card turns over upside down (relative to the person doing the reading) its meaning is also reversed, presumably flipping the card from positive to negative connotations. Sometimes a reversed card is generally felt to be a negative omen, regardless of the specific card or meaning.

If the card points to the dark side of life in the first place?

If the reversed bad card is turned into a good card, why not just throw down a good card in the first place? Isn’t there more to it than that? Doesn’t that rob the reversal of any meaning? So what if it does?

Reversed cards can be difficult for beginner readers, exactly because of these swirls of energy (and questions) and the double negative style of communication. This is why I tend to tell reversed cards to sit down.

Double negative communication and any difficulty with reversed cards begins from a place of absolutes. The root mistake is to think a card has a fixed positive or negative connotation in the first place.

My method for dealing with reversed card is to view it as neutral regardless of orientation on the table. Take today’s card, the Hanged Man as an example. Let’s give it the ‘stagnation’ meaning today. For someone who has been harried and hurried and pushed, a time of being “stuck” might be a gift of enforced rest just when it is most needed. For someone who is rested and ready to move, “stuck” is a source of enormous frustration. To the first person, if the hanged man is read as meaning lots of new starts and forward momentum, which indeed could be negative and stressful for someone already too much on the move. For the second person, reversed hanged man and the connotation of forward movement is good news, not one bit negative in any way. The card and its message is neutral, not matter how it falls on the table or which side of its nature steps forward. The good or bad, positive or negative is assigned in context by the sitter (Sitter or seeker means the person getting the reading. When you read for yourself, reader and sitter are the same person.)

By beginning from a position of neutrality about the base card meaning, allowing the client to make any ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ judgement about how the card’s message applies to them. It makes it easier to read a reversal: take whatever meaning steps forward to you. If it is reversed, that simply means that the idea, life lesson or energy movement is blocked or challenged in some way, like a whirlpool outside of the river’s primary flow.

Or, it may mean nothing other than random chance in a deck that has been used and shuffled.

Let your intuition be your guide. If no intuition steps forward, then default to method. In this case, make the base card neutral in good vs bad, consider all the possible meanings for the card, and take the reversal to mean slowed or challenged energy surrounding whatever the card is addressing.

Class dismissed. You can stop sitting down now, Carl.

TimeFlow: Tarot To Get Organized

I’ve been thinking about it on my way down the hallway.

I really don’t have much else to say. Usually the post-companion videos don’t keep me talking this much. For once, I don’t have much to add. I’m sure I could have said much of this more artfully, but you already know I’m a better writer than a yootoober.

I’m a little stuck on that intuitive reference to that scene in the Indiana Jones Movie. Normally it is fun and cool when energy & intuition uses the common language of movies and music. Nerves are on edge, and the general energies locally (eastern United States) are still ringing in resonance with the insurgency at the Capital. That might just be me, not every sensitive or empath. I grew up near-ish to Washington D.C. The vast majority of our TV and radio was from there. We have good friends who live there. Thanks to AP civics in high school I’m the designated politics nerd at our house and still feel a little dialed into the place. The violent shoot-the-annoying-sword-guy scene is a giggle in context, and does demonstrate the calm of strength vs the vulnerability of showboating (come to think of it, maybe something Samurai would have been better, I dunno)…but with the funky mojo out there any hint of violence, even intuitive movie references, is setting of other red lights and sirens. This has roots in the day after the election somehow. Gaaackkkk…the energy that day was just so freaking toxic, and that’s when the maga(t)s thought they’s won. *shudder*

Stay strong. Stay safe. Protect your aura and energy.

And still wear your mask, keep your distance and wash your dang hands for like, the next year, even with the vaccine.

Ask Zombie Cat: Book Smarts

Q: “When will my son ever develop a love of reading?”

A: In the list of things Tarot sucks at, medical / pregnancy questions may be #1, but answering “when” questions is a solid #2 (the double entendre there is accidental, but not wrong ) Using Tarot to answer medical or “when” questions is like asking “What time is it?” and having someone answer with “Blue! Applesauce! Yahtzee!” There isn’t anything evil or wrong about it, it’s just not particularly helpful.

In this case, a tumble of logical questions are getting in the way of intuition, so let’s get them out of the way first. How old is you little one now? If he is young, and reading is still a very new skill, maybe he needs a little time to get good at the skill of reading before he can appreciate the fun of it. Wondering when he will love reading might be like asking when you will love a new skill that that you were forced into learning. For example, what if you were suddenly forced to learn integral calculus for your job? So when are you going to learn to love esoteric mathematics? It is easy to love the things that come easily to you, but things that are hard to do are harder to love. If you suspect reading is extra difficult for him or his learning isn’t on par with his age and development, then talking with his teacher might be the best place to start. It might be jumping the gun to worry about loving reading unless you already know there are no problems with learning reading, like dyslexia or what have you, getting in the way.

Let the record show this is NOT my area of expertise. We cats never read much until sitting on computers became a thing. Turning pages is a pain in the tail when you don’t have opposable thumbs. But if all is well on the learning front, it begs another question. Intuitively I hear “what has he seen?” I’m guessing your question means you are a book lover. Have you had a chance to read when he is around? Has he ever seen you read and love it? Have you read to him and enjoyed it? Leading by example, if you haven’t already, might help. I have to admit I’m a Kindle junkie, but a young one might equate reading on a device with other screen time rather than an actual book. Maybe indulge in some of your favorite old school books and magazines. It is a visual vocabulary to go with the idea. That would do two things. First it would be nonverbal connection with the concept of reading a BOOK, not just generic screen time. Second it would be an energy vibe. If you are reading something you yourself genuinely love, the love + book vibe will be there for him to sense, even on a subconscious level.

Speaking of the ‘loving it’ vibe, is there any topic he is already head over heels for? Dinosaurs, astronauts, cowboys, trains, cars, computers, needlepoint, advanced nuclear chemistry or anything at all? Whatever his interests already are outside of reading, put books in his hands about that thing, whatever it is. If he’s crazy for dinosaurs, give him dinosaur books, even if they are only picture books. If he wants to be a chef when he grows up, give him a kid’s cook written on his current reading level. If he likes wizards, prep him for Harry Potter days to come Then you are very literally connecting books and love. The hooman’s kitten comes to mind. She has always like music and songs. So they gave her loads of rhythmic, sing-songy books like Dr. Suess and Sandra Boyton. Now that she’s all grown up, she loves to read and she’s a music therapist. It is a two for one offer! I’m not sponsored or paid anything, but I’ve heard the hooman talk about scholastic.com as a good resource for kid’s books ideas.

When I drew a card, I got Strength, which might emphasize that idea of playing to his existing strengths (e.g. audio books if he has visual learning issues or loading him up with books about things he already loves.) It might also mean that not everyone loves reading but they still turn out to be strong, successful people.

Or it could mean YAHTZEE!

All best wishes to everyone, especially your little reader in potentia

Z.C.

What the actual….

Whelp. I guess that tornadoes fading image hasn’t started to fade yet. So what say you my sensitives? What is your read on the funky mojo energy here in the U.S. after yesterday’s armed insurrection at the capital and continuing political frakus? Both logic and intuition say this is it – buckle up for the end game. THEN we can crawl out of the wreakage, survey the damage and begin the beginning of the very early phases of clean up.

I can’t think of a card that captures any meaning or guidance for anything like this, except maybe…

Top image via bitmoji free app, Devil card image from the public domain

Timeflow Layout

created with Picsart app

Tarot isn’t about predicting the always changing future. Tarot is about navigating and adapting to the future. Tarot doesn’t tell you what is going to happen in life, it helps you figure out what to do when life happens.

2021 is HERE. Now what?

Everyone and a monkey’s uncle are all making resolutions, breaking resolutions, swearing off things, going on diets, declaring their word for the year. I have questions.

How does a resolution fit into the big picture, connected everything in life? Is it a temporary goal or a permanent lifestyle change? Why do something new for the new year at all? What if you aren’t organized enough to drum up even a poorly thought out hot take new year resolution? Do these start-of-year resolutions really fail, do we really give up on them, or is it really just a sign of adapting to evolving circumstances? What if….seriously….what if resolutions don’t last long because they weren’t the right resolution to make or just weren’t needed in the first place?

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems to me it is less about the details of the resolution itself, and more about the process that the new year milestone triggers: evaluate -> adapt -> execute. Resolutions might just be a little frivolous fun and a new year tradition of sorts. That’s cool. If that’s the case, then it is no big deal when they don’t work.

But if you make a serious resolution, it’s because you’ve identified something to change. It might be a problem to fix. It might be a goal to work toward. It might be a consequence to avoid. Whatever the specifics may be, the bottom line is you have evaluated the situation and found something you want to change.

A martial arts teacher once said that if you keep doing what you are doing you will keep getting what you are getting. If you evaluate things and like them and want to keep them…cool. Just keep up what you are doing. If you take that look, and find something to fix, change is necessary. You have to adapt what you are doing to go in a new direction.

Easy right? I don’t think so. I’ve never found it to be that easy. Humans are pretty complex creatures. No one change is all it takes. It is a process, and we usually are juggling several processes at once. It isn’t about just a one-off resolution one time in a year. Solving problems and improving life is a multi-step process. Along with evaluate, adjust and execute, sometimes you have to throw prioritize into the mix too. That’s where the “TimeFlow” reading can help.

In general, Tarot is broad and intuitive, which allows it to be holistic. It can help you see which area needs attention, and where to focus your energies. This layout helps put things into first things first order. Not to get all yin/yang and such again, but it is a balance. Tarot, like life, is big picture and holistic but this particular layout helps you see the smaller, more manageable steps within that whole. It helps you find both the one resolution and see the whole process, both. It is helpful any time of year, or multiple times per year. Or at least I’ve found the structure useful. I hope you will too.

The TimeFlow layout has 4 cards:

Let It Rest: A watched pot never boils as the old adage goes. Some of the best food has simmered in a slow cooker all day. Good things can take time. This card symbolizes an area of life that needs some time to simmer, time to develop, maybe a little time left to it’s own devices. This card let’s you know when something needs less time and attention from you, and is often a validation that it is OK to back-burner an area of life and come back to it later. It shows where you have put too much time and energy unnecessarily.

Let It Go: The key word here is GO. This is a spring house cleaning sort of card. This hints at something that can be taken to the curb next trash day. It might be something minor (throw out those dead batteries in that one drawer) or it might be major (no, your ex isn’t coming back, so move on) but either way it is a clue to disengage your attention and energy. It shows where you may have been wasting time, energy and emotion.

Que It Up: Timing, they say is everything. I have no idea where the adage came from or what it is originally about, but in this context it is about energy flow. Sometimes the wind is at your back and things flow easily. Other times you are fighting the currents, stuck, stagnant and going nowhere. This may be something that was rested in a previous reading. This may be something where, as another adage says, the tides are turning. This is an idea or action whose time has not yet come, but is worth investing some time and attention because soon the flow and tide will be right. Or if you are more baseball minded – this is the energy and idea that is in the on-deck circle. Don’t let it rest totally, but get ready, but this thing’s time is coming.

Let It Roll: This is a clue where the energies are flowing. This is the thing whose time has come. This card is a hint at the priority issue where your most focus attention and energy is most needed.

When I do these readings, it has the same general pattern opening and intuitive summary closing as all the other layouts, to general intuitive impressions, crystal energy and/or aromatherapy suggestions to come through.

If you would be interested in trying this layout, it is available on the home page HERE for $20 with secure PayPal checkout. For fastest service, please use the “contact merchant” button or send an email to taocrafttarot@gmail.com with any topic, question or request an open reading.

Today’s Tarot: No Grinchy Grudge

Connect to the life inside a task, connect to the fun and joy of a thing and it becomes easy. Begrudging what you do for others adds a ton of weight. Whatever you may do for others, there is something somewhere for. Cook a meal and you get something to eat too. Arrange a game for the kids, and you get to play too…or a moment to take deep breath while they do. “Either way, what bliss!”

YouChoose Interactive Tarot: Merry Happy Everything

Happy Merry Everything!

If the worlds belief systems were Venn diagrams, there would be a lot of overlap this time of year. Light overcoming darkness, the triumph of human spirit over adversity, days literally becoming longer are core themes within every solstice season celebration. As I see it, that is where attention and energy and celebration are best focused – on the shared, universal, deep, primal underlying humanity of it all. Although you won’t see me turning down any mulled wine or Christmas cookies regardless of the reason they were made. It makes happy to know the fixins for some soft gingerbread cookies are waiting in the kitchen. And yes, the lights are lit on the tree even though it is broad daylight just because.

Not much by way of announcements. Email readings are open for the holidays. Order anytime 24/7. Am also working on some “Mindful Moments” bracelets to photograph and list in the shop

Before we get to this week’s cards, Happiest Holidays to everyone, everywhere. Wishing you health, safety and prosperity at the solstice and all the year.

Left: Page of Cups. One of my favorite cards 🙂 Traditionally, the fish in the cup is said to represent the mysteries of the deep soul and psyche. I like the playful happy quality the artwork takes on with the Witches Tarot, used here. Mark Evans’ artwork is far and away some of my favorite. The Pamela Smith artwork gives the card a sort of conversational quality. When you think about it, having conversation with a fish in a cup is a little bit absurd. Roll with it. See the humor. A spoonful of humor brings out the light in almost any situation. If you can’t see beyond the mystery or the misery of a situation, maybe find the humor in it if you can instead.

Center: King of Pentacles. Any day above ground is a good one, any little thing is a win. Have toilet paper? Win! Scraped together dinner? Win! Found a moment for a cup of coffee (or a beer, or whisky) Win! Things held together with bubble gum and baling twine are, nevertheless, together. Make the most of what you have on hand then lead your merry band of misfits (a bit of Robin Hood energy here) into a place of celebrating and enjoying whatever-it-is that you have. If you are the one who popped the top off of the can of spam, you still are founder of the feast and qualify to enjoy the moment as much as anyone. Whether other people follow your lead or not, whether there is another living soul around or not, make the most of what you have and enjoy the celebration. Make merry in your heart, just like that big old red clad ghost of Christmas present in that version of “A Christmas Carol” that always seems to be on TV this time of year. Cheers to you!

Right: The High Priest. This is one of the major arcana cards I tend to wrangle with a bit. And it is one of the other reasons I like this deck so much. The Marseille deck among others calls this the Pope, which makes sense given the Catholic church’s dominance in the countries where Tarot first evolved, Italy and France. Pamela Smith’s classic artwork for the card fuels that specific religious association and imagery despite using the more general term Hierophant (defined by Oxford Languages as “a person, especially a priest in ancient Greece, who interprets sacred mysteries or esoteric principles.”) The name High Priest is, in my opinion, much more in keeping with the Hierophant name and the intent of the card. I’m going on about the hair splitting semantics because it makes a point about the cards energy for the week.

Vesak, Hannuka, Diwali have all happened recently. Today is the winter solstice and Yule. Secular and religious Christmas, Festivus, and the start of Kwanzaa are coming up this week. Sure, it’s never good to slavishly follow traditions if they have become detrimental. There is something laudible about making up your own, or bending old traditions to suit new beliefs and circumstances. By the same token, there is no reason to discard old established traditions if they are harmless, meaningful or a comfort. If there is any little tradition that makes you feel comforted or happy then yes, if at all possible, indulge. In the middle of chaos and crazy is precisely where repetition and tradition does the most good.

Whatever your Holiday, wherever and whenever you celebrate – or don’t – I wish you a safe and happy week. Merry Happy Everything!