Inspired by charm casting (a kind of psychic reading) a post by Crystal Vaults (my favorite online crystal reference – great service when I’ve purchased from them too) and the new Rune Cards of Mannez by Thom Pham, the creator of one of my favorite Tarot decks, I’ve created a new and unique reading that combines a psychic reading with crystal casting and rune stones.
With each reading, I take a random handful of crystals and runestones from a drawstring pouch I’ve dedicated just for these readings. Then I scatter or ‘cast’ them on the velvet Tarot reading cloth that you all know from your Tarot readings and social media posts.
From there it is just like a Tarot reading but minus the traditional card meanings. It is pure intuition with a little nudge from the rune keywords.
The reading comes to you as an email attachment, with a photo of your crystals and stones, a link to a private share video of the casting itself, and a written interpretation (think of that as a transcript of me talking to you)
Available during November 2022 at the introductory price of $1, the price will be $5 starting 12-1-2022
The latest members-only “Tarot Turnover” post is up.
In these weekly learn-tarot, intuition building practice cards, we turn things around from the weekday Short Sip posts that everyone can see here on the main blog. I post the card and some classic key words to go with it. Then I sip my coffee and let you read the card BUT I’m always available on ko-fi (or through the email over there in the right column ->
(psst…you can enter your email to follow this free blog while you are over there)
There are two membership tiers who can access the Turnover posts
The Tarot Table memberships are $5 per month and include a monthly Pathway 3 card Tarot reading on the ko-fi members only blog, monthly newsletter (in a slow month this sometimes combines with the Sunday Turnover posts) AND the weekly “Tarot Turnover” for learn-to-read-Tarot practice cards, behind the scenes reading tips AND I’m available to coach you through your weekly one card you have about your interaction with the weekly card
Well, actually, I’m here for any Tarot questions from anybody … just be warned that any questions asked outside of paid private readings or paid memberships are treated as a public question will be answered in the main blog. Your courage in asking the question might just help someone else.
The Patron of the Tarot Arts is $8 per month and includes all of the same features as the Tarot Table members plus one private email one card reading upon request per calendar month. You can ask for one reading each month, but I only send it when you ask for it. I never, ever approach anyone about doing a reading for them. It’s creepy and spammy and intrusive – my advice is to never trust anyone who contacts you individually saying they “feel connected” or “feel drawn” or “feel led by spirit” to give you a reading.
Offering readings up to whoever wants one is one thing. It’s general advertising just like every other business on the face of the earth does. Targeting individuals is something else entirely, I consider it unethical and will never ever ever do that to you.
Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on Ko-fi.com where your purchases, memberships and virtual coffees all support the creation of this free blog and its free audio edition (podcast)
Thank you!
*image: J. W. Waterhouse The Sorceress (excerpt) 1915, public domain
when there is never no hope, that means there always is.
There is never no hope means that there always is.
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.
To my way of thinking, the eight of swords is one of those cards with dire looking art, but a bright kernel of courage and perseverance held within it. Just like the yin yang, deep inside anything is the seed of its opposite.
The 8 of swords could be seen as hopeless. The figure is bound, surrounded by swords. As long as time still flows, there is hope. Ropes may loosen, swords fall. Gaps can be found with slow, deliberate, careful, small movements.
This eight of swords card is from the alleyman’s tarot deck by seven dane asmund, used with the author and Publishing Goblin permission. Card art by Liz Mamot.
Swords denote both intellect and action. They also connect with the element of air which can find the smallest spaces and flow between obstacles. When the eight of swords shows up it is your cue to act but thoughtfully. Use out of the box thinking and creative problem solving. Flow and adapt like an autumn breeze. Move, but gently. As long as time still flows there is something to do, even if it is to wait for your opportunity.
Thank you so much for listening. The podcast music is “Daylight is not for Owls” by Owltree, used under a attribution noncommercial nonderivative creative commons license.
The blog and podcast are not monetized. That means that your Tarot message comes first, but it relies on audience support. Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi where your purchases, memberships and virtual coffees all support this unique and free to access Tarot Content.
Links are in the episode description for podcast listeners.
A good Tarot reading begins before anyone touches a card. How do you find a psychic that you can trust?
The best place to start is at the beginning. Or in this case, before the beginning.
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.
Picking up where we left off in the Real Talk Rewind blog post and in honor of the Halloween anniversary of re-branding my old Tarot work into TaoCraft Tarot, I’m re-introducing the whole story start to finish. On one hand this is the part of online work that feels egotistical and weird. Self-promotion is very icky feeling and I can totally see why there are old school superstitions about money and spirituality. On the other hand, the cure for the ickiness is communication and the cure for superstition is rigorous professionalism and full transparency. That’s why I do all of this “a rose by any other name” writing around this time of year.
I am grateful for the opportunity to do Tarot work, and the TaoCraft name and content is the most authentic expression of what it’s all about. But I’ll get back to that later. In fact, I’ll get back to all of that in the ebook I’m still trying to put together, TaoCraft: Portfolio.
If the place to begin is the beginning, let’s begin the story of TaoCraft Tarot BEFORE the beginning. The real beginning of the beginning is when you decide that you want to get a reading.
That is exactly where Portfolio begins too.
Once you have decided that you want a reading, how do you find a psychic that you can trust to do the reading? This is about that step in the process. This is about finding the right person to work with you on that reading you just decided to get. That is where Portfolio comes in. It is written to give some context and background to Tarot in general and my readings in particular so that you can see in detail if TaoCraft Tarot is the right place for you.
This ebook excerpt has a permanent page on the website, and I’ve posted it in the blog before. Here it is again as a beginning before the beginning of any reading we do together, including the collective energy, broad audience Short Sip blog posts and podcast episodes. What follows is an excerpt chapter fromthe upcoming ebook TaoCraft: Portfolio.
The Tao of Finding a Psychic
There aren’t many spiritual portfolios around. So how do you know who is the right psychic for you? How do you avoid scams and know who to trust?
The first step, of course, is to follow your own instincts.
Right away, that sounds like a bunch of double talk. If using your instincts was the answer, then you wouldn’t need to consult a psychic in the first place.
I believe that we all possess good intuition, but sometimes it helps to have another point of view. Two heads really can be better than one. It takes two separate eyes for us to physically see depth and distance. Two points of view can give depth and distance to our ideas, too. Even professional readers consult with other psychics sometimes. Tarot cards and professional psychics are amplifiers for your intuition, not a substitute for it. It’s said that spirit speaks in whispers. We professionals serve to translate spirit’s whispers into louder language that you can actually use.
Most people wouldn’t hesitate to ask friends, family or neighbors for a recommendation if they need a plumber or a mechanic or a hair stylist. Why should this be any different? I wouldn’t suggest asking your super religious granny if she knows a good psychic, but asking like-minded people is a pretty reliable way to find a good reader. Word of mouth is often the only way to find some of the best psychics . If you already know a psychic that you like and trust, recommending them is a wonderful way to support their work.
Without a personal recommendation, you might have to dig a little; read ads, visit websites, ask at small local bookstores or holistic health shops. Those of us on this side of the reading table are a little underground for all the same reasons that you need to be on guard. We still have to protect ourselves and our families from cultural and religious bigotry, even in 21st century America. We have to protect ourselves from the reputation scammers and con artists have brought to psychic services. We have to protect ourselves from people trying to scam us. We have to deal with all the same pitfalls that you do. Wariness on both sides can make it hard for sincere psychics and well meaning clients to connect with each other.
When you get a recommendation or find an ad that catches your attention, don’t be shy. Talk to the person. Text, email or call, but the trick here is to ask calm reasonable questions. Don’t suddenly pour out your heart to a stranger or interrogate them as if they had already done something criminal. Instead, ask them about practical things, like scheduling, location, hours, prices, accepted forms of payment and so on.
It is often easier to get a feel for the person’s personality and ethics from this kind of bland conversation than any other way. Questions like these are safe, neutral ground for both of you. Working psychics want to protect everyone’s privacy and comfort level. If you are just a little bit friendly, you’ll find that a trustworthy psychic will meet you more than half way. If they treat mundane business questions with professionalism and kindness, chances are they will treat your reading the same way. If they seem like they are hiding something, making a hard core sales pitch or it all just seems way too good to be true, then by all means pay attention to those feelings. It’s ok to talk to several people before you commit to an appointment.
Once you’ve talked to people or browsed the ads, if it feels right and you can afford it – try a session. If it is a good match, you’ll know right away. A Tarot reading should never make you feel judged or uncomfortable. If that first session isn’t a good experience, simply try again with someone else. Personality and style are important factors in finding the right psychic for you. Some people enjoy a little glam and drama. Others prefer a relaxed, cookies-at-the-kitchen table vibe. A mismatch in style or personality doesn’t mean that the reader did anything wrong. Neither did you. You should never take it personally or be made to feel that a bad session was your fault for “not believing” or any such nonsense.
Of course, always use plenty of common sense to steer clear of the many scams that do exist. So-called psychics who promise to fix your love life, cure anything, give 100% accurate predictions, or demand regular appointments should be approached with caution. Or better still, not approached at all. I’ve met a lot of excellent psychics and Tarot readers over the past 30 years. None of them, not a single one, ever offers a reading out of the blue to a stranger. Never. Advertising, special offers, or giveaways to the general public are normal business practices. Targeting an individual in the guise of “feeling a connection” or being “led by spirit” to do a reading for them is on par with spam bots and email phishing – or worse.
Thanks to the Internet, no matter where you live, you can get affordable, expert Tarot readings. The extrasensory, intuitive, psychic part of a reading comes from outside of ordinary space and time. Communicating the reading to you by phone or internet instead of in-person doesn’t change the content of the message itself. Distance readings are as exactly as valid as in-person sessions, possibly more so. With a distance reading, you know the message is truly intuitive. With email in particular, there is no way for you to give away body language cues or answer leading questions. Distance readings protect you from deceptive ‘cold readings’ and stage mentalism.
Finding a trustworthy psychic online poses the same problems as finding one in-person, multiplied by the sheer number of people available. Trusting your feelings is all the more important when you work online despite the many cost, convenience, and privacy benefits of a distance reading.
Distance readings are my specialty. I began my public Tarot work online. Over the years, I learned that websites can carry a vibe the same way that physical spaces do. A psychic may not have technical skill as a webmaster, but you can still get a feel for the person behind the web page. As time goes on, blogs and social media have become easier and easier to use. A psychic with few computer skills can present themselves well. An up to date website and social media presence is a good clue to the amount of care and attention that the psychic is putting into their professional practice. An outdated website can mean that the reader is no longer working professionally or that they are better suited to in-person sessions. Good distance psychics seem to be a fairly tech savvy crowd.
In-person or at a distance, there are lots of sincere, trustworthy psychics available but they are sometimes hard to find. It’s worth the effort to find the right price, style, personality, and format for you. You’ll get a better reading and more value for your money in the long run. Following your instincts combined with a little common sense can help you find a trustworthy Tarot reader.
After reading this booklet, I hope your instincts will be to work with me.
Thank you for reading and listening! I appreciate it!
I also appreciate any likes, subs, shares, follows, questions and comments that you can give.
The blog and podcast are not monetized and depend on you. Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot Page on ko-fi.com where your purchases and memberships all support this free to access blog and podcast.
There are more big drink background posts to come. Until then, I’ll see you at the next sip!
Ace of Wands Short Sip Tarot: carry a torch for yourself, those you love, and the things you love to do.
I do love a good coincidence.
Thank you for reading and listening to TaoCraft Tarot. I’m glad you are here.
I drew the Ace of Wands for today’s Short Sip, found this excellent Nelson Mandela quote, then the same card and vibe turned up in a private reading for a client. The Ace of Wands intends to be heard today!
I am reminded of Joseph Campbell, American author and expert in comparative mythology and comparative religion. I read his book The Power of Myth 1990 – ish around the time I started reading Jamie Carson & David Sams, Ted Andrews, Scott Campbell, and you know…Tarot. The Ace of Wands today is akin to Campbell’s most famous quote about “follow your bliss.”
It also resonates with wise words from Nelson Mandela, “There is no passion in playing small – in settling for a life smaller than the one you are capable of living.” The Ace of Wands also reminds me of quotes from Steve Jobs that have been floating around social media lately “You’ve got to find what you love… the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
Or, put more succinctly, “…we believe that people with passion can change the world for the better.”
If the Ace of Wands resonates with you today, that is your cue to let your light shine. Carry a torch…for yourself, for the people you love, and for the things you love to do.
Thank you for reading and listening. Questions and comments are always welcome, and your likes, subs, shares, and follows are always appreciated. TaoCraft Short Sip episodes are Tarot contemplations in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. If you enjoy any of this Tarot content, please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi. The shop, memberships, readings and virtual coffees all support the blog, podcast and youtube channel. The link is in the episode description for those of you listening on the podcast.
A few thoughts on the Two of Pentacles and the time-space continuum.
Lau Tzu, Ben Franklin and Dirk Gently walk into a bar…
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here. These short sip posts & episodes are Tarot contemplations in the time it takes to sip from your coffee.
It sounds a little like some sort of bad “walks into a bar” joke, but the Tao Te Ching, Benjamin Franklin and Dirk Gently all factor into the collective energy today.
Before we get to today’s Two of Pentacles card, I want to thank Madam Adam on Tik Tok for reminding me of the word collective. “Collective energy” really is the perfect way to describe how these general audience reading for social media or a blog feel. It is a much better word for it than the “zeitgeist” or “general audience” energy that I was calling it. It simplifies and clarifies the message when we can refer to ‘the collective’ in the way that energy often refers to the client or sitter or seeker or quierant or whatever word you like to use there. So with thanks for the reminder. Collective is the new adjective.
OK. Back to the collective energy and our unlikely trio of loosely related ideas, all of which comes back to the Two of Pentacles, our penultimate balance card second only to Temperance in the major arcana.
I doubt Benjamin Franklin was influenced by the Tao Te Ching quote “Nature does not hurry, yet all is accomplished” when he wrote that “haste makes waste” but I like to think he would have enjoyed the Tao Te Ching, not to mention the Dirk Gently novels or my personal favorite, the 2016 Max Landis TV adaptation with Dirk’s whispery, excited “everything’s connected.”
Everything IS connected.
The haste and hurry that Franklin and Lau Tzu talk about both are inseparable from physical space and the passage of time. It is science and physics – velocity is distance divided by time. The stars we see in our sky are boggle-your-mind old because they are boggle-your-mind far away and it has taken that long for the light to get here. Time, space, human perception, human activity, haste and waste are all, you know, connected.
Now lets walk around to the other side and look at this from a psychological or spiritual point of view instead.
When do you get stressed? How does time or the perceived lack of it factor into those stressful feelings for you? It seems like excess demands and looming deadlines play an outsized role in perceived stress. We have too much stuff to do and not enough time to do it. How much is too much varies from one person to another, but too much for you is too much however much that much may be.
Sooner or later, something has to give. It’s better to change the circumstances than have the circumstances change your mental or physical health.
You know how when you are resizing an image in a photo editor you can grab a corner and it keeps the proportions the same? The length and the width are connected and if you change one, the other changes right along with it. That is the kind of connectivity that we are talking about here. And that connectivity can be used to improve stress and life balance just as much as it may have helped cause it.
Too much stuff to do? Change that and your perception of time slides right along with it to a more comfortable state of being. That idea of triage and prioritizing and cutting out the unnecessary is a Ten of Wands thing, but it applies here because that is the means and method of finding the balance that the Two of Pentacles is referencing. In this scenario, if we were doing a multiple card layout, the Ten of Wands may well appear as a way to support the Two of Pentacle’s message.
Time passes.
There isn’t anything we can do to stop that, but how we measure time is completely arbitrary and under our control. Deadlines? Move them. If there are bad consequences to doing that, then the deadline might be the better option. If you look at it from a consequence perspective, then your schedule may not shift, the amount of activity needed may not shift, but instead our perception shifts. The deadline and work level may be better than the alternatives. It may all still suck, but it sucks less when you deliberately choose it compared to something worse. Perception isn’t a physical shift, but it is a shift toward increasing balance and decreasing stress just the same.
*sips coffee*
Which is all well and good, but what about the Two of Pentacles here, now, today.
I guess what all of this is saying is that when you are feeling stressed or out of balance, change and adapt what you can, and the rest of it will flex in the direction of less stress because everything is connected, haste makes waste and Nature never hurries and yet all is accomplished.
It takes a hot, bright afternoon to make you really appreciate the cool shade of a tree, or a freezing night to make you appreciate the glowing warmth of a space heater.
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.
As much as Tarot and Tarot readings are associated with western witchcraft, Taoist philosophy pops up a great deal, especially for a Tarot reader who has an affinity for Taoism to start with.
Sure, you could argue that this is a process of subjective confirmation bias, but there is also a great deal of objective overlap between Taoism and Tarot, Reiki and Magick, East and West, at least when it comes to spiritual things. Diane Morgan’s Magical Tarot, Mystical Tao was one of my earliest Tarot influences. Christopher Penczak’s Magick of Reiki landed right along of side of it, both squarely in the middle of my wheelhouse, both hitting right where I live, right here in Tao Craft. Hence the name. It is a more authentic fit than Modern Oracle ever was. I live in the liminal venn diagram space where Taoism, Tarot, Reiki and Magick all meet.
That eclectic, and often solitary mental space can have it’s drama.
Everybody loses their keys, spills their milk, or has some such drama in their life. It’s normal. That is also where the Three of Swords is pointing today.
The Three of Swords doesn’t have the darkest or most dire looking artwork. Usually it shows three swords stabbing something…more often than not a heart shape…but the heart is red and the background is seldom as literally black and dark as a death, devil, or 10 of swords. Most of the meanings and keywords associated with it are warnings and cautions. It always feels like blockage, drama or complications from outside of ourselves. But for all of the tears and betrayal keywords that go with this card, the connection to Taoist philosophy most jumps out at me today. This idea of everything defining … and being defined by its opposite…begins in chapter 2 of the Tao Te Ching, here in a public domain translation by J.H. McDonald.
“When people see things as beautiful, ugliness is created. When people see things as good, evil is created. Being and non-being produce each other. Difficult and easy complement each other. Long and short define each other. High and low oppose each other. Fore and aft follow each other.”
Basically this is a message of encouragement, and a melange of hanging on and letting go all at once. Let go of that which has become toxic and harmful to make room for the good. Hang on through the dark times because that persistence will make the light all the more beautiful when it comes. It will, indeed come, because exactly that change and ebb and flow is an essential fact of life and our existence.
Thank you so much for reading and listening. I appreciate it! I always appreciate any likes, subs, shares, follows, questions or comments that you can spare. Neither the blog or podcast is monetized, so your Tarot message comes first, not the advertisers’ Please support the blog and podcast on ko-fi, there is a link in the episode description for the podcast side of things.
Again and always, thank you. See you at the next sip!
I’m developing a new, unique style of intuitive reading involving crystals and runes together. It will include a video of your individual crystal & rune cast plus a written psychic interpretation by email. The intuition and psychic part is the same as Tarot or any other psychic reading, but I’m beta testing the delivery format. Until the technical piece of it is solid, this distance reading is only $1 regular price – for now. It will go up to $5 just like the one card Tarot meditation readings. Please follow the blog* so you get plenty of warning when the price update is coming. You can get all new blog posts as soon as they are published by opting in with your email in the right hand column of this page ->
Here is how the new reading works
I’ll cast random chips and runestones on my Tarot reading cloth that has accumulated some pretty good vibes over the years. Then I’ll do a purely intuitive / psychic reading based on how the chips and stones fall. By writing it, you get the best of my intuition, by email, no appointment needed. By writing it you can order anytime, 24/7. Stay tuned for the blog post that let’s you know ordering is open.
When this NEW reading is set up and ready, this page will link you to the TaoCraftTarot Shop where you can purchase the reading and submit your question in one easy transaction.
Stay Tuned!
*The blog on this website is FREE and opt-in, you can unsubscribe at any time. There is an audio version of the blog on Spotify, Anchor Fm, googlepodcasts, stitcher, and more.
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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