Today’s card is the Magician from the major arcana.
The magician card is traditionally associated with transformation and manifestation. Today’s energy goes along with both. To change things, to transform them, you have to do something differently. To make something, to manifest anything, you first have to first do something.
The broader concept of change would, of course, fall under the Death card. The focus here is cause and effect. The focus here is in the doing. Do nothing and there is no change for the death card to symbolize. The science folks call that inertia.
The magician card often has the symbols of the four minor arcana suits on it. The magician uses all of the elements, all of the concepts from the minor suits and applies them to the concept of transformation and manifestation. The magician incorporates all the ways of doing. All of the suits have various connections to thinking, doing, deciding, withholding, experiencing, all of which are elements of transformation and manifestation.
First decide what you want to change or create. Then do something to start on that new path. Lay the foundation. Do the thing that becomes the cause for the desired effect. Anyone can work that magic.
Thank you for reading and listening to “A sip of Tarot.” on the TaoCraft Tarot blog and Clairvoyant Confessional podcast. Stay tuned for more (almost) daily meditation style Tarot readings in the time it takes to sip from a cup of morning coffee.
I’ve been thinking some more about it, so I guess today we are getting a whole cuppa Tarot here on the blog. This is one of those print/blog only posts exclusive to the website I’ve been yammering about. I hope you’ll take a look at / give a listen to the new “sip of tarot” (almost) daily one card meditation readings that are all over the place too. Besides all that, I’m feeling very fond of the Chariot card today. It’s energy is pointing toward mindfulness more than mere attention.
Mindfulness is not only consecrating and connecting but it is protective, healing and self-saving on the esoteric level. Here’s what I mean:
Many people who are drawn to Tarot (or any psychic/intuitive style) readings tend to have an above-average degree of energy sensitivity themselves. In late 2019 and early 2020 I had a long run of clients and blog readings that focused on resonant energy. It’s one of those physics things that I may not explain well. The best example I know came from being in the room during a violin lesson. When one string is pressed correctly to make a certain note, when you play that string, a nearby open (untouched) string that is tuned to that note will vibrate too. If you correctly press an E string to make it sound a G note, the open, untouched G string will vibrate and sound a little bit too.
Intuitive, energy sensitive people people will resonate with communal, cultural, zeitgeist energies much like the G note open string vibrates along with the fretted-to-make-it-a-G-note string in the violin example.
Pay attention when that happnes.
On the physical level, pain is a signal that something is wrong. All sorts of physical symptoms can signal a problem.We pay attention to those, or at least we should. If the danger is high enough, our reflexes will pay attention for us.
The same is true in the emotional realm. Feelings of something being off or wrong or troubling are worth your attention just as much as physical symptoms. The tricky thing, especially if you are energy sensitive, is knowing when a bubble of emotion is a genuine internal state that needs your attention when that thing you feel is actually a resonant vibration, a response to external energies.
When you are a professional reader, knowing that boarderline is part of the job. Take it from someone who has been paying conscious deliberate attention to that boundary line between internally generated feelings and externally sources resonance for a looong time – it’s HARD to do. It’s easy to think that funky mojo feeling is all you, and equally as easy to blame your stuff on the outside world (looking at you Mercury-retrograde-o-phobics)
It’s hard, but isn’t the place for blame, either. The trope of “setting boundaries” tends to feel like blame or fault or failure if one energy is mistaken for the other. That isn’t the case. From one point of view, those boundaries are just arbitrary. Our inner emotions are part of the outside whole just like we as individuals are a seamless part of the entire wholeness of the Cosmos. No matter how much we might wish otherwise, the outer world does have an effect. The mind-body connection flows both ways.
So how do you know when your bell is ringing for your attention or when the outer world is a hammer ringing your bell?
Protect.
Think of that boundary between inner emotion and outer resonance as a protective layer rather than a border fence. That is especially helpful when the uncertain feelings are frightened or anxious, as was the case early in 2020 pandemic an lock-downs. For a sensitive, the fear and worry of that time was almost palpable.
The energy has indeed shifted. More on the out-there social zeitgeist energies another time.
Imagination is fuel for intuition. Visualization is imagination in overdrive. Imagine…visualize that there is something surrounding you and insulating you from outside influences.
One way to think of it is like a force field or energy shield in science fiction. Or think of it like Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak. Or a tent or room or cave that you can go into. Here is a fun one for you science and physics folks – a Faraday cage. Metal cages isolate the equipment inside them from stray radio waves. Or the metal cages that contain tesla coil arcs (like “Arc Attack“)
But anyway….the next time you feel worried, or anxious, or just not yourself, or that things are just feel off and you can’t figure out why – imagine you are surrounded by your energy-isolating protection layer of choice.
If it is outside cultural group energy ringing my bell, then the imagined shield feels good. It feels like a sigh of relief. I remember the first time it worked for me. I’ll spare you the details, but I was faced with a barrage of negativity and a legit stressful family-in-the-hospital stress.
You know that feeling when the neighbor stops using the leaf blower and there is a sudden, jarring, blissful silence? It’s kind of like that. My first thought was HEY!! It’s actually HAPPY in here! In that moment, you know it is the outside and not an internal emotional injury.
If you imagine eliminating the outside influence, but still feel something is off. Pay even more attention. But for goodness’ sake don’t take that as personal blame….take it as a hint to get help or at least do some serious self-care.
It isn’t a 100% guarantee either way, but it is a helpful mental exercise. Since that experience of shutting out the waves of negativity for a little while, it is my go-to visualization/meditation when things feel a little hairy. It refocuses my attention away from the stress and on the here and now. If it’s happy “in here” then it’s just resonant funky mojo and will pass. If it is gnarly “in here” then it’s time to do something, although that will often pass too.
My favorite TV quote is from Stranger Things “Mornings are for coffee and contemplation. Coffee. And contemplation.
Now, in the time it takes to sip from your coffee…
ok, ok….tea…hot lemon water…can of Jolt…bloody mary…whatever your favorite first beverage may be…
you can have a (almost) daily morning (ish) one card meditation Tarot reading. Available here on the blog, but also on YouTube, ko-fi and Clairvoyant Confessional podcast
Today’s card is the Chariot from the major arcana portion of the Tarot deck.
I always think of this as the jet pilot card. That is probably influenced by all of the Richard Bach books I read in my 20s. Whether it is a chariot in a race like the old movie Ben Hur, driving the beltway at rush hour or flying a supersonic aircraft, you have to pay attention to what you are doing or end up in a crumpled heap somewhere. I’ve never done any of those things, but I imagine it is a heck of a lesson in mindfulness.
Besides helping you to survive at high rates of speed, paying attention does some other nifty stuff at the complete other end of the velocity spectrum.
Mindfulness consecrates.
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein hints at this too. Toward the end of the book, I think it was Mary Jane who described the title character, Valentine Michael Smith “…when Mike kisses you he isn’t doing anything else. You’re his whole universe and the moment is eternal…”
When you pay full attention to where you are it makes that place special. When you pay full attention it makes that moment special. When you pay full attention to another person it makes magic for both of you.
Thank you so much for reading the blog and listening to the podcast. If you have any questions, please contact me at the email listed in the right hand column on the blog or in the episode description of the podcast. Don’t be shy! You might get a free Tarot reading in a podcast episode. Don’t worry. I keep any identifying information out of the conversation. Someone else might be in the same boat, and you’ll be helping them, too.
Just a reminder: if you follow Tao Craft Tarot blog you get everything, the whole enchilada, every bit of Tarot content I create including links to Clairvoyant Confessional podcast, notices when member only content goes live, card draw videos and the print only blog posts. See you on the print side!
Wands cards in general have to do with the element of fire, and our relationship with ourselves. Wands cards are about our inner world, but our feelings are not entirely separate from physical events.
The six of wands in particular often symbolizes peace, a rest after a struggle of some kind. Pamela Smith’s famous artwork has a knight, a warrior, on horseback carrying a laurel wreath which is a symbol of peace. The tone isn’t so much one of a conquering hero or occupying force, but the feeling is of being on the winning side. This card is about peaceful feelings, and feelings of satisfaction after a job well done, despite the hints of recent combat or struggles.
Compliments feel good, especially when they are linked with a personal sense of achievement like this. If you haven’t received a pat on the back for doing work, try giving a word of encouragement to someone else. Any tiny little thank you will do. Then enjoy, because with compliments the good feelings flow in both directions.
At least it is as I pulled this card and type this post.
Intuition is weird. It is very Heisenberg uncertainty principle. If you look at a card reading through the lens of a moment in time, it cuts it off from the greater flow of time. Kind of like screen capturing a movie as it plays.
Some readings, like today, are meant for that. They are intended for the moment.
Doing Tarot readings on the internet is weird.
Whatever you read or write can be accessed anywhere at any time by anyone. Tarot, intuition, energy and spirit are good with that. After all, this present moment is a connected, unified part of that big giant wibbly wobbly lump of everything. If you look at a card through the lens of that unified timelessness, it cuts it off from the present moment a little bit.
Like Heisenberg, you can know a particles exact location or you can know how fast it is moving but not both at the same time. Same thing here. You can connect a card to this present moment and hope it resonates with whatever other moment someone stumbles across it, or you can connect it to the larger energy which doesn’t capture the moment of the reading.
This card, here, now today is resonating with a reading for the moment.
It’s Monday.
Be kind to the head of your household, whoever it might be. Mom. Dad. You.
It is one of those pour some coffee, time to make the donuts, this is how the sausage gets made, get to it, get through it, no frills kind of Mondays. Good luck and godspeed *raises mug of coffee*
Speaking of mugs, any support you can spare goes toward creating the Clairvoyant Confessional podcast, the card draw videos, and the blog. A Sip of Tarot (almost) daily meditation nano-episodes are available on multiple platforms. Thank you so much for listening, watching and reading!
Today’s card is Strength from the major arcana part of the Tarot deck
The strength card is so iconic. It is one of those where the images and symbolism seem pretty consistent across many if not most Waite-Smith based Tarot decks. You almost always see a lion, or some reference to one. Lions have long been a symbol of strength, and yes, I am currently suppressing the urge to imitate the opening line of the “Lion King” movie.
The infinity symbol in the upper left corner of this particular card by Tarot reader and artist Thom Pham is fairly consistent on all Strength and Magician Tarot cards. That is the part that draws my attention this morning.
What is an infinite source of strength?
The answer will, naturally, be different for everyone. It’s the question that matters. Tarot will often ask individual questions rather than give universal answers. There is no universal answer that fits every individual person, but in answering these key questions for yourself, then you will find your way.
In BBC tv show Doctor Who, Clara often says something like “the souffle isn’t in the souffle, it’s in the recipe.” It’s the same idea here. The answer isn’t in the answer, the answer is in the question.
On one hand, Tarot cards asking questions seems evasive and vague and fuel for all of those pedantic skeptical arguments against this kind of spiritual contemplation. On the other hand, asking the just-right question for you to find your own, intimate, individual answer is like a giant flashing neon arrow pointing to exact tree you need in a dark, dense forest. The right question gives as much guidance as the right answer.
Everyone feels tired, injured, fragile or vulnerable sometimes. This card isn’t a pep talk, cheerleader or empty platitude to just go be strong every minute of every day. It’s asking a key question. It’s asking what is your individual source of strength? What is your inspiration, your restorative and your spiritual nourishment? It’s asking you to find it now so it is there when you need it.
Don’t forget: Zombie Cat yes/no Tarot readings by email are $5 off until 31 October 21. “A Sip of Tarot” daily meditation Tarot readings are available here, in even shorter form on YouTube, and wherever you listen to Clairvoyant Confessional podcast.
When I was 4, dad woke me up one midnight to watch men walk on the moon. I wanted to be a cowgirl nurse astronaut in space and campaigned hard for a later bedtime to watch Apollo launches. I’ve been a card carrying member of The Planetary Society, starting in 1987. These days, I’ll settle for being a Firefly fan and watching SpaceX launches.
Today as I filmed the card draw and write this, news coverage of the Blue Origin flight with William Shatner aboard is playing in the background. The word “frontiers” came to mind along with the Peter Gabriel song “Games Without Frontiers.
It was a joyride. It was pure tourism. The only science in it was developing the vehicle and procedures. After watching NASA and SpaceX watching this felt like watching baseball players squirt champagne while wearing safety goggles after just watching the Stanley Cup final. But then Mr. Shatner started talking.
As much as I adore science and technology, I equally adore language and powerful communication. The color, the universe, the thinness, the fragility: I can’t begin to sum it up. I urge you all to please, find a tape, listen to him.
The frontier line is different for everyone. Everyone has different skills, experiences, resources.
The experience of that frontier line, wherever it falls relative to other people’s is different as well. For some people, skydiving might be as easy as a trip to the grocery store, for others a trip to the grocery store is as terrifying as skydiving.
It’s one thing for humanity to send scientists and explorers to the frontier. It’s important to fling a poet at space every now and then too. They are the ones who can bring the frontier back to the rest of us.
I’m a clairvoyant and I have a confession: It’s October
scratch/oneip
My name is Ronda. I read Tarot, write stuff and make things.
It’s October, 2021 right now. Count me among the zillion and one witchy tarot readers who love this time of year, cinnamon spice and all.
This October is the third anniversary of rebranding my work from Modern Oracle Tarot to TaoCraft Tarot. It seems like this is the time of year for re-naming things.
You can talk about thinning veils and shifting energies all you want. All I know is that October has always been a creative inspiration for me. This year, autumn and the internet has treated me to a whole basket full of new tools. This year, instead of one big name change, I have a little one and a whole grocery list of small tweeks and innovations.
Have you ever heard of wabi sabi or kintsuki? I hope I’m pronouncing those correctly – I don’t speak Japanese. As I understand it, wabi sabi is a way of looking at life that accepts or even celebrates imperfection and impermanence. Part of that is the art of kintsuki. Instead of making something “good as new” it elevates the act of repair and the process of preservation and accents the broken places with precious metals. In this episode, I’m splashing some gold on cracks in the confessional walls. There is wonderful freedom that comes from accepting imperfections yourself – and everyone else too.
***
I know I’m not technically proficient as a podcaster. As a point of unpaid admiration, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the fact that anchor fm is incredibly easy to use and has seamless text to speech conversion from wordpress. Even with tools like these, I knew coming into it that this podcast wasn’t going to be perfect.
What I didn’t know was how much work the vocal performance was going to be. And yes, as if you couldn’t tell, this is a scripted performance. Dammit jim, I’m a writer not an improve actor. If I don’t get my thoughts organized before recording, I would sound like a babbling idiot instead of the pirate radio dj persona I’d hoped to create.
BUT I am just evil-villain enough to not give up on the idea quite yet.
Instead, I’m changing up the format a little bit. Not the name, because I’m still hoping you all will finally confess that you like psychics and will send me some questions for Tarot readings. Those episodes will always be personally recorded, no script, no plan, just me and my cards and a microphone recording a Tarot reading for you.
In those episodes that you would hear if you were sitting across the table from me. So be brave! Send some questions, let’s make some magic together.
The thing that’s changing is I’m not going to do very many of these monolog episodes
Cheer effect
Instead, I’ll be posting a metric ton of what I’m calling “nano-episodes” under the episode title “A Sip of Tarot.” These will be one card meditation readings the same as I’ve always done on the blog and have recently added to youtube shorts. I expect they will last a minute or so…juuuuust long enough to take a slow, thoughtful sip of your morning coffee. These meditation style readings are just that…a thought to ponder for your day, your night, your weekend – whenever you happen to listen to podcasts.
For example….
Hear that? That’s me actually shuffling actual Tarot cards as I record this. THAT’s what a question episode will sound like.
Now let’s cut the cards at random and grab a card from the middle-ish somewhere of the deck.
Today we have….
One card reading (please listen to the episode to hear the card reading)
That’s what the sip of tarot episodes will generally be like, except they will be automated text to voice because dammit jim, i’m a writer not a voice actor
For the record, I’m leaving voice acting to the real talent in this world, you know, like David Dear of Ninth World Journal –
Why YES, yes I am shamelessly fangirling for one of my favorite podcasts – outside of this one.
I have lots of other things up my sleeve for October, but they are all blog related.
If you like to listen to things, you are in the right place because most of the blog content will be echoed here. If you like to read too, come over to the print side sometime. We have Zombie Cats!
Stay tuned. We start sipping some Tarot tomorrow.
Short dimension
The music you hear is Dimension by the Pittsburgh band Dinosoul, all copyrights reserved, used here with permission. The applause sound effect is courtesy of free stock music .com
See you next time in the Clairvoyant’s Confessional
A pyrrhic victory is a win at enormous cost. You win, but there is absolute carnage everywhere by the time you are done. The name comes from ancient history. I’m not sure, but I think elephants were involved (cue Eddie Izzard – I love her sketch on Latin)
The five of swords tend to be, ultimately, a positive energy card, hinting at likely victory (the dude on the card looks kind of smiley) but you still have to consider the cost. One of the meanings I’ve seen for the card is ‘stubborness’
One of my favorite internet memes is paraphrased G.K. Chesterson quote, “A [warrior] fights not because he hates what is in front of him but because he loves what is behind him.” I think the meme’s substitution of “warrior” for Chesterson’s “true soldier” speaks to the essence of a warrior. It speaks to the difference between defense and blind violence.
There will always be challenges in life. There will be times we have to defend our limits and boundaries. The struggle is real, but what price victory? Are you fighting to project (your idea) or protect (those you love)?
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