Action Decreases Anxiety: Acknowledge

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Left (the current situation or energy) Four of Pentacles: Hoarding out of fear vs budgeting, taking care, setting boundaries. Does the real-world part of life triggering fear or does it need a little practical management right now? Diane Morgan read the four of pentacles as “secret treasure” Sometimes our greatest treasure is to ground ourselves, move past fear and work through the fear.

Right (what to do next, a good next step) Nine of Swords. Whenever the right card is a swords card, the reading is in the title. Swords symbolize action (among other things) Avoid toxic positivity. It is ok to not be ok. There will be dark times. Actively manage your stress. To manage stress or worry or anxiety or any problem, the first step is to acknowledge it exists. That acknowledgement may feel hopeless and overwhelming, but it is just the first step in solving the problem.

Here, my mind is drawn to some of the panic and anxiety management techniques I’ve seen on social media lately. Both cards point to that kind of energy and action today. If you are worried or anxious, ground yourself in the present moment and your environment. Send yourself a clear message that you aren’t in life or death danger in this specific present moment.

Dan Harris, one of the most practical, accessible, down-to-earth, meditation advocates I’ve ever read describes mindfulness as the capacity to notice. Those social media anti-anxiety techniques draw on exactly that. Use your ability to notice. Try naming five things that you can see. Try naming a pleasant sensation you can experience right now (a soft shirt, a cool breeze, the feel of your feet on the floor, the smell of your coffee…anything) Think of one thing that is going right that you can be thankful for (my coffee is still warm, a glimpse of blue sky, a song on the radio…anything) Think of someone, anyone, and mentally wish them well. Think of yourself and wish yourself peace and safety. Buddhist meditators call those last two Metta practice.

Noticing is an action, albeit a mental one. That still counts. Action decreases anxiety.

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Action Decreases Anxiety Tarot: Strength and Shade

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The ADA (action Decreases Anxiety) layout shows

  • what it is / the current energy or situation
  • what to maybe do next because action Decreases anxiety

Today’s energy: The Tree – growth and stability. Your source of strength might not be obvious, but it there, underground, like roots to nourish you.

What to do next: The Cloud. Stay cool, enjoy the shade that cloudy days offer. Your social mask doesn’t have to high energy all of the time. Turn down that wattage and use some of that energy for your own recharge. Take a minute. Let the clouds clear and the muddy water settle…a pause can bring clarity. The better you understand, the less frightening it is to move forward. Knowledge is power, but make sure you see clearly.

Deck shown: Healing Light Lenormand by Christopher Butler all rights reserved, used with permissions via llwellyenpublishing.com

Week Ahead: Choose Your Card

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Pause the video and think of your question or the week ahead. Choose your card, left or right. Restart the video to see the reveal and get your free tarot reading below.

7 of Cups: Choices are important and may feel stressful and overwhelming. Start with logic, but if all practical things seem equal, let your intuition and instincts lead the way. The up side of this is that multiple choices exist – at least you aren’t painted into a corner with few choices at all. When there are many options, especially when they all seem equal, it can all be very overwhelming. Sometimes being the one to have to make a hard choice alone is an overwhelming burdon, even when the choice seems clear. Choices and options can be intimidating in any combination of circumstances. If you are facing a big choice or have too many options, your head and heart have to work together. If logic fails, let your heart lead the way. In the end, clarity is crucial however your sort it out. Focus on the end. Choose your destination and the way to get there will become more clear.

King of Wands: Wands have to do with the fire element. King cards speak to leadership. Good leaders start with compassion and wisdom, but kings can’t rule without a kingdom. King cards often represent protecting and providing for the place where they rule. Wands can also symbolize your relationship with yourself. Remember your agency over your own life. Own it, mistakes and all. This is a good week to tap into as much main character energy as you can muster. Write your own story, lead your own inner kingdom. Combine wisdom and compassion with confidence and skill. Set boundaries and enforce them.

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A Muse Is Near: You Choose Weekend Oracle

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Pause the video if you need more time to choose. Restart to see the reveal.

Pause the video if you need more time to choose your card, then restart to see the reveal.

Cerridwen: The Welsh goddess of rebirth, transformation and inspiration. She is connected to the couldron as a symbol, “the couldron of inspiration” Use set apart times like weekends, evenings to make changes, to re-invent yourself if you feel called to do that. Classes apart from your main job or a side hustle feels energized.

Luna Moth: Spirit speaks in whispers but it is speaking to you. Pay attention to subtle clues. Keep a dream journal or do what you can to remember your night time dreams. Spirit guides at times speak through your sleeping dreams. If a dream or waking coincidence seems meaningful to you – it is.

Thanks for reading! See you at the next sip!

Deck: Oracle of Secrets by Seven Dane Asmund, used with permissions by Publishing Goblin LLC

The Reading Is In The Title: Action Decreases Anxiety

This is the kind of day this new Tarot layout is all about. Action dissolves (or at least decreases) anxiety.

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Today is the kind of day this new layout is all about. Action dissolves anxiety. Making an action plan helps. Doing the plan helps even more. Action dissolves (or at least decreases) anxiety. Many thanks to Dan Harris for sharing that concept with everyone. I heartily recommend his Substack and social media

Today’s energy has a genX meme, “suck it up buttercup” feel to it. It’s time to put on the big kid britches and do the thing. Today needs practical action. Be as level-headed, logical, and practical as you can be. Go with what you already KNOW. Just for today, put intellect ahead of emotions and head over heart as best as you can.

Be kind to yourself if you can’t. If emotions get the better of the situation, step back, cool off and try again later. It’s ok.

It’s ok to be kind to yourself even on the days when your self is a bubbling hot mess.

Be a cool headed as you can, and bandage up the rest later.

There are reasons why the horse is standing still and strong on the knight of pentacles card. Rock on, but rock steady, one logical step at a time. The King of Swords is all about cool, cutting intellect and decisive leadership. Good leaders know when to get help and look for resources.

It isn’t easy. It isn’t about perfection. It is about step by step making it through.

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The Way of I Ching

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Sometimes when I write members-only posts we’ll talk about other forms of intuition and divination. Sometimes it will be something aimed at fun, with no spiritual meaning at all. In this series of member-only posts we are talking about the I Ching or book of changes as a spiritual guide, like Tarot.

Although “Sage Sips” is the more public facing blog name, under the hood the website and such is still TaoCraft Tarot, a name inspired by exoteric Taoist philosophy.  Exoteric or philosophical Taoism is just that, a way of living and understanding, not a religion per se. Esoteric Taoism is closer to what we in the west think of as religion and it is often a closed cultural practice. If you would like to learn more about that part of Taoism and many other wonderful things, I highly recommend The Tao of Craft by Benebell Wen.

And no, I didn’t borrow from her title.  It was one of those things where I’d been climbing the mountain and when I got to the Taoism meets spiritual ritual part, there was Benebel waiting – we took very different paths to kind of the same words. 

Diane Morgan was there ahead of both of us with her book Magical Tarot Mystical Tao, which has been one of the biggest inspirations and influences for my own Tarot work over the years.  But I digress, but still whole-heartedly recommend both books. 

Openness and inclusion are so fundamental to the exoteric, philosophical type of Taoism that any book written about it is basically accepted as canon...

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On Brand

Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee.

ADA (action dissolves anxiety) Tarot is a daily meditation style reading that helps us understand whatever is going on and get an idea about what to do next. If these are helpful at all, please support Sage Sips with private reading orders, memberships and virtual coffee all HERE.

Left, current situation: The House (stability, foundation)

Right, action: The Moon (intuition, creativity, reputation)

Stay true to your “brand” in other words stand strong for your true self. Either stay with the reputation you’ve built or build a reputation that you can stay with.

In dream interpretation, a house is often symbolic of self. In both Lenormand and traditional Marseille, RWS tarot, the moon is connected to cycles, intuition, spirituality or our spiritual journey.

Life may not feel one bit steady now, but this may be a clue that is ok to lay a few foundation stones for the future. It’s an ok time to think about the kind of person you want to be, the kind of presence you want to be in the world.

If you are happy with who you are, it’s ok to think about how to keep that foundation strong, and fold in the moon’s creativity to keep doing what works. More importantly it is OK to be OK and happy with who you are regardless of a world filled with social media and doubts.

What your “true self” is, what your genuine inner home and foundation is -only you can say. That’s also where the Moon comes in.

Mental action, contemplation, deliberate decisions and making a plan to move forward are all actions, albeit internal mental ones. Those all count when it comes to action dissolving anxiety.

Thanks for reading! See you at the next sip!

Dichotomy: Choose Your Own Tarot Card

Choose your card Tarot reading: Pause the video. Focus on your question or guidance for the day(s) ahead. Restart the video to see the reveal and get your reading below.

This is an interactive Tarot reading – you choose your card. That way we work together for a more personalized experience for you in today’s video. If you want a Tarot reading by email that is truly private and personal, get yours HERE. Private readings, memberships and virtual coffee all support this blog.

Sometimes when there is a strong general, public energy the two cards in the interactive reading are closely related. Sometimes when the general energy is quieter, more personalized energies can step forward. In these quieter times, the two cards can seem almost opposite, like today.

When dichotomies and contradictions like this turn up in reading, especially in one of the larger card layouts, it can get pretty confusing. Over the years, I’ve learned that the best thing to do when this happens is to shift focus. Instead of looking for granular detail, look for the bigger picture. Look for the biggest gestalt picture that you can and then try to connect the seemingly opposite dots within the big picture. When you think of it as using a wide angle Camara lens instead of a zoom lens. When you look at the big picture, often your opposite-seeming cards are really just different parts of a larger whole.

Different, sometimes conflicted cards within the same Tarot reading are like the parable of the blind men describing an elephant. One touches the trunk and says elephants are a lot like snakes. Another touches the leg and says that elephants are just like tree trunks. Yet another blind man touches the elephant’s side as says elephants are just like a big wall. Individually they are each wrong, but in the big picture, they are all right.

Of course, that only really applies to multiple card readings. In a one card daily meditation like we are doing here, all you have to do is follow your instincts to the card that is right for you today. The other card might still apply, even though it seems very different from the other. Follow your intuition to the one that is asking for your attention the most today. The other card might apply to you too, but in the background or on another day.

But for now:

The Fool: Alan Watts famously wrote “You are under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.” New beginnings can happen at any moment. Take all of the happy memories and life lessons you want moving forward, but take care not to bring old emotional baggage into a new beginning.

Two of Swords: This is a liminal time, a portal between worlds and experiences in a way. It is like those seemingly impossible stacks of Zen rocks. There is a pause, a truce between forces, a delicate balance that is easily disrupted. All is connected. This fleeting moments of balance are delicate but powerful times that can tip the balance of things in any direction. Use your influence and the power of cause and effect wisely.

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Touch Base: ADA (action dissolves anxiety) Tarot for Today

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Current energies: PAGE OF WANDS. There is a spring-like sense of newness that fits the local weather and season. If it isn’t spring or sunny where you are, don’t worry. Stormy winds can blow obstacles out of your way the same as they can blow them in. Welcome the winds that clear the way for a new path forward.

Next Step on the path: THREE OF CUPS. Celebrate the little things. Touch grass. Be in the world with your emotions. Touch base with friends and the little things that bring you joy.

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Deck: Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund. Used with permission.