Think of your question or the week ahead. Choose a card.
Pause and choose the card before they are revealed. Choose after. Choose both. There is no wrong way to do this.
Full Moon, reversed: Take advantage of the shift in energies or the shift in energies might take advantage of you. Read the room. Be responsive to the vibe around you, and things can get better. Ignore it, and problems could continue.
Three of Autumn: Things long forgotten now work their cause and effect magic. Something you thought small, beneath notice has grown into something good. A very seven of pentacles type of energy. Enjoy the good investment that you made.
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This week we had our first snowy day of the season.
It’s one of those things where you just have to roll with it. You can’t stop it. Not much you can do about it except brave the bread and eggs crowd at the grocery store and shovel when it’s all said and done.
Life is one big snow day in that respect. Do what you can when you can and roll with it otherwise.
The six of swords is giving that energy today. Go with the flow is the best way through. All is not always as it seems anyway.
The swords are on the boat…not blocking the boat;s way.
The figures behind the swords seem huddled and seem miserable while the standing (and steering) figure sees the way ahead, the direction the current is flowing, and can nudge things toward a brighter horizon.
Why fight the current if you can use it to your advantage? Why huddle behind imagined blockages when the natural flow of is taking you in the general direction that you want to go?
Mindfulness and being aware of the present moment is like standing up for a minute and seeing the current flow, the bigger picture, and the way ahead.
The six of swords is a reminder to enjoy unexpected snow days, so to speak.
It takes a certain courage and generosity of spirit to be kind to yourself. It is OK to be grateful to yourself for that kindness.
What seems flawed on the surface can contain great beauty when we look at it as a whole. Scars are lovely souvenirs of the life you have survived. Removing yourself from unhealthy environments and toxic relationships can cause an ever changing mixed bag of emotions. It can make you exponentially grateful for the good ones. Yeah, this is a time for family…but hopefully it is family defined by love and relationship – shared DNA is optional. Personally, I think the whole Friendsgiving thing is kind of brilliant now that we are years into being a country divided by bigotry, racism, religion, politics and more. I don’t know that it is entirely a bad thing – many have learned the hard lessons that come with living fully, authentically, and protecting your peace.
Expectations are the enemy of a happy holiday. You don’t expect the pickles to taste like pumpkin pie. Smile when vinegar tastes sour because that just means it tastes just like it should. Life can be both bitter and sweet, but it always is as it is. The bitter times make it all the nicer when the pumpkin pie tastes as it should, too.
I’m thankful for all of you, and thankful to still be able to read Tarot for you.
Please like, follow, share and all of those good blog and social media things. We will be circling back to the beginning for a while, focusing on daily meditation Tarot. Some might have videos, many will not. Some might be morning, others will be evening or night. Private readings by email are OPEN and available on the ko-fi page. All proceeds support Sage Sips blog going toward the cost to create it and to keep it ad-free with no paywall.
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Back with a card for tomorrow. See you at the next sip!
I was just on one of my favorite websites, Crystal Vaults.
It’s a good browse.
I love a good rabbit hole – a website with enough meat on its bones that you can browse and read and spend a little time and get good, solid, reliable, time-tested, usable information. If tiktoks, reels and shorts are a thin potato chip, then a good website is a full sized sandwich. Maybe a piping hot bowl of stew. If your lucky, it is the information equivalent of a full meal.
I like to think that TaoCraft Tarot is an all you can eat buffet of Tarot.
I’ve been at this for years. Decades. What started as small side freelancing to earn a little extra income for school expenses turned into 30 years of Tarot reading experience (almost 25 years of that as a professional) writing and blogging all along the way. Not all of it was on this platform, but a surprising chunk of it has been.
I love a good browse.
I hope you all will like browsing here, too. Welcome. The library is open. Feel free to use the search bar to dive into the Sage Sips / Taocraft Tarot archives. Enter a topic or tarot card and see what you can find.
Thank you for watching! If you enjoy the free Tarot you see here, please support Sage Sips Tarot blog on Ko-Fi. Proceeds from private readings and memberships go to produce and web host Sage Sips.
Pause the video if you want more time to think, then restart to see the reveal.
The World: Whew! You made it through the past few weeks. Halumi and R’amen for that! The World is your cue that things are turning. The world is always your oyster. Sometimes it is just a matter of hanging on until your part of the world turns toward the sun again.
Six of Cups: Only everything is everything. The smallest pleasures hold a universe of delights. It’s OK to enjoy the small things as much as the big things. Delight can come anywhere, from anything, at any time.
When you celebrate little wins, feel relief at finishing tough weeks, and find joy in small things anywhere you find them, the world is delight in a cup
Deck: Witches Tarot by Ellen Dugan and Mark Evans, copyright 2012 all rights reserved. Used with permissions on Llwellynpublishing.com
“The Shockjock” card is drawn from the Alleyman’s Tarot Podcast which expands the backstory and lore behind the Tarot deck, which is yet another facet of why Alleyman’s Tarot is one of my favorite decks. And yes, admittedly, I have collected more decks than I care to admit over the years. The Alleyman’s Tarot and this deck, the Alleyway Oracle of Secrets, is built on the same premise which is set in the same conceptual universe as the original deck.
In the podcast, the ‘shock jock’ is a low filter podcaster prone to blurting out anything who has been following the Alleyman urban legend along with the other cast of characters. (The podcast has a certain Twilight Zone quality and is interesting beyond the Alleyway, if you are interested in giving it a listen)
In any case, this is one of those times where intuition and energy screams louder than the guidebook meaning. This is one of those days that teach us how important it is to listen to your own inner guidance, not necessarily what the deck’s ‘little white book’ might say.
Following your own inner wisdom over outside influences is a giant life skill in and of itself, and we can circle back to that some other day. For today, let’s listen to the shock jock – all puns intended.
In the podcast and Oracle deck guidebook, the shock jock isn’t a deliberate or cynical provocateur. Sure, he is in it for the follows, like all of us on public cyberspace platforms – but he isn’t cruel. The guidebook gives the impression that this card is an irreverent jokester, rooted in humor. The intent is silly, comedic and harmless.
The energy today, however, is opposite. This feels like a reversed card in the classic sense, where the card is read as its opposite.
This is the dark side.
This is a lesson in free speech, connected in a way to the seven of pentacles.
Today is a reminder that cause and effect is still a thing.
You are free to say anything you want. You are equally free to experience the effects that your words cause. Since the energy is a little on the shadow side, it’s tempting to say that you are free to suffer the consequences of what you say, but there is more to it than that.
The seven of pentacles often carries a ‘you reap what you sow’ vibe about it. For both the seven of pentacles and the shock jock, we have to consider both sides of reaping and sowing, of speaking and experiencing.
As we’ve talked about before, “you reap what you sow” often seems punitive, something told to children so they don’t do bad things so that bad things won’t happen to them.
The other side of the threat is the promise. If you reap what you sow, then there is a promise that there will indeed BE a harvest, that good things WILL come from your sincere efforts.
The same is true for our inner shock jock.
Words have meaning. Words have power. They can be used thoughtlessly. They can be used to calm, encourage and heal. Words can be used to wound and cut down. Silence can be golden. Silence is complicity.
Like the seeds that are sown, words have consequences. Say anything you want, or stay silent if you choose, but you will reap a harvest either way.
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See you at the next sip!
Oracle of Secrets deck by Seven Dane Asmund used with permission
Action Eases Anxiety layout shows ‘what it is’ (left – current energy or situation) and ‘what to do about it’ (right- advice to help move forward) Having a plan makes things less scary, even if the plan goes off the rails (which is usually does – being adaptable helps too)
Three of Pentacles: the physical realm, especially when it comes to work and career feels inside out and upside down. And it isn’t all under your control. The system or teamwork may be falling apart or under stress.
Knight of Wands: Now is the time to make a move in favor of yourself. You are your own best mentor and support team in this moment. Don’t be petty or hurtful or throw anyone deliberately under the bus, but do what you need to do for you. This is that moment where the oxygen masks are dropping and you have to put yours on before you can help anyone else. You are no good to anyone, yourself or otherwise, if you are metaphorically unconscious. Tend to your own physical and mental health this week so you can be present for new situations and other people later on.
Often this strategy brings guilt about not helping others in this moment, or worry that there will be pay-back or blow-back. Think of it as a short term investment for a long term gain. If there is blow-back for giving yourself a short amount of time to do what you need to do for yourself – then that shows the true colors. A time like this where the energy supports taking care of yourself shows who supports you and who doesn’t. Use that information to know how best to spend your energy and efforts moving forward. This time not only benefits you directly, but also lets you help others with sincerity and dedication in times to come.
The knight of wands carries most of the energy in this reading. It often reminds me of the book/series Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel. In that, the Knight of Wands turns out to be a harbinger of “magic returning to England”
The Knight of Wands is here to let us know that this is a time for our magic to come home. It is a time to pay attention to your passions, your loves, the things that make life most magical for you.
Your magic is returning. This is the week to welcome it.
Listen to your intuition even if it is telling you something uncomfortable
Left: That Which Lies Beneath. Sometimes what we need to know is so suppressed, so uncomfortable, so disturbing that we can’t fully admit it to ourselves. In those times, our instincts may manifest simply as a vague sense of “not right” “just off” “not myself” or something just beyond words. Those messages are as deserving as any other – perhaps more so. In these times the why behind the vague feeling is more important than ever. This card is a loud call to understand your motives and the reason WHY you feel and act as you do.
Right: The Alleyman. We are the artists collective of humanity. We are all connected in our shared human-being-ness and our shared experience of life on planet Earth in the early 21st century. There is, there can be, connections that are fleeting but significant. The moment of niceness you feel when a stranger holds a door, or a smile passing on the sidewalk, a grocery clerk who is helpful and friendly, a barrista joking with customers, anything. If that collective of kindness, those fleeting moments are called “the alleyman” we can both be helped by The Alleyman and we can BE the Alleyman. We are the Alleyfolk, the collective of kindness and intuitive wisdom. Look for the Alleyman. Be the Alleyman for someone who you might never know.
This concept is exactly why I’m such a fan of The Alleyman’s Tarot and the Alleyway oracle deck used here. Always grateful to Seven Dane Asmund, author, creator and publisher, for permission to use these decks. Check out his new project, a collection of short stories set in the universe of the Alleyman Tarot and its podcast. Please visit Publishing Goblin on backerkit for more details.
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The “Action Eases Anxiety” layout was inspired by Buddhist philosophy (I HIGHLY recommend Dan Harris’ Substack) and my “Learn With Me” series about Lenormand Tarot.
The layout is like a sentence…a noun and a verb. It represents the current energy, then what to do about it. It isn’t a prediction or a quick fix, but making an action plan like this takes the edge of worries. Any tarot reading can help us focus on the moment at hand, not what may or may not happen in the future. That in itself can help ease worry.
What it is (left card): Ace of Cups, reversed. Something is leaking or spilling. Where are your emotions being spent uselessly? Where is your creative energies being wasted? What fucks are you giving that would be better not to give, or to at least give somewhere else?
What to do (right card): Ten of Wands. Put down responsibilities that aren’t really yours. Remember that you can show the way, but you can’t walk through the door for someone else. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink. Your happiness is your responsibility, no one else’s. No one can give it to you, but equally, no one can take it from you unless you give it away.
Thanks for reading and watching! See you at the next sip!
Deck: Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund, used with permissions Publishing Goblin LLC
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