Tree Sitting


It doesn’t matter who YOU think the wisest man who ever existed is, the point is that their philosophy – whoever they were or whatever that philosophy is – it is derived from introspection. The introspection is the thing.

Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.

Admittedly, my brain is getting in the way of intuition a little bit today. Or maybe this really is the energy message. I don’t know. I’ll let you and how much you resonate with the card decide that piece of it.

Often the four of cups has to do with someone who is sulking, or closed off. I see it often in relationship questions, which fits the suit of cup’s symbolism and connection to love, romance, and inner circle closest relationships of all types. It is often an energy of futility and unrequited emotion. It’s not good news in that context. Adages like “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink,””throwing good money after bad” and “throwing pearls before swine” come to mind. Often this thread of meaning shows up in readings that are asking the “will I get back together with my ex-” variety of questions. You can’t control how other people feel and you can’t predict what they will feel or do, so the answer in that circomstance is sadly, no, the focus is internal. The message then becomes the advice of introspection….look within to do what you need to do to heal and hopefully progress to the move-on energy that the 8 of cups can offer.

But that, as they say, is another story.

Today, the card skips over all the closed-off energy and relationship advice. Today it cuts right to the chase and talks about introspection.

It resonates quite a bit with “Mr. Venn And His Nifty Diagrams” from yesterday on Sage & Stuff, my personal blog. That post was inspired by Hustle & Meditate the substack newsletter by meditation coach Jim Martin aka “The Unusual Buddha” plus an instagram post by I think it was Mat Auryn, author of Psychic Witch that spoke of mysticism and mystery teachings within witchcraft and magick.

In a nutshell, they both said the same thing although from different areas of expertise and separated by several months in time. The things they were saying were influenced by different cultures who came to similar conclusions a long time ago….despite being world apart in a B.C.E time where there was no trade or internet connecting northern Europe, India and China.

Both the Martin newsletter and the Auryn Instagram post conclude with the notion that, while we have much to learn from the masters who came before, we must each walk through the portal of learning for ourselves. We each have to walk our own path, carve our own way, experience the mysteries of the universe for ourselves and look at the moon with out own two eyes.

It is a bit of Isaac Newton meets Bruce Lee. Newton acknowledges that quote “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” end quote. Centuries later and inspired by a completely different culture, Bruce Lee admonishes his student in the movie Enter the Dragon quote “It’s like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.” end quote.

Blind faith takes you nowhere. Accomplished masters can show you A way, but only you can walk it. Only you can see your true path through your own thoughts, contemplations and introspections.

Nineteenth century journalist, philosopher and father of Frankenstein author Mary Shelly, William Godwin once said that “The philosophy of the wisest man who ever existed, is mainly derived from the act of introspection.” Who you consider to be the wisest man person to have ever existed is up to you, but that too is derived from introspection – yours. Introspection is the thing, with this card and Godwin’s quote, but more than that, YOUR introspection is the key thing. The wisest person who ever existed may be a guide and a giant for you to stand upon, but it is still you that must do the standing, walking and moon gazing.

Thank you so much for reading and listening! I appreciate any likes, subs, shares, questions or comments that you can spare.

It’s that renew the website time of year, so any support you can give through reading commissions, shop purchases, memberships or virtual coffees on the TaoCraft Tarot ko-fi page all goes toward creating these (almost) daily Tarot readings for everyone to enjoy.

Thanks again. See you Monday for the next short sip Tarot!

Stop

If you don’t stop, life will stop you.

Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.

This is one of those days when Tarot proves it is just a tool, an amplifier, a sort of google translate for our natural inner intuition.

Swords are the element of air, intellect, mind and our relationship with authority and our relationship with culture and society at large.

When I turned the card this morning, the clairvoyant mental images were much stronger than the usual keywords for the card.

I giant red stop sign sprang to mind, along with those running obstacle course video games, like Mario Brothers, Temple Run or Fall Guys. Believe it or not, there is strategy and timing to the games. If you just run flat out fast as you can go start to finish you often don’t finish at all. Especially with swinging obstacles back in the day. You’d have to pause between the swinging things and get the timing so you are not knocked over the edge.

Taking a pause to get your timing right is a real world life hack too.

Many long years in the before time, before stress management and the mind-body connection were as normalized as they are now, it was still recognized that pushing too far was a thing. Students were learning their limits and it was easy in our ambition to leave those limits in the dust.

If you don’t stop, life will stop you.

Luckily, for the majority of us that stopping consisted of a walloping flu or bronchitis or something, but more serious consequences happened too. Books and entire tv dramas could be written, and have, but that is beside the point here. The Eight of Swords is here today to let us know that the stopping happens in whatever form it may take for you as an individual.

Most often when the eight of swords comes around, it reminds us of creative problem solving. Usually it draws my attention to the figure’s unbound feet, and that other senses can lead to freedom despite the obstacles ropes and blindfold and swords.

Today the energy moves one step earlier. Instead of encouraging persistence and creative problem solving, today’s eight of swords begs the question of why was this person tossed in sword jail in the first place?

Ambition and action and effort are all necessary to success, but you can’t make any forward progress when your battery is drained.

Psychoneuroimmunology is a thing. Stress, be it physical, psychological or both, can ding your immune system and open you to a common cold or flu that will slow you down when you don’t have the good sense to do it yourself before you get sick.

Before someone goes all Karen Q. Ivermectin on me, I’m talking about run of the mill take a nap level stuff, not the cure for covid. The suit of swords asks you to use your head, and so do I. They symbolize air and intellect, remember?

But again, the eight of swords is here today to tell us to stop a minute. Listen to your stress levels. Listen to what you mind, body and spirit need. Listen, and for goodness’ sake don’t ignore what you hear. Give your life what it needs. Give yourself what you are asking for. Stop if you needed so life doesn’t have to do the stopping for you.

Thank you all for reading and listening. I appreciate you! I also appreciate any likes, subs, shares, questions or comments.

I’ve opened the comments on the blog, and invited ko-fi members to pick the cut for the short sip readings in the month of September. When I draw each short sip card (you can see the video of the real world short sip card draw on the TaoCraft Tarot youtube channel or here on the blog. The blog link is in the show description for podcast listeners. If I don’t get a majority from the ko-fi members, you all get the chance to chime in. Choose between left, right or center and leave your choice in the blog comments and that is the cut of the deck I’ll use for short sip readings in September. To become a Patron of the Tarot arts, and get access to exclusive Tarot content, shop discounts, private readings and more please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi or click the link in the episode description. Private readings are available to order in the commissions menu if you aren’t interested in the monthly membership part of it. Proceeds from the ko-fi page contribute toward the creation of this blog, podcast and the free-for-everyone Tarot content.

Thanks again. I’ll see you at the next sip!

Unbroken

You can’t fix what isn’t broken.

You can’t fix what isn’t broken.

Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.

Today’s card is the queen of cups. Queens represent a nurturing, caretaking sort of leadership. The suit of cups is associated with the element of water, with emotions and with our closest circle of relationship. Most of the time this card seems to point to deep inner knowing that requires a quieting of emotions to reach. The queen’s gaze into the cup is said to symbolize plumbing the depths of human emotion and our subconscious psyche for important guidance and answers to life’s dilemmas.

But like every card, the queen of cups has strings of keywords and connotations that have been attached to it over time. Psychic ability is one of those common associations, but that is the opposite side of the world from today’s energy.

Today is more about calm and clarity and a sense of emotional harmony. Today is focused on the prerequisites for intuition, not psychic ability itself.

“Emotional healing” is another of those accumulated key concepts for the card. I see a problem with the whole notion of “emotional healing.” The word healing implies that healing is needed. It implies that emotions can be somehow broken or diseased, literally ill-at-ease.

But, on the other hand, just because an emotion is difficult doesn’t make it dysfunctional, broken or wrong.

You can’t fix what isn’t broken. You can’t heal that which is already healthy.

The emotion itself isn’t the problem. Our relationship with that emotion, however, can become broken and problematic. Giving old trauma or future outsized control over our present moment can be one such problem. Expressing honest emotion in unhealthy ways is another. It’s normal to be afraid in frightening situations. It is normal to worry about risk when it exists. It is normal to feel regret, sadness, grief, and feel the entire spectrum of emotion. What you do with those normal natural emotions is the key of it, not the feelings that naturally bubble up.

There is a serene quality around the Queen of Cups card. It reminds me of the example from the Tao Te Ching. Stirring muddy water or trying to see through muddy water doesn’t really help much. But if you wait…if you abide with the muddiness and let it be what it is…then with a little time the mud will naturally settle and things will become clearer and better again.

Difficult emotions are what they are just like muddy water is what it is. Sit with them as they are, and they will settle as sure as gravity pulls the mud from water. The emotions are what they are. The healing comes from how we relate to them.

Here I am reminded of Dharma Drum Mountain, a Chan Buddhist education center in Taiwan and their website where they offer this strategy for dealing with problems in the 21st century:

Face it : face the difficulty squarely
Accept it : accept the reality of the difficulty
Deal with it : deal with the difficulty with wisdom and compassion
Let it go : afterwards, let go of it

This card suggests that this strategy for dealing with problems might be a good strategy for a healthy relationship with our normal, day to day emotions

I shouldn’t have to end this post with a disclaimer, but times being what they are, it’s necessary. Tarot has no place in medical or mental health care. I’m in no way talking about real illnesses. This isn’t about clinical depression or anxiety disorder or any other genuine mental health concern. This blog, podcast, and Tarot writ large is a tool for growth and for day to day stress management. Tarot is a normal natural way to do that. Getting real mental health help if and when you need is a normal, natural thing to do too.

It’s ok to not be ok. It’s ok to be ok too. Heal what needs healed, and abide in peace with that which is unbroken.

Thank you so much for listening. TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot contemplation for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. If you enjoy these (almost) daily Tarot readings and the other Tarot content please support this work through the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi where you can be a Patron of the Tarot Arts and receive exclusive access to members only content, tarot how-to, special offers and more. Links are in the episode description for podcast listeners.

Thank you again. See you at the next sip!

Homecoming

TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot contemplation for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee.

There is something to be said for comfort zones.

Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.

It’s been a deeply weird couple of weeks. The hiatus I had hoped to take this week is pushed back until probably mid-September, because of life and stuff. We are back to the usual pattern for a little while, and we are back to the Alleyman’s Tarot. I know I keep saying this, but this card, “The Alley” by deck creator Seven Dane Asmund, truly is my favorite right now. This may be my cue to set aside the deck for daily short sip posts and write a proper, deep-dive review. I wanted to live with the deck and use it and post with it for a while before writing about it to any extent. This is something special, and deserves more than the usual hot take unboxing first look review. I could rant a paragraph about the visual of this card, all night and neon and cyberpunk and Neuromancer. Good book,that. I highly recommend it.

This card in particular landed right in my personal wheelhouse. I hope it speaks to you, too, but it is saying a lot to me. I hope you forgive this little bit of personal indulgence and a post that pays no attention to the outward, zeitgeist energy landscape.

Landscape is a good word here. The Alley card is important to the lore and backstory of the deck. The Alley is where the Alleyman lives out his life’s calling, where he finds his raison d’etre, so wrapped in his comfort zone that it becomes an extension of self more than mere solace. It speaks of our native landscape. By native I mean our most natural, most authentic environment, not necessarily the one of our biological birth.

I’m enjoying that music is available to put on YouTube shorts, TikTok videos and Instagram Reels. For once you get to “hear” what I intuitively heard with this card.

When I say the word “hear” in the context of a Tarot reading, I mean clairaudience. You’ve heard the word clairvoyant, right? That means clear seeing, and it talks about intuitive mental images. Clairaudience is “clear hearing” and it the word for when intuition comes as sounds, music or words instead of mental images. It uses auditory imagination to the same purpose as visual imagination in a reading. It is like ear worming a favorite song, except that it isn’t your song. It is meant for your client or as something you’ve both heard before to help you find a mutual point of reference as you talk through the Tarot reading. In this case it is a bit of both. “You Belong to the City” by Glen Frey came through intuitively and it was also one of my favorites back in the day.

It was inspiration to challenge my comfort zone and find my homecoming.

Seven Dane Asmund writes of the card as quote “my community” and “where everything belongs if there is nowhere else to be or go.” End Quote.

Another song came to mind. It is from the same era, “A Sort of Homecoming” by U2. Put all of this together and I think we get the essential message that we each define our home and homecoming. Just like the old adage that home is where the heart is.

It is a card of finding your natural habitat, whatever it may be. I floundered and felt profoundly misfit in the place where I was raised. It was a bath in itching powder. Suburbia was a warm sunset. Even for an introvert, there is life and light and energy to be found. I belong to the city at its edge.

For some, a foray into a city at night is an exciting adventure. For some – like my rural evangelical birth family – it would be intimidating, or even terrifying. More importantly, for many others, it is every night, it is life, it is home.

To state the overly obvious, a lot of people are born in cities. Being at home there would be the norm. The Alley card is outside of that ordinary. It speaks to me of found family and a found home, a liminal space even within a familiar urban environment. It is a place to belong when you’ve walked away from the places where you don’t.

I wonder if the Alley here can also hint at our shadow side, the unclaimed self. If you feel drawn to this card today, what alleyway lurks within? What dark and liminal space within you is calling to you to befriend it. What dark alley is inviting you home? Is your inner alleyway one that others fear but you know to be filled with shelter and neon light and other wandering spiritual orphans just like you? Urban neon may frighten some, but it is homecoming for others.

Seek your unique kind of light, the kind that makes the dark night into your own neon homecoming.

You can run….

Corona finally caught me.

Playing it by ear when I’ll start rescheduling parties and in-person individuals again. It depends on family needs as much as my own symptom levels over the next couple of weeks. Thankfully the county is already back down to moderate and wastewater levels are dropping again. That everbridge county portal with the weekly updates has been one of the most useful apps I’ve used yet. Would recommend: www.alleghenycounty.us/alerts 

So vax up, mask up, stay safe, be kind to each other and have a good weekend everyone!

Mindful of the Absurdity

TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. We sip again Monday.

Hello and welcome to a very short sip of Tarot. I’m glad you are here.

I mostly just want to say have a happy weekend. My intentions are to be back on the usual Monday through Friday for Short Sip Blog to podcast posts. I hope you will follow the blog as a well as the podcast. The plan is to post some fall plans so the Squirrel rave can proceed to put it all into this blender of circumstances we call life.

Today’s Tarot card is the Page of Cups. It’s one of my favorites, particularly when the art follows the Pixie Smith motif of dude on the beach with a fish in a cup. Life is just that odd sometimes.

Fish in a cup? Cheers.

Not saying I would drink live fishwater. I am saying, however, sometimes it pays to embrace the oddity of it. Some days, or some weeks call for us to dig deep and channel our inner Dude with all of the housecoat and flip-flop-ness that we can muster.

Just because we are being mindful of the present moment, just because we are abiding with it, doesn’t mean we can’t laugh at it outright.

I think we make this mistake too much in America. Spiritual and important are conflated with dour, serious, somber, wet blankets.

Spirituality is lighthearted. Spirituality embraces all that being a human embraces and that includes laughter and fun.

Think of Dan Millman’s “laughter of the enlightened man.” Think of Lama Surya Das’ instagram feed. I highly recommend the “Friday funnies” from the “jolly lama” as he puts it.

With that, I leave you to your weekend. Whatever fish comes in that cup, I hope it makes you smile.

See you at the next sip