Conquest Through Surrender

TaoCraft Tarot Short Sip is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. Today: Conquest through surrender with the Death and Hawkmoth cards

Welcome to Tao Craft Short Sip. I’m glad you are here.

Today’s card is a new one for me. It is the Hawkmoth card created by Literal Crow for the Literal Crow Tarot and used here in the Alleyman’s Tarot deck.

This is a new card for me. So far this has been one of the most easily readable decks I’ve owned yet. Maybe it’s because it’s Monday, but I had to look this one up to even begin. The Alleyman’s notebook begins by connecting this to the death card and the life cycle of insects. Like the death card, this card is about change but with less foresight.

It reminds me a little bit of insect related quotes.

I’m not sure who actually wrote it, but the Morticia Addams character said “Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.”

Author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach wrote “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly.”

One of my favorite quotes lately is related, but thankfully leaves out the bugs. Adam Savage reminds us to “follow the process, not the plan.”

In essence, change is inevitable. With the death card, the change is a foreseeable, knowable thing. I’ve seen the death card most often at bachlorette parties of all things. Not because marriage is death or any such 1950’s tropes like that. It’s because marriage is a life altering change. You’ll never be an unmarried single person again. Even if the marriage ends you are not single again, you are divorced or what have you. The death card speaks to a known, forward looking albeit life altering change. The quality we assign to the change is beside the point. Marriage is a perfect example. The old single you is gone forever, but old dies to make way for something wonderful.

I think the Hawkmoth card is less deliberate. It is about a change that blind-sides you. It is about blurry, unplanned, undirected change. If the Death card walks up and lops your head off, the Hawkmoth card is change by a thousand paper cuts. It is about long term, gradual, almost imperceptible molding of a new you.

For a new you to emerge from that process, it takes a degree of surrender. In a cave, stalagtites and staligmites don’t fight the dripping water, they surrender to change and process that builds them up and makes them strong.

Some changes require our evolution. Some changes require that we surrender to them in order to conquer the greatest challenge of them all:

ourselves.

Thank you so much for listening!

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See you at the next sip!

Wait a minute

TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. Today, The Wheel – if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.

Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Short Sip Tarot. I’m glad you are here.

Today’s card is the Wheel of Fortune from the major arcana.

Have you ever watched the card’s namesake game show? It’s fun. I especially like watching the YouTube channel “Game Grumps” when they play. It seems like everybody always watches the big blace bankrupt wedge on the wheel.

It’s a perfect example of what the card is talking about. Watch sometime. The black bankrupt or the shine big prize moves away from the contestants and back to them again as the wheel spins.

And spin it does.

The card is talking about exactly that. Everything changes. Dead bodies decay, mountains were once under seas, and it is springtime.

Like I was told when I first moved to Pittsburgh, if you don’t like the weather – wait a minute.

If things are good cherish them. They can and at some point will change. If things are bad, they can and will change too. What goes up must come down, but that means what goes down must come up too. Given enough time life and the universe will find its own balance.

Thanks for listening!

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More than it feels

TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. Today: Strength from the major arcana and revisiting reversals

Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Short Sip: Tarot for your day in the time it take to sip from your coffee.

Today’s card is Strength from the major arcana, inverted.

This is another good chance to give my standard issue speech about inverted or reversed cards. Reversed cards are ones that turn over upside down relative to the person doing the reading.

The relative to the person doing the reading part is, to my thinking, much more important than the upside-down, reversed or inverted part. The card is perfectly fine as it lies. I don’t mean to go all Obi-wan on you, but the reversal is specific to a certain point of view. To the person across the table, the card is right side up. The card is the card, the only difference is how you look at it.

The tradition is to change the meaning of a card to its opposite when it turns up reversed. Usually that so-called opposite is really the darker, less socially popular, or negative side of the card.

As I see it, that flip flop in the meaning runs the risk of letting a certain toxic positivity leak into our readings. Right side up cards are a bit easier to read from a pure physiologic, visual standpoint. I don’t know about you, but I have an innate bias toward right side up cards, just as a matter of identifying what the heck you are looking at.

Depending on where you stand in the room, all cards are always right side up or upside down. All the cards are always everything and that is part of Tarot’s inherent value. Tarot has value in the way it opens our mind and our thinking to all the possibilities, even the hard to look at upside down ones.

All the cards are everything all of the time.

My favorite quote from the original 90s version of the movie The Craft is from the scene where the bookstore owner explains the nature of magic and spells to the protagonist Sarah “True magic is neither black or nor white – it is both because nature is both. Loving and cruel all at the same time … the only good or bad is in the heart of the witch. Life keeps a balance on its own.”

Connect that to the yin-yang symbol and Taoist philosophy and you know why I named this website and podcast what it is.

So if reversed cards don’t represent a thing and it’s opposite or some sort of positive vs negative duality, what do reversed cards tell us?

Sometimes, nothing.

I read reversed cards as meaning that there is something up with how the card’s meaning is being used or manifested in life. There is something blocked or turbulent or glitchy with the energy flow that the card and its position within a layout represents.

Author Scott Cunningham is known for saying “The feeling is the power” If you are feeling strong today great! Have at it!

If not, that’s fine. No one has the capacity to be perfect every moment, and we certainly don’t feel that way every moment.

The Strength card always has an element of trusting yourself. If you are feeling strong, then you have to trust it to use it. If you are not feeling strong, then you still have to trust yourself. It is a matter of trust that your inner strength is still there, still fully functioning.

Do the thing. You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to enjoy it. You don’t have to act happy about it when you aren’t. You can, however still do what needs done because your strength is more than it feels.

Thank you for reading and listening!

The blog, podcast, and youtube channel are not monetized and depend on your support. Please visit the TaoCraftTarot ko-fi page to become a member of the TaoCraft Tarot Table and be a patron of these Tarot arts. Of course, your likes, subs, shares, follows and reading orders through the blog website are always, always appreciated.

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

Ruthless

I’m getting ruthless about keeping my costs low & exploring my Tarot card suit of Pentacles side.

I like food.

Food, clothing, shelter and indoor plumbing are definite personal favorites.

They probably rank pretty high on your list of favorites too.

All along, since starting professional readings in the early Y2K years, I’ve been absolutely ruthless in keeping my operating costs as low as possible. It makes Tarot as affordable and as accessible to as many people as possible.

The ruthless continues. I’m still doing all I can to keep costs down for you – all of the time, no cutesy pants promotions necessary.

Life happens to everyone regardless of bank accounts. We all have stress and times of uncertainty. It’s universal, and so is Tarot. Intuition, creative problem solving, facing difficult emotions can help all of us at one point or another.

Tarot and psychics live in a weird world. People either think we should give our skill and expertise away for free or they assume we are a money making scam. It’s a tightrope to walk. I keep my costs low to make it accessible. I tell you all of this so you see the business side of all of this. Transparency is key to showing legitimacy. So modesty be damned –

I’m a really good Tarot reader, my specialty is email Tarot, my prices are some of the most reasonable around, I’m 100% legit, and I’ve published my policies and disclaimers to prove it.

I hate filling out my taxes as much as you do. I want to earn money doing what I do just as much as you do. That’s why I’m right there with all the small and micro businesses who are taking a vacation from Etsy.

Instead of increasing my prices to cover the increased fees, I’ve moved my Tarot readings from Etsy to Ko-fi. You can order special layout Tarot readings by email on ko-fi through the custom commission menu starting at $5.

More options for purchasing readings through the ko-fi shop are on the way. My ebooks are already there waiting for you. All proceeds from the sale of PeaceTarot through the ko-fi shop in 2022 will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. They are in Ukraine. They are in Syria and have been all along. They were in the United States indigenous and other communities of need during the height of the pre-vaccine pandemic.

You learn how to do DIY daily meditation Tarot readings, and Doctors Without Borders gets five bucks. Sounds like a win-win.

If this Ko-fi thing works out, I may make the migration permanent. PLEASE if you have a minute, check out this new, more affordable second home for TaoCraft Tarot email readings and special layouts. DOUBLE please let me know what you think and what YOU want to see from Tarot arts I create here.

OF COURSE the most popular layouts are right HERE on this website, available to order 24/7/365 no appointment needed through PayPal secured purchases.

If you are in the Pittsburgh area, are willing to come to the beautiful South Hills, and want an in-person reading those are once again OPEN. Click HERE for more details.

Thanks NASA

*heart* NASA, *heart* space exploration *heart* science. Not a common thing for a Tarot reader to say, I know.

Religion and science are always at odds. Spirituality and science are deeply intertwined.

Thank you NASA for the science, the exploration and the public domain images.

Read the post or listen to the podcast

The Infinite and The Empty

TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. Today, the infinite and the empty.

Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Short Sip, Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your morning coffee, or evening tea, whatever happens to be the case. The blogcast is posting much later than usual today because of adulting and schedules and the like. Whatever day or time of day that you are reading or listening to this, I’m glad you are here.

Today’s card is The Empty, which as best as I can tell was created by Seven Dane Asmund specifically for the Alleyman’s Tarot Deck. In the guide book he makes it very clear it was not intended as an “anything is possible” sort of card.

Indeed.

For all of its zen simplicity and stark beauty, conceptually this card is Schrodinger’s cat meets the Bene Gesserit box test from Dune. For those of you listening on the podcast, there is a link to the blog in the episode description if you’d like to see the real world card draw for today. Seriously, I hope you’ll google the deck and the card. This thing is seriously gorgeous.

This card also reminds us that the observed and the observer leave their mark on each other.

As Seven writes, quote … it doesn’t mean that anything is possible, only that you will irrevocably stain and paint this thing as you begin to interact with it. Be mindful what imprint you leave on its surface. End quote

Be mindful, too, of what you are drawing out of the infinite void of possibility. Anything may be possible, but you leave your mark on that process. When you contemplate the infinite, it leaves its mark on you. You are an active participant in what is attracted and manifested from the infinite, even when that activity is on the subconscious level.

Or, in the words of Carl Jung, quote Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will all it fate. End quote.

Empty is powerful. But empty is not pristine. Empty observed is different from empty ignored. Empty is where all things can become potentially possible. Only the empty cup can be filled. There has to be a deficiency of electrons in one part of a circuit for electricity to flow. Thinking positive with outward flowing desires and expectations and efforts often doesn’t serve as well as being open and empty and in some sense surrendering to the larger and emptier universe. What will you draw from infinity into your empty.

Empty is where infinity hides.

Thank you for listening.

The blog and podcast are 100% listener supported. This free to access Tarot depends on you. Be a patron of the Tarot arts. Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot ko-fi page to learn about all the benefits of membership. Proceeds from the shop support the blogcast.

Of course, your likes, subs, shares, commissioned Tarot readings, follows, questions and comments are always apprecitated.

See you at the next sip!

YouChoose Interactive Tarot: Rest and Contemplate

Cut through the noise of social media and the static of online Tarot posts to get something a little more personal. You choose your card and get it’s interpretation.

Welcome to YouChoose Interactive Tarot on the TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.

This post works just like the name says: you choose. You choose your card and you choose how to apply it. It’s Monday morning where I am right now, so my mind is drawn to the flow of energy for the week ahead. Overall it feels like a time to rest and contemplate. This feels like a time to gather your energy and regroup, recover from recent efforts or as “Bob the Writing Cat” on instagram often says – to “gird your loins” because it is Monday and the week is coming.

But, of course, it could be something entirely different for you.

If you are listening to audio only on the podcast, there is a link in the description to the blog post where you can watch the youtube video and see how all this is playing out with the real-world card draw. I’ve added the shape cards as a reference to make it easier to imagine and to pick a card from the audio only, but if seeing it would help, the visual is here for you.

First things first. Let’s choose. I’ve shuffled the Tarot deck and picked three random cards out of the five shape cards. Today we have square, triangle and wavy lines.

Choose a shape. Take a minute, take a deep breath. If you are watching the video, pause if you need more time then restart to see the card reveal. If you are listening, imagine the shapes. Choose the one that feels right for today; square, wavy lines or triangle.

Square gets the Four of Cups

Triangle get the Ace of Pentacles or Coins

Wavy Lines gets the Four of Swords

Four of Cups feels like validation. People are closed as it seems. Lines of communication are not flowing well, but it is temporary and it’s ok. It just isn’t a time to push on the giving or receiving in. If others are up in your grill but you need them to step back and wait a little, honor that feeling. If you are the one trying to get the message through and other people just can’t get the message or seemingly won’t listen honor that too. It just isn’t the time. Let them have their moment. There is no sense in beating your head against the wall. This isn’t a good time to push or be too assertive any more than it is a good time to be imposed upon.

The Ace of Pentacles feels like a good news is on the horizon card. It feels consistent with the physical world, money and career vibe that is traditionally associated with pentacles. It’s no wonder some decks call them coins instead. This feels like payday in a small way. It feels like getting a return on work already done, time already invested. Time transforms. Things are coming back around, but it feels like it is in unexpected but valuable ways. It feels like a transformation toward something very different but more valuable to this moment. The mental image is a diamond. Diamonds are made of carbon, but elemental carbon is a very different thing when it isn’t in the high pressure crystal lattic form we call diamonds. Don’t overlook the diamond that is coming back from the carbon you gave a long time ago. If you gave grape juice, don’t walk around looking for more grape juice when you are being handed a glass of wine.

The Four of Swords really captures the essence of that rest, repair, regroup energy we were talking about earlier. Swords cards and knight cards carry a sense of activity and motion and doing. This card balances that. It is the yin to the knight of swords yang. This card is all about rest, but rest with an active purpose. This is resting deliberately so you can be at your best during the next battle, the next active time that is going to come. For those of you who picked this card, rest and contemplate fast. I have a hunch the restful, contemplative mode will shift for you before it does for everyone else.

Thank you for reading, watching and listening to TaoCraft Tarot blog, you tube channel and podcast.

I’m not monetized on any of these platforms and this free to access Tarot content 100% relies on your support. Please visit the new, expanded TaoCraft Tarot ko-fi page to see all the ways you can be a patron to the Tarot arts. I appreciate any likes, subs, shares, blog follows, reading orders, or shop purchases that you can spare to help me keep this project going. Thank you.

See you at the next sip!

Thank you Carnegie Mellon Spring Carnival

Thank you CMU for hosting my appearance as Tarot Reader at the Spring Carnival activities tent.

Thank you Carnegie Mellon Spring Festival for hosting my appearance today in the activities tent. A little rain and chilly breezes can’t stop that kind of fun. Thanks!

Announcements 7 April 22

Declaring a meatspace weekend: email Tarot readings are OPEN, but the blog, podcast and socials will be quiet.

Short heads up

see you Monday…or maybe Sunday…it depends.