The five of wands has always had a note of success about it. Sure, there is striving, effort, even conflict around the situation on your mind – but the effort isn’t futile. Some sort of progress can be made here.
I’ve always liked the spin that challenges can be met with style, panache, even a little humor. Effort and challenge doesn’t have to mean being up tight, stressed and anxious while you do it.
There is a trace of that old adage that if you do what you love, then you’ll never work another day. Combine that with the notion of choosing your battles. When you choose your battles you are managing your resources. Those resources include your internal energy and mental/emotional bandwidth. Choose your ambitions and your striving in life wisely. If you spend effort on the things you love then stress and striving melt away.
Use the contact form on the Ask Me Anything page to – you guessed it – ask me anything. I’ll answer in a blog post like this one. It might contain a Tarot reading. It might not. But it will be intuition based and free. Unless your question is spam, religious, or inappropriate. Then it will be deleted. Other than that – ask me anything.
Q: I would like to know if the man I am currently in love with loves me and if we will ever be in a serious committed relationship.
Hi *****
Thank you for your question. Unfortunately, I have both good news and bad news. You may not like this answer at all. It might make you furiously angry. Hopefully, over time, the reading will prove more helpful than not – even if it triggers a few feels right now.
The other good news is your question is letting me showcase the new TaoCraft Path layout that is taking the place of my old Modern Oracle/energy flow layout. What follows is exactly like a paid, private email reading, which means you are getting a $30 Tarot reading for free. So maybe it won’t be so bad after all.
The first thing we need to do is give everyone a reminder about how Tarot really works. It is NOT like what you see in the movies or on TV. It doesn’t predict the future because of simple cause and effect. Your choices and actions are what really matters. What you do makes the so-called “prediction” happen or not.
Relationship questions like this are even more complicated. You have no control over what your love interest feels or does. There is only one person in all the universe who can answer if the man you love loves you too – and that is the man himself. All this reading can do is give you insight and understanding and ideas about how to approach this relationship and your feelings about this relationship.
Which begs the question – why are you asking a stranger on the internet if he loves you? Have you told him how you feel?
If you are asking the question because things have been said, things have been left unsaid or neglected or you have any reason to doubt him – we need to look at the cards to find ideas and encouragement for you to talk to HIM about this. You have every right to be safe and happy. If he isn’t right for you, then you need to know from him so you can move on and do whatever you need to do in order to be safe and happy.
If you think maybe he does love you and you are afraid of rejection, afraid of finding out that he doesn’t – welcome to club! You are facing the biggest, most consequential feeling that human beings can experience. Good for you for giving this the care and attention it deserves! Let’s look at the cards and see if we can find you the courage to talk to HIM about this.
Either way, Tarot can’t predict if you will ever be in a serious, committed relationship because it all depends on if you two ever talk about your feelings and it depends on the things in his mind and in his heart – things no other person can know or control.
But now let’s move on to the part that is just like a private email reading.
First we talk about the general pattern of the cards and how they fall in the overall layout. This layout is read from the bottom up, and right to left – exactly the opposite of the way we read words. That helps disrupt logic & language habits, and encourages a purely intuitive reading.
Your card today are:
The Past and its influence: Five of Wands
The Energy Now: The Lovers
Advice & Cautions: The Tower
The Greater Path: Knight of Cups
The Lesser Path: Wheel of Fortune
In the Tarot deck, there are 56 minor arcana cards but only 22 major arcana cards. Minors outnumber majors slightly more than 2 to 1. So when the majors outnumber minors in any layout it is usually significant.
In your case, I think the major cards dominating has two messages.
First and foremost, this speaks to the intensity of emotion at play. This is a big, important, potentially very wonderful thing for you. There is a lot on the line. It is ok to feel big feelings about that. Big emotional energies get the big energy cards.
The other message is that this is a big energy time for everyone, especially here in the U.S. Big political things are happening, there is a comet in the sky, two big storms have just passed, seasons are changing – some of the charged emotions and worries may be coming from the outside. Intuitive people feel resonant energy as if it is their own sometimes. You can see it in physics. If you sound a tuning fork at a particular pitch, a bell at that same pitch can vibrate and create sound even though the bell hasn’t been touched.
Almost every five card reading I’ve done lately has this three major arcana and two minor arcana pattern. That repeating pattern for many unrelated people and readings tells me that a general, environmental, Zeitgeist sort of energy is at play in this reading too. The energy environment may be amplifying your worries a bit. The advice in that situation is simply don’t be impulsive. Be sure before you act. Trust your instincts, but be gentle and patient as much as you can with everyone – both yourself and your love interest.
The Past: Five of Wands
Wands symbolize the element of fire, passions, inner philosophy, and your relationship with yourself. This card gives a feeling of inner conflict. Although the five of wands has to do with conflict it also hints at a positive outcome after that conflict if you put in some effort. If we connect that to relationships, if you have had past bad experiences, don’t assume the same things of this person. Put in your work to be fair to the other person. Be open, aware – don’t be fooled again, but neither should you make assumptions or expect the worst. “Don’t assume” steps forward for emphasis. It’s very important not to jump to conclusions about this person. Again that brings my mind to what we said earlier about talking to him. That kind of direct communication is essential to avoid assumptions or false expectations that may be based only in old bad experiences. Don’t let conflicted emotions get in the way of clear understanding.
Current energy: The Lovers
The Lovers card is one of the most misunderstood. I wouldn’t blame you if you took one look at this and though ‘woo hoo! he loves me and we’re getting married!”
That’s not it at all. It doesn’t say anything about how he feels. It has nothing to do with committed stable relationships (that’s the two of cups, by the way, not the lovers card)
The lovers is about a lusting type of desire, and it can be about a passionate desire for anything, not just a romantic partner. Lust burns bright. Love lasts long. Follow your passion, yes, but that can’t be everything. This card shows how much this relationship has captured you heart and mind. Don’t forget you. Don’t lose yourself. If you love him as you say, then give him the best of you – a whole, healthy you. Don’t forget all the things that make you into the right match for him.
Advice & Cautions: The Tower
It is very common for major arcana cards, like the lovers and the tower to have multiple threads of meaning. The tower most commonly can mean sudden news or an unexpected thing that throws everything into chaos. Adaptability is key in surviving chaos. Think about what you would do, how you would react to whichever way things go with this man. If he doesn’t return your love and doesn’t want a long term relationship – as terrible as that would feel, what would you DO in response? And, crucially, if he returns your feelings and wants to deepen your relationship, as wonderful as that would be what would you want to DO next?
Another less well known meaning is perspective. If you climb to the top of a tower, you can see the big picture, even when things are chaos at the ground level. To understand and better know how to adapt to unexpected things, to understand and better know what you want to do, look for the big picture. Don’t focus only on the relationship. Give time and attention to all aspects of life.
The Greater path: Knight of Cups
This is the direction most open to you, and most likely to lead to a good outcome. Cups cards have to do with the element of water, and symbolize emotions. Knight cards denote action. There is a feeling of smooth sailing, and calm action. Don’t approach this with anxiety. Approach this with calmness and love. Very old interpretations of the card have to do with a message coming to you or travel over water. Calm, cool water comes to mind. Be at peace. You being in a calm, steady emotional place will help things go better. Message is key. Action is key. Talking and communicating with this person is key. Talking and communicating about strong emotions is difficult, but that is the path to a good outcome.
Lesser Path: this is open to you if you choose it, but it isn’t the way things are headed naturally right now.
The Wheel is a card of change. Things will change naturally, whether you do anything or not. This feels like the path of not communicating. This feels like the path things would take if you choose not to talk with him about how he feels. This feels like a path of inaction, just “let the chips fall where they may”
If you don’t talk with him about how you feel and how he feels – then what are the chances he takes that silence to mean that you don’t care?
There is a chance of a good outcome here, but not talking feels riskier than taking a chance on heartfelt, kind, gentle conversations.
Summary
In all of my private readings I end with a psychic summary that lets any last intuitive messages come in no matter whether they have to do with your question and cards or not.
If you feel nervous about talking about big emotions, flower aromatherapy like rose and lavender might help. Also the stone blue lace agate is very soothing to anxiety and connects to the throat chakra to support communication.
I go back to the Lovers card. Keep career, work, health, hobbies, friends – keep a total life balance in the picture. Try not to focus on the romance relationship so much that you lose touch with other things. Especially keep an eye on career, and keep in touch with close friends.
I get a flash of a teapot, which sometimes is symbol for grandmother.
Again the color light blue comes through as something helpful. A flash of a light blue jar candle with a linen or light citrus scent.
Don’t vibe with your collective energy card? Private distance readings are open. No appointment needed for email or paper.
PAGE OF WANDS: “Know thyself” Act natural. Do you, and the path of least resistance will nudge you in the right direction.
That isn’t to say we should melt and fade at the first sign of a challenge. There is a lot to be said for persistence. At the same time, insanity is defined as doing the same thing persistently while expecting a different result. Sometimes roadblocks are there for a reason.
As a general rule, walking in harmony with the real you is the best way to go
THREE OF WANDS: Make plans, but keep your eyes open for unexpected opportunities. Good things come to those who wait.
Another way to say it is don’t sleepwalk through this thing on your mine (today, tomorrow, the upcoming week, a relationship, a career – whatever you had on your mind when you picked your card) Observe deeply. Little details might be the bright light bulb you need to light the way.
FIVE OF WANDS: Life is never all rainbows and roses. Train. Know what to do when the inevitable bad day happens for things to be ok in the end. Charge your batteries before the storm.
A paramedic instructor once said “prepare for the emergency and the emergency goes away.” When you are ready for life’s little stresses, the stress can go away even if the situation doesn’t fundamentally change.
Thanks for watching the video and coming to the blog for a few extra thoughts.
If there is a better name for it, I’m not sure what it would be.
Psychic attention a thing. It may be related to Jung’s synchronicity, Yes, my dear nay sayers, it probably is full on cognitive bias and it may be Baader–Meinhof phenomenon for all I know, but that is perfectly fine. Tarot IS psychology from days before psychology was was psychology as founded by the likes of Wundt and Freud and that crowd. Some things need scienced, like business policy during a pandemic. Other things need art-ed. There is nothing paranormal about psychic attention either. It enriches our human interaction with our physical environs. It definitely enriches our ability to do a Tarot reading.
We as humans are pretty good at filtering out background details. So if something, be it in our daily life or on a Tarot card, grabs our attention it likely is for some reason. It might be trivial. It might be subconscious. It might carry meaning. It might not. When something grabs your attention why not give it the attention it is asking for? What is the harm in paying attention to coincidences when all you are doing is paying attention to your own mind and your own awareness?
Try it with the video. After you choose your card and see the reveal, pause the video and look at the card again. Of all the rich detail this deck has to offer, what part of your chosen card grabs your attention first? What detail grabs your attention and holds it the longest? What connections do you make with that specific thing? Even if it something general instead of granular detail, like for example, the color GREEN. What does green mean to you in this moment? What pops to mind or what feelings bubble up as you look at this particular shade of green? Does it related to the meaning of the card or is it purely intuitive?
Wandering attention is sometimes hard to catch. When it is captured, it is worth a little consideration, no matter what modern psychology calls it.
This card doesn’t feel cautionary at all. If anything, it is encouraging us to jump in. The idea here isn’t combativeness or a conflict based on an external threat, but rather teamwork and mutual problem solving. The energy is basically “healthy competition.” I’ve don’t have any personal experience with team sports but I’d describe the feel here more like a scrimmage or an intramural tournament sort of thing rather than out and out competition with other teams.
Practice makes perfect as the adage goes. There is also a bit of a fire drill feeling here. No actual threat at the moment, but practice and prepare the tough stuff as well as the easy. A paramedic instructor once told me “prepare for the emergency and the emergency goes away.” Preparation and knowing what to do turns an emergency into just something you have to do, just really fast.
Ruckus is going to happen. A little practice, training, and healthy competition takes some of the scary out of it when it does.
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Hello and welcome to a new week. Fall colors are near their peak here. The forecast is for a lovely rainy day this evening and tomorrow, so am hoping to knit a bit. The last couple of weeks have been a giant maelstrom of energy for intuitives and sensitives. So thankful for Twitter friends who were willing to share their sense of it. No matter how experienced you are, everyone can benefit from a little “whew! It’s not just me camaraderie. I’ve had to unplug a little bit just to stay centered. This week feels like it might be shifting, thankfully. The theme is bittersweet and bravery.
As always, pick a card. Pick on impulse, or take a moment and deep breath to clear your mind and choose the card that calls to you. If you need a minute, feel free to pause the video and restart to see the reveal.
Left: Eight of Cups. “Things end. That’s all. Everything ends, and it’s always sad. But everything begins again too, and that’s… always happy.” as Steven Moffet wrote for Doctor Who. The Eight of Cups is very much like that. Walking away from something that is toxic or broken or just didn’t work out or a moderately bad idea. There is change and loss and sadness and ending both in admitting that a thing is broken or wrong, but also in the leaving of it. It is a necessary heartbreak that is welcome in the healing that it ultimately brings. If none of that makes sense to you, simply take this as a reminder to take out the trash, or do a little light housekeeping. SOMEthing needs to be let go.
Center: Four of Cups. As long as we are doing TV and movie quotes, this card reminds me of “Peace be the journey” from Cool Runnings. Supporting someone isn’t necessarily rapid fire platitudes, unsolicited advice or saying something. Sometimes the greater love is a silent presence. The energy here is very introspective. You wouldn’t go into a temple blasting an airhorn. When someone else is hurting and introspective, quiet and also-introspective might be the best way to help. Cups are water and intuition. You’ll know when to sit with emotions and when to cheer or use humor. The best advice is sometimes none at all. Perhaps your calling isn’t to fix things, but rather to bring a peaceful presence to this week’s journey.
Right: The other two cards have an element of the bittersweet endings or some sort of melancholy met with bravery. If you chose this card, you might need just need the bravery kind of bravery. This card is about old fashioned stick-whomping competition. There is strong advice energy around this card. Your quote is from Zen and the Martial Arts by Joel Hyams “The angry man will defeat himself in battle as well as in life.” Brave and angry are not the same thing.
Watch the video, and choose a card. Pause the video if you need a moment. Then restart for the reveal and read the card interpretation below.
This week the energy around the cards are remarkably different from the past several weeks. Last week, I didn’t do a a card draw at all. It just wasn’t the time or place for a chirpy little youtube video. Too much was going on. Democracy was dying, innocents were attacked, it was and is real. If you thought the pandemic was time to get pragmatic, this is the time to act. If nothing else, use whatever social media presence you have to support the protests, and also contact your members of congress and urge them to support the legislation being introduced this week to modify qualified police immunity and improve transparency and accountablility. Above all, please, vote in November. Black lives matter. Love is love. Women’s rights are human rights. Remember peaceful protestors being tear gassed and shot with rubber bullets to give insanity a photo op. Don’t let democracy die. It’s already on a ventelator.
That being said, there has been a shift in the connection of the cards to the general current event energies and the social zeitgeist. These cards are remarkably separate and distinct. I think that might be a reminder that, no matter how intuitive or empathic we may be, we can find, strengthen, protect and enforce the boundary between our own inner world and the energies around us. Even though this has been an issue and message for months now, it is more important than ever to know what is truely you, and what is you responding to outside stimuli. You are the bell, not the thing ringing it. Healthy boundaries are more important than ever. Think for yourself. Feel from a place of compassion more than a place of reactivity.
Another change is the interconnection between the cards themselves. The past several weeks, the cards seemed to work together, like individual words within a sentence. This week they are more like individual bubbles. They seem to be speaking to different people in very different mental places.
Left: Nine of Cups. Job well done! This card is associated with cycles, phases, or projects that have come to completion in a good way. Your boundaries are strong. Don’t feel guilty about what you have (or soon will) accomplished. Stay strong so you can inspire others. Your energy flows with the quote from Mahatma Ghandi to “be the change you want to see in the world”
Center: Five of Wands. Are you ready to rumble? Life is turbulent right now. Even if you are perfectly happy and content energies and challeges might take some annoying swipes at you. Stay chill, you’ll get through it. I get very martial arts, kung fu images here. Conflict can be rightous. This reminds me of the CK Chesterson quote “A soldier fights not because he hates what is before him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
Right: Temperance. You are still in a place where it isn’t a good time to be overly spiritual, or make any big decisions. It is extra important for you to be sure of your balance. Take whatever extra time you need before making big choices or moving big steps ahead. Work from your center, work and think and decide from the most centered, most level headed, lowest emotional temperature place that you can muster. Balance and clear headedness is critical, with the full force of a major arcana card.
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Thank you all for reading and watching the videos.
The Five of Wands has long been associated with conflict and challenge – but it is not insurmountable. I don’t know of any Tarot cards that are hopeless. There are “change course”, or “cut it loose and move on” types of messages, but never an “give up it’s over” kind of message. This may seem close. It isn’t going to be easy. Life seldom is. The message from the Five of Wands isn’t give up. It’s quite the opposite. It is a call to persist. We’ve made it to the point where now we know what to do (stay the heck at home, etc.) Now is the time to do it. And keep doing it. Then do it some more. It’s time to grind.
Yes, things are inside out and upside down. In an ideal world, our future selves will look back, figure out just what went wrong, and try to figure out what we need to do to stay out of this particular sh*tstorm. But how is that going to help here and now that everything has hit the fan and we are right in the middle of it?
Grind.
Just do it. Fake it until you make it. “Don’t think yourself into a new way of doing, do yourself into a new way of thinking.
On that big, gestalt, general energy, zeitgeist level, it feels to me like there has been another shift in the wind. The past several days have been a pleasant respite. That was the eye of the hurricane. Now we are headed back into it for the second half of the initial storm. There are more waves on the horizon, but we’ll cross that energy bridge when we get to it.
For now, do what needs done without over thinking it. Persistence will overcome.
It may not be a good time for spirituality. There may not be energy to spare for that. If that is where you mind, heart and energy lies, this card suggests a present moment attention, like a minor arcana echo to the Chariot card. This card suggests that Zen is a good spiritual approach to take in the challenges to come. Think Shaolin Monk. Think Samurai. Whatever level of potato peeling you may be doing, the idea is as Alan Watts said:
“Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is to just peel the potatoes.”
Right: Ace of Cups. Indulge in some doing. Make. Energy is flowing toward payoffs for your effort. You’ll get something back, even if it is only a vague sense of self satisfaction.
Middle: Five of Wands. Life can’t be all rainbows and cupcakes. If you don’t get a few fire breathing dragons every now and then, how will you discover what a bad*ss you you really are?
Left: Five of Pentacles. Mind the budget and shift with the seasons. The lush holidays naturally give way to leaner times. “A penny saved is a penny earned.” As Ben Franklin said.
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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