The Boogeyman: Calculate your risk. Are your fears truly possible or just imagined?
Lightning in a bottle: Sudden success is never sudden. It builds up over time like a static charge. To catch lightning in a bottle, you have to stand out in a lot of storms
Paimon: What do you control in this situation? Is it time to subjugate or surrender?
Now that you’ve chosen your individual card. Let me take a look at all three together for a collective energy reading for the week ahead.
Although it is in the “fading energy”spot for a pathway reading, Paimon is anything but fading. If anything it is shifting from “go with the flow” to “rise and shine motherf*ckers! It is a week to reclaim power and apply it in as calculated, precise way as possible. “Controlled fury” comes to mind HEAVY on the controlled part.
Now for the parts we can’t control….
Static electricity builds, then zaps. The electrons have to accumulate in one place before the lightning can happen. The charge is building. Persist. Good advice for anyone.
The Boogeyman card reminds me of that Mark Twain quote “I’ve had a lot worries in my life, most of which never happened.” Be in the moment, see things as they are. Don’t build fears up with imagination. If you are brave enough to look under the bed, you’ll see there are no monsters.
Today’s deck is the Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund of publishinggoblin.com used with permission
The energy week ahead: Stay frosty, cooler heads will prevail.
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Hello and welcome to the Energy Path reading for July 24-31, 2023. If you are reading this at another time, chances are it is a more personal reading of the path ahead just by virtue of you finding it when you did.
Apologies for the technical glitches last week. It looks like some important edits didn’t make it to the final posts, like the growing energy card. OOPS. No point correcting now that we have moved on to new cards. Like that river we can’t step in twice, energy keeps flowing. So let’s move on to this week’s cards
Fading energy: The Hanged Man
Current energy: Strength
Growing energy: Three of Swords
The Hanged man is back as our fading energy. The hanged man has been hanging around in a number of readings I’ve done lately. I forget exactly when it was or what card it was associated with, but there was a reading here in the blog that gave the feeling and mental image of a plane that had come in for a night time landing on its last flight for the day and was powering down for the night. It even gave the mental image of a stewardess saying goodnight to the final passengers to leave as the pilot was going through a close-down checklist of some sort.
I thought it was a wonderful feeling. Whenever it was a little powering down was just what I needed. Other people I’ve talked to lately are feeling a little frustrated with the pace of things. That powered-down feeling has been around for a while now. So if Hanged Man is fading, that is good news for them. Even for those of us who welcomed a much needed respite, a new influx of energy isn’t necessarily bad. To continue with that airplane image, it feels like the sun is coming up. Even though the rest is over, it feels like a return to routine, nothing overwhelming. “A good day of flying” so to speak.
“Strong silent type” comes to mind with the current energy Strength card. That meme of baby Yoda – Grogu – calmly sipping his soup as an absolutely chaotic battle rages around him comes to mind. Very Zen. Or, like a meditating Samurai, very focused strength. Save your energy for the important things. Work smarter, not harder. Cooler heads prevail this week. Head over heart this week. If you are into 1980s movies, think about the first Top Gun movie. Be Iceman, not Maverick this week.
Which is a pretty good trick when half the world is enduring health-compromising potentially lethal heat.
Sweltering temperatures have always gotten on humanity’s last remaining nerve. As the dog days drag on, there is potentially a LOT of irritability out there. over the next couple of weeks, potentially until mid August. I’m not saying be a doormat. I’m not saying to excuse the BS. The advice here is to just not add to the stinking heap of irritability if you can help it. This vibe is starting a little early this year it seems. I wouldn’t be surprised if things didn’t really break until mid-August or so. Until then the three of swords might be stabbing at everyone’s patience and goading our pettiness.
Thanks for reading!
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Thanks again. Stay chill and I’ll see you at the next sip!
Alleyman’s Tarot Deck used with permission Publishing Goblin LLC. End image: Bitmogi free app
Keep your eyes on the road because you drive where you look.
Hi and welcome to Sage Words Tarot blog and Sage’s Short Sip Tarot podcast where we take a Tarot look at the week ahead in the time it takes to sip your coffee. Or Tea. Or adult beverage. Or whatever it happens to be that you are sipping whatever time of day you happen to see this. No matter what is on the menu, I’m happy you are here. Let’s look at some cards, once again drawing from the Alleyman’s Tarot, used with the permission of deck creator Seven Dane Asmund and Publishing Goblin LLC.
If you are reading on the blog, you already know this. If you are listening on the podcast, when you get a chance, take a peek at the blog or at the Sage Words Tarot YouTube channel. There is a companion video posted that shows the real world card draw for today’s collective energy reading. It’s real. It’s me. This is exactly what it would look like if we did an in-person reading together, just like the email readings I do are a written transcript of exactly what I would say to you in a live reading.
Actually no, I take that back. It would be better than live. That’s why I love this text to voice setup between WordPress and Spotify for podcasters. I am so much better as a writer than I am as a social media presenter. You are getting something next level when I can use a keyboard and get into writer mode. It’s a little like the old school Batman comics. Letting me use a keyboard to communicate is like using the big red direct line Bat Phone in the police commissioner’s office. Writing and typing for me is a direct hotline right to intuition. But that is all stuff you can read on the blog.
Let’s look at the cards for this week.
The “wait” energy is lessening, but it is still not time to start or run. The introvert vibe has not quite yet swung in the opposite direction. Don’t worry. It will. It always does. We’ll be back on the Be Strong! Persist! You got this! bandwagon soon enough.
For now – we’ve persisted. We’ve done the thing. We’ve made it through the 2020s decade so far. The worst may be over for the moment, but we are probably feeling worse for the wear it took to get to this moment.
The cards today are the “wound man” as fading energy, the Queen of Ravens as current energies, and the Seven of Cups as the growing energies.
The “Wound Man” card feels like the 10 of swords and the nine of wands rolled into one.
This time, this week, is less about assigning blame and more about understanding and solving the problems at hand.
In internal martial arts like Tai Chi from China, it is thought that energy flow is directed by our sight and attention. Looking where you want to place power not only helps bring the head and body posture into alignment, but it also leads the chi, the life energy where it needs to be.
It’s just like drivers education classes long ago in the dark before times. We were told to keep our eyes on the road because where you look is where you steer and that’s where the car goes. Attention is crucial, so we can add the Chariot card energy into the mix today too. The Wound Man card is bringing in elements of the nine of wands, the ten of swords through their connection with woundedness and
For physical wounds to heal, there has to be enough blood flow. Blood flow and the chi life energy go hand in hand. Healing needs attention. Neglected wounds are at risk of infection. That fits with both our modern scientific understanding of infections and with the notion of healing energy flowing with our attention. This is put into practice energy wellness systems like Reiki, acupuncture, acupressure and Reiki.
All of that, every physical bit of it is outside of the realm of Tarot. Emotional wounds, however is right in Tarot’s wheelhouse. Here I am very much reminded of the quote from psychologist Carl Jung who said that “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”
It may not be long term psychotherapy, but Tarot can be part of the wound cleaning and fresh bandages for emotional injury. It helps to narrow our focus or broaden our understanding. When we are unseen or invalidated or demeaned by others or suppress or neglect our own feelings, problems can turn up just as certainly as allowing a physical wound to fester – as nineteenth century as that sounds.
The wound man reminds us that accidents can happen or we can caught in the crossfire of cruelty. But then what?
The Queen of Ravens is akin to the Judgement card without the religious overtones. There is also a sprinkle of the Seven of Pentacles with a reaping what you sow quality. There is a sense of quick and dispassionate karma. What you give reflects back to you quickly. I hear “choose”
The next bit is hard to put into words. It feels akin to “Treat your own wounds with kindness.” and “Allow the Raven Queen, punishment isn’t yours to give this time.” A richly colored natural sunstone comes to mind, with the sense that the Queen of Ravens is protective in the same way, reflecting ill intent back to the source, and providing a warm protected bubble for you to tend your wounds and begin to heal.
Finally the growing energy is the Seven of Cups, the card of abundant options. Often this card is a caution against dithering or overthinking. Sometimes this card is advice to, when all logical things seem equal, to follow your intuition. Today I hear “growing hope” and a connection with last weeks “wait” message, as if to say more options are coming. Be hopeful, and wait for the right thing. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, but don’t let the good be the enemy of the better simply because of an inattentive lack of patience.
And there the energies step back.
Thank you all for reading and listening today. The whole thing turned out to be a little more ponderous and heavy than I expected. It will be interesting to see if there are any other big shifts when we look at the collective energy next Monday. I hope you will meet me here to find out how things feel then.
Have a great week and I’ll see you at the next sip!
Hello and welcome to Sage Words Tarot blog and the audio podcast version Sage’s Short Sip Tarot.
Merry Monday everyone!
This is what I call a Pathway layout for our reading that is intended to look ahead at the week coming up. I’m writing this on February 20 for the week from now until the 27th, but you can apply it anytime that you watch it if it feels right to you. The way I read Tarot isn’t tied to time any more than it is tied to physical space. That’s how and why that Tarot over distance by email, phone, zoom meeting, blogs and podcasts all work. That’s why they are as valid of an art form and as valid of a source of inspiration as any other Tarot reading.
A private reading with this layout will have a slightly different focus, intensity and level of detail compared to these general energy reading that we do here, but they function the same way at the core. The focus is the energy environment. This is a read of the zeitgeist to give you ideas how to best navigate the energies and situations at hand. Like have said for years – Tarot isn’t about predicting what will happen in life, it is about figuring out what to do when life happens.
The Pathway layout parallels the old style past, present, future layout that inspired it, but it is more about the flow of energy rather than the flow of time. It can help us navigate the near future, but the near future for the collective energy can mean hours, days or weeks for an individual. It really is up to you to consider, accept or reject, and then apply any given intuitive information no matter whether the reading is in person or at a distance, individual or collective.
In my version of the pathway layout, instead of past, present and future the cards symbolize energies that are fading, the strongest energy around right now and energies that are growing in strength or influence. It is very much like a weather report. There are no inevitable warnings in Tarot like there is with weather, but it can hint at what is possible, even probable. It’s the personal enrichment version of take your coat because a cold front is coming.
When I do a private reading, I start with a paragraph I call the “general pattern.” That part looks at the layout as a whole and considers things like repeating numbers, the ratio of major to minor arcana, and in the longer readings, the proportions of the various minor arcana suits. This is also a good time to talk about any purely intuitive impressions that pop up right off the bat.
If you have followed the blog or listened to the podcast for any amount of time you already know about the see, hear and feel thing.
When I say “see” it means the intuitive impression comes in the form of a mental image. “Hear” means it is an impression of words or music. “Feel” most often a vague hunch, one of those “I don’t know why but…” sort of things. It almost never means a physical sensation, so that gets special mention if it happens. Don’t hold your breath for that one.
In this case, three cards aren’t really enough to comment about minor arcana ratios. The flow reads from right to left. I’m an English speaker, so it helps the connection to intuition to disconnect it from the way language reading flows. Here we see two minor arcana cards flowing into a major arcana card which hints at building energies just ahead. Things are heading in a direction of more energy, more change, and a faster pace. I also intuitively hear the song “People Are Strange” by The Doors. I’m guessing this means there is a chance of things sliding off the rails, going a little pear shaped or just plain getting weird. Remember, it is easier to put out a small fire than a big one. Forewarned is forearmed as the old adage goes. This isn’t predicting that something bad is going to happen. This saying that there is potential for strange days – like the weather analogy. Bring a jacket because it might be chilly this evening – that sort of thing.
The diminishing energies are represented by the Ace of Wands. Wands cards are connected to the element of fire and our inner passions. This connects to some one card readings I’ve been doing the past several days. Not all of them were public, so no details, but the basic vibe of it all was plant your seeds now. The energy is right for new projects to have good outcomes.
The window for that is closing…so don’t wait. Plant those seeds, follow those passions so you can move on to the business ahead and also protect those delicate beginnings you just planted so to speak.
The Page of Cups is one of my personal favorite cards. For it I ‘hear’ “embrace the strange” which is another way of saying roll with it. The more adaptable and fluid you are, the better the week will go for you. It fits that this message comes through a cups card, since cups are associated with the element water. Here I am reminded of the famous Bruce Lee quote “Be water my friend.” It might be weird, but go with it. This is the vibe that is strongest right now and will be the greatest help in the transition from the diminishing Ace of Wands energy to the growing Tower energy.
The Tower is the surprise, big, sudden game changer of an event or energy shift. Some associate The Tower with chaos, and the opportunities that can lie within chaos. I like to think it can also be a world changing shift in perception. It can represent a sudden insight, the brain wave, the AH-HA moment that changes everything, especially if you are able to put it into action. Here I am also reminded of the “Lighting in a Bottle” card from Dane Asmund’s excellent Alleyman’s Tarot deck. Not all sudden change is bad. It can hold opportunity like the classic meaning for the card and the old proverb says.
Making the most of those kind of bolt-from-the-blue situations is seldom fun or easy, but worth the effort in the long run. Like we talked about in the “The Makings of Magic” post and podcast episode, if you are going to catch lighting in a bottle you have to stand in some thunderstorms.
At this point in private readings, I talk about any crystals, aromatherapy or other intuitive impressions that may come through. Those are far to individual to put in a general audience reading like this. The best advice I can give at this point is to use whatever supports your adaptability. Use whatever healthy coping you knows help you stand strong in a sudden storm. This is a chance draw from your experience…or maybe learn some new things for later…but now is the time for rolling with any lightning strikes so you can catch it in that proverbial bottle.
Thank you so much for reading and listening. Any likes, subs, follows, shares or virtual coffees you can spare are always gratefully appreciated. Podcast folks can, as always, find the related links in the episode description.
Tune in next Monday for our next look at the next week ahead. Daily Sip members, tune in every weekday for a Tarot contemplation in the time it takes to sip from your coffee every weekday.
TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. Today we talk about found family and stray cat royalty.
Welcome to the TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.
I’m still exploring the Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund. Today’s card is the Queen of Strays.
My first early morning coffee deficient impulse response to the card was my inner three year old yelling KITTY!
But honestly, though, there are worse ways to start a Monday morning than a picture of a cat.
My Aunt used to have an orange tabby with a vibe a lot like the queen in the box on the card. I imagine that if Pumpkin had a human voice she would have sounded like Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey. Pumpkin was a rescue like all the other cats my aunt ever had. She was legendary for bringing home every stray around when she was a kid. To this day, she is the neighborhood cat whisperer.
If we humans have the capacity to form relationships with the strays of other species, then think about how much stronger the bonds between found humans can be.
In that respect, the internet is a glorious thing. I’ve had conversations with people who I never would have met otherwise in more places than I could ever afford to visit. I’ve had conversations in Esperanto with a Japanese doll designer and a German Reggae singer. I’ve built years-long friendships with an energy healer in Albuquerque, a writer and two Tarot readers in Canada plus a voice actor on the entire opposite side of the country (insert Nineth World Journal and Oz 9 fangirling here.)
I’ve done email Tarot readings that started wonderful conversations with lovely people on the entire opposite side of the planet in Australia, India, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Meat space can be just as glorious as cyber space if we let it.
Have you ever been to a comic con or a concert for your favorite band? That is a glimpse of how like minds and found family can feel. For some of us that found family, that sense of tribe and community can be desperately important.
I’ve been lucky in negotiating these things. I’ve avoided the land mines that have exploded friend’s families over smaller religious and political differences. I’ve lived in the white evangelical subculture. I grew up in what we now call “MAGA” culture. It isn’t an exaggerated news media trope. The danger and emotional damage of rejection and homelessness and worse is very real especially for lgbtquia teens in the so-called red states and red counties.
We all have to do all we can to protect the vulnerable among us. Each of us must be the Queen or King of strays. Vote. Be kind. Advocate for equality and inclusion. Most of all be your true self when you can.
For we adults, it’s usually easy, safe and cheap. You never know when letting your true self show might make a younger found family member feel a little less alone. Letting your true light shine might throw a some encouragement into a dark corner where it is needed. A little kindness and a little authenticity can make you stray cat royalty.
That’s why I love this card today. Families of heart are just as real and valid as the genetic kind. They feed your soul. I’m old and lucky and privileged, but I still remember going to a U2 concert in the 80s and feeling like I found “my people.” I still remember the giddy joy of watching the Reason Rally in 2016 and seeing the Ron Reagan unabashed atheist commercial. It is one thing to intellectually know you are not alone, but it is another thing altogether to really feel and experience that there are others “like me.” I remember doing Tarot readings at a theater after party one time and feeling ridiculously happy in that diverse, accepting, loving group of people especially after getting a quick hello hug from a seven foot tall drag queen. It doesn’t matter how your stray-ness is defined, be it race, religion, gender identity, sexual preference, or what have you – strays of every type nurture and care for each other because we all know what it feels like to be the only one.
Thank you so much for listening. All very best wishes to all of you, my found Tarot Tribe. See you at the next sip!
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