October is TaoCraft Tarot’s fourth anniversary. Look for a special giveaway to celebrate. I know, I know. I swore no more crazypants sales, promotions or giveaways – but this is different. This is a celebration of what is, and has already happened, not a by-product of trying to hustle up new business. BIG difference in energy.
I want this to be all celebration-vibe and zero desperate hustle vibe. I’m grateful for the 15 years I was able to work under the Modern Oracle Tarot website name and the Tarotbytes blog (the archives still exist they are over on my personal blog “Sage & Stuff“) but even more grateful for TaoCraft Tarot where I can finally be my Taoist, witchy, atheist slightly snarky self.
I have a few more finishing touches to finish for this years Fall overhaul. I plan to write an omnibus introduction to things-as-they-are but you know how that goes. You know how that goes. Squirrels.
Thank you to everyone for your saint-like patience the past week, including today. Made a trip out of state for family reasons, and have been playing a little catch up the laundry today. Sorry to YouTube folks for the delay posting the written part of this.
Not a lot going on as far as announcements go. The 2nd anniversary Tarot reading giveaway is still going on (use the contact form on the special offers page to get yours)
It’s going to be a big financial hit, but I won’t be doing parties or in-person readings this Halloween season because our local test positive rates are still around 5% and outside of stores, mask wearing is spotty at best. It just isn’t worth the risk. I hope you will get one of the free digital handwritten one card reading. It might be a nice way to cheer ourselves a bit as we head toward flu season and a possible covid resurgence.
That being said –
Left: Knight of Wands. Knight are usually the action heroes, all about doing something. In this case the action part of the knight card is taking a little bit of a back seat. This card was featured in the book / mini-series “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel” as a sign of the second magician appearing who would bring magic back to England. Rather than physical action, this card is a symbol of action, a place holder for action when we look at all three of this week’s cards together (more on that later.) This knight for this week isn’t about physical doing…it is all about spiritual doing. Call it magic(k) if you like. In subtle energy work, intention is everything. Astrology isn’t my specialty, but the full moon coming soon seems significant. If you feel drawn to astrology, please do research and find out what a full moon in Pisces means for you. This is a good week to stop being caught up in the physical day to day activity, and focus on your intentions, pay attention to your energies. You get what you give. Deliberately and actively set your mental and spiritual intentions, think of it as activity and quiet thought in exquisite balance
Center: Four of Swords. When we exercise rest is a thing. Muscles need a little rest every now and then in order to repair and become stronger. Rest is a necessary opposite to action in order for things to work as they should. While swords cards, like knight cards, often denote action the four in particular denotes rest and repose. Proper sleep is necessary for healthy minds and bodies. To move forward in battle, warriors will stop and look and see what must be done, what is the most effective way to proceed. If you chose this card, it might be a more active and busy week than for other people, but don’t just charge ahead in order to get through it all at any cost. Look before you leap. Think of it as observation and analysis in exquisite balance with swift action.
Right: Two of Pentacles. This is the classic card about balance. Only Temperance gives a stronger message about keeping everything in check and not getting too extreme with anything just now. Moderation is your friend. This card is about dynamic balance, moving parts, constantly adjusting, a little like the constant adjustments a unicycle rider makes. Balance is a key idea this week. Watch for anything that is getting to be too much, try not to get ‘out over your skis” as they say about anything, but given this is coins card, you might want to pay particular attention to work-life balance. Think of it as exquisite balance in, well, everything.
Taken together, these three cards are all about an exquisite balance. We just had the autumnal equinox, day and night in perfect balance. Think of the old myth of balancing an egg on its end on the equinoxes. This is the most fleeting tiny pause, the breath holding, one-footed moment on a tightrope, that can only last the barest second before the tightrope walker must tilt to one side, or the other, or take a step forward or take a step backward. Nature abhors a vacuum and gives precious little time to any sort of static balance. This week feels to be the tiniest pause, a balance that can’t last, a held breath before the exhale must happen, an equinox of energies. Gather in the magic of this fleeting golden moment before that balance born of change and motion must begin again.
Whew! At last. Our weather forecast finally includes some cooler nights, the first hint at my favorite time of year.
It is still that re-branding anniversary season, and the one card Tarot reading giveaway continues until Halloween. All you need to do to get the FREE reading is use the contact form on the special offers page.
Please stay tuned to the blog. More re-introduce-TaoCraft-anniversary season “Portfolio” posts are on the way.
Left: Queen of Wands. All queen cards represent leadership from a care-taking and nurturing standpoint. While kings were out defending the kingdom, the queens would care for the welfare of the subjects. From a more contemporary standpoint, this is like parenting, teaching and caring for other people. I see this card often in readings for caretakers like health care workers, teachers and so on. It often serves as a reminder to take care of yourself too. You are not as helpful or effective as a leader (of any type) if you are burned out and exhausted. This isn’t a call to over-indulgence, but it is permission to grab a nap, take a few minutes to meditate, indulge in that half hour online yoga class…that sort of thing.
Center: Ten of Wands. The Ten of Wands is as much short term encouragement as the Queen of Wands is advice for a marathon. The queen is lifestyle…the ten is looking at the short term situation. It’s a grind, and going to be that way for just a little while more. Ten is the largest of the number cards and is often associated with completion. I think of it as being similar to a ‘changing line’ in I Ching readings. In Taoist thought and the I Ching, anything in its most extreme holds the seed of the opposite, is primed and on the verge of a shift, a little like going over the top part of a Ferris wheel ready to go around again. The ten of wands, as the artwork suggests, is related to feeling overburdened or stressed. It’s not quite over yet. Sometimes this card asks you to evaluate what you should put down and what is needed to carry – a sort of a ‘thin your sticks’ idea. In this case, for this week, it is more of a ‘grind it out’ feeling. There is a sense of something nearing completion, so hang in there, do the do, grind the grind and soon you’ll be able to just toss the whole load down, job well done.
Right: Queen of Pentacles. There is something very similar in energy between this card and the Queen of Wands. I suspect it is also related to self-care, but with a different spin. Pentacles are related to the element earth and the practical, physical realm . This card brought several old adages to mind, heavy on the Benjamin Franklin. “A penny saved is a penny earned” makes me think that if you chose this card, this isn’t a week for impulse buys or unnecessary spending. At the same time, “penny wise and pound foolish” came through and in hand with the other advice. Don’t impulse buy, but don’t fail to invest in something good and needed. The energy around that part is about quality and value. Make the calculation between cost and quality. It brings to mind all of the DIY, low plastic and refillable products that the algorithms have figured out I like and are now filling up my socials…it costs more up front, but saves money in the long run. That is the kind of budgeting and money-wise thinking the card is suggesting. “Cleverness” and “Shrewd thinking” comes through too. Use your head in money matters this week. Be clever, not miserly.
Overall, three cards together, nurture your leadership, whichever style fits your situation the best. Take care of your self as you go along to keep yourself strong and well for the long haul. Grind through if you need too, then take time to recover when it is all said and done before you pick up your next project or obligation. Or works smarter, not harder. Use cleverness and wise investment to take care of yourself and those who depend on you.
Hi again! Hard to believe it is time for another weekly reading. Funny thing about this year. Small bits of time seems to fly, but looking back over the year it seems to be about a decade long. Time is as fluid in perception as it is relative to speed it seems. I hope you’ll take a peek at the special offers page and keep an eye out for the (rapidly becoming annual) hello posts. September 2018 was the beginning of Modern Oracle Tarot’s (and Tarotbytes blog’s, and Quirk & Flotsam etsy shop’s) rebranding process. October 31, 2018 was the grand unveiling of TaoCraft Tarot that brought everything under the same conceptual cyber roof. This year, I’m celebrating TaoCraft Tarot’s second anniversary all the way through re-branding season with a digital one card InkMagick reading giveaway through midnight on Halloween. Fall has a sense of newness: a new school, a new season, a new name. It is very much a vanity project, but over the next several weeks I’d like to reintroduce myself and the foundation ideas behind TaoCraft Tarot to all of you and to the newer subscribers on the YouTube channel. But now for THIS week:
Left: The Hermit. A major arcana card, if you chose left, you are being pulled toward a path of higher energy. This week is headed toward some spiritual OOMPF that may be more feeling than physical manifestation but just as important. There is a strong mental image of a compass here, which inspired the post title. There is a feeling of active navigation. This card doesn’t imply that you are lost or going in the wrong direction, but rather empowers you to SET your direction. Fall and Halloween season are, for some, the new year season as well. The feeling is less nostalgic than the January new year season tends to be. You can be retrospective then…the advice here is to “tee up” the end of 2020, set yourself up to end strong. You have everything you need to do that on the inside. Even if you are young, you have the experience you need (from spring of this year if nothing else) to set your direction for Fall. Your inner light is your best guide. Quiet time brings it to the surface: a long job, a cup of coffee with some music, a bubble bath, meditation – whatever works best for you.
Center: 7 of Cups. A minor arcana card, no red lights or sirens around this week. More minor nuisance kind of feeling here. It is a gift to have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to options. Don’t overthink, don’t let the decision paralysis get you. Here I get the mental image of Luke in the ice cave, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath and just reaching out to get his light saber. Similar feeling here. Listen to you inner vision, let your heart lead the way. Quiet is key for you, just like the Hermit card, but in a more internal than external way. Quiet the chattering monkey mind to let your heart (and gut instinct) speak.
Right: Ace of Swords. Remember that ice bucket challenge that was going around several years ago? That comes to mind as symbolic of this card’s advice. It is the exact flip-flop of what the seven of cups is saying. Follow your brain. Try to keep chattering monkey guts and emotions in check and let cool reason and intellect guide the way. It may feel unfeeling, cold and calculating – but cooler heads prevail and set things in a much better direction. Step away from the social media…this is NOT the week for hot takes on the first thing that fries your cakes. Stay frosty for a better outcome.
You are a winner too…one card meditation email Tarot readings are free for everyone until midnight eastern time (gmt-5) 4 November 2019. Claim yours on the special offers page on http://www.TaoCraftTarot.com.
One card not enough? Three card Zombie Cat yes/no readings are half price for the holiday season.
Left: Eight of Pentacles – Almost there. Energies are right to see things through. Don’t sabotage yourself by giving up too soon.
Middle: Ten of Swords – Not everything is a big spiritual experience. Sometimes reality pins you down. Stare the dirt in the face and see reality as it is. THEN get up and make the most of the lemons life hands you.
Right: Eight of swords – Your creativity can save you. Close your eyes, be very quiet and physically still. Listen to the wind and hear the truth within.
Zombie Cat yes or no readings are still half price
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Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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