Tag: anxiety

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!

Fear of the Unknown and the Shower Cap Lady

TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. Today: fear of the unknown and the annoyed shower cap lady.

Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Short Sip: Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. I’m glad you are here.

When this card turned over, my first and only thought was “what the actual heckin’ heck is that?”

It’s got a horse, a sword (or maybe it is a stick) and a pissed off looking woman in a shower cap. Queen of swords maybe? Knight of wands? Bad hair day card?

At first, I didn’t even know what the card was much less what to think or say about it. Which, I think, is the message. The words “fear of the unknown” popped to mind. Which makes logical sense because I wasn’t sure if it was a knight, a queen, a sword or a wands card.

For a flash, I had a snowballing moment of fearful not-knowing. Not knowing the card means I’ll write a terrible post, so I’ll never get paying work as a Tarot reader ever again, which means decades of effort goes down the drain because I’ve wasted my life on woo woo spooky shit and oh-my-god-we’re-all-gonna-die.

That, my friends, is a living example of psychological stress and exactly what Tarot and mindfulness is designed to help.

Sometimes, the best thing you can know is that you don’t know. It prompts you to prepare, think, act and adapt.

Sometimes the worst thing you can do is let fear of the unknown drag you into dwelling on the future instead of being mindful of the present reality.

Fear of the unknown isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Fear unbridled puts your heart in prison. Fear utilized sets you free. As has been attributed to all sorts of people from Mark Twain to President Roosevelt quote courage is not the absence of fear but rather the ability to act in spite of it end quote.

Turns out all I needed to do was walk into the next room and pick up the deck guidebook and do a little googling. Looks like we might survive after all, folks!

On a small scale that’s exactly the kind of thing that goes with the Knight of Swords which is what shower cap chick turned out to be.

The Cary-Yale visconti tarot deck published by US Games in the 1980s is made up of reproduced images from a 15th century partial Tarot deck. According to author Stuart R. Kaplan as quoted by google books, the original deck is in the Cary card collection in the rare books and manuscripts library at Yale University. New cards were created to fill in the missing cards and create a full, functional deck. I don’t know if this particular card is original or a fill-in, but Kaplan also points out that the court cards in the original deck is a mixture of male and female figures, which is interesting for the time period. I don’t know about the shower cap, but it turns out that it really is an annoyed looking woman on a horse. The way she is holding the sword reminds me of an internet meme of Qui-Gon from Star Wars jumping up and drawing his light saber with the caption of “When you are home alone and you hear a noise”

Seven Dane Asmund writing as the Alleyman interprets the card as sudden opportunity, rapid movement, advice to take advantage of sudden opportunities or you could miss it. This is spot-on for the Knight of Swords imagery in every other deck I’ve seen.

So NOW what do we do? Is there anything that reconciles the Cary-Yale image and the flash about fearing the unknown with the typical daring imagery of the knight of swords we see in so many other decks?

I think the idea of being on guard combined with taking advantage of sudden opportunities builds the bridge between this very old card and the common modern interpretations for the knight of swords.

If fear of the unknown paralyses us, and keeps us from acting, then we might miss key opportunities. If fear of the unknown takes us into a new situation prepared and alert and ready to make the most of a sudden opportunity, then fear of the unknown has served us well.

Just don’t forget to take your shower cap off.

Thank you so much for reading, watching and listening.

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See you at the next sip.

Confession #3 : The floor is your friend

I’m a clairvoyant and I have a confession: The floor is my friend.

I write a lot of one card meditation readings for the TaoCraft Tarot blog. I pulled the Ace of Pentacles, which means that it’s a good day to make friends with your floor.

I’m not suggesting anything weird. Well, at least not THAT weird. You won’t even have to sweep up when you are done. All you need is your feet.

We hear about being “centered” or “grounded” but what does that really mean?

In physics, or at least in my puny understanding of it, electricity goes along the path of least resistance. That’s how lightning rods work. Metal wires provide a safe path for lightning to go into the ground instead of blasting its way through a building.

The emotional kind of grounding is similar. Instead of re-routing a lighting bolt, emotional grounding reshapes strong emotions.

So what does lightning and emotions have to do with the Ace of Pentacles? Emotional grounding is one of the classic meanings for the card. Pentacles as a group are associated with the alchemical element of earth. The literal earth is a safe place to send lightning but symbolically the earth is a safe place to send strong emotions like fear or anxiety.

Connection is key to both types of grounding. Wires connect electricity to the ground. When we feel connected to another person, to a group or to some identity outside of ourselves it helps with the emotional type of grounding.

The mind is a powerful thing. Imagination and visualization are like the wires in a lightning rod. You can use them to make friends with your floor and find a little emotional grounding.

The science kind of grounding was discovered through experiments. Let’s try a mental experiment to see if we can find some of that emotional grounding.

Put your feet flat on the floor.

That’s it.

It doesn’t matter if you are sitting or standing. Just pay attention to your feet touching the floor. Allow yourself to be aware of the actual physical sensation. Let your sense of touch remind you that you are connected to the floor

… and to everything else for that matter. You are part of this whole planet and a member of the entire human race whether you feel that connection right now or not.

It’s a big planet. Earth can handle your worry, your fear, or your anxiety. Imagine any stress that you have right now going through your feet, out into the floor then safely out into the ground – just like lightning goes through the wires of a lightning rod. Give it a try for a few seconds. Right here, right now as you listen to this, feel the floor through your feet and let the floor carry your stress safely away.

Now, how do you feel? How did that little experiment work for you? If you were feeling good when you started, has the quality of that feeling improved at all? Maybe it feels a little more solid or a little more durable than it did at the beginning.

If you were feeling stressed at the beginning of the experiment, did that feeling change at all? Does anything feel even a tiny bit calmer or a little bit more confident?

If not, that’s ok. Failure is always an option in these kinds of exercises, no harm done. You can learn by doing no matter what the results are. It is an easy thought experiment to do. Try this visualization a few different times and you’ll get a sense of whether it is right for you or not.

That’s it. That’s the confession. When emotions run high, the floor is our friend.

Do you have a question about clairvoyants or tarot readings that you’d like to have answered on the podcast? Please visit the clairvoyant confessional podcast page on taocrafttarot.com to submit a question. It doesn’t cost anything except a minute of your time. The link is in the episode description. While you are there, feel free to browse the website for the print only Tarot readings and other blog content.

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public domain

Whisper to the Ethers

Worry, anxiety and fear comes to us all, some more than others. It isn’t an emotion to be ignored or belittled. If the risk and problems match the emotions, plan and act to ease them. If the emotions far outweigh the actual situation, that too is a call to action. The action is to understand and when needed to reach out, to speak. Share the weight of it. Even in the alone times, whisper to the ethers, and the web of the world will hear.

Today’s Tarot: It’s Still Here.

King of Pentacles. Again

(Insert Witcher style “f*ck” here)

When a card keeps dogging us like this, the first to come to mind is to question what is it trying to tell us that we just aren’t getting? What in the world are we missing that the card has to keep coming back?  We talked about practical preparation and the pandemic. We’ve talked about leadership by example. Follow your own instincts. If you think something is missing, by all means follow that hunch and look for the message that is missing. You are welcome to re-read the posts, google other sources and the old Modern Oracle archives are at your disposal.

My hunch is to go meta.

The youtube, blog, general-audience, draw a card with the intention of helping someone somewhere or whoever needs it type social media readings have been heavy on the coins (pentacles…same thing) lately. So have the private distance readings. Down to earth practicality messages everywhere.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the top of mind, physical realm concern 10 feet thick from sea to shining sea. As it should be.  We got stuff to do – and not do. This is a physical realm oriented energy tidal wave. There are very real crisis and very real anxieties everywhere. There a very real problems to be managed with the most level head we can muster. Even the most fortunate of us have had to make adjustments for the health and greater good of everyone. If you haven’t made changes, if you put your own lifestyle over the life and health of fellow humans – then you have a world of problems that I can’t help you with.

But enough with the public service announcements (stay home, don’t touch your face and wash yo dang hands) what IS this constant repetition of coins cards, especially the King of Pentacles trying to tell us? 

The repetition IS the message. The card is still here. So is the pandemic. The danger has NOT passed. The message of the repetition is to keep it up. Don’t let off the gas, keep on keeping on as best as you can no matter what your role in this is. (If your role is first responder, medical professional, grocery or food retail….thank you. For the love of all that is good and right, take care of yourself and tell us how we can help)

Today, when I saw the King of Pentacles again, I was resistant to the repeating card. It still feels like I’ve said all that possibly could be said about it and all the other coins cards lately. Now I hope the coins cards keep coming. I want the repetitions to be the canary in the coal mine. I want the cards to keep the coins coming until the issue has passed. I am grateful for Tarot cards that get in your face and stay in your face until the energy they warn against really has diminished.

If wishes were fishes….

Of course this is magical thinking when it comes to real dangers like the COVID-19 pandemic. Cards can’t be trusted for something as real world as this. This situation calls for logic and science and reason and rationality and practicality….as is often the advice from this suit of cards. Most of the time, that’s the advice from the Pentacles come to think of it. It would be nice if the cards would give us the ‘all clear’ by having the King and other coin cards suddenly disappear from daily readings, but it doesn’t work that way.

I’m reading the continued presence of the King and other Pentacle cards as clear advice to listen to science and trustworthy medical sources. You can’t drive nails with a cell phone. You can’t make phone calls on a hammer. You can’t take medical advice from a deck of cards. You can, however, be reminded to persist in our practicality and actions in a protracted real-world situation.

Here we are. Another day in quarantine, another day with the King of Coins. What does it mean? It means ignore the BS. It means keep up with the CDC &WHO recommendations. It means stay the f*ck at home and wash your hands. “We stay at home for them because they stay at work for us.” as Misha Collins said.

It isn’t over. The card…and more importantly…the pandemic is still here.

For what it is worth…I get the mental image of an emergency light. You know, the old school red bubble rotating light. Take this whole things seriously, but not with panic.

I was once told by a paramedic instructor that “if you prepare for an emergency, the emergency goes away” meaning that the emergency still happens, but it no longer exists as a high stress panic stricken emergency situation in you mind. The emergency goes away because it becomes something you just do because you already know what TO do.

Or, in this case, like another friend of mine once said, “Stay strong. Get Lazy”

*Raises virtual mug of coffee to Judy and Brett* **

**after I washed my hands

YouChoose Interactive Tarot 20 March 20

 

I hope this slight change in format showcases what I’ve always known about my readings: Distance is my specialty. I’m really good with the written word. Typing a reading filters through my language centers differently. The information is the same, and it spits out the the same core message as in a live, in-person, on the spot reading, but I communicate that message just a tiny bit differently through email and the handwritten InkMagick readings. There is more emotional power. There is more style and panache. There is more poetry.  For example, imagine the message from spirit is “flowers.” In the real-time reading you will 100% for sure get “flowers”. In the written reading you will 100% for sure get “flowers. The core message is absolutely identical. With the written message, there is an chance the message might be a tad more polished, sophisticated or poetic…you might get “flowers like a yard full of spring violets” or “flowers, like a bouquet of pink roses”. I’m really good at doing in-person readings…you’ll always get your flowers, so to speak, but I’m super-extra-good at written readings. In all fairness, that might just be my perception because written readings are just so darn satisfying to do. Especially the pen and ink on paper one. I use a glass dip pen (I swear it reminds everyone of a magic wand) and specialty ink. Pen and ink holds a certain magick even beyond the power of the written word in a digital reading. It goes without saying all of the readings you get here are done by little old me and all the years I’ve been doing this, never a computer program, always unique, always for you, no matter which format you choose.

That being said – on to today’s cards.

Left: Four of Cups. Feel the feels. Emotions are running high. Emotions change often and things are understandably stressful. If you are one of the lucky ones who meet the times with calm or humor, keep it up…the world needs you. Look at the young man under the tree. He looks more introspective, not terribly happy. The Mermaid is silently, patiently present. Whatever your response to these times may be, sit with the present moment. Be present, not judging.  Times will flow like the stream, circumstance will change. This moment requires a patient, perhaps silent touch. Be. Be with the moment, be with each other in the feeling of the times, if not in physical presence.

Center: Ace of Pentacles (Ace of Coins) Coins have to do with the element of earth and the suit in general relates to the physical realm. This card picks up where the Queen of Wands left off. This is beyond leading by calm management and expample. It is time do do the practical things, do what you need to do to manage and preserve. Be smart and logical. Manage your resources and preserve them, never mind the notion of leadership. Ace cards are more primal and of the essence of the suit. Manage things well and keep it up.

Right: The Hanged Man. Boy does this capture the current energy, with everyone with a brain and a heart sheltering at home to protect everyone. We are in this together, we are isolated and at home for other people. In the past I’ve written that the Hanged Man teaches us that one person’s stuck in the mud is another person’s day at a spa. My mind is especially drawn to the bird with the bauble in its beak. This is a gift. It is a spa day. This enforced cut-back in outside activity and distraction is our chance to do something deeply wonderful. We are busy feeling stuck when we are also being handed a treasure. Now is the time for introspection. Set goals. What is it you want out of life? What can you do to move toward that when this is all over? People pay money for the chance to eat simply and meditate all day, take walks, do yoga  and go on a spiritual retreat. Don’t let this treasure fall past you. If you are reading this, you have internet access enough to find yoga instruction, new recipes to try, free ebooks galore. The “hang” won’t last forever. Take it in. The energy that is touching the human race right now is profound and powerful. It might frighten you. It might frustrate you. Or, if you take a hand in the process, it change you for the better.