I follow a number of Taoist, Buddhist, Accupressure, Traditional Chinese Medicine and other such social media feeds.
This being the waning weeks of the year of the snake has popped up several times over the past few days, associating the end of the year with a metaphoric shedding of skin, as a snake does when it grows and enters a new cycle.
It reminds me of the ouroboros, the image of a snake or dragon eating its own tail that is said to symbolize cycles destruction and rebirth.
Drawing the Star card from the major arcana fits exactly that energy today.
This card is sometimes associated with guidance – like ancient sailors using the stars for navigation. Of course, this winter holiday season, the Christian minded among us might think of the star in the three kings legend. But that isn’t the energy this time at all.
Reference after reference connects The Star with rebirth and renewal.
This is much more cyclic. This is snake skin and ouroboros circles. It’s not about a singular point of guidance. It’s much more complex than that.
When I drew the Star card, I intuitively ‘heard’ “echoing silence” and was reminded of winter nights with a clear sky over snow-covered ground. Even if you are in a city parking lot or a suburban driveway, the night and silence are profound, the quiet echoing behind any noise you might hear.
We are at a cusp. We are at the tail of the ouroboros snake. No one star guides us through this transition.
An entire galaxy of stars promise rebirth.
As dark as this night may be, as anxious and terrifying as the echoing, frigid silence may feel, the stars burn on.
Even the stars move. Everything changes. And that includes changes for the better just as much as the tragedies our fears so often imagine.
Heart of Stars Tarot by Thom Pham, used with permission
If the first step in solving a problem is acknowledging its existence, then perhaps the beginning of wisdom is acknowledging it exists within you already.
Wisdom doesn’t come by striving. It comes by living what you already know while remaining willing to learn some more.
This week we had our first snowy day of the season.
It’s one of those things where you just have to roll with it. You can’t stop it. Not much you can do about it except brave the bread and eggs crowd at the grocery store and shovel when it’s all said and done.
Life is one big snow day in that respect. Do what you can when you can and roll with it otherwise.
The six of swords is giving that energy today. Go with the flow is the best way through. All is not always as it seems anyway.
The swords are on the boat…not blocking the boat;s way.
The figures behind the swords seem huddled and seem miserable while the standing (and steering) figure sees the way ahead, the direction the current is flowing, and can nudge things toward a brighter horizon.
Why fight the current if you can use it to your advantage? Why huddle behind imagined blockages when the natural flow of is taking you in the general direction that you want to go?
Mindfulness and being aware of the present moment is like standing up for a minute and seeing the current flow, the bigger picture, and the way ahead.
The six of swords is a reminder to enjoy unexpected snow days, so to speak.
Action Eases Anxiety layout shows ‘what it is’ (left – current energy or situation) and ‘what to do about it’ (right- advice to help move forward) Having a plan makes things less scary, even if the plan goes off the rails (which is usually does – being adaptable helps too)
Three of Pentacles: the physical realm, especially when it comes to work and career feels inside out and upside down. And it isn’t all under your control. The system or teamwork may be falling apart or under stress.
Knight of Wands: Now is the time to make a move in favor of yourself. You are your own best mentor and support team in this moment. Don’t be petty or hurtful or throw anyone deliberately under the bus, but do what you need to do for you. This is that moment where the oxygen masks are dropping and you have to put yours on before you can help anyone else. You are no good to anyone, yourself or otherwise, if you are metaphorically unconscious. Tend to your own physical and mental health this week so you can be present for new situations and other people later on.
Often this strategy brings guilt about not helping others in this moment, or worry that there will be pay-back or blow-back. Think of it as a short term investment for a long term gain. If there is blow-back for giving yourself a short amount of time to do what you need to do for yourself – then that shows the true colors. A time like this where the energy supports taking care of yourself shows who supports you and who doesn’t. Use that information to know how best to spend your energy and efforts moving forward. This time not only benefits you directly, but also lets you help others with sincerity and dedication in times to come.
The knight of wands carries most of the energy in this reading. It often reminds me of the book/series Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel. In that, the Knight of Wands turns out to be a harbinger of “magic returning to England”
The Knight of Wands is here to let us know that this is a time for our magic to come home. It is a time to pay attention to your passions, your loves, the things that make life most magical for you.
Your magic is returning. This is the week to welcome it.
Fall and Winter hours and posting schedule: none. At all.
Sage Sips is in full pirate radio mode, popping up whenever. Some days may or may not make it over to other platforms. Following the blog here is the only way to get absolutely everything.
All ko-fi proceeds go toward the cost to create and web host this blog.
The “Action Eases Anxiety” layout was inspired by Buddhist philosophy (I HIGHLY recommend Dan Harris’ Substack) and my “Learn With Me” series about Lenormand Tarot.
The layout is like a sentence…a noun and a verb. It represents the current energy, then what to do about it. It isn’t a prediction or a quick fix, but making an action plan like this takes the edge of worries. Any tarot reading can help us focus on the moment at hand, not what may or may not happen in the future. That in itself can help ease worry.
What it is (left card): Ace of Cups, reversed. Something is leaking or spilling. Where are your emotions being spent uselessly? Where is your creative energies being wasted? What fucks are you giving that would be better not to give, or to at least give somewhere else?
What to do (right card): Ten of Wands. Put down responsibilities that aren’t really yours. Remember that you can show the way, but you can’t walk through the door for someone else. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink. Your happiness is your responsibility, no one else’s. No one can give it to you, but equally, no one can take it from you unless you give it away.
Thanks for reading and watching! See you at the next sip!
Deck: Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund, used with permissions Publishing Goblin LLC
It doesn’t chase after anything. Yet, just being itself, a magnet attracts and sticks with the just-right things. It’s a quiet process, but a powerful one. Watching, waiting, just sitting there letting your light shine in the universe is a powerful something to do, possessed of great optimism. Although they are outwardly quiet, confidence, optimism, contentment, and intention can be very energetically loud.
“My optimism wears heavy boots and is loud”
Henry Rollins
Thanks for reading! Proceeds from private readings, memberships and virtual coffee on ko-fi all support the creation of this paywall-free Tarot blog.
This is a yes/no layout that the recipient allowed me to share with you, so you can see what an email Tarot reading with me is actually like. Instead of a video (that I for the blog) email readings get a static photo of your unique, real-world card layout.
Q: I got a reading with you almost a year ago. The reading said it was a good time to think about a job change. Not long after that, I got an unexpected job offer and took it. It seemed like the right thing to do and everything seems to be going well, but some doubts are starting to creep in. Did I do the right thing?
A: First of all thank you for letting me share your reading with the blog. It is such a positive energy and we could all use a little boost of good news these days.
And positive it is!
This is the most definite YES! energy that I’ve seen in a while. Usually, even in these “Zombie Cat” yes/no readings there is a lot of fluidity and emphasis on the power of choice.
This reminds me of that bitmoji where the energies and your spirit guides just sip a coffee and say YUP.
I apologize for this being a short reading. It always feels like these concise clear answers are too easy, that I’m not giving you your money’s worth. I hope the ‘yup’ is as valuable and reassuring as the energy feels on this end. It feels surprising too. If you ever had any doubts about your personal power, your path of magick, you can set those right on to the side. You are in a good place. All the effort has been worth it and people are starting to see all you’ve put into your growth and building good things for you and your family both in terms of real world, tangible things – but even more importantly for the positive esoteric energies that follow you around like your favorite perfume.
As you probably remember, these yes/no readings work a little like an I ching coin toss. Two aces = yes, but three aces mean a yes that can be easily tipped over to the opposite if you choose to do so. In this case, you are solid, which I’m guessing is just the news you wanted to hear.
Going card by card after the basic answer –
Ten of Cups is just as good as it looks. Cups are symbolic of closest relationships (as well as the element of water, intuition, emotions) This shows that the choice you made is good for you and your family, which you have always said is your number one priority.
Ace of Pentacles is as job related as you can get for this question. Pentacles are Earth, real world, career, finances. This is pure reassurance that work will work out ok.
Ace of Cups moves its focus from family & relationships to the water & intuition realm of the suit. Your instincts were right on target. Again, huge validation energy here. Doubts are normal. Stay on the lookout for any real problems emerging, certainly, but don’t get stuck in the past. The energy is very forward-looking at the same time it is reassuring.
I see blue…like a lighter gemstone, along the lines of blue lace agate or apatite. But that being said, I also feel pushed to say wear whatever crystals make you feel as powerful as you are. Lapis Lazuli steps forward too. In fact that is overtaking the lighter. Lapis, definitely lapis. I’m getting the usual woody scents like the meditative ones that usually come through for you. This time it is a little sweeter like copal or frankincense.
A quick flash of crossed over loved ones of an older generation – parents or grandparents. I ‘hear’ “honor the ancestors” but it is Dios De Los Muertos season. Now the taste of candy, like a vanilla taffy. Does that have any meaning for you?
Again Dia De Los Muertos (I hope I’m spelling that right) images.
And there the energies step back.
I hope that puts your doubts at ease! Gurrrl – you are SO on the right path!
Thanks again for letting me share such a cool-feeling reading!
How to move forward in harmony with it all: Five of Cups
The energies are ripe for you to rediscover your true self, remember the things you genuinely love, and embrace all of the things that actually make you happy – to hell with what other people think or if it makes money. (Am taking my own advice there – hence the void scream)
Happy is valuable. A moment of joy is priceless.
The past year of death-card change and chaos energy is finally starting to move away. Things are still weird, but you are adapting to the weird and making friends with your inner demons. Adapting and rolling with whatever happens makes adapting and rolling feel like home.
Loss and release is sometimes necessary to make room for something better.
This is a perfect week for shadow work, very in keeping with the season. Don’t bury your dark side. Make friends with it, and make your light and dark combination greater than the sum of the parts. There is magic to be made in killing the past (a la Kylo Ren) to become who you really are. There is no part of you so bad that there isn’t someone who has been there with you at some point. There is no part of you so dark that you are excluded from the human race.
Dark is necessary for light to shine. Or as my favorite Affordable Floors song says – there is no calm without the storm.
Embrace the dark as a place to let your light shine.
This is a time of re-evaluation and release. Take a hard, honest look at the way things actually ARE so when the energy shifts to a mores active stance, you can do what truly needs done, even if the thing that needs done is letting go.
The dominance of female images points toward a very yin, quiet, drawing in energy this week. In autumn, many trees shed their leaves, so Autumn Queen reminds us of letting go, which can be filled with feelings of loss and sadness just as much as the experience is filled with empowerment and freedom. The energy truly is bittersweet this week. This energy is very much akin to the 8 of cups in RWS type decks.
The thing to do in this environment is to take a reality check. The Autumn Lady works with the queen like an advisor, keeping decisions grounded in reality and practicality. The action of taking inventory is a quiet, introspective one but an action nonetheless.
Thanks for watching! Likes, follows and shares are always appreciated, no matter what the social media algorithms are up to these days.
Or order a private, just-for-you, personalized Tarot reading by email or join a membership tier on Ko-Fi (includes free Tarot readings). The proceeds support Sage Sips Tarot blog which is always free to read.
You can still order private readings or join a ko-fi membership tier to get free tarot readings as part of your membership (terms and conditions apply – you know that drill. Entertainment only, doesn’t predict the future and whatnot)
For THIS week, I have a treat – for myself, but hopefully for you, too. I’m finally breaking out my “Normal Tarot 2” deck . This thing is GORGEOUS! I love the gold foil on black with skeletons aesthetic (no surprise there) and I’m really looking forward to exploring it more with all of you in a few weeks.
But now…this week. Interestingly, it might be helpful to read both, regardless of which one you chose in the beginning.
THE FROZEN KING: If we think of this card in classic Tarot terms, it is a little bit Death, a little bit Hanged Man. It is about the loss and tragedy of stagnation when the stagnation stems from choice – not the lack of choice. The frozen king is like locked up riches that can not be used. It is about lack of progress and prosperity stemming from a refusal to adapt and change. This is another facet of the Death card that has turned up in some readings lately. If you are frozen, resisting flow and change, ask what passions and loves in your life have you been neglecting. What flame do you need to (re)kindle to once again find your Flow.
THE SIXTH OF SUMMER: This is almost the opposite of the Frozen King, and the solution to it. It also marries elements of multiple Tarot cards, the Lovers and the Three of Cups with a little Ace of Wands thrown in. In short, be passionate about your relationships with people with a strong overlay of playfulness and lightheartedness – be generous with your smiles to strangers and add a little extra wattage to the intimate relationships that matter most to you. The battery for all of the extra energy is authenticity and genuine emotion. Only light the torch of passion when you genuinely and intensely mean it. But the hottest flame ends the soonest. Take care not to flame out fast. Cool the passions you want to last. Advice from trusted sources and friends can help, akin to that three of pentacles energy that is coming through here.
Merry Monday! See you at the next sip!
Sage
Deck: Normal Tarot 2 by Seven Dane Asmund used with permission and available to purchase on PublishingGoblin.com
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
You must be logged in to post a comment.