Before or after the reveal, before or after reading the card’s message below. However you choose it is your choice, your instincts, your message. Take both. Reject both. It is still your own good intuition leading the way.
Death: You no doubt already know the Death card is never literal, but symbolizes change. Big change. It means the crossed-the-Rubican, no way back type of change. When that happens, and it does happen to everyone one way or another, only you can say if the change is for the better. Chance at a new life or fate worse than death: It’s up to you.
High Priestess: No one knows everything. Predictions aren’t real. There is real healing and personal power in becoming comfortable with not knowing. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr. – “‘[Courage] is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.”
Together these bring to mind a social media meme that feels very true to me “Religion is for people trying to stay out of hell but spirituality for those who have already been there.”
Thanks for reading! See you at the next sip!
Deck: Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund, used with permission Publishing Goblin LLC
Some say anxiety is from thinking too much about the future. We can’t predict the future but we can make plans and, more importantly, take action to help create the future we want. Psychic predictions aren’t much of a thing, but cause and effect is a proven, real and powerful thing. Tarot is very much that – it is a tool to help you understand what is going on here and now, and helps give you ideas about what to DO. Those ideas and those actions create the future, not predict it. Those ideas and actions help ease anxiety.
In this layout, the left card reflects the current situation, the current energy. It helps us understand what it is that prompted us to want a Tarot reading, or scroll a Tarot blog, or watch the social post that brought you here, or whatever the case may be.
The next card suggest a good next step. It is an idea what to do now about the energy that is happening now. That one idea, that one next step, is all it takes to interrupt that habit of letting your mind live in the future and stop the spiral into anxiety, even its just for a little while.
Coming in October: Sage Sips blog on TaoCraftTarot.com will be partnering with the “How To Holistic” blog to bring you more stress relief options. The Ebook “Reiki and Relaxation” and pay-what-you-want distance Reiki sessions to the Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot Ko-Fi shop.
KING OF CUPS: The king of cups is about both literal and spiritual guides and mentors. Cups cards are connected to the element of water. Because of that, they are also connected to intuition, emotions, and close relationships (including family, close friends, not just romance)
The message here is that you are not alone. You are connected to all that is. You are part of the Cosmos at the grandest scale. You spirit-world companionship is at your side at the very least. On a more practical scale, this isn’t a time to go it alone in the mental and emotional real world either. Read, listen, learn, ask for advice. That takes courage. That is why this kind of mentorship and learning is connected to the KING card. Be brave enough and wise enough to know that you don’t know everything and go get the knowledge that you need.
HANGED MAN: This card has two very different traditional meanings rolled into one card. On one hand it is about stagnation, or at the very least, feelings of frustration at the pace at which life is moving. Your mental/emotional/biological clock is ticking at a faster pace than things are naturally moving. The message here is basically cool your jets. Let things unfold. Time is key, and some things can only happen with time. You can’t ferment fine wine …or even a mason jar of pickles…in a day. Time is a crucial ingredient right now.
The other meaning for this card is ‘fearless sacrifice’ or ‘self sacrifice’ The sacrifice that must be made here is your expectations. Give up the when. Throw yourself on the alter of being patient.
Sacrifice your expectations and impatience to allow room for either real world or spiritual guidance (or both). Find your mentors. Spirit guides don’t work on a time clock. It takes time and quiet to hear spirit’s whispers. Moving at a fast pace makes it all hard to hear.
Thanks again for reading. Hoping to get a ‘weekend oracle’ ready for you Friday. See you at the next sip!
When we talk about the “layout” or “card spread” in Tarot, we are referring to how the cards are physically placed on the table during a reading. The photo above shows a three card layout.
Some layouts are ancient and ubiquitous and no one really knows how they originated. Others are brand new and purpose written by the tarot reader. All are equally valid.
Regardless of its origin, the layout adds context and structure to a reading. It is the framework that connects the different cards into one, larger, cohesive message.
The real key in any layout is to have a clear idea what each position within the layout pattern will signify before the reading begins. You have to have a clear, fixed intention for the layout positions before you even pick up the cards. It serves as a solid foundation, which allows the individual card meanings to adapt and flow with intuition. Those two important things together elevate the quality of the reading as a whole. The card layout (along with a consistent overall reading format) helps to put the purely intuitive Tarot information into real world language we can actually use.
Here are the layouts that I’ve written for my private Tarot readings:
Year Ahead
five cards
advice over prediction – gives a sense of the energies ahead to help navigate the year
four cards for each upcoming season in order, no matter what time of year the reading is done
One card above the others to summarize the year as a whole
TaoCraft Path
Five cards
Intended for understanding the current situation and guidance navigating your life path ahead.
It goes right to left: influence from the past, the current situation, advice to move forward, how to keep this path, how to change this path if you want.
NEW! TaoCraft Taijitu
Three cards
Yin card: energies drawing toward you
Yang card: energies moving away or that need pushed away
Harmony: advice to take your next step forward in balance with all of the energies.
Yes or No
Three cards
Straight yes or no answer plus advice
inexpensive
fun and lighthearted, “Zombie Cat” style
Image credits:
Top and Taijitu image from the public domain
“Seasons”photo by the author using Witches Tarot deck by Ellen Dugan and Mark Evans copyright 1996 used with permissions on Llewellyn publishing
TaoCraft Path photo by the author using public domain image tarot cards
The Devil isn’t just in the details…it’s all over the darn place.
Life isn’t always pretty, so Tarot isn’t always pretty. Sometimes the best thing a reading can do for us is break through walls of denial, yank the rose colored glasses off of our faces and set some jade ones into their place.
The Devil card from the major arcana is the ultimate card for that aspect of Tarot. It’s up in your face with cold, harsh reality -usually just when you need it most. It isn’t a call to fear. It is a call to courage.
There are reasons why positivity can go toxic. If there is nothing but light you are just as blinded as you are in pitch dark. It takes both light and shadow to see.
The Devil card’s reminder of the dark side can vary anywhere from the common sense to the dire and dramatic. The purpose isn’t to scare you – the purpose is to put you on an appropriate level of guard. Have batteries in the flashlight when a storm is forecast. Park in well lit areas and have your keys ready as you go to your car. Have the hard conversation with your significant other. Admit people you care about have the capacity to make bad political choices – and sometimes do.
There are gnarly things out there in the world. The Devil card reminds us that there are people out there who really don’t have your best interest at heart and this might be a good moment to take stock, face facts, and be safe.
Hello and happy almost September! I’m loving the cooler weather we’ve had this week! In honor of not feeling like we’re trudging through a flaming planetary death hellscape, back to roughly normal posting.
Today is a choose your own card Tarot for the week ahead. Pause the video if you want more time to think. Choose the card that feels right to you and tah-DA! You just got a free Tarot reading. It doesn’t matter if you choose before or after you see the cards and meanings. It is still intuitive discernment. It is your own good intuition deciding if one card, the other card, neither one or both are right for you.
ACE OF PENTACLES: Rest easy. Enjoy the simple pleasures that are already at hand. Contentment is a great treasure. Give yourself the freedom to dream a little while enjoying everything just exactly the way it is right now. If everything seems dark or dreadful, open your perspective. You might be missing something and focusing on one thing too much.
THREE OF PENTACLES: You got this. You are strong and capable, but you still don’t have to do everything alone. Enjoy being a strong, happy part of the team. It doesn’t mean you are weak. It might just mean you are the leader.
Fall Schedule
As always, there is none. Family first, always. When and what gets posted depends on the IRL day job. Here is the plan that fully expect to go off the rails:
Sage Sips Blog
Always free to read! No paywall!
Sunday/Monday: Week ahead interactive choose your own card readings
Sage Sips membership $5/month: One free Tarot reading by email each calendar month at your request – choose your layout (five card, year ahead, three card taijitu, three card yes-or-no, one card meditation)
Sage Answers $3/month: One free yes-or-no Tarot reading by email at your request.
Both tiers get DM access to request your readings
Both tiers get random special offers and exclusive content.
Like the free tarot readings that you see on social media? Follow Sage Sips on ko-fi, Substack and TaoCraftTarot.com for longer, expanded readings and extra content not seen on the socials!
Current Energy: THE KEY. This is a time of transition, a liminal portal from one cycle to another – not quite finished, not quite begun. This energy is akin to a blend of the RWS eight of cups and the Magician energy than the pure beginning energy of the Fool card. This isn’t pure beginning. It is manifesting in the context of a new cycle. This resounding quiet is a potent time to plant the seeds of being and set intentions to manifest in the future.
Next Step: CLOUDS. Endings and beginnings both carry potent emotions. When endings and beginnings come close together, as in a closed circle, the emotions can be intensified. Be kind to yourself. Remember moods and emotions are transient as clouds. Let go. You can’t grasp the mist.
Action, doing something, can ease the anxiety and worries that can’t help but persist if we do nothing but wonder ‘what if…’ Action is necessary for there to be change, for anything to actually manifest. But the first step in any action begins in the invisible, begins with thought or decision. Making an action plan is as essential as the action itself, no matter how quickly that thought or decision or plan happens.
Making a decision – even the decision to do nothing – is in itself an action that eases anxiety.
Deck: Healing Light Lenormand by Christopher Butler copyright 2021 all rights reserved used with permission Lo Scarabo / Llwellyn publishing.
Sage Sips members on ko-fi get an email tarot reading at your request each calendar month, DM access, exclusive content and random special offers. $5/month.
STRENGTH: The energy environment supports you today, or at the very least, is getting out of your way a little bit for once. Outer steadiness supports inner change, which requires the greatest strength and courage to face.
KING OF WANDS: Real strength lies on the inside. Do what you know is right for you. Decide what kind of person you want to be and start right now. You don’t have to explain anything to anyone. Be who you want to be, fully, immediately. A shift in perspective can happen in a heartbeat. Nothing can keep you from you. There is no barrier to being. Be smart and stay safe around bad people, certainly. On the inside, however, you are in charge. Always.
“You are under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.” – Alan Watts
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Psychologists, holistic health professionals and Buddhists agree. Action Eases Anxiety – maybe better than you think. Simple mental and physical exercises can take the edge off of anxiety, which is more than typical day-to-day worry. Things like naming five things you see, taking a short walk, patterned breathing. I highly recommend @DanHarris and @jim_donovan_sound_health on instagam for more trustworthy real world anxiety advice.
This layout is inspired by Lenormand Tarot but works with any Tarot or Oracle Deck. The left card reads the current concern or the current energy environment. It may be a clue to what is the cause of your anxiety. The right card is a clue to the best thing to do next. It’s like a sentence; Subject and verb. It shows what the situation is and what to do about it.
WHAT’S GOING ON: Queen of Cups. This is deep emotion, perhaps something long suppressed bubbling to the surface. Emotion isn’t your enemy. Sit with it. Feel it fully, then move on knowing it doesn’t rule you or the reality around you.
BEST NEXT STEP: The Emperor. This signifies deep competence and real-world skill. Build your confidence. Head over heart. Let logic lead for a few steps to give emotions a chance to exist and heal and be understood without letting them rule you. You are in charge here and probably doing much better than you may think. Expanded post on https://TaoCraftTarot.com tomorrow
Sage Sips is a free-to-read tarot blog supported by tarot fans like you. Private readings, memberships and virtual coffee gifts all go toward the cost to produce and web-host this blog.
Thank you so much for reading! See you at the next sip!
The fun way to do this is to pause the video, choose your card, restart for the reveal. Or read everything, then choose. It doesn’t matter, because it is still YOU making a choice. Take the message for your own or leave it. It is all up to you.
Tarot doesn’t tell you what will happen in life, it helps you know what to do when life happens.
SEVEN OF SWORDS: Cut your losses. Don’t throw good money after bad. Work smarter, not harder. Intellect is your friend this week. head over heart for now.
ACE OF CUPS: Happiness or ease comes like a cool drink of water. It is ok to allow yourself a moment of peace and contentment. You are the only one who can. Deck: Black Cats Tarot by Maria Kurare copyright 2013 all rights reserved, used with permissions via llwellynpublishing.com
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