Tag: card meaning
Today’s Tarot: Fear and Indecision
Fear and desire are at the root of indecision. We desire to do the right thing. We fear the consequences of doing the wrong thing. We fear harming others with the consequences of our choice. We desire to avoid the responsibility of choosing. We want to avoid the nuisances of minor choices. Fear paralyses.
Consider the alternatives, have a plan B, remind yourself if/when you can reverse directions should you unintentionally make the wrong decision. Think: is your decision (or lack of one) motivated by some desire – including th desire to avoid? Addressing fears about potential outcomes might make a difficult choice little bit easier to make.
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Bittersweet by Choice
Like all the cards, there is a yin and a yang, multiple threads of energy and meaning, which is a different thing from a reversed card. A reversed card is one that turns over upside down relative to the person doing the reading. That speaks more to blocked, slowed, complicated or turbulent energy around the card, which isn’t the case here at all.
Either way you look at it, life changes and sometimes those changes suck.
It is bittersweet to walk away from things that once were pleasant and good but have run their course. People, things, circumstances have their time, but that time doesn’t always last forever. Sometimes those things leave us against our hopes…other times we have to take the walk.
Being a cups card, it’s almost automatic to think in terms of relationships evolving or ending. Romantic relationships, close friendships….all kinds of relationships…are important things. But the card can reach much farther than that. It doesn’t have to mean relationships. It can mean saying goodbye to thought habits, physical habits, addictions, comfortable routines, physical objects – anything.
Our feelings about change and releasing old things are as varied as the things we left – or that left us.
My mind goes to a couple of personal examples. For one thing, leaving my parent’s religion was a toxic, gut wrenching experience, but was ultimately a very good thing. Best decision I ever made. If the card was a picture of THAT experience, the cloaked figure wouldn’t be walking away in an air of contemplation, it’s be doing a happy dance like the grim reaper at the end of Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. On the other hand, when I left my first job – as bad as the job itself had gotten- I was moping around the last day like the ghost of Hamlet’s father “farewell, farewell, remember me.” While I was thrilled to move on to a new opportunity, I was going to legit miss working with some of the people a great deal. Both situations meant walking away from something gone very wrong, both had a swirling melange of emotions. Both experiences were bittersweet in the moment of leaving, but a positive, even joyous thing in the end.
Such is the message from the eight of cups today. Leaving (or being left by) anything or anyone can be bittersweet, even if the thing in question is terrible and toxic to us. It may be bitter now, but the sweet can come in time.
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Today’s Tarot: Twinkle On Little Star
I’m not the deck collector some readers are, but I have accumulated a fair few. A favorite is the Heart of Stars Tarot by Thom Pham who very graciously gave his permission for me to share the images (and the ones from his new deck, The Runes of Mannaz) with you.
It’s one of my favorite decks for two reasons. The most obvious reason, of course, is the gorgeous artwork. The other reason is his use of famous characters and scenes from movies and TV for most of the cards. That is just how my brain an intuition works. Pop culture is a wonderful communication tool. Not everyone is familiar with the classic Tarot images, but lots and lots of people are familiar with movies and TV. Movies, songs, TV shows come to mind all of the time when I am reading for clients It works. It communicates the idea of a card in a familiar, relatable way far over and above the classic symbolism of the Marseille or Waite Smith Tarot alone.
For example, when I drew the Star card today, the Madonna song “Lucky Star” from her self titled 1983 album popped to mind and is ear-worming there as we speak. That is in no way paranormal considering how much I like 80s music and the fact that this was one of my favorite albums in its time. But at the same time, it can’t be dismissed out of hand when it comes to understanding the card’s message for today.
Since it’s actually been a long time since I’ve heard the song, I googled the lyrics to see if there were any message hints there. It’s just a nice little bubblegum pop puppy-love kind of thing. The line that caught my attention is “you shine on me wherever you are.” That in turn reminded me of how we all, everyone on Earth, see the same stars in the same patterns. Stars connect us as a unified audience for the night sky as well as reminding us that we are, all of us, connected to the larger cosmos. Stars made the stuff that we are made of – literally. As Carl Sagan famously said, “We are star stuff.”
It’s significant, too, that The Star is one of only two cards in this deck NOT based on a famous character or movie scene. The woman on the card is anonymous, the every-woman or every-man. She is both uniquely individual and she is all of us.
Even with pop culture references, getting to the right message for a client (or blog/podcast/youtube audience takes a few steps. Sometimes, like today, a card will daisy-chain widely different ideas into one cohesive thought.
Lucky star reminds us we are connected, stars shine on all of us wherever we are. The figure on the Heart of Stars card is both unique, unknown, and symbollic of any or all of us. We are individuals, yet deeply connected. We are individuals together. Although the small points of light in the sky might look the same, there are many sizes and types of stars, all at a unique distance from us that is constantly changing. Stars are individuals together in the cosmos, as are we.
The Star, and the domino chain of intuition reminds us that we are each wonderfully, gloriously, beautifully unique and wonderfully, gloriously, deeply connected.
Today’s Tarot: Tipping Point
Frank Herbert famously wrote “A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct” which in turn was adapted into the more famous movie line “A beginning is a very delicate time.”
Beginnings, I would add, are also tipsy, unpredictable, even mildly terrifying times.
The Fool depicted as Captain Jack Sparrow is one of my favorite cards from Thom Pham’s Heart of Stars Tarot deck. The character, as played by Johnny Depp, captures all sorts of threads held within the card.
The Fool card isn’t about “foolish” as contemporary language might make you think. Humor and play are certainly connotation within the card. But there is more to this kind of humor than meets the eye. Just like Captain Jack. He turns out to have both unexpected cleverness and ulterior motives. Contemporary stand up comedy is another analogy for the Fool card. Think of comedians who deeply insightful social observations in their humor; Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Jimmy Fallon, Eddie Izzard and George Carlin to name a few personal favorites. Author Richard Clarke once said that you can tell more truth through fiction than non-fiction. You can tell more truth through humor than you can say outright. Such is the nature of the Fool card.
A beginning is the best known connotation of the card, ostensibly because it has long been the first card in the major arcana part of the deck.
Beginnings are weird. No matter how much you expect them and prepare for them, then there is still a pretty good chance something is not going to go according to plan. Sometimes we think about something, but for some reason we never set a hard start or take the leap. Sometimes that is a by-product of uncertainty, lack of confidence, or outright fear. Sometimes it is a matter of timing. Going back to Frank Herbert, enough time has to elapse and conditions have to be right for the spice mass to reach critical mass and blow. That is why it is a classic Tarot trope for the Fool to be off balance, one footed, or on the edge of a cliff. If you don’t begin something that needs begun, life will often come along and begin you. Maybe that’s why Captain Jack moves the way he does.
This is my new beginning: Clairvoyant Confessional is my new podcast available on Spotify, Anchor.fm, PocketCast with more outlets on the horizon. If you would like a private distance session with a podcast psychic – here’s your chance.
YouChoose Interactive Tarot: Stand or Roll
Trying a new thing: I am letting the YouChoose videos, unpolished as they may be, stand on their own for a while. That way there is no chance of spoilers in the text below.
I hope you’ll let me know what you think either in the comments or by email at taocrafttarot@gmail.com
If you have any questions about anything Tarot or have content requests, let me know that too! Comments are open and welcome as long as they aren’t spam.
PS…did you see the new logo? So excited about converting to it 🙂
Decide to balance
In the video, we said that two cards in general can allude to either balance, or a decision. Usually, the decision in question is relatively minor and one of those “six of one and half-dozen of another” all things being equal kind of decisions.
As I give today’s energy a little thought, it still seems that balance is the thread of meaning that carries more energy, but at the same time the idea of “it’s both” steps forward, too.
What about deciding to balance?
Decisions are inseparable from balance. My favorite example is riding a unicycle. The rider is constantly making small adjustments in order to keep the unicycle upright. For those of us who don’t ride unicycles, you can see the adjustments the rider makes with the pedals and the movement of the wheel. The rider has to learn…to know and decide in the moment how to move the pedals in order to keep their balance.
Balance might serve as a good tie-breaker if you have a practical decision to make between two equal seeming things. Of the two, what will make your life more balanced? Little things mean a lot. Small decisions can add up to big effects. Opt for balance in little things to avoid big tipping points later.
Sometimes it really is hard to choose between two eqal things. They are intended to be lighthearted and fun, maybe a little snarky, but a Zombie Cat yes-or-no readings can help you sort out small choices where all things seem equal and bigger connections (like balance) are hard to see. Distance Tarot is my specialty. Order anytime, no appointment needed, HERE
YouChoose Interactive Tarot: Big Simplification
Pick a card, any card. Well, any of three. Take your time or choose quickly. It’s your choice – like everything. If you want some extra time to ponder, pause the video then restart to see the reveal.
The weird thing is that I am finally, finally getting a sense of how to dial into these YouTube videos. The intuitive signal is on a completely different wavelength than working with an individual or writing for the blog. Actually, download speed would be a better analogy for how it feels to intuition. If doing a YouTube video is OG dial up, speaking in person is broadband. Typing on a keyboard is cat 5 hardwired cable. The message is the exactly the same. The core, underlying process is the same. It is a subtle difference from my side of the table, but on your side of the table the only difference is how artfully I verbalize your spirit message. Not that you need to know that – but I wanted to give you fair warning. I want to try something and YOUR feedback would be very, very helpful.
I’m thinking that for “YouChoose” posts, I’ll post the video and let it stand on its own. That way, you can choose your card with no potential spoilers on the page below. If anything, I’ll put a general energy, zeitgeist kind of read, like the speckled stones image that returned this week. That image may hint at a longer wave of energy akin in length to the hurricane image from last year (although certainly much different in meaning and tone.)
Once caveat in doing things that way: locality. The general cultural energy impression might be very local. It most likely will be limited to the US, the eastern time zone or possibly my million or so close neighbors here in Allegheny County. I won’t know about that part until we work with this format for a while.
I would like to know what YOU think!
Do you like the YouChoose format at all in any iteration?
Do you like the cards in print under the video or the video alone?
Is there anything else that you want to see in the blog? Tell what content you want to see, and I’ll create it. Easy as that.
Wordless
“In case you haven’t guessed already, I loves me the bullwhips. The meticulous, repetitive, stretching, checking, cutting, lacing; it is deeply meditative.”
Adam Savage, speaking on Mythbusters about whip making.
Intuitive messages are wily things. Sometimes they as clear and as forceful as a frying pan to the face, other times they are cagey and elusive and evolve slowly.
We’ve seen this recently as the cards speak in a cascade over the course of the wek. They have been speaking about various aspects of rest & respite. Rest through finding quiet, introspection, and literal physical rest (Four of Swords) rest through a change of perspective (Hanged Man) and today, mental respite through physical activity. Physical activity can be at any level. Some people find a long run the best possible way to clear the mind and ease stress. For me, running IS a stress. Any repetitive activity that doesn’t require a high degree of mental involvement can very much take on the deeply meditative quality that Mr. Savage describes. Putting the neurochemistry and endocrinology of running aside, the key here is the degree of mental involvement, not the cardiovascular involvement. Repetition can be soothing for some people. Mantra & bead meditation is an example, too. Arguably, low key repetitive activity occupies or so-active “monkey mind” enough to allow allow a meditative state to emerge.
Bonus points for doing the thing by yourself. Social behavior, even with one other very close person, engages our mind more than meditation or whatever meditative activity alone, or at least if we are left alone to our thoughts by the people around.
Anything can be a meditative activity. Tai chi is a classic example. But you can add jogging, knitting, and bullwhip making to the list too. Today, maybe this weekend too, is an excellent time to find that physical thing to do that gives rest to mind and spirit.
Today’s Tarot: Hanging Around
In Carl Sagan’s fiction work Contact, Ellie Arroway is a scientist involved with SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intellence (which is a real thing.) In it, at one point, she considers not only the vast distances between Earth and other potential homes to intelligent, communicative life, but also the role that time inherently plays. Obviously, it take a heckuva long time, even at the speed of light, for one side of message to get from there to here and vice versa. What if there is also a vast difference in lifespan and local experience of time. A few days to us is a lifetime to a fruit fly, and many generations to a germ. As she was driving she noticed crack or bumps in the road at fairly regular intervals. What if, she wondered, the pulses in a signal came so slowly, so widely spaced that we didn’t even notice the signal, with each blip of the message just being dismissed as an anomaly.
Makes me wonder if the universe isn’t really teeming with intelligent, communicative, technological life but each at such widely disparate time scales, that nobody can connect with anybody so that everybody thinks they are the only ones…but that something for another time.
The same phenomenon can happen when it comes to our interaction with Tarot, or any form of esoteric guidance, even pure intuition. Sometimes the whole idea gradually unspools over days, weeks or months until finally the last piece falls into place. If we miss a piece, the message goes on until finally the “ah-ha” happens.
A single card daily meditation practice is an excellent way to get a feel for this among many other things. Not only do you get a specific read of the energy for that specific day, you can see patterns emerge over the course of days, weeks, even years. My personal example of that is the strong presence of pentacle cards during the first part of the pandemic and the evolving intuitive images of the U.S. map with all the little tornadoes and the hurricane on the horizon that both reflected the overwhelming cultural zeitgeist energies that were so strong during 2019 & 2020.
What say you empaths? Has the cultural and environmental energies stopped ringing your bell quite so hard? I think that is the impetus behind the speckled stone image. Boundaries are firmer, individual concerns are at the fore and the existential political crisis (at least locally here in the US has dropped into the background somewhat.)
Today’s card connects to yesterday’s Four of Swords card which connected to previous readings. There is a continued thread of change & rest themed energies.
The Hanged man connotes stagnation, but this energy hasn’t been hanging around long enough to take on that interpretation. Hanged Man can also mean surrender, changing your way of looking at things – it can take on exactly the wait, don’t push, change what you are doing, rejuvenate, and contemplate energies we’ve been seeing. My hunch is that this kind of energy is going to be around for a while since we’ve seen it in a multi-day pattern like this. Astrology might ascribe this to some planet in retrograde or something. I don’t know anything much about astrology, so I attribute this to a yin phase, a time of quiet, of taking in, minor adjustments. It is a time of plugging in to recharge in whatever metaphoric sense you want to give the phrase.
If there is a message specific to today, I sense “patience.” Not everything unfolds at the pace we want or expect. There are reasons patience is considerd one of the great treasures of Taoism. Just like messages from aliens, life unfolds at its own natural pace, not according to our wishes.
“The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you”
Neil DeGrasse Tyson via brainyquote.com
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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