Action Eases Anxiety: Feel your way home

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L- what it is (cross, reversed)
R – what to do (the Lady)

Energy is flowing at cross purposes to your higher intentions. Magick moves slower, this is not a time for impulsive actions.

Feeling is both noun and verb. Feeling IS doing something. Emotions, intuition, gut instinct may sway back and forth, but like a compass needle will help you feel your way forward, like gently finding your way across a pitch-black room.

The Lady card today resonates with the sacred feminine, with the mysterious, spiritual, inward, contemplative side of human psychology that is akin to the High Priestess in other Tarot decks. That is the thing to do. By the same token, being rigid, outward, legalistic, or dogmatic (as one might expect from the Pope card) is something to be avoided in this energy environment.

Lenormand tradition does not give much weight to reversals, but in this case it seems to emphasize the message that the energies are not openly hostile but definitely moving at cross purposes to your intentions. This is not a time for new projects. This is not a time for impulsive action or rash decisions.

Think about finding your highest and best, think of acting (albeit carefully) for the highest good. This is a good week to contemplate your true calling and highest path. Find direction now, take action later when the way is more clear and the resources you need are within view and closer reach. your true calling and highest path. Find direction now, take action later when the way is more clear and the resources you need are within view and closer reach.

To put it in short but controversial terms, be loving and spiritual this week, avoid religion. Feel, more than act this week. Contemplation and kindness lead the way through this time.

Thank you so much for reading. See you at the next sip!

Deck: Healing Light Lenormand by Christopher Butler, copyright 2021 all rights reserved, used with permissions Lo Scarebo publishing

Dropping In

And you thought I was kidding about the whole “I don’t have ducks, I don’t have rows, I have squirrels and they are hosting a rave” thing. 

Actually, ‘nibsnextdoor’ is one of my favorite new Instagram finds. Ranks right up there with Mr. Chicken, that animated duck dancing to “Hey Ya!” by Outkast and clips of Count Von Count from Sesame Street set to Dragula by Rob Zombie.

Here is the rave playlist….

I’m in the middle of changing jobs. I’m friggen’ 60 and basically starting a whole new full time job only vaguely related to anything I’ve done before. I’m stressed.

But what I HAVE done before is natural stress management. Tarot is part of that. Readings can help put your mind and emotions at ease. I’m walking, talking PROOF of that. 30 years worth. 

My stress managing happy place in Tarot right now is one card daily meditations. I’m going to stick with that on the blog for a little while until I can settle in to the new normal

BUT

Rest assured that free readings are still fully available for members and for purchase from the READINGS menu. Worst case scenario it will just take me an extra day or two to get the reading to your inbox. But even that delay should abate in a few weeks. 

Thank you all so much for patience, grace and understanding. I appreciate you!

Stay tuned, and rave on my friends!

Action Eases Anxiety: Portal

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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.

Better Than You Might Think



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

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Thank you so much for reading! See you at the next sip!

Week Ahead Tarot: Choose Direction

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Don’t worry…you can’t cheat these readings. No matter when you choose your card, even if it is after watching the video and reading the meanings below, it’s still YOUR intuition leading the choice. There is still a choice being made and that’s what it is all about.

“Tarot is about telling you what will happen in life, it’s about figuring out what to do when life happens.” – Sage

This set of cards is very yin/yang like. The ten of cups is internal, about perception and subjective experience, like the black part of the taijitu (yin yang symbol) Yet the contentment is expansive, yang, like the white dot in the yin field. It is about how you occupy your moment and your space.

On the other hand, Pentacles are connected to earth element – the physical realm. This is yang, outward, like the white side of the taijitu. This is about how you interact with the outside world. Yet conserving, contracting, withdrawing – a very yin thing, like the black dot on the symbol.

Which direction did you choose? Where is your flow and change? What do you most need to create harmony with this week?

TEN OF CUPS: Take comfort in friends, family, chosen family and tribe. Moments deep contentment are close at hand and, for the moment, are easier to find.

Or, as Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) said in the 1994 movie The Crow “Little things used to mean so much to Shelly. I used to think they were kind of trivial. Believe me, nothing is trivial.”

FOUR OF PENTACLES: Conserve your resources and mind your budget. It’s the doorway to get through this energy environment and to get to better times. “Temporary setback” “Rally the groups” and “Take action to conserve” “extend resources” all come to mind.

“A penny saved is a penny earned.” – Ben Franklin


Thanks for reading! See you at the next sip!

Deck: Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund, used with permissions, Publishing Goblin LLC

Papa Hierophant

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Some cards come more naturally than others.

Tarot readers are people too, and have our emotional triggers. Some cards push our buttons more than others. Giving a reading touches our hearts and minds as much as getting a reading. The Hierophant card is a challenge for me when it is drawn in full pointy hat christian-heavy regalia. Just not my wavelength. Fairly or not, my life experience and point of view made the RWS Pope look wrapped in rules and judgement. Until – thank you social media – I read a framework for the card that made sense out of it. At the same time I found decks with artwork that fit the new conceptual fit. In short order, the dogmatic, pedantic pope-ish character morphed into a Grandpa.

Think stories by a campfire. Think shamen. Think wise elder. Think teacher. Think Yoda.

Whichever deck we use, when the Hierophant comes into a reading for a client, intuitively, it seems to take one of those two tracks, whichever best suits the client’s needs I assume. It either vibes with rules or traditions.

On one hand, it seems to have to do with social conformity, playing by the rules. It is compliance with a Papal Edict. Or, it could have to do with nonconformity, breaking social convention, rejecting other people’s expectations. It seems like the sense of it doesn’t follow whether the card is reversed or not. It seems more triggered by the clients nature. If the client is a natural conformist, then it seems to nudge toward being their own person, pushes them a bit toward freer thinking. If, on the other hand, the client is naturally a freethinker, or a rule-bender, then it may be a nudge to “play by the rules” a little more in some respect.

Now that the ‘keeper and teacher of traditions’ notion has crossed my path, it comes through at times even if I happen to be using the RWS deck. It seems to come through with that energy at times when the client is feeling  a little uprooted, or disconnected, emotionally or spiritually orphaned somehow. When this is the energy, the Hierophant is a call to join the circle, learn of the past, learn of roots and connections. Just as we are each our own best minister or pope, we are at times our own hierophant, finding and adopting our own spiritual tradition on a path apart from our past or upbringing. Either way, it is about learning a new pattern.

It is a pattern of twos, of balance, in understanding the Hierophant. Comply with rules or find your own path. Embrace or rediscover your tribe and deep traditions or celebrate your initiation into a tribe of one, of you. Either way, the Hierophant is teaching us our path and spiritual tradition.

Week Ahead Tarot: Choose Your Flow

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You can’t cheat this. This is all your choice, your intuition. You choose what you are going to do this week with or without the cards. You choose how you interact with the cards. You choose if to use the guidance or not. You choose if you want to pick your card before seeing it. If you look at the cards first, you are still following your instinct to the right message for you. If you read the interpretations below, and choose which one is for you – great! It’s still you choosing your path in tandem with the spirit/energy guidance. It’s all valid, because it all comes from YOU.

The same is true for private readings and larger layouts. You know your truth when you hear it. If a reading makes you mad, it’s the mad that counts -not the reader being right or wrong. How you feel about a reading and what you do with the information is what Tarot is all about.

“Tarot doesn’t tell you what is going to happen in life, Tarot helps you figure out what to do when life happens.” – Sage Snow

THE CHARIOT: Things are happening fast. Pay attention. Head over heart, keep emotions in check. This is not a time to let your mind wander or lose your temper. Stay frosty.

SIX OF SWORDS: Gentle progress is still progress. Go with the natural flow. Now is not the time to make waves.


Deck: Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund, used with permission  @publishinggoblin1072 

Today’s Tarot: Yes

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ACE OF DISKS: (COINS, PENTACLES) Even if it doesn’t look like what you expected on the surface, even if it isn’t exactly what you hoped for, a surprise opportunity is still an opportunity. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good, and know when to take yes for an answer.

Action Eases Anxiety: Above

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What it is: Five of Swords.

The five of swords is about conflict, but not the big conflicts that is so in the news and so stressful to so many of us. This isn’t about a moral line in the sand. This is about selfishness, ego, squabbles with a big dose of pettiness. Be clear about what is important and what is petty noise.

What to do: Emperor

My first thought when I saw the Emperor was “look at the side eye on that guy.” The Emperor is associated with responsibility, reliability, confidence in your own power and competent leadership. Do you, engage with the important things, but remember you are not other people’s drama. Disengage from useless drama and nonsense. Rise above. Rule your own inner kingdom, protect your own inner peace, let the immature ones figure it out for themselves. Save your strength for when it really matters.


You can be yourself with me. Happy Pride!