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.
Sage Sips is Tarot in the time it takes to sip your coffee. This longer read is a real world example of my new Taijitu Tarot layout.
This is a real life email Taijitu Tarot Reading that the client generously gave permission for me to share with you. This shows how the new layout works and what an email private reading with me is really like. You can order your own private reading anytime, 24/7, no appointment needed. Most of the time I can get the reading back to your email within 24 hours or so.
For added privacy, email readings have a photo or your individual real-world cards instead of a YouTube video. Videos are just for blog readings.
Q: Thanks for doing a reading for me. No problem. You can use the reading as an example on your website. I’ve seen you do these before and trust you to black out all the right stuff.
So much is going on I don’t even know where to start. Could you do an open reading?
A: Thanks ****** I appreciate it. I hope the reading helps you the most, but I also hope it helps other people who might stumble across it.
General Patterns
This layout reminds me a little bit of those lenormand “Action Decreases Anxiety” readings I was telling you about. We can do one of those for you someday if you want. The energy here is very straightforward and to the point the way those two-card Lenormand readings tend to be.
But I hear you about a lot going on. Two major arcana cards in one small three card layout is saying something.
I ‘hear’ (meaning the intuition comes as words, sounds or music instead of the usual mental images) “Liminal” while I get the impression of some sort of hallway. This high energy time is a transitional one from some phase or cycle or another. I hear “big moves” and “afoot” like when Sherlock Holmes says ‘the game is afoot” So you are right to think something is up, it’s just a matter of figuring out what, and and then figuring out what is the best thing to do about it.
Hallways are symbolic of transition and portal-like liminal spaces, so the hallway image makes sense. There is a sense of reassurance that even if there is chaos now, there is something waiting on the other side. It’s hard now, yes, but something is waiting on the other side. There is no guarantee that the other end of the hallway is euphoric dreamland – but by the same token there is a feeling of reassurance that it is all going to be OK sooner or later.
These cards are not at all tied to time, but are all about energy flow. It takes as long as it takes, but you’ll feel it when things shift. You’ll know when the energy changes. It’s not a past-present-future thing at all. It’s all about shift and flow. Here I see river rapids and a kayak, all rocks and white water and turbulence and noise, but ending in a wide, quiet, shallow, calm, sunny area with wide grassy banks.
I get the image of being caught in a rainstorm. It’s hard to say exactly how long any given rain will last, but you can often have a good sense whether it is a quick storm or settling in for a long, dreary day. The hallway is all shades of blue too, for whatever that is worth. If there is any crystal connection here, it feels like a reference to lapis lazuli which has a connection to intuition and the third eye. It might help support your own good intuition and help you navigate the next period of time, at the end of the hallway, whatever that turns out to be.
Yin: Judgement
Yin is energy you are drawing in toward you, which can be a very good thing. Yin is as powerful as yang, but in a different way. A strong magnet can pick up a car. This card can represent what you are manifesting, but can also point out weak spots that you can change for the better to help attract and manifest for the highest good..
Of the three cards, this one is really grabbing my attention. This feels like where majority of the energy is flowing for you right now.
The Judgement card is a two edged sword and it feels like you are getting both edges.
On one hand, there is jugdement in the sense judgementalism It feels like you have been misunderstood and misjudged harshly and unfairly to some extent, although you may have perceived this misjudgements as larger or harsher than it was intended at times. On this side of things you may come face to face with the idea of reputation. How much do you care about what other people think of you, and whose opinion really matters to you? By the same token, whose opinion is meaningless and irrelevant to you? Why should you care what distant acquaintances think of you?
The other side of the Judgement card is one of second chances. The phrase “to hell and back” comes to mind. I’m not sure where that comes from or exactly what it means in this context, but there it is. I’m also reminded of an old TV where one of the characters literally goes to hell and comes back. That character got a second chance in a big way and turns out to be the hero of the plotline.
I am also reminded of an internet meme that “religion is for people who want to stay out of hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there.”
So for you…it’s a little both. You may be forced to come face to face with whether or not you care about what people think about you, and what you do when you are judged incorrectly or unfairly. But on the other hand, beyond this current turbulence you get a second chance at life in a larger sense. That doesn’t necessarily mean rekindling the relationship with ***** as much as part of you might wish for that. It means that you are going to be ok and have a second chance at inner peace whatever outer form that may or may not take.
Yang: Knight of Swords
Sometimes this card can represent something you need to push away, or release, to literally ‘blow off’ as the phrase goes. In your case I think this is something to embrace, lean into, and pump up the volume. In face I ‘hear’ the song “pump up the volume” by MARRS. Cool video, you might like it. I think it’s on YouTube.
Now the phrase “fake it until you make it” comes through – but not in the sense you might think. It’s not telling you to be fake – its saying to use both sides of the mind-body connection to your benefit. Just as reducing stress can improve physical health, physical environment can impact mental health.
This isn’t to say you have to an hour of cardio every day. This energy feels more like a recommendation to DO the things you know bring you joy. Double especially for those inexpensive, abundant “simple pleasures”. Have a favorite meal for no reason. Feng Shui the heck out of your living space. Light that jar candle that you enjoy, and get another if you need it. That sort of thing.
I’m also reminded of one of those inspirational saying things from somewhere “Don’t think yourself into a new way of doing, do yourself into a new way of thinking.” BE the change you want to see in the world. Imagine what life would be like if you already had a quality or condition that you want, and live that as if it were true for a day. Just a day. Try a mindset on for size, so to speak. Mat Auryn described it in Psychic Witch as if you want to be a powerful psychic, live for a day as if you already were. What’s different from the things you do now? If you like the feel of it, why not make the changes long term or permanent?
People see you as more confident and daring than you may feel. Be the badass you want to see in this world.
Harmony: Empress
I always know things are on the right track when I ‘hear’ the song “Bamako” by Youssou N’Dour which is the case here.
Rocks and trees and flowers and bees kind of nature is all well and good. In fact here I get the mental image of a wide, slow moving river with rocky banks. If you can get yourself into that natural environment, it can only be a good thing. Next best is forest, under shady, cool trees (here I see a local park with trees and a gazebo by a small creek.)
But the other kind of ‘nature’ is stepping forward more strongly for you. As in be true to your nature.
The way to move forward toward inner peace is to be authentic. You may have given away too much of yourself in service of others, to the extent there is nothing left for others to connect to. Moving forward with authenticity is the best path to that promised second chance. It is a way to call back the energy you have over-expended in order for it to enrich the connections you still have and to (re) build future connections.
Easier said than done, but simple and clear does not mean easy.
This is the point where the energy is short and to the point, like that Lenormand thing I mentioned earlier.
Summary
This is the part where I listen to pure intuition. The images might connect to the cards, or it might not. This is a chance for any other important messages to come through, especially in an open reading where there is no specific topic or question to guide the conversation.
Here I get blue lace agate to help calm stress and restore peace of mind.
I also get sage to release negativity BUT later changing to something sweet woody or resin-ish like sandalwood, amber, or copal as your confidence returns.
A flash of a teapot, which is sort of my universal symbol for hello from a grandmother or other crossed over loved one who was close to you.
Now I get the scent of pipe tobacco and a wood shop, which reminds me of my grandfather. That may be a cosmic hello too from someone who identified male when they were on earth.
Tea comes to mind. I don’t know if that is a literal ‘drink green tea’ thing or encouragement to find the Zen things in life that you enjoy, Zen in the spirit of mindfulness like a Japanese Tea Ceremony.
And there the energies step back.
I hope that helps in some way. As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact me here or DM on ko-fi. I have ko-fi DM set to open for all levels of supporters.
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Taijitu is another name for the famous yin-yang symbol that inspired this layout.
The Yin card (right) shows the energies that you are pulling toward you (the dark part of the symbol) and energies that are growing in influence (the white dot in the black half)
The Yang card shows things you are resisting or need to push away and release (the white part of the symbol) These are energies that are diminishing in influence (the black dot in the white half)
The Harmony card suggests how to flow forward with these energies instead of fighting the currents. This card suggests a good next step in your journey.
These blog readings are just a glimpse of the general, collective energy. It might fit for you, or it might not. If it does, great! The ideas are yours to ponder and use as you see fit. If not, don’t worry. Feel free to use the search bar and browse the archives. Type in a Tarot card or topic and you might find something helpful in the post archives. I’ve been reading cards professionally for over 20 years, blogging for a lot of that, so there is plenty to read! Although I don’t do in person, party, online or phone readings now, I still have personalized readings by email (they are my best readings anyway) available to help support the cost of writing and hosting this website.
TaoCraft Taijitu Tarot for the week of 31 March 2025
Yin card: The Empress. The turn of seasons can help support your mood. It’s a good week to touch grass literally and figuratively.
Yang card: Five of Swords. Rise above the mischief. Find your inner bada$$ get over it. The storm is beginning to pass and there is recovery work to be done.
Harmony card: The Lovers Focus on what you really want, not one the means that you think will bring it. Look to the destination and the way will become clearer. (Inspired by The Witch’s Coin by Christopher Penczak)
Starting tomorrow, there is something special planned for NaPoWriMo in April. Stay tuned! See you at the next sip!
I don’t know what the squirrels have planned, but here is what I’m aiming for this week:
I’ve been putting off making an “introduction” video for my ko-fi page for ages. If all goes as planned, instead of the usual “choose your card” for the week ahead, I’d like to video and upload an intro video welcome message for the ko-fi page that ALSO introduces the new layout.
Inspired by the Taijitu (the name of the famous yin-yang symbol) I wrote the “TaoCraft Taijitu” layout to show three key things for the short term path ahead.
The first card is the Yin card, that symbolizes the energies that are growing in influence or are being drawn into your life. The manifesting / attracting energy is like the black part of the symbol. The growing influence part is like the white dot in the black side of the symbol.
The second card is the Yang card, showing the energies that are or need to be pushed away. That is outward pushing is like the white part of the symbol. The shrinking influence of this energy is like the black dot in the middle of the white field.
The third card puts it all together to show the movement. This card can show the best way to move forward in balance and harmony during the short-term path ahead.
Stay tuned this week to see a video of this new layout in action.
If all goes very well, I hope to post a Wednesday “action decreases anxiety” reading plus a Thursday or Friday “Weekend Oracle” if the squirrels behave.
One of which is to (hopefully) go see Dune 2 this weekend.
Other than that, you would think I would have learned my lesson about the plan thing by now.
I HAD planned to do the first big, juicy behind the scenes post, but it just isn’t happening.
So for realz this time – no schedules, no plans. Intuition doesn’t flow that way. Once again for about the bazillionth time in this lifetime – Taoism proves its wisdom to me.
Here is our behind-the-scenes for today: If you are going to read the energy, you have to flow with the energy. You have to be in harmony with the nature of it – and in harmony with your own nature.
I’ve never surfed, but I imagine that Tarot is energy surfing – to read the waves, you have to ride the waves, flow with the waves, making millions of tiny adjustments to hold your balance along the way.
Take a deep breath. Take a look around. Get the information about where you are, so you can catch your breath and catch your balance before moving on.
Things have been pretty yang lately, energetically speaking. Yin and yang, outward, inward, pushing, taking in….all of those things apply on a mental level as well as the physical.
Choosing is a mentally active thing, even in those times when you choose to do nothing or choose to decide later. Choosing not to choose is still a choice, even when made through apathy or inattention. It is still doing a thing. So is stopping, at least for a moment, to regain your balance.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t resonate with astrology on a lot of levels, most of all with the whole Mercury retrograde thing. I mean, take a tiny step above the ecliptic plane and Mercury moves just fine. Look. Look at the planetary movement from the big picture, from top down. A little shift in perspective and POOF! No problem.
So stop. Just stop.
The cure for all the frustrations that social media looooves to blame on Mercury is to go from frenetic mental yang to a moment of mental yin. Stop. Re-calibrate. Re-orient. Re-balance. And Re-member how the solar system actually works. Think of this trick-of-eye retrograde time as a time for mental yin. Naturally, if you push and keep a frenetic yang spider-monkey-on-amphetamines state of mind during a yin quiet-and-observe energy time, you are going to be blocked and frustrated. If, as Neil Degrasse Tyson says, “The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you” then neither are the energies of the universe obliged to cater to your agenda. Like the rhythm of the planets, energies ebb and flow. Sometimes energy is right for a large and in charge King of Passions and Choices like we saw yesterday with the King of Pentacles. Other times the energies are right for a moment of watching, mixing, balancing.
The Tao in TaoCraft is about finding harmony with energies as they are then making a better way forward. Tarot has a card for that.
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