Tag: i ching

Lava Flows

Members only post HERE

Today we wrap up our members only I Ching tutorial

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Members Only: I Ching tutorial

members exclusive post: I Ching Tutorial

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The Way of I Ching

Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee. Please support this free to read blog on ko-fi

Sometimes when I write members-only posts we’ll talk about other forms of intuition and divination. Sometimes it will be something aimed at fun, with no spiritual meaning at all. In this series of member-only posts we are talking about the I Ching or book of changes as a spiritual guide, like Tarot.

Although “Sage Sips” is the more public facing blog name, under the hood the website and such is still TaoCraft Tarot, a name inspired by exoteric Taoist philosophy.  Exoteric or philosophical Taoism is just that, a way of living and understanding, not a religion per se. Esoteric Taoism is closer to what we in the west think of as religion and it is often a closed cultural practice. If you would like to learn more about that part of Taoism and many other wonderful things, I highly recommend The Tao of Craft by Benebell Wen.

And no, I didn’t borrow from her title.  It was one of those things where I’d been climbing the mountain and when I got to the Taoism meets spiritual ritual part, there was Benebel waiting – we took very different paths to kind of the same words. 

Diane Morgan was there ahead of both of us with her book Magical Tarot Mystical Tao, which has been one of the biggest inspirations and influences for my own Tarot work over the years.  But I digress, but still whole-heartedly recommend both books. 

Openness and inclusion are so fundamental to the exoteric, philosophical type of Taoism that any book written about it is basically accepted as canon...

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Other Oracles

New exclusive content for members today: “Other Oracles”

Believe it or not, Tarot isn’t the only intuition amplifier in town.

No matter what kind of Oracle or divination technique you use, the real engine underneath it is your human connection to universal energies – your intuition.

We all have that natural intuitive connection, but sometimes spirit speaks in whispers. I’m here to help you turn up the volume and translate those whispers into actual English sentences that you can use.

Email Tarot is my specialty. As a writer by nature, I can give you a very convenient and enriched Tarot reading at a distance through email – the same or better than an in-person reading. We can talk about all of the advantages of that another time.

Today, on the members only blog we are starting a series about other oracles, other tools and techniques for accessing and amplifying intuition.

First up: I Ching. Join Sage Sips members on ko-fi to learn more about this ancient divination technique

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Click HERE to join and read more about the I-Ching and other oracles over the coming months

Sage Sips is Tarot in the time it takes to sip your coffee. Private Tarot readings are OPEN and support this free public blog and the Sage Sips YouTube channel.

The Way of Zombie Cat

Zombie Cat’s unique way of yes/no Tarot readings. Order your private yes/no with Zombie Cat, no appointment needed

There are lots of ways to do a yes or no reading. 

In my experience, the most essential thing is to have a question in mind and keep it mind throughout whatever process you use. It’s the same intention-setting process that Tarot readers use to write a layout. Throwing cards willy-nilly isn’t as helpful as having a clear layout and layout meanings clearly in mind before turning the cards. 

For yes/no readings, there are lists of cards that are yes or no, and you do a single card draw for a succinct answer. Some of the lists I’ve seen don’t have much rhyme or reason for the yes or no connotations assigned to each card. I’ve seen some methods that say swords and wands mean no while cups and coins mean yes, which leaves a much shorter list of yes/no associations for the major cards. 

Years ago in an intuition development class led by Joy Star, I learned a more complex, interesting and (in my experience) helpful three card method:

Deal the cards into three stacks. Stop dealing to a stack when it gets an ace or 13 cards, whichever comes first.

Three aces means yes

Two aces means maybe, leaning yes

One ace means maybe, leaning no

No aces means no.

Of all the possible yes/no methods, this was my favorite. It’s the only yes/no method I use, but with a couple of minor twists.

Most of the time, once you’ve determined the yes or no, the reading ends there, kind of like one of those Magic 8 ball toys. I add an extra layer of depth to take this reading over and above a simple yes, no, or maybe. I look at the three cards that are showing, whatever the yes/no answer turns out to be. That extra layer of meaning can either help you to support the answer if you are happy with it or give clues on how to change it if you aren’t.

Just like with the five card layout that I wrote in 2003, I want these readings to empower your choices and empower your control over your future through basic cause and effect. I changed the number of aces meaning to align with a three coin toss from Chinese I Ching divination. 

The I Ching (Book of Changes) is rooted in Taoist philosophy, and the principle of yin and yang. In the taijitu, the familiar yin-yang symbol, the opposite color dots remind us that anything in its extreme holds the seed of its opposite. In I Ching, three coins are used to determine if any given line is yin, yang, yin “changing” or Yang “changing.” A changing line is one believed to be so strongly yin or strongly yang that it is in the process of changing into its opposite. We can do a “learn with me” later to describe the rest of the I Ching divination process, but the changing line is the only part we need for now.

To bring the changing line concept into Tarot yes/no, I adapted the meanings connected to the number of aces that wind up showing at the end of the three-stack dealing process. If the pattern is akin to a changING line in I Ching, I read it as a changABLE result in the yes/no Tarot layout. A yes-but-changable or no-but-changable answer puts the ball most strongly in your court so to speak. The time and place and energy is extra amenable to you making a real impact on the outcome.

So Zombie Cat does a yes/no Tarot reading this way:

The cards are shuffled holding the question clearly in mind

The cards are dealt into three piles, stopping when there are 13 cards in the stack or an ace appears, whichever comes first.

One ace is a hard no, it may be very difficult to change course

Zero aces is no, but things are easier to change

Two aces is a hard yes, this is the way things are likely to go if you do nothing

Three aces means yes, but can change if you act. 

I write these under my Zombie Cat persona, which means the reading takes a more lighthearted, playful tone with plenty of cringe attempts at humor. 

Zombie Cat is going to be the member’s special for March. Between now and March 31, 2024 Sage Sip members can get an upgrade to Zombie Cat readings as a substitute for any of the one card Sage Sip readings that are included in the monthly membership.

Non-members can order a zombie cat yes/no readings anytime HERE, no appointment needed. Scroll down through the menu list of readings to find the Zombie Cat layout.

Have a good weekend everyone! See you at the next Sip!

Sage

Zombie Cat doodle – by the author

Cat image from the public domain, modified by the author

A Strange Sort of Keeper

Weakness is a strange thing to keep, but only the things you keep can be transformed.

Welcome to TaoCraftTarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here

I’m not an expert on Taoism. The philosophy has been a big part of my world view and how I live life for well over 30 years. It has held true for me and I come back to it time and time and time again. I’ve been reading The Tao Te Ching, I Ching, Alan Watts, Chinliang Al Huang, Deng Ming Dao and more since the 1980s. Taoism predates Tarot for me, which is saying something.

Like Tarot and magick, exoteric Taoist philosophy (I can’t speak for the religious aspects or for esoteric Taoist practices) is broadly inclusive. If you think of the Tao as the multiverse sort of meta-everything then anything written within our universe about it is part of the greater whole and a valid point of view. Therefore, as someone once wrote, everything written about the Tao is canon. Be that as it may – if you are interested in Taoism, go grab a book and have at it. Good stuff, that.

If you want to learn more about the esoteric side of Taoism I highly recommend Benebel Wen’s excellent book The Tao of Craft. It was published just as I was beginning to lay the groundwork for rebranding Modern Oracle Tarot into TaoCraft Tarot. I took it as an omen that I was on the right path even though that path is more on the philosophical, exoteric side of things.

I mention it Taoism because today’s Strength card brings to mind probably one of the most Taoist ideas to come out of a card reading in a while. This deck hasn’t touched the Taoist vibe very much. Speaking of decks, today I’m working from the Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund. The artwork on this particular card is by Madam Clara for the Five Cent Tarot.

Taoism is about being in harmony with nature. Sure, that means the rocks and flowers and trees and bees kind of nature, but it also means your nature. Taoism is about living in harmony with your authentic self.

Being in harmony with your authentic self doesn’t mean you can’t do better next time. Authentic self does not mean static self. People change. Ideally people grow and mature and hopefully become wiser and kinder as time goes on.

Part of that nature, for some of us, is to be hard wired people pleasers. The idea of strength and weakness and being a better person is often tied to idealism more than realism. The path to being a better person is often fraught with “should” and “ought” and external definitions of good and external measures of character. We tend to want to eradicate or drastically change anything that is considered a weakness or a character flaw.

The major arcana Strength card is all about strength of character, not at all about the physical variety. Internal progress is measured internally, not measured to outside signposts.

It is a strange thing to say consider keeping your weaknesses. Perhaps instead of getting rid of our weaknesses, we should keep them, but learn a new relationship with them. Find and use the good aspects.

Repurposing a weakness into something beneficial still gets rid of the so-called weakness. It is a strange sort of keeper, to hold on to what some people might label as weakness. Transforming our downfalls into superpowers is a Strength all of its own.

Thank you for listening! Your likes, subs, follows, shares, questions and comments are always appreciated.

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Thank you again. See you at the next sip!

Dearly Beloved

For my own sanity, I really, really, REALLY try to avoid politics and that other powderkeg word that starts with R.

But, in full disclosure, the idea for today’s card dropped into my head while I was watching coverage of President Biden’s remarks in Tulsa about the Greenwood “Black Wall Street” massacre of 1921.

Most of the time when you work with an oracle tool to access your intuition (like Tarot, runes, scrying, I Ching or what have you) a random item sparks the meaningful idea. Sometimes, it’s happened the other way around. A meaningful idea drops into my head inspired by some other source; muses, spirit guides, something I’ve seen, something on TV, a song from the radio, a scroll through social media…anything. Those ideas are usually the ones that niggle at you for a while. I turn them into a post for “The Niggles” category here in the blog, or sometimes I’ll reverse engineer the idea into a Tarot card.

It’s an interesting exercise, really. It doesn’t even have to be a spontaneous, inspired niggly thought. Take any concept that seems important to you and browse a Tarot deck (or decks) to see which card best resonates or exemplifies the idea. It is a great way to build your relationship with your deck(s) and expand your intuitive understanding of the cards when you do a reading. In this case, the Two of Cups seemed best.

Today’s – or really last evening’s – niggly concept is “beloved.”

President Bidens remarks in commemoration of the Tulsa Massecre were so filled with compassion, insight, inspiration. Especially in contrast to the last administration, the kindness and humanity so evident in his words and voice were inspiring, heart wrenching and breath taking. I encourage you to listen to his speech. If you consider yourself one drop intuitive, listen with your heart and with your third eye. Bring your full intuitive attention to what he said as well as what historically happened.

Perhaps you will wonder, as I did, why isn’t he the most beloved President in American history. Perhaps he will be. If there is one bit of justice, if the species survives long enough to do it, I hope that those who look back at the early 21st century see Presidents Biden and Obama for the compassion and intellect they embody. Again…look with your third eye, listen with your heart, not with your usual political leanings.

Out of that moment, that fleeting thought, the word BELOVED grabbed my attention.

It takes a lot of people to make a President “one of the most beloved.” It takes a solid plurality (and enough popular vote to overtake gerrymandering and electoral college bias) to make a person a President at all, but what does it take to make a historical figure beloved?

One person.

Perhaps you.

All it takes for anyone to be beloved is for one person to love them, for any measure of time. That measure of time exists. Always. If you love or are loved for any moment, then you are loved for an eternity because that moment always exists in the larger eternity, no matter where else in time you view that moment from.

Every moment you give love to the universe, to any person, to any idea – to yourself – that moment counterbalances and functionally erases a moment of hate given elsewhere.

Even for a moment, if you love someone – or yourself – then that person is beloved.

As for President Biden, I suspect Dr. Jill has it covered.

As for the rest of us, love someone for a moment. They are then beloved. Think of the whole earth and everything living being on it just for one tiny little fleeting moment and send your love to that entirety. Now you too, are forever beloved.

All it takes for anyone to be beloved is one person.

Perhaps you.

YouChoose Interactive Tarot 14-19 Sept. 2020

Whew! At last. Our weather forecast finally includes some cooler nights, the first hint at my favorite time of year.

It is still that re-branding anniversary season, and the one card Tarot reading giveaway continues until Halloween. All you need to do to get the FREE reading is use the contact form on the special offers page.

Please stay tuned to the blog. More re-introduce-TaoCraft-anniversary season “Portfolio” posts are on the way.

Left: Queen of Wands. All queen cards represent leadership from a care-taking and nurturing standpoint. While kings were out defending the kingdom, the queens would care for the welfare of the subjects. From a more contemporary standpoint, this is like parenting, teaching and caring for other people. I see this card often in readings for caretakers like health care workers, teachers and so on. It often serves as a reminder to take care of yourself too. You are not as helpful or effective as a leader (of any type) if you are burned out and exhausted. This isn’t a call to over-indulgence, but it is permission to grab a nap, take a few minutes to meditate, indulge in that half hour online yoga class…that sort of thing.

Center: Ten of Wands. The Ten of Wands is as much short term encouragement as the Queen of Wands is advice for a marathon. The queen is lifestyle…the ten is looking at the short term situation. It’s a grind, and going to be that way for just a little while more. Ten is the largest of the number cards and is often associated with completion. I think of it as being similar to a ‘changing line’ in I Ching readings. In Taoist thought and the I Ching, anything in its most extreme holds the seed of the opposite, is primed and on the verge of a shift, a little like going over the top part of a Ferris wheel ready to go around again. The ten of wands, as the artwork suggests, is related to feeling overburdened or stressed. It’s not quite over yet. Sometimes this card asks you to evaluate what you should put down and what is needed to carry – a sort of a ‘thin your sticks’ idea. In this case, for this week, it is more of a ‘grind it out’ feeling. There is a sense of something nearing completion, so hang in there, do the do, grind the grind and soon you’ll be able to just toss the whole load down, job well done.

Right: Queen of Pentacles. There is something very similar in energy between this card and the Queen of Wands. I suspect it is also related to self-care, but with a different spin. Pentacles are related to the element earth and the practical, physical realm . This card brought several old adages to mind, heavy on the Benjamin Franklin. “A penny saved is a penny earned” makes me think that if you chose this card, this isn’t a week for impulse buys or unnecessary spending. At the same time, “penny wise and pound foolish” came through and in hand with the other advice. Don’t impulse buy, but don’t fail to invest in something good and needed. The energy around that part is about quality and value. Make the calculation between cost and quality. It brings to mind all of the DIY, low plastic and refillable products that the algorithms have figured out I like and are now filling up my socials…it costs more up front, but saves money in the long run. That is the kind of budgeting and money-wise thinking the card is suggesting. “Cleverness” and “Shrewd thinking” comes through too. Use your head in money matters this week. Be clever, not miserly.

Overall, three cards together, nurture your leadership, whichever style fits your situation the best. Take care of your self as you go along to keep yourself strong and well for the long haul. Grind through if you need too, then take time to recover when it is all said and done before you pick up your next project or obligation. Or works smarter, not harder. Use cleverness and wise investment to take care of yourself and those who depend on you.

Today’s Tarot: Big Little Things

In the taijitu (the yin yang symbol) each half contains a dot of the opposite color. The idea is that anything in the extreme can become its opposite. There are different ways of reading the I Ching, the book of changes. Throwing three coins is the method I know best and have used the most. I’ll spare you all the details, but you use three coins to determine if a given “line” is yine or yang. Six throws, gives you six lines, and that in turn tells you which part of the book to read for your guidance. Using coins, heads mean yang and tails mean yin. If you get two of three coins showing one way or the other, that tells you the definition of the ‘line’ as either yin or yang. If you get all three coins the same it is considered a “changing line” which means it is SO yin or SO yang that it can easily tip over into being its opposite (or is in the process of doing so)

The Ten of Coins is a liminal symbol like a transition line. Coins (or Pentacles, depending on the deck you use) have to do with the physical realm, wealth, career, etc. 10 is the largest of the number cards before you move into the esoteric, idea-driven court cards. 10, in this case, is something coming to fruition or completion. It is the uber-pentacle of all the number cards. Given all of that, you might expect to see material successes represented, the Tarot equivalent of a mansion and a yacht.

Not so.

The Ten of Pentacles is the happy family card. It shows simple contentment, in the RWS tradition usually mom, dad, their 2.2 kids, white picket fence, grampa and the dog. Granted, that sounds like a 1950s surburban ideal gone wild, but that’s kind of the point. The pinnacle of material success isn’t material at all. The pinnacle of material success is the people you love and simple contentment with the cycles and flows of life. Life, love and simple mindful pleasures are, after all, the greatest of treasures. All those little things are really kind of big.

More Kitten Whiskers

Time for some Friday fangirling over a few favorites.

  • Get yourself an uncontrollable jaunt – you’ll be glad you did. Actually, get yourself to yourself to Spotify, iTunes, google play or Stitcher and follow Ninth World Journal written, directed, and produced by David S. Dear who also voices Januae. Based on the role playing game Numenera and set in the far future, Januae invents a teleporter which, for reasons, causes him to randomly & spontaneously teleport or “jaunt” and sci fi adventures ensue. I won’t spoil it, but if you like sci fi or fantasy an eentsy bit, please give it a listen. I’m more of a reader than a listener, but I’m transfixed. If an audio drama holds my gnat sized attention that is saying something. I am eternally honored to have been invited by David to be a co-host on his previous podcast Menage A Tarot, which was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done (it’s still available on TuneIn if you want to give it a listen) I can tell you first hand that David is one of the wisest, kindest people you’d ever want to meet plus has an enchanting fm radio voice that you could listen to for hours. That, plus the perfect length of the Ninth World Journal episodes and David’s sense of humor make it one of the most binge-able podcasts around. Please support Ninth World Journal on Patreon and ko-fi.
  • Speaking of wisdom and podcasts! If non-fiction is more to your taste, the please visit CoachJoseJohnson.com, home of you guessed it….Coach Jose Johnson, mindfulness coach, martial arts master and musician (Side Streets of Dreams is one of my all time favorite songs) I’ve had the privilege of taking clinics taught by him, and chatting with him as friend and colleague in the mindfulness & spirituality field. I know and respect his work. My husband studied with both he and Justin so of course if you have any interest in martial arts whatsoever, please give The Kung Fu Equation podcast a listen. Lately he has been posting I Ching (the “Book of Changes”) inspired thoughts on instagram. While I don’t use I Ching in my professional work, I’ve used it personally almost as long as I’ve worked with Tarot…since the 90s. He is absolutely spot on. Take it from someone with “Tao” in their website name…listen to him about the I Ching and mindfulness. His book Mindfulness Secrets is available now.
  • From audio art, to nonfiction and music … now back to art. Ry Summers is one of the most multi-talented artists I’ve ever cyber-met. I first met him on the poetry site “We Drink Because We Are Poets.” His writing is gritty, raw, real, powerful and alive. For his poetry, I recommend an older work of his written under the pen name Sahm Atain King, Laria Onyx. At the same time, he is a brilliant artist and photographer. Check out his work (including my favorite of his paintings that he’s posted so far, “Mephistopheles”) on www.instagram.com/ry_summers.  Rumor has it that he has a new project in the works. Please visit his instagram profile to learn how to support his work.