Tag: joss whedon

By Royal Decree

The king can’t return – because he never left. You are the King of your inner world and you have always been there.

Hello and welcome to the TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m Sage. I read Tarot and write Stuff and I’m glad you are here.

Every now and then I get what I call the niggles. The niggles are what I call it when an idea drops into your head and jabs you in the brain until you write it, blog it, or make something tangible out of it.

Call it inspiration. Blame it on the muses. However you name it, some ideas won’t leave you alone no matter how much you try to ignore it, run from it or play hide and seek with it – so you might as well deal with it. It’s like that quote from Joss Whedon “Write it. Shoot it. Crochet it. Saute it. Whatever – MAKE.”

Making includes writing, reading a Tarot card and intangible things like blogs and podcasts. Creation and creativity aren’t a zero sum balance sheet. There is room for everyone. If you get a niggly little idea, by all means make something out of your niggle. Make your own blog, journal entry or comment on this blog if you like.

On the ko-fi members-only blog, every weekend I post the “Tarot Turnover,” where we turn a short sip Tarot reading on its head. I sip the coffee and YOU read the card. I’ll post a card image (usually a public domain Waite Smith card like the one above since they are so widely known and familiar to the most people) Sometime I’ll give a little Tarot behind the scenes or background about the card or a short how-to about using your intuition to read the card. Then I turn the card over to you along with a list of traditional meanings or keywords from my old blog readings. That gives everyone the opportunity to stretch some intuitive muscles and see what insight the card has to offer. I’m always available to give feedback and answer questions if any turn up. Sometimes, later on in the week, I’ll give a short sip reading about the weekend card. Members get first chance at the card, questions or coaching from me. Membership does have its benefits.

That’s what is happening right now. A niggling little idea popped up again Sunday when the Turnover card turned out to be the King of Wands. I’m here to chime in with my two cents and a hot take about the card .

In general, the suit of wands has to do with the classic element of fire, with inner passions, philosophy, spirituality, and our relationship with ourselves. Kings are leaders with a proactive, protective connotation. The king of wands has to do with inner passions and self-possession. The king is about fully owning who you are, what you choose and what you do and recognizing that authority within everyone else too.

In the words of poet Maya Angelou, when someone tells you who they are, believe them.

You have the same right to tell who you really are. And you have equal right to guard and protect who you are, too.

Here is the niggle: Ideology is a choice.

Ideology has a complicated, mind-boggling intersection with behavior.

Violence, abuse, despots and violent radical regimes have been in the world throughout human history. People have been coerced upon pain of death into certain behavior. People have been psychologically abused and tortured and coerced. Human history has a very dark underbelly when it comes to choice, ideology and behavior.

I’m not here to judge anyone for anything. People do and say what they have to in order to survive. History is harrowing.

I wish there could be health and safety for everyone.

It is chilling, terrifying and heartbreaking to see people we know freely, knowingly, deliberately choose to ally themselves with bigotry. If we are ever to come to terms with – let’s just say someone in our lives choosing the dark side – we have to embrace and accept that we chose differently. It is not arrogance to to choose better. It is OK to accept yourself as being a good person. It is neither arrogance nor condemnation on either side. It is just the facts of our choice and the authentic nature of who we are. It’s just the facts of their choices and who they are. It is OK that you walk a different path from your genetic family or your cultural community. It is OK that you chose a different path. It isn’t for me to say who in this world has chosen wisely and who has chosen – poorly. I’m not here to contemplate atrocities or solve man’s inhumanity to man. That is far beyond my ability and way, way, way outside the scope of this teeny tiny little blogcast.

My goal for this is to share a little food for thought and maybe, just maybe, give you a niggle or two of your own.

First of all, be kind. You never know what someone else is dealing with or going through.

Second, and this is where the king of wands comes in, you choose who you are and what you do. Not your past. Not your parents. Not your external circumstances. All of those things may force choices about behavior, but they don’t dictate your true inner belief. They may put you in a situation that forces you to mask and cloak and protect your inner genuine self. Even then, you are firmly seated on the throne of your inner world. It may not feel that way, but you own your choices, your thoughts and your beliefs. No other person or circumstance can steal that inner beauty from you. You can’t control other people or everything that happens, but you do get to choose how you respond to the situation. More importantly, you get to choose how you respond to yourself.

It may not always feel that way. When it does feel that way it has that Mel Brooks “it’s good to be the king” vibe. It feels like the return of the good king – but the king can never return because the king never left. On the inside, the king is you.

I think Alan Watts said it best: “You are under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.”

Would you like to be a kind person? Done. Be kind now, even if you weren’t five minutes ago. Want to be brave enough to face who you really are? Want to be brave enough to accept both yourself as you are and accept others are who they say they are? Done.

By Royal Decree you are brave.

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

No part of the blog or podcast is monetized. I don’t see a penny of any advertising you may see. If you enjoy these Tarot readings, please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi where your purchases, memberships and virtual coffees all support this unique content.

Thank you again. See you at the next sip!

Today’s Tarot: What it Doesn’t Mean

Wash: “This landing is going to be interesting”

Mal: “Define ‘interesting'”

Wash: “Oh god oh god we’re all going to die”

– Firefly television series by Joss Whedon

The death card usually is an indicator that things are going to get interesting, if they aren’t already.

But, as with the Firefly crew, it might not be in the fiery crash sort of way that you were thinking. After all, it’s pretty bad story telling to kill off all of your main characters in the five minutes of a tv episode.

I remember watching totally enjoyable brain candy movie back in the late 80s where a Tarot reader pulls the death card just as The Warlock sneaks up from behind and murders her. Classic trope. That was before I learned to read Tarot much less read professionally. That classic trope has gone from fairly cheesy to downright laughable.

Everyone knows that the death card doesn’t mean actual death. So much so that revealing the actual meaning has become a trope in itself. The best example of that is Lisa Simpson and the Happy Squirrel card. Makes me giggle every time…

The Simpsons were created by Matt Groening and are the property of 20th century studios

For real, I’ve seen the death card more often at bachelorette parties than any other time. It makes sense. With a wedding, you have a whole group of people celebrating a transition and irrevocable change – a big happy one.

Even if that marriage later winds up in the messiest divorce ever, it still happened. It still changed people from who they were before the wedding. The event goes on their permanent record so to speak.

Transition and change as a death image is a common thing in both fact and fiction. To gain a butterfly, you lose a caterpillar. To gain a cupcake, you lose some flour, sugar and eggs. To gain wisdom blissful ignorance must vanish. Life altering change can be as terrifying as death itself even though change is the essence of life.

Change for the better is a grim reaper no one needs to fear.

Cue the cowbell.

Today’s Tarot: Make, do

Tarot turned on its head: I choose the card. You use your intuition to pick the meaning.

Let’s turn Tarot readings upside down for once. I choose the card, YOU use YOUR intuition to pick the meaning for today. Let me know in the comments how you like this format.

Today’s card brought an avalanche of quotes and pithy little sayings to mind. You Choose which one most speaks to you today:

“Just do it”

“Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it, sauté it, whatever. MAKE” – Josh Whedon

“Follow the process, not the plan” – Adam Savage

“The Universe doesn’t give you what you ask for with your thoughts – it gives you what you demand with your actions.” – Steve Maraboli

Walk your talk / actions speak louder than words.

YouChoose Interactive Tarot 20-26 Sept. 2020

As seems to be the emerging natural pattern, just have a quick announcement before moving on to this week’s cards: I’ll be on a reduced Tarot / online schedule Tue-Sat. because family stuff. If you are interested in a reading or anything from the store, don’t hesitate to order. The only change is that shipping & delivery might take longer than usual. Thank you in advance for your patience.

Left: 10 of Cups (grasshopper) Take the leap and dare to be happy. Beware of self-sabotage, and allow yourself to succeed. Don’t be afraid of finishing well. 10 cards, being the largest of the number cards in any suit, are a sort of pinnacle, the essence of the suit in its greatest expression. Taoism teaches that anything in its extreme holds the seed of its opposite. Be careful not to snatch defeat from the jaws of victoty. Finish, succeed, allow your self to be happy.

“People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be” – attr. Abraham Lincoln

Center: 5 of Swords (Goose) Overcoming obstacles is a journey as well as a destination. This card has shown up previously. My hunch this is for emphasis rather than a hint that we aren’t getting the lesson. Historic things have happened between the card’s appearances to show how important the lesson is: Stay chill, stay calm, work the problem. Swords are associated with the element of air and thereby mind and logic and cool intellect. My attention is drawn more to this elemental association than the contemporary relationship style of meanings. Mr. Andrews association with vision quest grabs my attention too. Especially the quest part. Big, systemic problems aren’t solved in a day. They take time, steps, parts, cooperation, and both tactics and strategy. The journey around or through an obstacle may be long and arduous but also needed and worthwhile.

“Let’s work the problem, people. Let’s not make things any worse by guessing. The Lunar Module just became a lifeboat. I don’t care what anything was designed to do.” – Ed Harris playing Gene Krantz in Apollo 13 (movie)

Right: Strength (Lion) This isn’t going to be easy, but when you have the strength to meed the challenges, the hard doesn’t matter. This card is just exactly that sort of reassurance. You have strength, whether you feel it ahead of time or not. If you don’t, get some. The ability to find solutions and to obtain resources is as good as having them in the first place.

“When you can’t walk, you crawl. When you can’t do that, you find someone to carry you.” – from Firefly (TV series) by Joss Whedon

Today’s Tarot 29 June 2019: Ace of Wands

That creative idea that has been niggling at the back of your mind? Plan it. Draw it. Do it. That hobby project you’ve been putting off? Do it. That new recipe that sounds so tasty? Cook it. Are you a ? Grab those needles. The energies are wind at your back to bring something awsome into the world.