Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin”
William Shakespeare
Yes, by all means, go touch grass this weekend. Or any time.
I forget the source, but somebody somewhere did a small study of the effects of looking at photos of natural settings on real time blood pressure. Just looking at nature in a photo will bring blood pressure down.
Imagine what a small barefoot walk in the grass can do.
I don’t know if anyone has gone full science on it, or followed up the long term effects of engaging with nature on one level or another, even a photographic one.
It seems to me that one touch of nature is a good thing for humans, both psychologically and physiologically. We are wired that way.
It also seems to me that human nature is part of the nature that Shakespeare mentions, even though I doubt he meant it that way as he lived and wrote centuries before the advent of modern psychology. The Taoists were down with the whole idea centuries before Shakespeare.
Feeling connected is a basic human need, for everyone everywhere, throughout time. This weekend touch grass. If not the literally, touch something that is part of your own nature to enjoy. Enjoy some small part of the environment you are in, including urban ones. When you enjoy any little anything, you are connected to not only that thing, but all of your fellow humans that enjoy that thing too.
An ice cream cone, a barefoot walk in the backyard, a bike ride, jog in the park, a little phone scroll, a cup of coffee and a good book, play your favorite song just a little bit louder than usual; whatever it is in your nature to enjoy, touch that. As long as it harms no one, do what you will to paraphrase a saying. Touch your happiness, and you can connect with the energy of all the others who have found a similar joy.
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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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The ADA layout, opposite to all of my other layouts is read left to right, just like reading English. There is a reason for both. Reading in a direction opposite of my native language disrupts the logical process of reading and grammar, which makes it easier for intuition to flow through.
In this case, the sentence-like structure is the point of it.
I was listening to a podcast that was talking about Lenormand Tarot, and it echoed my own (albeit limited) experience with the Lenormand deck. It is very language like and better suited to small 2-3 card layouts. These small Lenormand readings are often blunt, forthright, in the present moment with a subject and predicate, noun and verb quality. This layout focuses on exactly that: the energy thing that is and what to do.
Today’s energy: Clover. Just like the famous four leaf clover, this is a card of growth, luck
What to do: The letter. Communication is key. Take care to listen and not jump to conclusions. Take care about what you say and speak into being.
Deck: Healing Light Lenormand by Christopher Butler c 2021 all rights reserved. Used with permissions on llwellynpublishing.com
Sage Sips Tarot is free to read without paywalls on WordPress and Substack. Please support me on ko-fi to support these free tarot readings.
Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee. Today please enjoy this behind the scenes look at how I believe long distance Tarot actually works.
Q: The email readings sound interesting, but how can you read me if we aren’t together?
A: The distance between us doesn’t matter because I’m not reading you directly, I’m reading universal energy or spirit for you, on your behalf. This is the same kind of universal life energy that they talk about in Reiki, Tai Chi, qi gong, acupuncture, yoga, etc. This energy is everywhere, and if you are still alive you are connected to it and a part of it. You and I are within that energy field during your reading, no matter how physically separated we might seem or how long our conversation takes.
Star Wars wasn’t far off with “The Force”
Time and space are a connected thing. Modern physics has called it the space-time continuum. Time is as whole and connected as space. It doesn’t matter if our reading together unfolds in real time across a table or in a phone call or if the conversation unfolds slowly though emails or snail mail, the core ideas are the same. Distance Tarot works with the biggest of big pictures. We might be on opposite sides of the Earth and still be in the same energy together. We might write paper letters back and forth like they did a hundred years ago but the reading is still helpful even if takes months to unfold. It is all interconnected and valid.
The words and ideas of any reading are exactly the same regardless of whether I say them out loud, type them into an email or write them on paper.
There are a few differences between distance and in-person readings. The first is the way that you enjoy receiving your message, not in the message itself. It might depend on your mood or personality style. Phone or in-person sessions tend to be light, chatty, and friendly. They are great for when you are feeling outgoing and craving some social conversation. Written readings are private and intense. Written words amplify the emotion and magic of the moment. They are a good match for book lovers and busy, stressed people who need a moment to relax or anyone who just wants a little ‘me time.’
All of my distance Tarot readings include a follow-up email to answer any questions you might have.
The best suggestion I have is to give it a try. My five card readings would last close to an hour in person, but only cost what most psychics charge for 15 to 30 minutes.
Starting January 2025, the business portion of TaoCraft Tarot that offered in-person, party, phone and live online Tarot readings has closed.
Email readings are still available at very affordable prices and no appointment needed. Private readings, ko-fi memberships and ko-fi virtual coffee all support this blog, this website and the Substack newsletter to keep these Tarot readings free for you to read without paywalls.
I don’t like August weather with all of that sunshine and heat and humidity and whatnot.
Late August is summer’s zombie. School is back in session, trees are duller but few showing a tinge of yellow, goldenrod and ragweed are everywhere. My face itches just thinking about it. Summer is shambling and groaning along, well past its welcome. Those of us who prefer the Fall vibe are well and truly ready for it.
Speaking of summer shambles – Zombie Cat yes/no readings are still available by email until the Autumnal Equinox on September 20th. After that, it’s back to the usual three layouts on the Readings menu, with discounts for Sage Sip members.
My basic coping strategy this morning is to close the curtains, pour a cup of pumpkin spice coffee and think about a Fall schedule.
The operative word is THINK about it. We both know that in reality, it will all adapt and change and roll with the flow as the season goes on.
Tarot, intuition, spiritual guidance, personal growth…all that sort of thing …by definition follows the flow of energy. It follows the nature of things, not defines or controls the nature of things. Which is why the philosophy of Tarot and Taoism are so complimentary. And that is, once again, why I’m Taoist at heart.
But that is another story. For now, pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of something cinnamon and I’ll show you what I’m aiming toward. It’s not so much making a plan as it is making the thing that will wiggle and dance when the squirrels of life start the rave.
Private Tarot readings:
Email readings are always open. Order HERE anytime, 24/7, no appointment needed. Most readings get to you within 24 hours. Live phone and in-person readings are by appointment only. Please contact me for details about those.
Sage Sips Blog:
Three ways to read!
on the main website
on Ko-fi
on Substack
Three days for regular (ish) posts
Monday – Choose Your Card (your individual intuition is part of the online reading!)
Wednesday – midweek musings / behind the scenes / Q&A
Friday – Weekend Oracle
Plans. Plans within plans.
Sage Sips membership on ko-fi is still $5 per month and INCLUDES free private one card Tarot readings by email on request, discounts on larger layouts, occasional special offers and exclusive content.
I have an idea for a new layout, inspired by David Skribbens’ mystery novel Eight of Swords. Look for a chance to get a free email private reading with this new layout. Instead of being a test-knitter for a new pattern, anyone interested in being a test-sitter for a new card layout?
It’s coming up on two years, and the whole cozy-comfy Sage words thing has not gotten the traction that TaoCraft Tarot had. Sure, “Sage Words” is easier to explain, pronounce and spell, but I miss the meaning that TaoCraft holds for me personally. The less I think about marketing, the better things seem to be. The more true to me I am, the BETTER the readings I can do for YOU.
I like “sage sips” for the blog, and I’m keeping the pen-name Sage, but am thinking about going back to TaoCraft for the website / private readings /social media name. What do you think? Constructive comments are welcome. You know my spam & troll policy, delete & block.
With all the news lately, it seems important to look at things from more than one angle.
I’ve been talking about that since 2010 when I originally wrote “Parallax” the blog post. It literally, physiologically takes two eyes for us to see with depth. The same idea applies to your third eye: other points of view add depth.
It seems like everybody and their uncle is reading RWS on social media these days. I wanted to see what the general energies look like from the point of view of my Lenormand deck. If you would like to Learn a little more about this deck, please visit the “Learn with Me: Lenormand” series
Today’s cards are the book and the fish. The book has one of those relative position kind of meanings so common in Lenormand layouts. From experimenting with the deck for the Learn With Me series, I really got the most from the two card draws. It can draw in the relative position thing that is so crucial to the very large Tableaux readings, without being too fussy, overwhelming or contradictory the way very large layouts can be. In this case the book symbolizes secrets, and when it is on the left like this, it hints that the secret is out. In other words, a key thing is out in the open and a known entity.
The fish typically has to do with material wealth but today I get a stronger intuitive sense of prosperity writ large – all good things, not just money.
Together the cards give a sense of reassurance. We know what we need to know to make it work. Everything will work out OK.
Knowledge is key anytime money or any physical realm thing comes into play. Facts, logic – all of that is your friend when it comes to practical matters. But if logic and knowledge driven decisions are backed up with intuitive feeling as validation, that makes it easier. Much easier.
Knowledge backed up by intuition yields confidence.
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Energy is energy, movement is movement, progress is progress.
Lately I feel pulled to use Wednesdays to take a second look at the “current energy” card from Monday’s week-ahead pathway reading. That will let us take a little deeper look at the card, and do a mid-week mid-card check-in to see how that “current energy” is actually unfolding.
As much as I love the Alleyman’s Tarot that we used for the full reading on monday and as much as I like the Marigold Tarot deck when it has crossed my path, the Waite Smith is still my favorite version of the knight of Pentacles for the sole reason it was a meme for a while. I don’t know who did it, but imagine the card (above) captioned with “Behold! The field where I grow my f*cks! Lift up thine eyes and you will see that it is barren!”
The farther into my genX INTP middle age, the more I appreciate the validity and value of that little sentiment.
The Knight is an action card. Pentacles are both the earth element suit and the suit representing the physical realm, the career and wealth part of life.
Earth moves at a different pace.
This is turning out to be a very earth element kind of week, with the fire and fury of the knight of wands moving away more quickly than I gave it credit for.
Pentacle knights are still knights, and action is still action. Even when it is at the pace of tectonic plates shifting. Even if it is on a geologic time scale, change is change, action is action. On the surface it might seem like not giving a f*ck, but that’s not really what is going on. Energy is never destroyed, it only changes form. A slow grind can reduce obstacles to dust just as much as an explosion can. The secret for that is to let your f*ckfield be barren when it comes to time.
The advice from this card is to persist, but let go of your expectations about how fast things happen. A horse, a bicycle and a motorcycle can all move you the same distance down the same road perfectly fine.
Don’t discount any slow or small progress you’ve made this week. It counts.
Moving in a direction you didn’t expect is still movement.
Unplugging is still doing something.
“Time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted time”
John Lennon
Thanks for reading! See you at the next sip!
Free for all week! – all content on this blog, the ko-fi blog and the NEW Sage Sips newsletter on Substack is free this week!
I’ve been told that my email readings but especially the handwritten, hand illustrated private Tarot readings appeal to book lovers.*
I’m a reader’s reader. My written content is my best work.
I know it. You know it.
Writing is my niche and my talent and my strength.
I’m not going to water that down just for the sake of having a podcast.
Some people learn better from listening. Some people just plain prefer audio.
I know it. You know it.
I just received word that Spotify for podcasters and WordPress are ending the text to speech integration.
Unless and until I find another text to speech option, it is with some regret that I am ending the Sage Sips podcast. I have too much respect for audio learners and audiophiles to give you a second rate Tarot product. I’m not going to half-ass a spoken word recording when I KNOW I can give you significantly better quality content with text-to-speech technology.
If I can find a workable text to speech option, I’ll resume the audio blog. Until then you can find my free week-ahead pathway readings on Mondays on the Sage Words Tarot dot com website, on the Sage Words Tarot blog on ko-fi dot com and on the Sage Sips newsletter on Substack.
All three of those platforms will continue to have a mix of free and premium subscriptioncontent, because none of this is advertising monetized. The blogs and Substack are all reader supported. With me, your Tarot message comes first, not an advertiser’s message. Premium content and private readings are what makes the free blog Tarot readings possible. Private readings are still always available in both email and live formats through the website. No appointments are needed for the email version, by the way.
I am always so grateful for your support. Your purchases help fund the practical part of creating all of this, but your time reading (or until now, listening) to the blog, your likes, your shares, your follows and free subscriptions are why ten or more years worth of Tarot inspiration exists in the world. All of you are why I do this in the first place. Together, we have created a giant pile of ideas, inspiration, art, entertainment and wisdom. Now let’s go create some more.
Podcast people, thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for listening in as the podcast changed from Clairvoyant Confessional to TaoCraft Tarot and most recently to Sage Sips. I hope audio will be back, but in the meantime please join us on the blogs for more Tarot readings, behind the scenes and ask me anything.
Blog people – I’ll see you at the next sip.
*I’ve read for other intuitives and professional Tarot readers before. It is always the biggest compliment to be trusted by a colleague like that. “Readings for readers” works for that kind of reader too.
Hello and welcome to a whole bunch of stuff. I’m glad you are here. This is the first week of a new and hopefully stable web presence for Sage Words Tarot. Most Mondays you can find these three card Tarot readings for the week ahead in lots of places. So pour yourself a cup of whatever you like to sip this time of day and have a seat at the Tarot Table. The readings are the same no matter whether you came to the table by way of the Sage Words Tarot blog on wordpress and ko-fi, Sage Sips podcast, or Sage Sips on Substack. No matter how you got here, I’m happy you ARE here, so let’s take a look at these cards.
My hunch is to do this in the same format as I would for an email private reading. You KNOW I’m going to tell you that distance Tarot is my specialty and private readings are available to order 24 / 7 no appointment needed. Email Tarot has loads of advantages for both of us, and there is a web page and blog post about that coming soon, too.
That being said, this is my three card pathway layout. I based it on the old ubiquitous past, present, future layout but it doesn’t work with exact time or with predictions. This about the collective energy environment, sort of a psychic weather report that helps you to figure out your best way forward through whatever life throws at you. Like I’ve said for years now: Tarot doesn’t tell you what is going to happen in life. Tarot helps you figure out what to do when life happens.
The layout is read from right to left, in the opposite direction of reading English. I do it that way for a couple of reasons. First, that’s just how I learned to do it a long, long time ago. It’s comfortable and it works. I think the part where we read cards in the opposite direction from reading words is important. Language and grammar is a logical process. When we flip the reading direction it disrupts that deeply ingrained logical thought pattern. That disruption helps to get past established mental habits and get to intuition a little bit easier.
The first card, the one on the right, symbolizes the energy that is fading. The middle card is the strongest energy around at the present moment. I’m writing this on a Monday morning – April 17, 2023 to be exact. Chances are, you are reading it at a different time. That’s where the customization comes in, even at a distance, even in a collective reading. In my experience, the inspiration we need is all around us. Whether you see it as psychic, spiritual, energetic or what have you, the message you need will find you one way or another and the moment you need it the most. Whenever you are reading this, the cards reflect your individual moment in time.
The left hand card is the energy that is growing in influence. Again, it is like an energy weather report of the vibe you might be dealing with later on. It is not a prediction of what is about to happen.
Another way to think of the layout is as the path we’ve already walked, the place where we stand now, and the path just ahead.
I tend not to use that metaphor because “path ahead” makes it too easy to fall into the trap of thinking in terms of predictions or some kind of archaic fortune telling. Tarot has evolved beyond that. If you are looking for someone to predict the future, I’m not the Tarot reader for you. I’m here for the personal growth, spiritual enrichment, inspiration and creative problem solving aspects of Tarot. I’m here to be a better person and better adapt to this squirrel rave we call life. Predictions can’t do regardless of whether they come true or not. But that’s another rant for another day.
My readings start with what I call the “general pattern.” That part isn’t as telling in these three card layouts as it is in a five or seven card layout. Here we see two minor arcana cards and one major. That is roughly the proportion of minor to major cards in the deck as a whole, so logically you would expect to see that same ratio in the layout. When that happens, I read it as “as expected” overall energy. No red lights, no sirens, no windfalls, no winning lottery tickets, just the normal, usual, average ups and downs of everyday living. In other words, chances are it is going to be a typical week, whatever is typical for you. The major arcana card is the growing energy position so the overall dynamics of the week will be building as time goes on as opposed to remaining steady or chilling out as we move toward the weekend. Things are on an upswing, which makes sense after the laid back energies of the past few weeks. It makes sense that the pendulum would finally start to swing in the other direction.
The fading energy is the Ten of Cups. Classically, the Ten of Cups is associated with all the happy family things you would expect based on the picture on the card. Cups cards are connected to the water element, emotions and our closest inner circle relationships. This isn’t to say that things are going to get unhappy or that you are going to lose the things that are dearest to you. In this case, it is the opposite. Words like “foundation” and “foundational” come to mind. Support systems, be it genetic family, found family or otherwise are very much there to support you.
I think this is the real cornerstone of this week’s reading.
The Ten of Cups reminds us that we have support. Know your foundation and your matrix. Before it was a movie or hair care line, matrix meant the environment something was in. Matrix is our milieu and the substrate of life. It’s glue. It’s the stuff that holds it all together.
Allow yourself to be supported. You are not alone. You don’t have to do this alone. There is a matrix and a life-glue out there for you. The trick is to find it and then to cherish it.
Current Energies are represented by the Eight of Pentacles. Pentacles are earth energy, career, wealth, and our relationship with the physical world. This is a cue that the conditions are right to be productive. Allow it to be easy. Just do it, as the shoe folks say. Stay busy. It has been said that work is good therapy. Focusing on a task can help you stay mindful and present in the current moment. That is exactly why simple, repetitive things like knitting, crafting, running, washing dishes or peeling potatoes can be meditative, even soothing, especially at times when emotions are running high. Again I hear “stay active” and “busy hands, quiet mind”
By the way, when I say “hear” it means that the intuitive information comes to mind in the form of words, sounds or songs. If I say “see” it means that the intuitive input is visual, coming through as mental images.
Finally we have the growing Hierophant energy. It took me a long time to come to terms with this card because of the religious imagery on older decks like the Marseille and the RWS card in the Youtube card draw video. That kind of imagery makes sense in the context of Tarot’s development in heavily Catholic Medieval Europe but it has little meaning for those of us who are not part of the Christian religious tradition. Depending on individual experiences, the religious aspects of the card’s appearance can be off-putting to say the least. It is thanks to Johanne Denelli’s writing and the Mark Evans artwork in the Witches Tarot deck version of the card that I’ve been able to work with the card at all. The Hierophant is the keeper of traditions. The hierophant tells old legends by firelight, and defines social expectation – even when social expectations evolve and change.
There are two threads of meaning for the card, and both apply in this reading.
First the Hierophant can symbolize tradition.
In this case it is calling us to set our new normal. Now it is our turn to say what is or isn’t traditional and if we choose to follow tradition at all or not. As someone on social media put it, we are the new ancestors.
After times of great change like the pandemic, people need some degree of sameness, some sense of a solid foundation. Whether it is based on old tradition, or the creation of a new one, after times of great change like the pandemic, we naturally gravitate toward things that are solid, and seem unlikely to change anytime soon. When you build a house, the foundation is the place to start. It might be a new building on a new foundation. It might be rebuilding on an old and proven foundation. Here again we are asked to find our matrix. What is our root, our cornerstone and our foundation? What is the glue that holds the whole thing together? What holds all of our parts in place? What is our matrix?
The other thread of meaning in this card has to do with social convention. It is about doing what is expected of us – or not. I relate this very much with that tension between expressing our true selves fully and authentically and the public face we put on in order to thrive, succeed, or at least survive in the society in which we live. Sometimes you have to take off your favorite goth band T-shirt and dress for a job interview. Sometimes you have to stake your claim for who you really are to heck with the cultural norms. Sometimes you can find a way to have both. Sometimes you have to stay closeted for your own safety. Sometimes you have to find new family and culture and walk your own path.
The message from the Hierophant is to know and define which path is best for you right now. Whether you are complying with the old or creating something new, do it knowingly, mindfully and deliberately.
In a private reading, I would finish up with a summary of any purely psychic intuitive impressions that come through. It may be related to the person’s cards or questions or it may not. That part is highly individual and very personal. It’s not really applicable to a general, collective reading like this. I do get the mental image of a lotus, if that means anything to anyone. That morphs into the image of a pine forest, along with the scent of pine. I’m guessing that’s our recommended candle or incense fragrance for the day.
And there the energies step back and here is where I would end things if I were reading for an individual.
For the whole group of you – thank you for reading and listening. Helpful links are in the text, in the right hand column, in the episode description. You know the drill.
Thank you again. Have a great week and I’ll see you at the next sip!
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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