Tag: marketing

Weight of a Year

re-posted from Sage’s Other Words blog with permission.

2022 was a long year. It’s nice when time lingers. Hopefully that gives us the luxury of savoring the present moment, as each moment is unique in all the history of the universe, never to return.

Each moment seems miniscule, negligible compared to that enormity, but it is exactly that enormity of time that makes each unique moment all the more precious.

Looking back through energy eyes, or energy third eye as it may be, last January seems distant, different, almost unrecognizable. Tiny as it was in the cosmic perspective, 2022 looms large in the personal perspective. Tarot occupies a different space in the schedule, but also in my mind and energy and attention.

It’s all about the Tarot. It’s always been about spirit and intuition and living in this precious unique moment. The business part of Tarot needed to change. The hustle diminished the flow.

The business part is dressing down, changing into metaphoric pajama pants and fuzzy bunny slippers. The focus isn’t crazy pants promotions or regularly posting social media.

The focus is you.

My time, experience (did I mention I’ve been doing this since the early 1990s?) and my skill is worth the price of a session the same as the time and experience and skill of a therapist or an artist or a writer or a personal trainer or a plumber or anyone with any of the other skills we humans value is worth the cost of their services.

There is another shared thread between the art of therapy and art of Tarot readings. Neither has a bit of benefit unless the person getting it wants it. you can’t push either one on people. The best service we can offer is to create and facilitate a healing space for those who want, need and seek it.

Because of that, I’m not going to worry about posting every single on social media. Dang it, I’m a writer and a Tarot reader, not media personality. Instead of trying to be one, I’m rolling with my strong suit and putting my energy into doing the best Tarot readings for you that I can do.

Despite dropping the word Tao from my web presence, I’m following last year’s natural flow of energy from Yang to Yin. I’m closing party Tarot and reducing the available appointment times for in-person Tarot. I’m putting all of my energy into doing the email readings that I love, love, LOVE to do instead of bleeding off energy to the side hustle of promoting and marketing those selfsame readings. My attention is shifting from doing all of the “right” business things to holding space for us to work together and making a little intuitive magic. If you find me and this magical space, wonderful! It was meant to be. Let’s get to it. You are welcome here. Let’s listen together and find out what spirit and intuition have to say to us.

While a Tarot reading in any format is a spiritual space, apart from the world, the world is still waiting when we are done. There is a hustle to do, even if it isn’t related to marketing and promotion. The practical, logical business side of being a professional, trustworthy Tarot reader still exists. I have bills to pay the same as everyone else. Any support you can give, word of mouth referrals, virtual coffees on ko-fi, repeat readings, anything will help keep the stressful side of social media hustle out of our Tarot energy flow. None of it is really going away. It really isn’t as big of a change as it might sound. It’s all just getting way, way more comfortable and casual.

Speaking of social media, I’ve left Twitter and migrated to Mastedon where people really are the algorithm. I’m @sage@mstdn.social. I meant it when I said “Boosts matter. They are how we find each other. There are a lot of tremendously fascinating, cool human beings out here in cyberspace and boost help us find – and appreciate – each other and that is the whole social media ballgame. Thanks everybody *raises coffee mug* cheers!” I won’t be promoting the blog, podcast or readings there, but if you want to say a real hello, I’m there at least once a day.

The Year Ahead reading for 2023 is up on the main website thanks to Zombie Cat’s fine efforts yesterday.

But all of this can start tomorrow. After the weight of an old year rolling away we’ve all earned some quiet and routine, like the hush of January snow. I wish you a light and lovely New Year.

Clairvoyant Confessional: Smelly Flowers and Naming Powers

I don’t know why.

It doesn’t matter why, really. I like to name my blogs. Maybe it is my inner sixth grader who wanted to be a journalist pretending to name a newspaper. More likely it is my outer gen-X-er trying to get organized. Even more likely it’s my attempt to pique your interest.

Shakespeare wrote that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Bill was right. You could call it a fantastic fartflower and it would still give off exactly the same molecules that smell exactly the same way as it does when we call it a rose.

The problem is that humans are more than a molecule detector. Our olfactory nerves connect to a brain that is chock full of memories & emotions. If we attach unpleasant memories or emotions to the name, then a fantastic fartflower might not smell as sweet after all. On the other hand, maybe roses really don’t smell all that great but our perception of the fragrance changes because of all of the positive associations with roses like love, romance, beauty, summertime and so on.

I have no training in marketing, but I would guess that it’s much easier to interest people in something named a rose. Which gets back to naming my blogs. A title is a fast, easy way to tell you what the blog is about while hopefully enticing you to read more. I want to sell you on the idea of reading the blog and a good name helps with that, or so it seems.

Marketing and promotion are weirdly uncomfortable if not nearly taboo in spirituality related fields like Tarot. Movies have trailers, and bands promote themselves all the time, but it is different for a clairvoyant. Given all of the scams and grift that have abused the name, it’s no wonder that words like psychic carry more connotations than a word like rose ever could. Practicing our art, promoting our art, and promoting a legitimate artistic business all while trying to stay out of culture war crosshairs is all a very tricky thing to do.

I recently named my blog “Portfolio.” because Tarot is my art, and the blog literally is my portfolio. I use it to showcase both my writing and my Tarot reading skills. Artists take portfolios to job interviews to showcase their work. If you read the blog, and then get a Tarot reading with me, the reading should meet or exceed your expectations because you’ll know in advance exactly what to expect. For a potential employer, a portfolio builds trust in an artist’s work. I hope the blog (and this podcast) will build your trust in my work too.

In 2018 I changed my website, blog and social media name. I re-branded everything from Modern Oracle Tarot to the TaoCraft Tarot. Ever since then, I get caught up in the idea of names about once a year, usually around the Fall anniversary of TaoCraft Tarot’s grand opening. Contrary to the “rose by any name” theory, names can actually be very powerful things.

To manifest anything, to accomplish any goal, you must first name it.

The more clear and precise a goal is, the more clear and precise the outcome can be. By the same token, that high precision limits the possibilities. A more open, adaptable and inclusive goal can increase your chances of a satisfying result. A name helps in both instances. A name can be as broad or as precise as needed. A name can be changed as time goes on. To meet a goal, you have to have one. To meet a goal, it must first be identified.

The power of names is even more evident when it comes to personal growth and becoming a better person.

What is the best part of you as you are right now? What is your very best current trait? Name it. Wrap yourself in it. Embrace that name for yourself at least for a few hours.

Then think of a personal quality that you want to acquire or increase. What would life be like if you were already that thing? Name it. Try that aspirational quality on for a while. See how it fits. You might not need to grow into it as much as you first thought.

After being raised by evangelicals and nicknamed “brainiac” in junior high, it was odd to add the namef “tarot reader” or “clairvoyant” to the list. Once I could identify with those names for some of the things I do, it opened whole new vistas of comfort and authenticity. But that is another blog post from another time. I’ll put links to related posts in the show notes.

Now here is a real challenge.

What label, trait, or quality is the name that shall not be named? What is your own personal Voldemort? What name is a bridge too far? Now, I’m not saying you should cross that bridge or go too far in any respect, but at least look at it. Consider its architecture. For me it took decades….decades…to admit the truth to myself about being an atheist or even harboring an interest in witchcraft. It took a longer time to realize that we don’t have to renounce one label when we pick up another. The human spirit is big enough that many traits and names can coexist not just harmoniously but synergistically. We are more than the sum of our parts. Our better parts shine when we name them and live them.

Whatever you want to be, try saying “I am” then fill in the blank with that thing. Names are necessary for good old fashioned affirmations too.

How does that make you feel? How does it feel to name yourself the thing you could never admit that you are? More importantly, how does it feel to name yourself the thing you’ve always wanted to be?

Name your worst trait and it will step to the front. Name your best trait and it will grow. The labels we place on others and that others place on us can help or hurt just as powerfully. Take care with the names you use for yourself and your fellow humans.

Thank you for listening today and for your ongoing support. I appreciate it more than you know. I always appreciate a good cup of coffee too. Any contributions to my virtual coffee mug supports the free blog posts and future podcast episodes.

Speaking of future podcast episodes, please send any questions you have for a clairvoyant. Ask me anything as they say. I may even do a Tarot reading for the answer. Contact information is on the blog and in the show notes.

This is the end of season 1. Clairvoyant confessional will be on hiatus until mid September. I’d like to say I’ll be using that time to learn how to edit audio files and figure out how to make this a better podcast. But honestly…the confessional will probably be back with the same raw, unedited, amateurish, pirate radio aesthetic that it has now.

I’m a clairvoyant and I have a confession. I still don’t know all that much about making a podcast.

Name related posts:

Mail your questions for the clairvoyant to ClairvoyantConfessional@gmail.com