Tag: mindfulness

Week Ahead Tarot: Strive To Abide

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Point of view is telling.

This is cool. I never thought of this before. I always put so much mental bandwidth into communicating the message for my client that I never thought about my point of view within the intuitive mental image.

Point of view is often part of the message – just like the mental image of the three paths at the narrow mountain summit what has repeated recently in “Summit and Crossroads“, “Move With Charisma” and “Feeling Kawaii” collective energy readings here on the blog.

In that repeating image, my point of view arrived at the summit facing forward with the message to wait and watch and with all three directions (forward, left, right but of course not off the cliff behind – that’s a whole other post right there). When the image came back again later, my point of view was still facing forward with the right and left paths in shadow and the path straight ahead was lighted. Clearly the message was to move forward, to change altitude, to enter the new phase and new cycle message that came through the repeating moon card.

While the Chariot isn’t a change card per se, it touches that energy through its wheels, which evoke much of the same energy of the Wheel of Fortune / Wheel of the seasons card. Round, moon, wheel, forward travel; there is a theme and pattern here.

Chariot is at it’s best a card of willpower, alertness, attention to the present moment. It very much resonates with the head-over-heart vibe that has been repeating lately as well. It is science and personal power and confidence, and presence of mind. I think of it as the test pilot card, or for those familiar with the 1980s movie, a Buckaroo Banzai kind of card.

The thing that fascinated me as I write this is the shifted point of view. Always before I’ve seen the Chariot from outside the Chariot. The message of willpower and persistence and presence and attention always came through just fine, and every bit of it is there tonight, a night of dark moon. Tonight I saw the Chariot from inside the Chariot. The change in point of view added something vital, new to the Chariots usual message: relaxation. Enjoyment even. Driving the Chariot was like driving a car at night with the window down. It was blues and cool breezes, no traffic, no stress. It was like the quiet relaxed mindfulness of a long drive on a quiet highway in good weather.

This is about embracing the change, participating in the inevitable changes in life. I am reminded of an Instagram post by my favorite meditation communicator Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier. In the post he quoted another of my favorite authors, Alan Watts.

“Everything is change. Nothing can be held on to. And if you go with the flux, you flow with it. However, if you resist the stream, it fights you. If you realize this, you swim with the flow—you go with it, and you’re at peace.”

Which reminded me of Frank Herbert in Chapterhouse Dune

“Live the best life you can. Life is a game whose rules you learn if you leap into it and play it to the hilt. Otherwise, you are caught off balance, continually surprised by the shifting play.”

The Chariot from a forward facing point of view is encouraging us to keep our mind in this moment, go with the flow, and go with it to the absolute hilt. Don’t strive and stress. Enjoy the ride and abide.

In this night of the dark moon, I wish Peace, Presence and Prosperity for us all.

Low Tech Ritual

Also on Sage’s Second Cup blog

Our hot water is out.

Sure, I’ve done my fair share of complaining about boiling water on the stove to keep us and the kitchen sanitary like I’m Ma Ingalls and this is 1826 or something. That’s in spite of the fact that I’m doing it in an air conditioned house with an electric stove and not over a wood fire in some hovel hole of a cabin in the wilderness. I LIKE it here in the future with electricity, indoor plumbing and whatnot.

But you know what they say about clouds and silver linings. Or as author Richard Bach put it “there is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.”

Hmm. Maybe that plus the narrow mountain top ridge image from the “Summit and Crossroads” and “Move with Charisma” tarot readings is a solid hint to re-read Bach’s Illusions or finally get around to reading The Razor’s Edge. That’s idea, too. Book reviews over on Second Cup – but none of that is the point. Back to the hot water thing.

The problem with the stovetop hot water is that it is a sloooow way to do things.

The beautiful part of the stovetop hot water is that it is a slow way to do things.

I especially noticed it bathing. The slow acts of putting the water on to heat, cleaning the sink, moving the soap from its usual shower spot to a place on the countertop within reach; trivial things to be sure, but it takes on an almost ritual-like quality.

It was a mindfulness trap.

Without intending it, it dropped me into a meditative mindset. Instead of quick, thoughtless and profoundly mundane, I found myself engaging with the moment. It wasn’t the usual quick hop shower. This was a thing.

The same can, and does, apply to Tarot reading.

It doesn’t matter what you ritual IS – it matters what your ritual DOES.

Whatever your process or ritual, it shifts you from the everyday world into an engaged frame of mind. The ritual and process of a Tarot reading shifts us from mindless to mindful. Whatever your ritual, habit or process might be, it makes tarot reading into a thing.

Spirit speaks in whispers. Tarot and its attendant rituals, even the casual ones, helps us to hear those whispers.

Using a reading cloth, or a particular shuffle pattern, having a dedicated space, lighting candles or incense or whatever you do when you do a reading all has the effect of slowing down our normal pace. Those objects and activities aren’t sacred, but the mindset they create is.

Tarot reading rituals are a mindfulness trap.

The pattern quiets and comforts. It is like giving a toddler a new toy or handing a banana to a hungry monkey. Some routine or ritual that is a built in part of beginning a reading comforts and quiets our logical mind enough to help us hear our intuition and the quiet whispers of spirit and energy.

A wonderful as the modern age and its indoor plumbing may be, some things are ancient and still powerful. Often the most powerful things are the quietest, and the simplest, like a low tech ritual.

Raise a mug to civil rights

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Sage’s Second Cup: 3 June 2026

Echoed from Sage’s Second Cup blog:

I don’t feel like coming up with a clever title for this, so here’s the date. Happy Wednesday. Cheers.

Today started with my usual cup of coffee, and while scrolling I went on a tangent about Taoist vs Buddhist meditation styles.

A long time ago in a psychology class far away (back in the late twentieth century) we all took a mini version of the Myers-Briggs type indicator , not unlike the quizzes you can find online now. Turns out I’m an INTP.

The MBTI may not have any real use in clinical psychology. As someone said, it has become the new “what is your (astrology) sign.” I like my type. I think they kind of nailed it. In true INTP style, this morning I was thinking about thinking and it’s role in meditation. The part of me that is feeling a little tired this morning and is reaching for a second cup of coffee wound up thinking that just being a head in a jar Futurama style wouldn’t be a bad gig if you could get it.

But then I saw the shadow of the back yard trees in the morning sun on the curtains and remembered something Neil DeGrasse Tyson said about NOT wanting to be a head in a jar because he wanted to feel and experience, not just think.

He’s right. Without connecting to physical life … or at least connecting other heads in other jars as we do online … we’d run out of stuff to think about. Or at least the good stuff to think about.

Which kind of circles right back around to meditation. mindfulness, the present moment, and letting thoughts go.

Letting thoughts go means letting go of the thoughts about not thinking.

Right now I’m remembering a post on social media (I can’t for the life of me remember when or where I scrolled her feed) A lovely older lady was talking about a stressful time in life as a single mother. I kind of think she’s a modern day Buddha for coming up with “sit and stare time” as a way to cope.

She described the epiphany of just letting herself have a few minutes each morning to just sit, stare, and do nothing. Coffee was involved. Here’s to you oh kindred spirit whoever you are, wherever you are.

The problem isn’t necessarily the thinking part. Go ahead. Sit and stare. Think away if you want to.

Grinding away and getting emotionally caught up in OVER thinking any one thing that hasn’t happened yet or something that is over and done and not of this moment – that kind of thinking is a problem. THAT is some shit to let go.

Outside of that, though, so what if we sit and think a little or just sit and feel a little or just sit and do absofucking nothing? So what if we don’t think about letting go of our thoughts? What if we just sit and sip and abide with whatever bubbles up out of our brain and let it be what it naturally is? Thinking and feeling is not a bad thing for a brain and body to do.

Of the uncountable molecules in an infinite universe, each brainwave, each emotion, each experience, each moment is the cosmic privilege of a lifetime.

No wonder we hold on to thoughts so tight.

Soft Landing

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After the sun rises it sets. Days and weeks begin, and then they end. Tarot can help set the tone for your day or week. But it can do more.

Tarot gives you a 360 degree view. It can broaden your horizons, it can help you look ahead and plan, but it can also look back and understand.

Daily meditation tarot can help bring a day in for a soft landing just as well as it can get your day off to an inspired start.

The Star is about hope and aspiration and guidance.

In reverse it hears you when your compass is spinning and you don’t know which way to go.

Tonight, the Star suggests that when you don’t know which way to go that means you are already there. Be where you are.

When it is time to move, a new star will rise and you’ll know what to do. For now, bloom where you are planted. Find the contentment and happiness that is already there just waiting for you to feel it.

Today’s Tarot: OK Is OK

It’s ok to be ok.

We’ve had a stressful week here in the US. Even I thought we were going to all die in a flash of mutually assured nuclear destruction at the hands of the republicans. (BTW – this is a personal opinion blog and not a public business. As of today, if you are a Republican, support Republicans, want bipartisan cooperation with Republicans, are Chistian evangelical, are Christian nationalist, racist, or any variety of bigot please f**k right the hell off. That energy is not welcome here.)

THAT being said, today is a good day for a shift in focus. Things have been very yang, very outward, very existential crisis lately. It’s ok to turn off the big world news, pull in your energies and focus on you, your immediate personal space for a minute.

You…yes, you. Take just a moment away from the screen. Look around you.

So, how is it? Are you out of the weather? Hungry? Thirsty? Warm/cool enough? Sitting or standing comfortably? Is the room literally on fire? Are you in any immediate danger?

If not, take a deep breath. It’s ok to be ok for a minute.

Sometimes the best dream to chase is being OK with things as they are right here, right now. It is a dream that is forever already true.

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Weekend Oracle: One Touch

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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Weekend Oracle: Immerse

Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee

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THE SUMMER MOTHER: Immerse yourself in the moment. Creating a moment of contentment is no less a work of art than any other. It is sculpting in time and space to make something special for yourself and those around you.

We talk a lot about “being in the moment” but what does that really feel like? How do we actually DO that?

You drop.

Drop something. Think about that physical act of letting go. I don’t mean the kind of drops or something accidentally getting knocked out of your hand. Think about dropping coins in a donation box or an envelope into a mailbox.

That kind of dropping.

Drop thoughts of the future, just for a minute. Then drop the past. All that is left is now.

The moment is what it is. If vinegar tastes sour, smile for all is as it should be. If honey tastes sweet, smile all the more because it is delicious.

Wishing all of you a sweet weekend filled with delicious moments.

Deck: Normal Tarot second edition by Seven Dane Asmund illustrated by Sam Dow

Today’s Tarot: You know what to do

Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee

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HIGH PRIESTESS: Trust what you know, then do it. Spiritual power is greatest when you feel it, but it is still there even when you don’t. Some days, there is no grand mystery. Some days, just going through the motions is plenty enough. Ritual is never empty when it is mindful of the present moment.

May is both National Meditation Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. Tarot is part of both.

There have been countless times that I’ve seen jaws unclench, shoulders drop and frowns disappear in a Tarot reading.

Tarot can offer you a peaceful moment in troubled times.

This month I’m returning to where it all started: One Card Daily Meditation style readings. You can order a personalized meditation style Tarot reading by email or you can learn to do them for yourself with PeaceTarot: Tarot as a Way to Peaceful Thoughts in Troubled Times, available for download in the TaoCraft Tarot ko-fi shop.

Tarot for Today: All of It

Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee

The Chariot

All potential emotions, cosmic wisdom, and profound compassion are travel sized for your convenience in the size and shape of a single human being.

That human being is you.

Mood and mindset move with you. You can’t drive away from your sadness. Your happiness always comes along for the ride. The past is inescapably in the Chariot with you, but it doesn’t hold the reins. The past doesn’t control the future, only this present moment can set the cause for future effects. Only this present moment can decide if scars from the past debilitate you or make your stronger.

Only in this present moment can you touch the rest of time.

Touch it gently, and with great kindness.

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