neil degrasse tyson – Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot

The Watcher

Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee – or whatever you are sipping at the moment.

Updated today from a September 2020 post

Three of Wands. Yes – again.

Different deck, different day, same card. A cool thing happened; about an hour after I filmed the card draw above, I did a private one card reading with a different deck (Steampunk, their favorite) and wouldn’t you know it – Three of Wands. This card is really trying to get our attention.

It also gives us a little insight into how Tarot can be such an endlessly useful tool for something as complex as spiritual guidance or the human psychology. The math is pretty convincing. Let’s start with a one card daily meditation reading. You have one card position raised to the power of 78 possible cards, raised to the power of all the possible keywords and meanings that have been attached to each card over the years, raised to the power of our limitless imagination and intuition.

Even if you leave out the intuition bit, and just look at card numbers, the cards are pretty amazing. Here – let a real expert explain this:

Now, let’s consider that kind of calculation for a full Tarot reading. Never mind a classic 10 card Celtic Cross – let’s just consider my 5 card Modern Oracle layout.

For five layout positions, regardless of the meaning you assign to that position, the first card could be any card from the entire deck. The first card has 78 possible results. The second position has the whole deck minus the first card, which gives 77 possibilities. The third position has the whole deck minus the first two cards for 76 possibilities and so on

If I’m using the online calculator correctly, that means there are over 2 million different card combinations for any given five card layout.

Now add all of the possible card meanings into that mix.

Then raise it all to the infinite possibilities that pure intuition can lend to the reading.

Now you know why we charge the rates that we do. The more cards in a reading, the more complex it becomes, and the more insight, wisdom and raw Tarot experience it takes to make sense out of it all for a client. When you add in ethical, professional conduct – $35 for a five card email reading is insanely affordable.

That is beside the point. The point is that when you consider the mind-boggling number of possible card combinations, a repeating card in disparate circumstances sustained over time is a card definitely worthy of our attention.

The Three of Wands is often associated with things like watchfulness, active waiting, observation, proper timing, or vigilance.

Recently, the energy seemed to flow toward the idea of watching for the right timing, watching for events to happen that would in turn prompt you to action.

Today, the energy is more toward the vigilance end of things. This feeling of watchfulness isn’t timed to a particular action. It isn’t about timing your action just right. It has a more general sense.

This is also an energy connecting the card to the idea of healthy boundary setting. First discover where your best boundaries ARE, then the Three of Wands encourages you to watch over them, maintain them and defend them. Words like “periphery” and “vigilance” come to mind. Based on current events, turbulent times are likely on the horizon. The Three of Wands card is further reminding us to guard our energy and mental health. It is always better to over-prepare than to under-react to such things, be it literal storms or political ones.

Thank you for reading this updated post from the archives. I hope you will use the search bar on the right hand side of the page (or the bottom of the page on mobile) and browse the archives. There are six years of Tarot readings here, more over on “Sage’s Other Words” so chances are you can find something interesting.

The day job is back on a typical schedule so I’m hopeful to have a new “Choose Your Card” Tarot reading for you on Monday.

See you at the next sip!

Everybody loves a free sample

I like samples, especially when they are free.

Those big box warehouse clubs are famous for their free food samples. I’ve found some of my favorite foods that way (looking at you chicken veggie dumplings and big chunk of aged cheddar cheese) Free appetizers are fun, but you don’t see them giving away the toaster oven.

Ever since the big pandemic lockdown back in 20 aught 20 when we were shopping a lot online anyway, I’ve been trying to transition to less plastic and more environmentally friendly versions of, well, everything.

Which is trickier than you might think when you have to factor in family allergies and skin sensitivities along with things like affordability and efficacy. Small and sample sizes, even when they aren’t free, are helpful in figuring out if a product is trustworthy or green washed. Small sizes helped me find good products and switch to the full size without wondering if they would give half of us a rash.

But that is all another story.

Free sample Tarot readings have a similar kind of utility. Free Tarot content is about helping you decide what works for you and what doesn’t. It is about a little sip or a tasty morsel. It’s not about taking home the whole toaster oven.

Over the years, I’ve had people call and ask for a “free sample” Tarot reading.

For private, individual readings? Nope. No free samples. This ain’t cheese and crackers. You gotta pay for toaster ovens and full size Tarot readings.

But I do offer other kinds of free samples. You are looking at it (or listening to it) right now. This blog is free. The podcast is free. The YouTube shorts and Sips of Tarot on social media are all free. Those collective energy readings may not be tailored to you individually the way a private reading would be but it gives a tantalizing little taste of what a one to one private email reading might be like.

I think this kind of openness and transparency is important to building trust like we talk about on the “How to Find a Psychic You Can Trust” page on the website.

Free Tarot readings are all over the place. Free Tarot content is lying around out in the open all over cyberspace but those free samples come at a subtle cost. You have to put in the work of discerning what applies to you and what doesn’t. Spirit speaks in whispers. With free online content you have to do the hard work of interpreting the message for yourself.

In my experience, spirit’s message will find you one way or another with all the energy and intensity of that old Blondie song. All you need is the chutzpah to listen or look for it. Spirit’s message always comes directly to you free of charge.

Spirit message hearing aids and translators are another story.

Even if you paid top dollar for the most famous celebrity psychic in the world, the nitty gritty work of applying that reading to your personal life and personal growth is still 100% up to you.

Paying for a professional reading is not paying for the message itself, it’s paying for a savings in your time and effort. Paying a professional to help you find spirit’s message spares you from a metric ton of trial and error, even though the final step of applying the message to your life will always be up to you. I got really good at intuition and Tarot readings the hard way through study and practice and time. You can get good at this too – through study and practice and time.

But that amount of time and effort is not something everyone wants to spend. The trade-off for borrowing my experience and expertise is paying the consultation fee.

Life and death emergencies aside, let me borrow an example from my friends in the medical profession.

All healing comes from within, from the living organism itself. Even the most advanced scientific medicine can’t create life where there is none. But they can help support the living being’s innate healing process. You could get over your sprained ankle on your own, but consulting a doctor might help you heal better or faster.

Intuition is a natural ability that we all have. Developing it to the level where it can be trusted to help other people is a professional skill. Consulting with a professional intuitive can help you find the message or inspiration that you need more quickly or more accurately than prolonged trial and error on your own.

Last week I combined the “Seat at the Tarot Table” and the “Patron of the Tarot Arts” memberships so that the lower tier price gives you the upper tier benefit of on demand email Tarot readings.You can get all of the details and disclaimers about that at the link below or in the podcast description.

Today I’m introducing a new membership tier. This is not an upper tier with all the benefits of the Tarot Table plus extras. it is an entirely separate and different thing. Right now it is an either / or choice. I don’t think you can do both memberships, but I can’t imagine that anyone would want or need both anyway.

Starting Monday February 20th, the new membership tier will be the only place to get Tarot every weekday. There will be some crossover, but the free content will be more random, less frequent and definitely not daily.

Today, however, I want to give you a sneak peek at what the weekday readings in the new membership level will be like.

The format on the daily post will vary to keep it visually interesting. Some days will have vintage public domain images from the Rider Waite Smith 1909 Tarot deck like the one below. Some will have my photos of a different public domain RWS deck that I have. Some will use my current favorite deck, the Alleyman’s Tarot used with the kind permission of the deck’s creator Seven Dane Asmund of Publishing Goblin LLC

Long story short, the free stuff isn’t really changing, it just won’t be as as frequent as before. The only way to get Tarot content every weekday is through the ko-fi members blog. I’m not sure yet how weekends will work, but watch this space and I’ll let you know what to expect.

What I’m trying to say, and not doing a very good job of it is that the only way to get absolutely everything, is to follow the free blog AND subscribe to the Daily Sip. Long read posts will be here, Daily sips will be there and social media will be whatever whenever.

It’s Saturday evening as I write this. Let’s pull a card for the collective energy for the rest of the weekend … or for whenever you happen to read this. If you are stumbling across this at another time, feel free to apply it personally. It’s a free Tarot reading and you can take it or leave it as you see fit. It’s up to you.

But in the spirit of those delicious free candy samples at the warehouse store, here is a free taste of what the Daily Sip posts will look like.

The King of Wands

A very broad brush rule of thumb for reading face or court cards is that the Queen carries the nurturing, maternal qualities of the suit, while the King carries the protective, paternal energies. Wands cards are associated with the classical element of fire, and can symbolize inner passions or our relationship with our inner selves.

I hear…and by the way, when I say hear that means that the mental intuition is in the form of words or sounds or music instead of images. In this case I hear “The king protects through teaching.” This brings to mind the value of education. Real education about objective facts and useful things. Neil DeGrasse Tyson famously said “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.” That is the kind of education the card is referencing. This kind of education is the exact, polar and distant opposite from dogma and indoctrination.

An educated populace is a strong and safe populace. Good teaching does right by people. For the mental image piece of it, I am reminded of some of my favorite Instagram and TicTok creators: Dylan Hollis, GothDad, DadAdviceFromBo, bwb.positivity, MercuryStardust and PoppopBruce Johnson who all teach and inspire with great fun and equal kindness.

Today is a nurturing energy. It is a fostering and supportive energy. Do you have something to teach? Something to learn? Something to do together in mutual support? It feels like a good day for reading, studying, or practicing something you love. Read a book, go for a run, take a deep breath, soak up some sun…no matter whether whether it involves the mind or the body, do something today that nourishes your soul in the process.

Thank you so much for reading and listening. Please follow, subscribe, like, share or just generally stay tuned to the main (free) blog, the free podcast, the memberships and all the socials for the week-ahead reading coming up on Monday.

See you at the next sip!

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Learn more about the Tarot Table and Daily Sip memberships HERE

Whose Expectation Is It?

TaoCraft Short Sip: Tarot contemplation in the time it takes to sip from your coffee

Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Short Sip: Tarot contemplation in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. I’m glad you are here.

Today’s card is the Hanged Man from the major arcana portion of the Tarot Deck.

Major arcana cards are about the major life lessons, about the twists and turns life can take. Sometimes they are guidance for a big choice you have to make, but in this case, it can be more along the lines of a general wake up call. That’s the kind of energy around today.

There was an episode of TV show we used to watch where the mom of the family was YouTube famous for a few days because of a video of her yelling “knock it off!” at her kids. She was the “knock it off” lady.

That’s the vibe the Hanged Man has today. Major arcana cards can be just that blunt and to the point sometimes. They are most often the cards to give the frying pan over the head kind of messages. I always enjoy it when Tarot drops the diplomacy and tells it like it is.

To borrow from another bit of pop culture, this kind of vibe is a little like the scene in the 1990 movie Ghost where the ghost, speaking through a psychic, asks psychic Oda Mae to be tactful and gentle when she talks to the bereaved character Molly. So of course, she gently and famously says “Molly, you in danger, girl.”

This card isn’t telling you that you are in danger, but it is telling you to knock it off.

If you think that life is stuck and not making any progress, whose expectations are being frustrated? Neil DeGrasse Tyson said that “The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.” Even more so, the universe is under no obligation to operate according to your timeline. The major arcana cards specialize in difficult life lessons. “It’s not about you” is one of those lessons.

So if you are feeling stuck or frustrated, the Hanged Man’s gentle, diplomatic advice is to KNOCK IT OFF! The universe is under no obligation to work according to your calendar.

Thank you for reading, listening and watching. The blogcast isn’t monetized and depends on your support. Email Tarot readings purchased on this website and Tarot Table memberships on ko-fi contribute to creating these (almost) daily Tarot readings for you. Any likes, subs, shares and follows that you can spare are always appreciated too.

See you at the next sip!

Patient Connection

Today’s card is the Ace of Pentacles

Pentacles are related to the physical realm. Often it connects to career and money energy. Other times it is more abstract, pointing toward a need for practical action. The ace, of course tends to care a sense of newness and promise. The classic interpretation is that good fortune is coming.

Intuition speaks in whispers and symbols. Sometimes it speaks in mental images and pop music references. That’s how it is working today. As I look at the card, I get the mental image of the spider web emoji and am reminded of the 1980s song “patience” by Guns and Roses. I don’t think it has any connection to any other lyrics or meaning behind the song. It feels like a way to emphasize the word “patience.”

It reminds me a little bit of the Neil DeGrasse Tyson quote that “The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.” Neither is obligated to meet our expectations or our timetables.

It also reminds me of the advice to be kind, because we never know what another person might be going through.

Putting all of that together, take heart. Good things can come of it all. Be patient. Everything is connected, and there is much we don’t know about other parts of that web of all things.

I appreciate you. Thank you for being here.

Thank you for watching the Short Sip real-world card draw on YouTube Shorts and on Instagram reels.

A longer card reading follows the card draw on the TaoCraft Tarot Blog and in audio on the TaoCraft Tarot Podcast

Ko-fi “Tarot Table” memberships, the virtual tip jar coffee mug, and private email Tarot reading purchases all support this free-for-everyone Tarot content. Your likes, subs, shares, and follows are also appreciated.

A Sip of Tarot: On Schedule

Today’s card is The Hanged Man from the major arcana.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson famously said that “the universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.” By the same token, life is under no obligation to meet our time schedules. Sometimes things take a frustratingly long time to happen. Sometimes things go so slowly nothing seems to be happening at all. Other times life goes lightning fast and takes us by surprise.

Time is literally changeable at super high speeds. Even right here, with both feet firmly planted on the ground, our perception of time seems entirely fluid. Perception is part of the key energy around the card today.

I’ve often said that with the Hanged Man, one person’s stuck in the mud is another person’s day at a spa. As with so many things, a small shift in perspective can change your feeling and experience enormously. One pattern I’ve seen in readings over the years is that a narrow focus on the path ahead breeds frustration. If one aspect of life is taking too long to happen, or if you feel stuck and making no progress, maybe that is another area of life grabbing you by the elbow and trying to get you to pay attention to something else. If things are going slowly, maybe it is because life doesn’t want you to whizz right by the scenery on the side of the road. If you feel stuck, it might be an opportunity in disguise to rest, stop, really see and appreciate where you are right now before running ahead to something new.

Thank you all for reading and listening! I’ll see See you next time on the TaoCraft Tarot blog and the next Sip of Tarot episode of the Clairvoyant Confessional podcast.

Dirk, DeGrasse Tyson, and the connected symphony

“…Learn to see. Realize that evertything connects to everything else” – Leonardo Da Vinci

“We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the Earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe, atomically.” – Neil Degrasse Tyson.

“The bond that links your true familyis not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.” – Richard Bach

“Everything’s connected.” – Dirk Gently TV series

We long to be together, to talk, to touch, to eat, love and laugh. It is the good and right human thing to do. Often, life demands separation in the typical sense. Loneliness forgets. It forgets the neither space nor time can break the bonds of love, of familial respect and joy. Our lives play out all on the same pale dot within the same wider Cosmos and within the same winding eternity.

You can purchase Melody Sheep’s excellent music on Bandcamp. https://melodysheep.bandcamp.com/album/symphony-of-science-collectors-edition