The Force, vital force, life energy, qi (chi), Tao, ki, prana, magick: so many words with such similar meanings. No wonder the Star Wars mythology us so beloved by so many.
– Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) in Star Wars Rogue One
It’s been half a year since TaoCraft Tarot’s official launch on Halloween, 2018. Today is half-o-ween (halfway to Halloween) or, if you want to be traditional about it, Beltane. This is the first spring that I have been open with all of you about my Taoist / witchy tendencies. If TaoCraft can launch on Halloween, it is only fitting to do something for Beltane.
It’s all magick now.
In honor of days of light and summer fire, I’ve made all the readings InkMagick Sigil Tarot. All of the readings now feature a sigil element and reading-based affirmation. Lucky for you, these won’t be handwritten unless you specifically order a pen and ink snail mail paper version from the Shop. The photo of your layout and the typed explanation part will stay the same. So will Zombie Cat with all of his snark and sly advice in the form of yes/no readings and the new Ask Zombie Cat page
I’ve thought of making layout changes, but it doesn’t feel right. The layout and position meanings are going to stay the same, in the old, reliable, trusty “Modern Oracle” layout that works so well. If it ain’t broke, far be it from me to fix it.
If you would like a reading in the new “InkMagick Sigil Tarot” format, you can order on the HOME page. If you want the handwritten version using my increasing beloved and magic wand like ink dip pen, those can be ordered from the TaoCraftTarotShop on Etsy, along with all the e-books, mala and jewelry (pssst….check out the necklaces. Mother’s Day is coming soon).
To those who celebrate, Merry May and Blessed Beltane, and to everyone else, Happy Tuesday! It’s all good. It’s all magick now.
InkMagick Sigil Tarot (both email and paper versions) are still at a special price until the end of April. Each one card meditation style reading includes a sigil element given by intuition that you may use to inspire your own sigil crafting plus a positive affirmation based on your reading.
Please visit the home page to order
The more digital becomes the norm, the more power handwriting gains as it slips into the realm of the quaint, the old-fashioned, and the arcane.
I’ve seen it called both a day and a month of commemoration, but April has been dubbed “National Letter Writing Month” here in the US. It isn’t about pretty callegraphy, it is about heart to heart communication in written form.
In honor of the month, my favorite format (writing) and my Tarot specialty (distance, e-mail, mail) “InkMagick Sigil Tarot Readings” are $1 off the regular price until April 30, 2019. Order yours on the home page.
Each reading, both paper and digital, gives a sigil element, a symbol or doodle given by intuition. You are welcome to use it in your own sigil crafting. In the me pictured above, the pinaform (feather) shape symbolizes a pen or writing. the line paper, plus our connection, the circles hint at electrons, distance communication.
If you are interested in sigils, writing, and magick (yes, I use the k, it just looks cooler and I’m no Penn and Teller, you know?) I suggest reading Sigil Witchery by Laura Tempest Zakroff and Write Your Own Magic by Richard Webster.
TaoCraft Tarot is on YouTube! Please visit, like and subscribe: https://youtu.be/nfV6eP_G4RM
This is one of the very first posts I wrote for Modern Oracle / Tarotbytes blog way back on March 31, 2009. I’ve made a few edits today for spelling and grammar. Oops!
Q: There are a lot of crooks out there. How can you tell if a psychic is for real or not?
A; This question more complicated than you might think. “Real” could mean a lot of things, but in this case they were talking about ethics. They wanted to know how to tell if a psychic really wants to help people or just make a bunch of money.
Good question. One everybody should ask before they pick up a phone or get online or drive to a “psychic”
We are all in this business for one reason or another. It is fair, legal and right to pay for an artistic service like a psychic/Tarot reading. It is no different than buying a ticket to a concert, or buying a book, admission to a museum, paying a therapist or donating to a minister for performing a wedding ceremony. In all of these cases you are paying for all the same things that a Tarot session or a psychic reading gives: entertainment, inspiration, personal enrichment, personal growth, insight…you get the idea. You are compensating the reader for the time they spend with you plus their years of experience and learning. Fair price for a fair service is, ahem, fair for everyone – the same as any other artist or counselor.
The key word here is fair. Honesty is hard to gauge outright. The hard truth is that there are a lot of people who use spirituality to trick gullible people out of large sums of money. It isn’t just psychics. Some churches arguably do the same thing. (2019 me: hell, we put a corrupt con man in the white house…it definitely isn’t just psychics!)
These are some of the positive traits I believe a good psychic should have:
HONESTY: An ethical psychic will tell you what intuitive work can and can not do. No one person has all the answers for everything. I never take medical or pregnancy questions. You should handle those with a doctor. No one is “100% accurate”. Phrases like “100% accurate” or “guaranteed results” always make me run, not walk, in the opposite direction. If it sounds to good to be true…it probably isn’t true. To guarantee results is to rob you of your freedom and free will. Even if it were possible, it would be wrong to do. An ethical psychic will give you a realistic idea of what to expect from a reading, and respect your choices about the information they give.
CLARITY: Does the psychic make the information understandable to you? Is the reading helpful? Can you USE it to make better decisions or make better sense out of your concerns? Psychic readings aren’t any good to anybody if they make no sense. This is why the next point is so important. If something isn’t clear to you or you don’t understand it, ask them to clarify.
WILLINGNESS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS: Sometimes it is hard to put the nonverbal images and impressions we receive into words. That is where the real skill of a psychic lies. We all have intuition and ‘psychic’ ability. The real “gift” is in being able to communicate the information in an understandable, helpful way. If you are in a reading, and you don’t understand what is being said, ask. If you are working with an e-mail reading…send a follow up question (but not a dozen – be fair to the reader) Someone who really wants to help will be willing rephrase and make an effort to make the reading understandable to you. Don’t take what a psychic says at face value just because it sounds fancy, esoteric or educated. Ask them to use plain language. If they won’t or become angry or offended, you may want to re-think if this is the best psychic for you.
OPENNESS ABOUT PRICES AND BUSINESS POLICIES: The reality is, whether the psychic approaches the readings as counseling, spiritual guidance, entertainment or what have you – it is still a business. Especially if that is their sole livelihood. Prices, policies about returns, scheduling, cancellations all should be as clear and up-front as with any other professional practice. By the same token, it is important for you to know and respect their guidelines and disclaimers as well.
PROFESSIONALISM AND COURTESY: In my opinion, Psychic and Tarot work is all about helping people. I give Tarot the same level of professionalism and ethics that I gave patients when I worked in mainstream medicine, and that I give my Natural Health clients now. More often than not, if someone seeks out a psychic reading it is because they have some very real problem. Often they are emotionally upset and more vulnerable than they usually are. Some psychics exploit that vulnerability, but the majority seek to help and heal it. An ethical psychic will not take advantage of a situation like that. A reading should never make you feel more vulnerable. If you feel intimidated, taken advantage of or belittled in any way, that should be a warning sign to you.
RESPECT FOR YOUR DECISIONS AND BELIEFS: You should be the one to decide when, if ever, you go back for a reading. Getting too many readings in too short of a time can get confusing and ultimately do more harm than good. Intuitive readings shouldn’t ask that you believe certain things or not. Skepticism will not scare away or block “spirits” and lack of ‘believing” won’t keep you from getting a good reading. You should feel as if you are being treated with dignity and respect…not blamed if a reading doesn’t go well.
UNETHICAL OR MIS-MATCHED?:
If you don’t feel comfortable with a psychic it doesn’t automatically mean they are doing anything unethical or illegal. Just like doctors and ministers, we all have our own specialties, our own styles, and our own belief systems.
For example, some people love to go to dramatic, flamboyant psychics – it makes the reading more interesting and fun. Some people need the extra drama to ‘believe’ and let themselves be helped by the reading experience. Other people like a more practical style. My goal is to be the “no drama”, calm, reassuring type of psychic.
Different kinds of problems need different kinds of psychics. Some psychics work very well with medical concerns ( like the Carolyn Myss and Edgar Cayce, for example). The same is true with bereavement, or issues of life after death. Some are mediums and connect with crossed loved ones very easily, while it happens less often for others psychics.
DOES THE PSYCHIC HAVE STRUCTURED GUIDELINES?
This is a tricky one. Just because a psychic doesn’t share YOUR particular beliefs doesn’t mean they are unethical or criminal. (looking at you evangelicals) The key is if they have some sense of ethics. Usually the easiest way to see that is their business practices and disclaimers. If they have it together enough to write those, they have it together enough to treat you fairly.
(2019 me: In my practice, the guidelines go both ways. It keeps us all safe. When we both know what to expect, then giving you a good reading takes top priority. I expect my clients to treat me with the same respect I give them and reserve the right to terminate any session or appointment for inappropriate comments or behavior. If either of us need to cancel or reschedule, it isn’t a big deal, but we should give the other person notice…that sort of thing)
As for negative traits….
Here are some things about psychic readings that make me uncomfortable. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a psychic that shows these things. Most of the ones I’ve met fortunately don’t. It is your choice of course, but I suggest being on the lookout for:
IN THE END, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS FEEL BETTER AFTER A READING THAN YOU DID BEFORE THE READING STARTED. YOU SHOULD NEVER FEEL FRIGHTENED OR INTIMIDATED BY A READING.
Most of all, the best way to know if a particular psychic is a good match for you or not is to use your own intuition and street-smarts. If you feel like something is wrong, it is.
First published 17 May 2015
“There is more in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies” – William Shakespeare
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” Arthur C. Clarke
“I ain’t afraid of no ghost” – Ghostbusters
In the first Zombie Cat post we talked a little bit about the intersection of Tarot and science. Now lets shift gears yet again and add in the spiritual, fringe, and frankly, “woo-woo” aspect of things. Tarot intersects all of those, too.
When I’m not looking at the world as a giant Taoist Taijitu (yin/yang symbol) I tend to see a lot of things in terms of a Venn diagram. That’s why I chose a triquetra as the main symbol in my old Modern Oracle logo. This “trinity knot” is essentially an excerpt of a three circle Venn diagram which in turn symbolizes much in my work…mind/body/spirit (for holistic health) or mother/maiden/crone (for the stages of life) or sea/sky/land (our connection with Nature) and many more such groups of three. I see Tarot as overlapping with self, science and spirituality, again giving us that lovely triquetra shape.
So, back to Tarot and spirituality. Any good thesis defines its terms. In this case we have to define spirituality. I’ve noticed a tendency for people to use spirituality and religion almost interchangeably. They aren’t. As I see it, they are totally different, damn near opposite things. I define spirituality as internal and individual. Spirituality is how we as individuals engage with the wordless, intangible aspects of the universe and our existence within it. Religion, on the other hand, is external, codified, ritualized, other, outside of our individual self. Religion is how a collective of people over time has engaged with the wordless, intangible aspects of the universe and pronounced them to be. We express our spirituality in out external lives. Spirituality goes from the inside out. Religion structures our external lives as a way to instruct the internal. Religion is outside in. Tarot is intuition – it is inside to inside. It has everything to do with spirituality, nothing to do with religion.
Spirituality is unlimited. It is in this vast inner world where Tarot applies and finds its usefulness. Yes, the cards are external. But they don’t instruct our inner world from the outside in as a religious practice might. They are a mirror to reflect out inner world back to us and lens to help us understand what we see there. They reflect and shine light in the dark corners, allowing that inner world of spirituality to illuminate and expand, grow and thrive.
The cards are nothing more than just pieces of paper. It is centuries of projected wisdom and symbolism written on the cards combined with the intuition and insight of the Tarot reader’s living modern mind that leads the way to enlightenment…not the pieces of paper alone. The cards are the Venn diagram intersection of mind and matter that lets us catch glimpses of the possibilities and probabilities afforded to us by the physical/quantum universe of which we are an intimate and inseparable part.
Tarot cards are our portal into the trinity of humanity, science and spirituality. They are a magnet that draws wisdom, guidance, insight and empowerment out of a melange of known, unknown, explicable, inexplicable, and the heart that seeks to know more.
There is more in heaven and earth than we have yet to dream and discover. There is more inside ourselves as well. There is more than just a dead or living cat in Schrodinger’s box. Woo-woo as they may seem, disappearing cats and zombie cats are part of the bigger multiverse of the human heart, mind, imagination and spirit.
Zombie Cat is in the house! Yes-or-No Tarot is now available to order on the home page. These 3 card Tarot readings answer any ONE yes-or-no question. Fun, lighthearted and tongue in what’s left of his cheek, Zombie Cat’s readings are 100% guaranteed to have words in them and a 50% chance of being dead wrong. Order HERE.
First Published 17 January 2010
I’m scheduled to work at a couple of Twilight themed events (2019 me: they were a lot of fun! Grateful!) so I’m reading the books and just watched the movie to see what all the buzz is about.
As an aspiring writer of sorts, I’m impressed with Stephanie Myers skill. I full on expected to hate the books. I thought it was going to be some superficial. bubble-gum popping teen angst romance. In some respects, it is. But I was sincerely impressed with her skill at using the first person. It creates enormous empathy with Bella, you experience everything intensely through her eyes. And the sudden shift to Jacob’s point of view has all the more impact because of it. Well done!!
Of course, being in the Tarot business, Alice is one of my favorite characters. Alice is a vampire with special vampire super psychic future seeing powers. She has it exactly right. Her visions change in response to choice and decision. What she sees now, might become totally wrong if someone changes their mind or actions later. Her visions shift and change as people’s actions and choices shift and change. She sees along the path of greatest probability, not some sort of fated certainty.
That is exactly how it works in my experience. Asking Alice to see something isn’t a lock. Asking a psychic or tarot reader is even less of a certainty. The web of choice, decision, intention and change is even more complex, wavering and unstable than in the fictional world of Twilight.
So hats off to Stephanie Myers for putting that idea into the mainstream. It’s going to make my life easier explaining how Tarot really works to a client who has seen the movie. It is true that fiction can sometimes tell more truth than reality. I can talk until blue in the face about how choice impacts future, how you can create your own future through the choices you make, but people will absorb the idea in an instant from the movie. The visual experience of the movie makes the concept real, and understandable.
Plus, it is just a well crafted, entertaining story start to finish. And it predicts the future – the right way.
First Published 8 October 2015
Readings help you to own your choices so that fate and the future won’t own you.
ALL predictions are 100% accurate. ZERO predictions are 100% accurate. Both. At the same time. If you are a Doctor Who fan, you might say making predictions is wibbly wobbley timey wimey kind of stuff.
Time is dimension all its own. Just like space is one big thing, time is all one big thing. All of time exists all at once…right now, the part you will experience in the future, the parts you have already experienced in the past, and parts you will never experience at all. A “prediction” is an intuitive impression…a thought…a non-psychical glimpse of that non-physical thing we call time.
If the “psychic” impression connects to a point in time/space that you get to experience, the prediction proves accurate. If it comes from a point in time/space that you don’t experience first hand then the “prediction” seems all wrong – even though it is perfectly accurate for somewhere and some-when completely different from us. The multi-verse is a big place, bigger than time itself. Anything is possible out there somewhere. Just maybe not here, not in our little region of Time/Space
To borrow an image from “Star Trek”…. any given prediction might be 100% wrong for you – but 100% accurate for your goatee wearing evil twin from an alternate universe. There is no way to tell the impressions apart or to direct intuition to specifically YOUR timeline…because any little itsy witsy teeny tiny choice you make can change the course of your timeline drastically enough to point you away from itty bitty speck of tim/space that was predicted. Time/space is too deeply connected to pull out that kind of granular detail. One bit of jello is much like another.
Imagine time as a giant cube of gelatin. Imagine your life is a thread wiggling its way through the middle of the cube, moving and shifting an tiny bit with the choices that you and all who affect you make. Imagine you are a little spark of glitter moving along that thread. Time is always passing for you. Intuition and predictions can come from any part of the whole cube. The prediction comes from X location within the cube, but suddenly the thread wiggles over to Y location. The prediction wasn’t necessarily wrong at the time it was made. Just wrong for the direction you are moving a little bit after the prediction was made. Things changed just enough to put the “prediction” outside of your range of experience.
You control your thread’s wiggle…not the jello. That is what Tarot, “psychics” and spiritual advice is really all about. It isn’t about telling you exactly what is ahead on your ‘thread’ it is about helping you nudge and wiggle the thread in the direction you want it to go.
Order distance Tarot readings HERE
Contact me to schedule in – person or party Tarot in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh PA
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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