Tag: psychic

What You Keep

Things change.

That seems to be a big theme lately. It can be overwhelming when too much changes at one time. Some changes are forced on us by time or circumstance. Other are chosen and it is for our own good to walk away.

No matter why we choose the bittersweet journey away from the old and toward the new, there are always memories of the good things to ease the transition.

No matter why we choose the change, or what the change may be, a mix of emotions and a degree of wistfulness is way of it. It is a moment in-between.

Today’s Tarot: Summon up a Brainstorm

This one might have been for me too.

If you ever get a chance to listen to Menage A Tarot podcast, I recommend it…not my parts, but listen to David and Kate. They are two of the wisest Tarot readers – wisest people – I’ve ever met. I don’t remember which episode it was, or if it was one of our many off-air conversations, but David mentioned one time that it was a good idea to listen for messages for yourself at the same time you are reading for others. Except he said it way WAY better than I ever could. Today’s card aside, I highly recommend Menage A Tarot, along with David’s new podcast Ninth World Journal and Kate’s website Daily Tarot Girl. Good stuff, that.

Yesterday, we talked about the tweek to the interactive you-choose-your-own-card video readings. The focus is shifting from the week ahead to just now, whenever you happen to access the video. The shorts are the same, Tarot for today…now…whatever day, whatever now it finds it way to you. The biggest difference between the two is YouChoose readings and the Today’s Tarot shorts is the format. YouChoose is more of the energy-environment, energy-flow kind of read. Shorts are going to be vague, pithy, and (hopefully) fun advice for the day kind of things. They are all going to look alike, and the whole reading is on the screen. It’s fun for me to distill the whole message of the card down to one sentence fragment. That’s why I like Twitter. Brevity is the soul of wit as Shakes peare wrote.

Whatever day you choose your card, that it day where it applies. Whatever day the idea crosses your path, it’s an idea that matters and the day it matters on.

If it sounds like trying to be messenger for synchronicity, it is.

Interpreter of energy, messenger for synchronicity; That’s what Tarot Readers do.

Get your message from synchronicity: order your email reading HERE, 24/7 no appointment needed. To see the extended menu of lower cost and specialty layouts click HERE

Today’s Tarot: Stand by the Van

There were a lot of things that sprang to mind with this card today. I’d just been watching the news, and the draconian law in Texas was still fresh in mind of course. Young social activists came to mind: Greta Thunberg, Yolanda Renee King, the March for our Lives Rally and more.

But the card isn’t speaking TO them, it is speaking to the rest of us ABOUT them. Listen to them. Help them. Protect them. The king is leadership and sometimes leadership means putting someone else better suited to the job in charge. Sometimes leadership is showing others who to follow by following them.

I’m old.

I’m on the leading edge of the GenX cohort. THAT’s who I want to talk to today, because brothers and sisters, we have fucked up. As we came of age in the Reagan era, we failed to vote. We failed to do what these kids are doing and if we had we might not have eliminated their problem but we certainly could have lessened the desperation that we all now face.

We blew a lot of things on our watch…not that it’s over. There is no hope that I can see of winning the hearts and minds of boomers. All we can do there is to listen to and support the few badasses that generation has left. We may have blew our chance to be the vanguard of real progress, so now is our time to kick down the doors and get out of the way of the kids who are.

The sword on the card speaks of protection. The king image speaks of decision and leadership. It falls to us to protect and facilitate and lend any scrap of wisdom or insight we might posses as a new wave of activism comes crashing in behind us.

You might have thought we were beyond it, but welcome to the bigger Thunderdome, GenX. We aren’t the children of the apocalypse. We are Mad Max now. We don’t need a hero. We need to BE the hero. Our time has come to fly these kids out of the hellscape we allowed to happen.

Be the hero you’ve been waiting for.

Today’s Tarot: Paging New Ideas

Neither science nor spirituality is of any use to a closed mind. That which does not change is dead.

Being mercurial, shallow and capricious is of equally little use.

The middle way is, as is most often the case, the best option. Be open to new ideas, but evaluate them before taking them to heart. Question everything, but if something stands up to that questioning, allow it to win credence. Belief can, must, change in the face of facts.

Shakespeare wrote that “Cowards die many times before their deaths, but the valiant taste of death but once.” The same is true of those willing to adapt, to change, to consider new ideas and new ways of doing things. To ossify the mind is to allow the spirit to die young.

“Everything in this book might be wrong.” – Richard Bach

Path Through the Week

At first I thought the Hermit was a reading I’d done for a person, but actually it was today’s short on YouTube. There is a LOT of overlap between the blog and the channel, but not 100%. Following the blog is the best way to get everything, especially blog exclusive, print only content – but if you can spare a like, sub, or share on the ‘tube I’d sppreciate it!

Today’s Tarot: It’s Essential

Things can’t get better if they don’t change. Without change, there can be no hope for improvement or problem solving.

It’s not change that we fear: it’s risk.

When things change, there is a danger that things can get worse. When things change, there is a risk of something precious ending or being lost.

If you remember it, it lives on.

We can’t control change. Life brings change and all the risk that entails – but it brings the possibility of brighter days right along with it.

Update August 2021

Just few quick thoughts:

First and foremost, thank you all for reading the blog, following the socials, listening to the podcast and being so supportive. It means a lot. I hope all the goodnesses and more come back to all who give them

Was in a store yesterday, when there was a giant thunderclap and brief downpour outside. Afterward, for a moment, even that public place was silent. For a while longer it was very quiet. Not a lot of people where there, but there was still an oddly quiet, subdued, almost serene few minutes.

The energy has been a little weird lately, but it feels a little less so today. It feels like a moment of silence, a holding of breath and a turning of moments between seasons. It isn’t quite the drudgery of summer ending but not quite yet the excitement and festival atmosphere that Fall can bring. It is a moment of silence and motionlessness between the thunder and the aftermath. May it be the silence after the storm, and not before yet another.

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  • Just checked the CDC and Mayo Clinic sites. Community transmission and new case rates in our area are still listed as “substantial” so in-person and party Tarot remains on hold.
  • YouChoose Interactive Tarot posts and the podcast are on on break for a couple of weeks. Distance readings are OPEN. No appointment needed for email. TaoCraftTarot@gmail.com is the fastest way to reach me to schedule a phone or online video call Tarot reading.
  • Because I’m still moderately mind blown over realizing I’ve been reading Tarot for a hot minute that’s lasted 30 years, 7 card email readings are still at a REDUCED PRICE through the website here only. It’s $30 instead of $40, one dollar for each year of Tarot experience I bring to your reading. Offer ends 20 September 2021 (the Autumnal Equinox)
  • TaoCraft Tarot / Clairvoyant Confessional virtual tip jar supports the blog and future podcast episodes. This helps me keep the blog ad-free and open to everyone. Please visit the ko-fi page and see the new membership tiers before they are announced next month too!) #kofimemberships

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

YouChoose Interactive Tarot: Wandering attention

If there is a better name for it, I’m not sure what it would be.

Psychic attention a thing. It may be related to Jung’s synchronicity, Yes, my dear nay sayers, it probably is full on cognitive bias and it may be Baader–Meinhof phenomenon for all I know, but that is perfectly fine. Tarot IS psychology from days before psychology was was psychology as founded by the likes of Wundt and Freud and that crowd. Some things need scienced, like business policy during a pandemic. Other things need art-ed. There is nothing paranormal about psychic attention either. It enriches our human interaction with our physical environs. It definitely enriches our ability to do a Tarot reading.

We as humans are pretty good at filtering out background details. So if something, be it in our daily life or on a Tarot card, grabs our attention it likely is for some reason. It might be trivial. It might be subconscious. It might carry meaning. It might not. When something grabs your attention why not give it the attention it is asking for? What is the harm in paying attention to coincidences when all you are doing is paying attention to your own mind and your own awareness?

Try it with the video. After you choose your card and see the reveal, pause the video and look at the card again. Of all the rich detail this deck has to offer, what part of your chosen card grabs your attention first? What detail grabs your attention and holds it the longest? What connections do you make with that specific thing? Even if it something general instead of granular detail, like for example, the color GREEN. What does green mean to you in this moment? What pops to mind or what feelings bubble up as you look at this particular shade of green? Does it related to the meaning of the card or is it purely intuitive?

Wandering attention is sometimes hard to catch. When it is captured, it is worth a little consideration, no matter what modern psychology calls it.

Psychic schmicic, I’m sciencing this one

Here is the Tarot part: 7 card readings by email are $30 (instead of the usual $40) These 7 card readings are $1 for every year of card reading experience that I put into each and every session, regardless of whether it is in-person or distance. Email and phone readings are EXACTLY the same information that you’d get in-person. You get it FASTER with email, too. No appointment is needed, you can order distance readings any time, 24/7. The reading is usually in your inbox within 24 hours although nights, weekends and holidays can slow things down a little bit. This reduced price ends on the equinox…September 20, 2021 so get ’em while they’re hot.

Here is the science part: Starting now, I’m using the CDC reported community transmission rates for Allegheny County as the determining factor whether in-person / party readings are available or not, because reasons and logic and an abundance of caution. If you want the details, or want to know the current status of in-person readings please don’t hesitate to email TaoCraftTarot@gmail.com or text me at the contact number listed.

Vaccination rates have stalled, and community transmission rates have increased back into the moderate range. Since in-person readings use public venues and parties are typically indoor groups, rather than risk exposing my clients or their contacts to this crazy contagious new varient in-person services are back on hold until community transmission rates return to the low range.

Who am I to second guess the AMA for goodness’ sake?

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-dangerous-delta-variant?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social_ama&utm_term=5201053682&utm_content=Boost&utm_campaign=Public+Health

https://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/watch/velshi-breakthrough-infections-do-not-mean-vaccines-don-t-work-117331013789ll

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view