Today’s Tarot: Cup of Contemplation

 

The Four of Cups in the Witches Tarot (by Ellen Dugan and Mark Evans, all rights reserved, used here with the permissions granted on Llwellynpublishing.com) is my favorite of all of the Four of Cups that I’ve seen.

It reminds me of the word abide.

If this present moment is one of contemplation, of introspection, of moodiness, or melancholy. Abide with it. Sit with it. Allow the mood to be in its fullness without judgement, action or reaction. 

The stream is key. Let the mood flow. Don’t keep it. Don’t deny or bury it. Moments and moods pass. 

Etsy Shop update Nov 12, 2019

Ink Reading Glass pen

 

Just added: Full “InkMagick” seven card Tarot reading and InkMagick mini one card reading. Order HERE

INKMAGICK TAROT is a unique Tarot experience: All handwritten on heavy 24 lb inkjet paper with all of the features of all of my distance readings: diagram of card layout (in place of photo) with full card interpretations, positive affirmation, psychic summary including crystal energy and aromatherapy suggestions. This special version has the ADDED feature of “sigil elements.”

Sigils in the modern sense are an art form creating a power symbol, a talisman of sorts that symbolizes the things you would like to call in to your life path. The shapes given to me by intuition during your reading are elements you can use to create your own sigil and empower or activate it according to your own beliefs and practices.

An InkMagic Mini reading is a one card meditation reading handwritten in InkMagick style.

 

12 Second Tarot: Ace of Swords (10 October 19)

The Ace of Swords is a card of intellect and air. Cut away the drama, delusion, excess. If it is still a good idea, do it! Time and inaction can let inspiration melt away.

FAQ: A question of your own

Have a quesion? Ask HERE to have your question added to the new FAQ page

So far, I’ve kept these classics….

Q: Will my ex- and I get back together?

A: That depends on what you and your ex decide to do. Tarot can’t read your ex’s mind or how they feel about you, or predict what they will do. The only way to know for sure is to talk to them directly. If you aren’t talking to each other, then there is little or no chance you will get back together. If the two of you haven’t fixed whatever caused the breakup then no, getting back together is very unlikely. That is just common sense. You don’t need a Tarot reading for that. BUT if you want advice about how to heal from the breakup or how to have better relationships in the future, then Tarot can definitely help.

Q: Nothing you said came true. Why not?

A: I. Don’t. Make. Predictions.

I’ve said it a thousand times. Tarot doesn’t predict the future. That is the dark ages, flat earth way of using Tarot. It doesn’t matter if predictions are “true” or not.  I could sit here and make perfect, on-target, 100% accurate predictions all day long, but then you could go out five minutes later and do something that changes everything. (See: Predicting the Future and a Big Cube of Jell-O) Remember Yoda from Star Wars? The future really is fluid and always changing. Life is cause and effect. If you drop an apple, it will fall down. If you strike a match, it will catch on fire. If you pour water on something it will get wet. Cause and effect is the way Nature works. It is science. Your future is created by what you choose and do. Tarot is a way to look at options, then choose the flow of energy that is more likely to take you where you want to go in the long run…not tell you every ripple of everything that will happen along the way.

Q: How can you do readings by e-mail? Don’t you have to be with the person for the reading to work?

A: I read universal energy, not the person themselves, so no, they don’t have to be with me for the reading to happen as it should.  Energy and spirit is everywhere, all of the time. I read that universal energy and listen to spirit on that person’s behalf. It doesn’t matter if someone is across the table or across the world when I connect to that universal energy. It doesn’t matter if I say the words of a reading or type them. It doesn’t matter if you hear the words now or read them later. The same core message still gets through either way. I connect to your specific energy message when we talk about your question vs an open reading. That conversation & connection happens the same way when I read your words as it does when I hear them. The difference between a distance and an in-person is the way you experience getting the message, not in the message itself.

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: It blows my mind to say it, but a little over 25 years. I started reading oracle cards around 1992 as I began my new spiritual life as an ex-christian (after an evangelical upbringing.) At the same time, I started Taijiquan training which introduced me to Taoist philosophy and meditation.  In 1996, I began Reiki training, certifying as a Reiki Master-practitioner in 2000. In the early 2000s I started working part time as an online Tarot reader while I worked toward a Ph.D. in Natural Health and started a family. That was followed by working for myself locally under my old website Modern Oracle Tarot. In October 2018 I introduced meditation and Reiki to the Tarot website to become the new TaoCraft Tarot. I’ve been at this for a while, and now teach other people to read cards in local workshops.

Q: Do you read for the LGBTQIA community?

A: Of course! Anytime! Consider me an ally. Readings are naturally gender/orientation neutral. I intuitively “see” people as energy signatures, kind of like a silhouette made of light. Intuition doesn’t tell me anything about gender, orientation, identity, race, hair color, height, or any other specific attribute. I don’t mean to use wrong pronouns in your reading. They are all just completely interchangeable on an energetic level. If I get that sort of thing wrong, just clue me in and we’ll move on. It’s all good.

Q: Are there different kinds of Reiki sessions for different needs, like one for night to relax if you have trouble sleeping or one for morning if you need more energy?

A: Surprisingly no. It isn’t guided or prescriptive like that. The energy is like a raw material that the body uses where ever and however it is most needed. On of my teachers told the story of a gentleman with tennis elbow. He was very skeptical of Reiki, didn’t think it would help at all, but came to the session to placate his wife. He would’t let the Reiki master touch him anywhere except his left elbow. After a couple of sessions it didn’t do anything for his elbow….but it greatly improved his blood pressure. Nothing else in his life had changed to explain the improvement…no change in his medication or diet or activity or anything else that they could think of except the Reiki sessions. The body puts the energy where it needs it the most. Timing isn’t an issue, either. Reiki can be sent with the intent that it activate at a time when it is most needed as well. Like gravity, Ki is everywhere, all the time, and Reiki simply helps you draw from that energy in a time and a place and a way that is for your best health. For example, if problems sleeping is the main concern, a morning Reiki session might help the underlying reason for the insomnia, and in turn help the sleeping problem when bedtime comes around.  Like the tennis elbow, the blood pressure was a more important issue. We trust the body (in its physical, mental and emotional aspects) to put the energy where it is most needed. Like the morning session that helps bedtime insomnia, the body guides when the effects of the energy are felt. Thanks for the question!

It’s all magick now

InkMagickPen1

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.