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The Lenormand series begins Wednesday September 20 in honor of the Autumnal Equinox.
Two days ago was a “blue moon.” It’s not common, but it’s not spectacular. It’s not something that is going to grab you by the nose and make you look. A blue moon is just two full moons in the same calendar month. It is a subtle thing because most of us go through life not knowing what phase the moon is in on any given night. No matter what the cool social media graphics show, the moon is the same color it always is.
It was also a “super” moon. Google “perigee” and “apogee.” Orbits aren’t perfect circles. They are off a little, just a tiny bit ovalish and wobbly. Sometimes the moon passes just a little bit closer to earth and seems a tiny bit big-ish because of it. That’s a so-called super moon — any full moon during a close perigee kind of orbit.
These little details don’t happen often, and they both happen at the same time less often, but it is still one of those natural cycles we’ve been talking about. It’ll be a while, but there will be another super blue moon in time.
Super moons and blue moons are slow and subtle things. So are tides and seasons and the growth of trees. That’s the kind of changing and shifting energy that has been around lately. Slow, gradual, gentle change but change nonetheless. Even continental drift will get you to the other side of the planet eventually.
I suspect energies will move on come Monday’s Energy Path reading. It feels like the gentle cycle change has peaked and is drifting beyond. Here I again I intuitively hear the song “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Beyond Thunderdome)” It seems like energies are gently moving beyond thunderdome, not back to paradise.
Sage Sips weekly digest plus the page of pentacles
Things aren’t that newsy at the moment – whew!
If variety (and change) is the spice of life, then the past couple of years have been kind of ghost peppery.
The big pieces have fallen into place and are gelling nicely. Still putting some fine points on some minor details.
Closed the Substack and moved the “newsletter” to Medium. ALL content there is free same as it is here on the main blog – no more paywalled content here, either.
On the new platform, it is going to be less “newsletter” and more of a weekly digest summary linking to the new content here over the week prior. So if you want new content hot off the cyberspace presses right to your inbox, follow this blog. If you get way too much email and just want a weekly summary, follow me on Medium HERE
Tarot isn’t about time, and collective spirit energy doesn’t’ flow in a straight line.
I’ve said it dozens of times, and I’ll say it again: Tarot isn’t about telling you what will happen in life: Tarot helps you figure out what to do when life happens.
Right now life is happening in a very deliberate, circumspect way. If you feel stressed, or if you feel like you are getting slammed by life right now then one of two things is going on. Either this simply isn’t the reading for you and your guidance lies elsewhere OR the things that are happening are happening for some reason. The stressing and slamming has to happen to get you where you want (or more likely need) to go, be it physically, mentally or emotionally.
For those who feel like things are stuck or stagnant – don’t worry, the shift is still shifting, the flow is still flowing at the speed that needs to happen, not at the speed we want it to happen.
Here I am given the mental image of the Mississippi river at New Orleans again. It is a big river. It is wide, it is deep. It seems still. But stand on her shore and a mind boggling amount of water moves by you every minute. That is today’s energy. Seemingly quiet, but deep and powerful nonetheless.
And this energy isn’t going anywhere any time soon it seems. Two cards repeat from last week. In all of the time I’ve been doing these monthly (more recently weekly) three card readings I can only think of once or twice that ONE card would repeat from one reading to the next. Two repeating cards is remarkable.
This energy wants to be heard. And its willing to sit with us and abide with us until the time is right for it to move on. Take your time. Spirit will take time for you.
Abide.
Abide keeps coming through. Be patient with yourself, be patient with nature and circumstance and time. Be kind to the moment. Be kind to those around you. Be kind to yourself.
Abide.
Abide this pace of things. Fast flows and turbulence will return soon enough. Neil DeGrasse Tyson famously said that the universe is under no obligation to make sense to you. Neither is under any obligation to meet your expectations or your schedule. The big river flows at its own pace. Flow with it, it will carry you effortlessly. Or stay on the shore, and wait for the next boat or bridge. It is up to you.
The fading energy, the queen of swords, doesn’t mean that your power is fading. It is simply stepping back from the forefront of your attention. True strength doesn’t need to be the center of attention. The Queen of Swords is about stepping up, stepping into and accepting your power.
Ok, you are powerful. So now what? Accepting time is over. Now that it is yours, it is time to begin using it. It is time to begin LIVING it
Which is why we are surrounded by the Three of Pentacles energy. Three of Pentacles is being part of a team or guild, of work. It is about success through work. Contribute. Support your team, they have supported you. Claiming your power within your own mind is great, but it has to be used, applied, and lived in order to become a real, solid, integrated part of you.
The Moon and its changes are still with us albeit with a different looking card. There are multiples of several cards within the Alleyman’s deck. The slack water of last week’s reading is just beginning to slowly, slowly tip in the other direction. Ebbs will flow and vice versa, but again in its own time in its own way.
“The message stands.” You can read about last week’s moon and three of pentacles energy HERE.
And there the energy steps back.
Thank you so much for reading! Next up, “Learn with me: oracle dice” returns Wednesday.
The three cards for this week in Monday’s Energy Path reading were:
Fading Energy: Three of Pentacles
Current Energy: Five of Cups
Growing Energy: The Moon
I had the bright idea that we’d revisit the growing energy on Fridays to see if and how the week’s energies have unfolded compared to the reading.
Today seems to be a better day for that look back. It feels like this set of cards is right on target reading the week. I get no sense of the Three of Pentacles at all. The Five of Cups is in full force today, but the energy overall feels on the precipice of a gentle shift.
Here is what we talked about a few days ago:
Growing energy: The Moon. The Moon Tarot card is about intuition, psychic ability, spiritual journeying and all of that, true enough, but this time it is pointing more toward energy of natural cycles. The moon is tied to the cycles of the tides. The moon has the obvious phases plus it’s yearly drift from being at its farthest from Earth (apogee) and being a bit closer (perigee). The moon is cycles within cycles, gradual drifts and shifts. This month is a close-orbit time of year, what people have started calling a “supermoon.” All of this points to the cyclic energy. All the stagnation energy from the past several weeks might begin to move, albeit calmly and slowly. Let it take its own pace for the best outcome. You can’t make the tide rise any faster than it does. Let your energy level and emotional levels take their own natural pace, too. Things will cycle through, be patient.
Before we get to the Moon’s energy, we have today and the Five of Cups.The best way I can think of to describe today’s energy is “slack tide.” There is a point in time during every tide cycle where the water is still. The tide has hit its highest or lowest point for that cycle, and is still for a moment before it turns to flow in the opposite direction. Today is that point of stillness.
The Five of Cups has a feeling of melancholy and remembrance.
I am reminded of several of the mental images that have come with collective energy readings over the past few years, largely to do with the Covid pandemic and political turbulence in the the U.S. They were images dealing with impending storms and the aftermath.
Healing is never sudden nor does it march along in a straight line. There are cycles within it. There are steps back with the steps forward. There are times of looking back and looking around, remembering, acknowledging and honoring to go along with bittersweet times of moving forward.
There is a sense of anticipation, of movement, of that first step forward after a time of taking a step back.
I am reminded of the line in the song “Cloudbusting” that “something good is going to happen.”
Key word here, today, is “going.” This might not be the time quite yet. For now, allow your feelings whatever they are. Be in your moment, whatever it is. The cycles will turn soon enough.
Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee.
This post is inspired by three of my many favorite things: Alliteration, the Alleyman’s Tarot Deck and the book American Gods by Neil Gaimon
In the book, “Mr. Wednesday” is, or at least is a reference to, Odin (also spelled Woden) for whom Wednesday is named. If I’m not posting some sort of “learn with me” post on Wednesdays, I thought it might be a good time to look at oracle cards (which you read the exact same way as you read RWS Tarot or any cards) or other oracle / guidance tool like pendulums or charm casting, or I Ching or bibliomancy or any of the other untold number of such techniques. In other words, Wednesdays and Fridays are pretty wide open. Mondays are earmarked for the energy week ahead readings. Thor…Thursdays get the newsletter. If weekends get any blogging at all, it will be over on Sage’s Other Words on who-knows-what topic.
Seriously, it could be anything. I hope you’ll follow both blogs, but I’m always grateful for anything you read here or there. I’m also grateful for any likes or shares you can spare. Nothing I do online is monetized and all of this free content depends on your private reading orders, memberships and virtual coffees over on Ko-fi.
Now, back to the card with the name I have no earthly idea how to pronounce. I’m going with the name in the guide book “King of Flint.”
When I saw the art by Chicome Itzcuintli Amatlapantli. My impression was immediately “The Power of Myth” … also a favorite book.
The primary influence for the image is clearly mesoamerican, but also feels like it has elements of a Medieval knight in armour and a classic Samurai. Warriors are warriors I suppose.
The energy I’m getting feels disconnected from the meanings described in the guidebook about winter, snow, justice, judgement, swift and emotionless execution. In addition to being an amalgam of cultures, the card feels like an amalgam of Judgement, Justice, plus the King and Queen of Swords from the classic Tarot deck.
The energy I sense is more like a Shaolin Monk. Combat-able, certainly but guided by something much more spiritual and abstract.
And I do mean spiritual, not…not…never…in no respect, religious. This is not about that faith without works trope because faith is the farthest thing in the world from this energy. This is in no way about “faith” in anything that originated externally.
This is about a deep and abiding trust in one’s internal spiritual and philosophical compass. This is about trusting your inner knowing and claiming your power in a big way without emotion getting too much in the way.
The myth, the outer cues are inspiration.
The power, however, is in your hands.
Myth has power because it can inspire action.
Warriors act, but they act wisely and with a great deal of self control.
“A [warrior] fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him” – G.K. Chesterson
Alleyman’s Tarot Deck by Seven Dane Asmund used with permission, Publishing Goblin LLC
Merry Monday! Pour yourself a cup of something to sip and let’s see what energies are around this week.
I’m going to use the format I would use for you if this was a private, one to one email reading. Keep in mind that this is a collective energy, general blog reading so if it doesn’t fit, don’t worry. There are tons of free readings in the archives. Feel free to use the search bar or browse old posts. You might find something that resonates for you individually.
Today’s cards are:
Fading Energy: Three of Pentacles
Current Energy: Five of Cups
Growing Energy: The Moon
General Pattern: Energy has been low and languishing if not outright stagnant for the past few weeks. It still feels very calm and slow moving, almost stately. The mental image here is of a deep, wide river, like the Mississippi. There is movement but it is far from crashing rapids or a waterfall. This is not the kind of beginning you might see with a Fool card, but more of a gradual shift. Here the mental image becomes a sand dune, with a shallow layer of sand skittering down the side of the dune in a light breeze. I hear the sound of it, like a rasping droplet noise, like a rainstick toy. We see a lower number minor arcana card moving into a slightly higher minor arcana card before finally moving into the higher energy of a major arcana card. Things are beginning to shift, but slowly, in a relaxed, chill, natural sort of way.
There is a sense of advice here: don’t push. Let the shift happen naturally. Pushing could lead to falling down the dune and not landing well.
Fading Energies: The three of pentacles (coins) reflects the work environment. Teamwork is key. This is a card of collaboration. Again there is that sense of “don’t push.” This is not the week to make waves. Teambuild as best as you can and put career / work on autopilot as best as you can. It would be helpful to have this practical, physical realm part of life be stable as energies turn inward. Energies are starting to shift from head to heart, from physical to emotional.
Current Energies: There is a trace of nostalgia, melancholy, maybe even regret around this card. Not every moment of life is joy and euphoria. If it is – something is wrong. Not every moment of life is gloom and despair. If it is – something is wrong. This card doesn’t feel like it is touching either extreme of emotion. There is something vaguely goth about this energy. Sometimes it is ok to be very low energy, low key, apathetic and have a little mope. Again, it is back to lay back and channel your inner Wednesday Addams. Pushing or striving is the exact wrong vibe right now. The shift is beginning. Stay chill. Watch, wait, save the emotional wattage for when the time is right. Blandness is your friend for the moment. Don’t worry, it will all change soon enough
Growing energy: The moon. The moon is about intuition, psychic ability, spiritual journeying and all off that, true enough but this time it is pointing more toward cycles. The moon is tied to the cycles of the tides. The moon has the obvious phases plus it’s yearly drift from being at its farthest from Earth (apogee) and being a bit closer (perigee). The moon is cycles within cycles, gradual drifts and shifts. This month is a close-orbit time of year, what people have started calling a “supermoon.” All of this points to the cyclic energy. All the stagnation energy from the past several weeks might begin to move, albeit calmly and slowly. Let it take its own pace for the best outcome. You can’t make the tide rise any faster than it does. Let your energy level and emotional levels take their own natural pace, too. Things will cycle through, be patient.
Summary: In a private reading, I’d give any direct psychic / intuitive information that comes through whether it has to do with your question or cards or not. This part seldom offers much, if anything to a collective reading – although I did get a quick flash of a tumbled, polished citrine, for whatever that is worth.
Something about Grandmother’s here too. Find something comforting – a favorite sweater, a favorite food, a favorite song. Find something that comforts you and indulge a little in that.
And there the energies step back
I hope that helps.
Right now, I feel like I need a break from the Orale Dice series. I might just pull a card, maybe from an oracle deck instead of classic Tarot. Either way, I hope you’ll join me here on Wednesday when we’ll take another sip of something.
I’m only writing this to get myself organized. Maybe. Everything here is subject to sudden, random, unannounced changes. Let the squirrel rave of life begin!
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All blog and social media content is intended for fun and personal enrichment only. These posts read general, zeitgeist, collective energies. If it resonates for you personally – great! If a post doesn’t resonate for you personally, please try a private reading or browse the archives with the search bar.
Monday: Three card energy path reading. This is the same format as a private “pathway” reading with me by email. EMAIL READINGS ARE MY SPECIALTY and I hope these readings 1. show you how useful email readings are and 2. gives you a good start to the new week.
Tuesday: day job day – private email readings only
Wednesday: “Learn With Me” – explore other oracles, or Tarot behind the scenes.
Thursday: Weekly newsletter on Medium, this blog and on the ko-fi blog
Friday: revisit the “growing energy” card from Monday’s reading to update for the weekend. Maybe. Might be other topics, might be a fresh one card draw or I may blow it off entirely depending on the day and intuition.
Saturday: posting on Sage’s Other Words about non-Tarot topics, if anything. Maybe nothing, depending on what’s going on.
Sunday: closed. (It’s not a religious thing…it just fits the schedule)
Squirrel phot0 is public domain as best as I can tell.
“I don’t have ducks. I don’t have rows. I have squirrels and they are hosting a pagan rave” – unknown
“The world around me has changed, and I have learned to adapt but not change. But I’m changing into the woman I am meant to be.” – Aurora
It takes a hot, bright afternoon to make you really appreciate the cool shade of a tree, or a freezing night to make you appreciate the glowing warmth of a space heater.
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.
As much as Tarot and Tarot readings are associated with western witchcraft, Taoist philosophy pops up a great deal, especially for a Tarot reader who has an affinity for Taoism to start with.
Sure, you could argue that this is a process of subjective confirmation bias, but there is also a great deal of objective overlap between Taoism and Tarot, Reiki and Magick, East and West, at least when it comes to spiritual things. Diane Morgan’s Magical Tarot, Mystical Tao was one of my earliest Tarot influences. Christopher Penczak’s Magick of Reiki landed right along of side of it, both squarely in the middle of my wheelhouse, both hitting right where I live, right here in Tao Craft. Hence the name. It is a more authentic fit than Modern Oracle ever was. I live in the liminal venn diagram space where Taoism, Tarot, Reiki and Magick all meet.
That eclectic, and often solitary mental space can have it’s drama.
Everybody loses their keys, spills their milk, or has some such drama in their life. It’s normal. That is also where the Three of Swords is pointing today.
The Three of Swords doesn’t have the darkest or most dire looking artwork. Usually it shows three swords stabbing something…more often than not a heart shape…but the heart is red and the background is seldom as literally black and dark as a death, devil, or 10 of swords. Most of the meanings and keywords associated with it are warnings and cautions. It always feels like blockage, drama or complications from outside of ourselves. But for all of the tears and betrayal keywords that go with this card, the connection to Taoist philosophy most jumps out at me today. This idea of everything defining … and being defined by its opposite…begins in chapter 2 of the Tao Te Ching, here in a public domain translation by J.H. McDonald.
“When people see things as beautiful, ugliness is created. When people see things as good, evil is created. Being and non-being produce each other. Difficult and easy complement each other. Long and short define each other. High and low oppose each other. Fore and aft follow each other.”
Basically this is a message of encouragement, and a melange of hanging on and letting go all at once. Let go of that which has become toxic and harmful to make room for the good. Hang on through the dark times because that persistence will make the light all the more beautiful when it comes. It will, indeed come, because exactly that change and ebb and flow is an essential fact of life and our existence.
Thank you so much for reading and listening. I appreciate it! I always appreciate any likes, subs, shares, follows, questions or comments that you can spare. Neither the blog or podcast is monetized, so your Tarot message comes first, not the advertisers’ Please support the blog and podcast on ko-fi, there is a link in the episode description for the podcast side of things.
Again and always, thank you. See you at the next sip!
TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot contemplations in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. Today: Strength from the major arcana
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Short Sip: Tarot contemplation in the time it takes to sip from your coffee.
Today’s card is Strength from the major arcana.
This card is easy to sum up with the adage “He who conquers others has force. He who conquers himself has strength.” There are dozens of different iterations for the quote just as there are I have no idea how many different translations of the Tao Te Ching. The same basic concept exists in Zen, Buddhism, the Bhagavad Gita and probably every school of thought or organization that espouses personal growth and self development. As we’ve seen with the recent war in Europe, personal strength is far more rare and far more valuable than raw political or military power.
That kind of personal growth, self-development, and strength of character is exactly what this card is always about.
While we all agree that this is a valued thing, it all falls apart when we start trying to figure out how to do it.
The title “Tao Te Ching” has been as been translated a variety of ways including the way of Virtue. Virtue means lot of different things to lots of different people. That is the point where interpreting the Strength card gets dicey. It’s not the what that’s the problem, it’s the how.
So how do we become better people? What IS a good person?
Books, religions, entire philosophies have been dedicated to just exactly that, and we sure as heck aren’t going to solve anything here.
When the Strength card comes along it might just be validating the strengths you have. It might be validating the strength choices you’ve made or the importance of a decision that you are pondering. Regardless of the context, the Strength card always reminds us to do the right thing, the difficult thing, the strong thing, not the easy or cowardly thing. It’s no accident that lions are iconic and used in many many Tarot decks for this card. To put it in Disney terms, this is a card that asks you to be Mufasa, not Scar.
But on second thought, maybe the how of inner strength isn’t so hard after all. Look at the woman figure on the card that seems to be tending to the lion.
Maybe a little Zen Taoist Hakuna Matata is the key. As always, it is the present moment to the rescue. Harmonize with your nature as it is to find your path to strength.
Nurture the strengths you already have. Restrain the flaws you already have. This strengthens (aka conquers) the inner self.
Thank you so much for listening! I’ll see you at the next sip.
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