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Witches Archetype Oracle deck by “The Pretty Cult” used with permission
I stumbled across this deck last October at the Oddities Expo in Pittsburgh. I immediately wanted to use it for Weekend Oracle posts It took a little while for the email conversation to get permission to use it, then life happened and here we are.
This isn’t so much an unboxing, or review or how to, or getting to know the deck like we’ve done in the past. In working with it for a little while now, I haven’t found it to be a particularly helpful deck. It doesn’t give the kind of guidance that most people expect from Tarot or Oracle reading. The intuitive prompting is a bit dilute and it gives no sense of current energies. If anything, it made me appreciate the Alleyman’s Tarot deck’s genius all over again.
It took me a while to figure out that this deck’s real strength.
It doesn’t have much to do with witches or oracles at all really. Metaphorically speaking it’s more like a guide about how to find a flashlight at night during a blackout. It feels like a guide to other sources of strength and inspiration rather than being a direct source of inspiration itself.
It isn’t about the energy environment. It isn’t about advice about what to do. It isn’t about cautions about what to avoid. It isn’t about guidance for making choices.
It is about the most accessible source or type of helping energy to DO what you want AFTER you’ve made your choice. This is about what fuel to put in the car, not about which way to steer.
To put it in GPS terms, this is the ‘find the nearest gas station’ function not the trip directions or traffic conditions.
Today’s card is the “Cosmic Witch.” I’m reminded of the idea of when we are alone we are most reminded we are connected to and a part or the cosmos – the absolute totality of everything in both time and space. Carl Sagan described the cosmos as “all that is or ever was or ever will be.” You exist in this moment so you are now and forever a part of of the cosmos. It is impossible to be lonely in that kind of company
On a simpler level, if astrology resonates with you, that is a excellent guide and a strong influence for you this weekend.
Thanks for reading! Next up: Week Ahead Tarot, coming up either Sunday or Monday afternoon. See you at the next sip!
“Keep cutting away the unnecessary to find (and protect) the blessings beneath” Precision and minimalism are your allies. It is a time for scalpels, not sledgehammers.” Intuitively comes through here.
The key point of this card, as I understand it, is that personal growth is a double edged sword. The reversal of the card feels significant here, pointing toward shadow work in particular. It is painful to face the darker side of ourselves, but leads to peace and emotional health in the long run.
Shadow work is the emotional equivalent of a blade that cuts through our defenses causing painful feelings – but opening the way to calmer, more peaceful, more fulfilling emotions as well.
“We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain.”
Alan Watts
This is the same energy seen in the Heart and the Crane Lenormand cards from our previous reading. Cut away the excess. Clear away the unneeded. Love exists, whole and complete but obscured, just like the beauty within Michelangeo’s sculpture:
“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
Michelangelo
In this orientation, the sword on the Blessings oracle card resembles the Ace of Swords, which is associated with clarity and truth among other things. The Lenormand reading, the Oracle reading and the hinted-at RWS tarot card all point toward the same basic idea: simplify, clarify, do the hard personal growth work to uncover the obscured now and it will reveal great benefit in the end.
You can be yourself with me. Happy pride month!
Deck: Alleyway Oracle of Secrets by Seven Dane Asmund used with permission from Publishing Goblin LLC
It’s an ancient idea. Buddhist teaching long ago realized that taking action – or even making a decision or making a plan of action – can ease worry and anxiety. Practice and role play are a crucial part of emergency training.
Action eases anxiety, even in tarot. Knowing your energy environment and thinking about a good next step can go a long way to easing turbulent emotions.
Today’s Energy
THE HEART: Hope and love exist. It is near, but tangled in the maze and weeds of daily living. Don’t lose the forest in the trees as the saying goes. Don’t lose the love in the background noise, either.
Next Step
THE CRANE: Something new must deliberately be created. Clear away the mindless, the outdated, the harmful, that which has lost usefulness and the love and hope surrounding you will become clear. It is like Michelangelo’s sculpting method:
“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.” ― Michelangelo
The love and hope energy is already there.
Clear away the extra and unneeded, and love will emerge.
Deck: Healing Light Lenormand Tarot by Christopher Butler, copyright 2021 all rights reserved, used with permissions granted on llwellynpublishing.com
Sage Sips is tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee
Pause the video. Think of a question, topic or simply the week ahead of you. Choose the card that feels right or that you feel most drawn to. Even if you see the card first – even if you see the card AND read the interpretations before choosing your card, the choice is still valid. You can do all of that and still choose both. Or neither.
Your inner wisdom, your own good intuition still leads the choice. The whole point is that there IS a choice – and it is all yours. You’ll know the right guidance for you when you see it.
THE FOOL: Perspective is everything. A fresh look is a fresh start. Know all the angles before committing to an action or an opinion.
QUEEN OF WANDS: You are the ruler of your inner kingdom. Queen’s lead through example and nurturing. Keep yourself strong in order to be of greatest help to others.
Thanks for reading! All likes, subs, follows, and shares are always appreciated!
Tarot inspired haiku for National Poetry Writing Month
Irrevocable
Change is death of the old self
The phoenix will rise
Sage Snow
“Tarot doesn’t tell you what will happen in life, Tarot helps you figure out what to do when life happens”
Thanks for reading! Your likes, follows, and shares are all much appreciated. Please support me on ko-fi where your private readings, memberships, ebook purchases and virtual coffee all support the creation of this no-paywall, free to read Tarot blog and its years of archives
Pause the video and think of your question or the week ahead. Choose your card, left or right. Restart the video to see the reveal and get your free tarot reading below.
7 of Cups: Choices are important and may feel stressful and overwhelming. Start with logic, but if all practical things seem equal, let your intuition and instincts lead the way. The up side of this is that multiple choices exist – at least you aren’t painted into a corner with few choices at all. When there are many options, especially when they all seem equal, it can all be very overwhelming. Sometimes being the one to have to make a hard choice alone is an overwhelming burdon, even when the choice seems clear. Choices and options can be intimidating in any combination of circumstances. If you are facing a big choice or have too many options, your head and heart have to work together. If logic fails, let your heart lead the way. In the end, clarity is crucial however your sort it out. Focus on the end. Choose your destination and the way to get there will become more clear.
King of Wands: Wands have to do with the fire element. King cards speak to leadership. Good leaders start with compassion and wisdom, but kings can’t rule without a kingdom. King cards often represent protecting and providing for the place where they rule. Wands can also symbolize your relationship with yourself. Remember your agency over your own life. Own it, mistakes and all. This is a good week to tap into as much main character energy as you can muster. Write your own story, lead your own inner kingdom. Combine wisdom and compassion with confidence and skill. Set boundaries and enforce them.
Thanks so much for reading! See you at the next sip!
Today is the kind of day this new layout is all about. Action dissolves anxiety. Making an action plan helps. Doing the plan helps even more. Action dissolves (or at least decreases) anxiety. Many thanks to Dan Harris for sharing that concept with everyone. I heartily recommend his Substack and social media
Today’s energy has a genX meme, “suck it up buttercup” feel to it. It’s time to put on the big kid britches and do the thing. Today needs practical action. Be as level-headed, logical, and practical as you can be. Go with what you already KNOW. Just for today, put intellect ahead of emotions and head over heart as best as you can.
Be kind to yourself if you can’t. If emotions get the better of the situation, step back, cool off and try again later. It’s ok.
It’s ok to be kind to yourself even on the days when your self is a bubbling hot mess.
Be a cool headed as you can, and bandage up the rest later.
There are reasons why the horse is standing still and strong on the knight of pentacles card. Rock on, but rock steady, one logical step at a time. The King of Swords is all about cool, cutting intellect and decisive leadership. Good leaders know when to get help and look for resources.
It isn’t easy. It isn’t about perfection. It is about step by step making it through.
Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee. Please support this free to read blog on ko-fi
Sometimes when I write members-only posts we’ll talk about other forms of intuition and divination. Sometimes it will be something aimed at fun, with no spiritual meaning at all. In this series of member-only posts we are talking about the I Ching or book of changes as a spiritual guide, like Tarot.
Although “Sage Sips” is the more public facing blog name, under the hood the website and such is still TaoCraft Tarot, a name inspired by exoteric Taoist philosophy. Exoteric or philosophical Taoism is just that, a way of living and understanding, not a religion per se. Esoteric Taoism is closer to what we in the west think of as religion and it is often a closed cultural practice. If you would like to learn more about that part of Taoism and many other wonderful things, I highly recommend The Tao of Craft by Benebell Wen.
And no, I didn’t borrow from her title. It was one of those things where I’d been climbing the mountain and when I got to the Taoism meets spiritual ritual part, there was Benebel waiting – we took very different paths to kind of the same words.
Diane Morgan was there ahead of both of us with her book Magical Tarot Mystical Tao, which has been one of the biggest inspirations and influences for my own Tarot work over the years. But I digress, but still whole-heartedly recommend both books.
Openness and inclusion are so fundamental to the exoteric, philosophical type of Taoism that any book written about it is basically accepted as canon...
I feel like there are a thousand other things I should be doing, but if you can’t follow your instincts in a Tarot blog, where can you? There is no reason for this post other than to say hello and hopefully reconnect with the whole blog and newsletter thing. It’s been a weird winter for me and this newsletter hasn’t gotten the energy and attention it deserves. That whole “Sage Words Tarot” thing was a huge detour. TaoCraft is home and I’m back. I hope to hear from you moving forward. 2025 is still young and my website has an easy to use contact form for any questions or comments that you might have. That includes questions for a free Tarot reading of some sort in the public blog. It’s a fair trade, I think. You get a free sample-size reading and I get writing inspiration. Deal?
In the meantime…
There has been a weird, strange, surreal energy during the holidays right through until now that reminded me of 2020. Don’t get me wrong – I’m NOT predicting a pandemic an you should listen to science about all of the bird flu, flu-A, RSV and measles worries out there. Not to mention the slow moving juggernaut of an utter political catastrophe unfolding in America right now. Compound that with some epic personal stress, and the time since Thanksgiving has been, well – unproductive. High levels of BLAH mixed with high anxieties is the best way I can describe the feel of it.
Stepping out from the psychological fog leftover from this winter, I wanted to say hello and tell you how thankful I am to have you all as readers and Tarot clients. It is so very appreciated!
On the outside chance there is anyone new here, I’ll add a little to the hello so you can know who is behind this whole Sage Sips Substack.
Hello! My name is Sage, I read Tarot, write things and knit stuff.
Sage is a pen name to try to provide privacy for both of us. It is inspired the double meaning the word sage has in English. It can be a plant with remarkable aromatherapy properties; comforting, negativity clearing, uplifting and empowering. It also means wise advice or a person who is wise. I believe Tarot is all about exactly those things. Tarot can lead us to wise advice at the same time as it calms anxieties, inspires us, and empowers us. It’s always an honor to be part of that process for someone. But like I always say…
“Tarot isn’t about predicting what will happen in life. Tarot helps you figure out what to do when life happens.“
What I do –
Tarot readings by email (and phone by special arrangement – contact me for details and scheduling)
What I don’t do –
Predict the future.
How I do it –
Transparently, conveniently and privately. All of my policies are TaoCraftTarot.com for the world to see.
All of my prices are for the total reading – not per minute. Your reading gets all of my attention, however long it -no clock watching – which is one of the many advantages of working by email. There are no time constraints or appointment needed for email. No hidden fees. No spam.
If you want a reading, you have to let me know. I don’t have the time or energy to contact anyone individually and offer readings. If you get that, it ain’t me. Did I mention, no spam is tolerated here or on the website, incoming OR outgoing?
You can purchase an email reading from my ko-fi page, no appointment needed. There are several different layouts to choose from, which let’s YOU choose the layout (and price) that fits your question (and budget) the best. I use ko-fi because the check out is PayPal secured and lets you send me your topic or question for the reading all in one easy transaction…no more delays while I ask for your question / permission for an open reading.
Email readings are perfect for busy schedules –
You don’t have to set aside travel time – the reading comes to you. You don’t use one drop of expensive gasoline.
In addition to being super convenient, email readings are extra private. No one sees you going to a psychic. You open and read your email in a time and place that is right for you.
Phone readings work by contacting me. We will set up an appointment time. Then I’ll send you a secure PayPal invoice and you call the phone number provided at your appointment time. All the details about appointments are on the policy page.
What a reading looks like:
All of my readings follow the same basic format. It starts with a photo of your real world layout. Then there is a “general pattern” section where we talk about the layout as a whole. That’s followed by a card-by-card discussion. Then it all wraps up in a “psychic summary” that includes any other impressions. It might relate to the cards, or it might be pure intuition. This part often includes aromatherapy and crystal recommendations but this final summary is very attuned to your personal message and there is no guarantee what it will or won’t include.
Relationship readings:
I do lots of those, but mine are probably different from what you’ve had before.
My readings focus totally on you. I follow the same professional ethics as holistic health providers. I don’t read other people’s energies without their permission. That means relationship readings won’t predict who you will marry or if you’ll get back together with your ex or if your crush loves you back. Relationship readings are for any kind of relationship and simply give advice to help you give your best in your part in the relationship.
Wealth and money readings:
Wealth and money readings tend to focus on your career and what you can DO to find your best path forward in your career or in any part of the physical realm. I’m not a career counselor, or a financial advisor – and did I mention that Tarot can’t predict the future?
Medical, pregnancy and legal questions:
Nope.
I won’t answer those. Tarot is terrible with those kinds of questions. I’m not wasting my time or your money on a question that is best left to other professionals. We should spend our time on the things Tarot that does very well: Easing troubled emotions, finding inspiration, creative problem solving, stress reduction, diversion and entertainment.
Sage Sips is the name of my blog and Substack. I love coffee. I love pithy Tarot advice. Sage Sips is Tarot in the time it takes to sip your coffee.
TaoCraft Tarot is the name of my website and the book I plan to write about how to read Tarot. It is a reflection of the philosophy behind my 30 years of Tarot and intuition development.
And that is pretty much it in one big omnibus nutshell.
Your turn!
Feel free to say hi in the comments or in the contact form.
I’m also on Bluesky if you want to say hi there. It’s the one social platform where I’ll actually talk to people instead of just like and repost.
Right or left, choose the card that feels like the right one for you here, today, now. Pause the video if you need to think about it. Restart to see the reveal.
Queen of Swords: Claim your space, and speak your truth. If you want to be heard, you have to say something first.
Five of swords: sound and fury can signify nothing. Are you really under attack, or is your ego bruised?
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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