Love and relationships are the whole ballgame when it comes to being a human – um – being.
But I was hoping to move on to the half price chocolate and leave the whole My Tarot Valentine thing behind.
But then, maybe we did. Leave it to Lenormand cards to roll up smack us in the face with a frying pan and put the last nail in that coffin.
My intention was to do a nice, normal “action Eases anxiety” reading for this week, but noooo, here we go zooming back to yesterday’s annual Valentine’s day rant.
Here’s the beef:
Valentine’s day (at least here in America *rolls eyes*) seems to be all about white heterosexual romance.
If you are in a relation like that or adjacent to that, then it can be sweet and romantic and a great time to pay attention to the people that mean the most to you. It can and does extend to friends and family.
But it can, and does, make some people feel bad because they don’t have the romance or life partner they want in their life right now, and that right there is where it all goes off the rails.
And that right there is where today’s cards grabs us by the head and turns it for one more look
One of the many things I like about this Healing Light Lenormand deck by Gerard Butler is the way it makes both male and female versions of both The Lady #28 and The Gentleman #29 cards. It lifts the deck beyond binary gender roles to include any romantic relationship, and in conceptual extension, to any relationship at all. I like to think this card showing up today is a validation of being the love you want in your life. In giving love, in loving the things and people in our lives now, we put the whole Valentine’s Day soulmate thing into perspective.
And makes those relationships when they are in our lives doubly important, valued and appreciated. They become love heaped upon love. It makes relationships more valued and precious when they are an expansion of a love-filled life, not filling for an empty spot.
Looking at today’s cards as they usual ‘what it is’ and ‘what to do about it’ we see the lady/gentleman paired with the hear.
The lady/gentleman cards are a self significator…they stand in for you in the reading. This reading is aimed at purely internal, subjective perception. What you think these cards mean, is exactly what they DO mean. The reading is between you and you…all I did was pull the next card for you to contemplate.
The heart card is the star of all of this…relationships. Not just one to one romance…any connection, anyone or anything that is significant to you…anyone or anything that you love. YOU love is the key. Not expectations. Not ideals. What do you love in your life right here, right now? What connections need to be nurtured and grown? What connections need to be trimmed or cut? What connections need to be built? What connections are right there, just waiting to be seen and discovered?
It is at once the simplest and the hardest part of life.
What it is – you
What to do about it – love.
I wish you a peaceful week free from ridiculous commercial holiday expectations. Happy half priced chocolate to those who celebrate.
See you at the next sip!
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“…the storm is a good opportunity for the pine and the cypress to show their strength and stability.”
Life can be a dumpster fire. Or a sudden storm. Or a dumpster fire in a storm.
When that happens…and it always does at some point for everyone…you do what you have to do to make it through.
During those times stability and comfort zones are sometimes more helpful than striving, goals or lofty ideals – even our so-called “personal growth.”
When the dumpster fire is particularly raging, it can help to get granular, get smaller but more stable. A lower center of gravity is more stable.
But so is flexibility. The tree that bends in strong winds doesn’t break. That is why coastal cypress trees are a classic symbol of strength in the storm.
When the storm comes, it is an opportunity to be the creator and protector of your own little bubble of strength and stability. You alone can’t stop the storm, but you can control your reaction to it. You can control your hunkering down and seeking shelter, protecting you and yours as best as you can.
The protective, competent, powerful, self-confident energy of the Emperor card reminds us of this.
Anything helps. Anything is better than nothing. This is where all the little milquetoast platitudes and meme-ish affirmations take on some actual value. Anything you can do to create a little stability for yourself, anything that will foster the strength and flexibility that you need has benefit. Meditation for even a few minutes, sitting and staring at your morning coffee for a few minutes, say that affirmation to yourself in the mirror, scroll and inspirational social media feed – draw that Tarot card.
You don’t have to be a towering redwood. A short and supple pine tree will do just fine.
If enough of us become our own little cypress tree, soon we can have a whole forest that can withstand any storm.
Two things piqued my interest in Lenormand Tarot. First, a friend described them as giving blunt, direct, plain-talking, hit-you-over-the-head. That alone was enough to prompt me to get a deck and explore. Then an episode of The Circle is Podcast with Mat Auryn and Rachel True confirmed my experience with the deck with their own observations: The cards connect in a linguistic, sentence-like way.
It is part of the Lenormand technique to interpret cards in the context of adjacent cards instead of the context of layout position meanings as in RWS style Tarot. The cards seemed to me to be a combination of short, direct, blunt, frying-pan-to-the-face messages in a short but very connected format, like a two word sentence. In the case of these “Action Eases Anxiety” layouts it is noun-verb, specifically current energy and what to do about it.
Today, the cards are so blended they don’t even keep that minimal subject/verb sentence order. They meld together into a single message. The book hints at knowledge. Lenormand doesn’t usually pay any attention to reversals, but in the reversal feels significant, and related to the hidden and inner knowledge energies in recent readings with the queen of wands and the last Action Eases Anxiety layout. Christopher Butler, in the Healing Light guidebook connects the stork with change and “upheaval” – both an understatement here in the U.S.
In essence we are advised to study the old, lofi, hidden, analog, offline, real world ways to learn how to survive the upheaval at hand. Humans have done this before. The knowledge about how to choose your side and live well in it exists, but is hidden, to protect it.
This reading can resonate with anyone, anywhere, at any time – if it feels right for you, it’s yours. The reading also feels like it is directed at those of us in the US who are forecast to (GASP!!) get a bunch of snow in the middle of January. Get your snackies, beer, stuff for sandwiches if the power goes out and ingredients for soup and cookies if it doesn’t. It’s a good excuse to stay home, and stick it to capitalism by not buying a damn thing extra all weekend. Stay safe, stay warm and be good to yourself. This is an introvert’s paradise, so extroverts are on their own for this one. Imma knit and read and putz around on the website.
This layout lends itself well to Lenormand decks. It’s like a simple sentence, subject and verb. It shows us what the energy is and suggests a good thing to do about it.
Doing something (even if that something is wait, watch or conserve) can take the edge off of worries. Just having an action plan can help, even if you don’t wind up using it.
Current energy: The Stars.
I ‘hear’ “the road to riches is close at hand but hidden” This is a good omen type of card similar to the Star card in the RWS major arcana. It speaks to good fortune at hand, but it also has elements of subtle guidance. It hints at doing the necessary mental work for find your good fortune. Look before you leap, think before you act, but in the end, actions speak louder than words. You have to take steps in order to walk the road to good fortune.
What to do: The Bear.
Protect what you have. Don’t be a spendthrift just now. As Ben Franklin said “a penny saved is a penny earned.”
The deck author, Christopher Butler describes this card as a very mama bear energy.
Don’t just stand up for what you believe in, sit with it. Share space and spend time with the things and people most important to you as far as you are able. Send your thoughts and check in with friends and loved ones if you can’t physically be there.
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See you at the next sip!
Deck: Healing Light Lenormand by Chrstopher Butler copyright 2021 all rights reserved. Used with permissions granted on llwellynpublishing.com.
Happy New Year! Thanks for reading in 2025! I hope you will stick around for 2026 too. Sage Sips Tarot blog will stay free to read, no paywall at all, supported by Tarot fans like you.
2025 was a helluva year or a lot of folks individually not to mention the collective energy here in what was the United States. Inspired by my favorite meditation teacher, Dan Harris (inner peace, motherfuckers!) “Action Eases Anxiety” is stepping forward as a key idea for the new year. What is that David Axelrod quote? “Everything you can do is all you can do” or something like that. If we do all we can, then whatever happens we can also rest easy without regrets knowing we did everything possible. Then we can regroup, re-plan, re-relieve any new anxieties and try again as needed without beating up on ourselves about it.
Given that energy, I’m setting aside the usual prediction-tinged “Season” layout and bringing back what I used to call the “Timeflow” layout or some such thing. For 2026, I think a better name might be “Action Plans Ease Anxiety” I’ve re-worked the layout meanings to be a more substantial version of the two card Lenormand “Action Eases Anxiety” layout.
Understanding a problem is key to solving it, yes. But that kind of understanding is the foundation of any Tarot work, really, not predictions. I’ve said it before and I’m going to keep saying it…Tarot doesn’t tell you what is going to happen in life, Tarot helps you know what to do when life happens. This year the plan is to post primarily daily meditation readings, two card Lenormand action eases anxiety readings, and these larger Time Flow / Action Plan (I need to come up with a better name for this thing. PLEASE – feel free to leave suggestions in the comments!)
Anyway, here is today’s layout with the intention behind each card position
The general pattern of any layout holds its own message over an above the meanings of the individual cards. It can give context to the individual cards or it can be a whole message in and of itself within the context of the reading.
Today this is a whole-assed message, almost independent of everything else. Three out of the four cards are major arcana. This is nothing short of a loud buckle up buttercup we are going for a ride.
High energy doesn’t mean bad energy. I ‘hear’ “glimpse of recovery” as if the high energy is re-energizing more than doom-saying. I see sunny gold light and a clover lawn. (Bonus points – look up the clover card in the Lenormand deck). The level expanse of clover makes me thing that the energy and dynamics are all ‘under the hood’ Earlier today @spiralseatarot on Threads posted about the common wand image on the Magician and three other cards. In numerology, 2026 is a ONE year (2+0+2+6 = 10 and 1+0 = 1) The magician is typically numbered 1 in the RWS style Tarot decks, a magic wand echoes the shape of the number one. Both last night and this morning I coincidentally looked at the clock at 11:11. Wands in Tarot are self, and the element of fire. Be mindful and prepared and ready to control the fire, but in the end the Phoenix of 2026 rises from the ashes of 2025.
Part of me thinks all of that sounds a little psychotic. The bigger, intuitive part thinks we are being hit over the head with a message to “rekindle the fire within.”
The “Hold It Tight” card is about the things that are beneficial, helpful or very much needed in this moment – but might have been flying under your reader. This is an idea to pull out of the shadows, embrace and USE.
Here we see the Emperor. I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to Norse Mythology, but I’m getting an Odin vibe here. That is the face to put on the Emperor card in this context. BE YOUR OWN ODIN. I don’t remember the author, but read on social media from a pagan themed feed that the typical christian-ish prayer mindset was to pray asking for protection and safety from diety, while the Nordic pagan mindset was to pray and ask for the strength and resources to protect ourselves. That is the message of the Emperor today. It is a reminder that what we need can be available. We aren’t going to be rescued, but we can / will be able to get the strength, wisdom, and resources to help ourselves and those around us. Hold tight to that strategy and mindset.
“Let It Go” is just exactly that – release the things that no longer serve so those things can move to another place to help and serve others. Don’t carry what you no longer need to carry. Release makes space for better things to fill in.
Here we see The Sun – happiness. This is a very Buddha – like paradox. Let go of happiness…to find happiness?
Yup.
It’s not the happiness you are letting go…it’s the searching, striving and TRYING to be happy that has to go.
Stop trying to be happy and stop relying on something or someone in order to be happy. Stop the search for happiness…and just be happy right here, right now with things just as they are in SPITE of everything being just as they are right now. Let go of finding happiness, and just BE whatever you are. It’s like the old Tshirt…Smile. It makes everyone wonder what you are up to.
Or, as Mark Salzberg wrote in Iron and Silk, “There is a saying that it’s the height of stupidity to look for the donkey that you’re already riding on.”
If you spend your time and effort looking for happiness, you never find the happiness that has been riding around inside you the whole time.
“Queue It Up” is like the green room for a TV guest on a talk show, or the on-deck circle for the next batter in a baseball game. This is a growing energy, that is close at hand but not quite in its time just yet. Timing is a theme here, combined with a message to trust your own instincts. This tells you what would be good to carry in your back pocket…your intuition will tell you better than anything when is the right time to deploy this action or this idea. “Queue it up” is something to prepare so you can use it when your intuition says the time is right.
In this case we see our third major arcana card, The Fool. The thing we are preparing is ourselves. All of this manifesting and ash-rising might require a little agility. You might be asked to start something new on spur of the moment. A chance, a leap of faith might crop up in this year’s energy environment, and this card is advising us to keep a little openness, adaptability and willingness to say yes to the unexpected in our pocket so we can take advantage of any sudden, unexpected but excellent opportunities.
Finally we come to the card of the moment. THIS is the idea whose time has come. This is where to focus our energy and attention right NOW. This has an element of release, too, being located right next to our “let it go” card…but this isn’t something to release, but rather something to ALLOW – this is the task at hand, and the flow to roll with.
Being the only minor arcana card gives two hints….that this nonthreatening. It isn’t the big Major arcana energy…it’s going to be ok. Trust. Flow.
Also this is the path of least resistance right now. Fighting the flow might be exhausting. Let it be easy for a few minutes. Not everything has to be filled with effort and striving. Here we get an echo of the previous Sun card’s message.
The ten of pentacles is also a card of happiness. True happiness, and appreciation and gratitude for all that money can’t buy. This is the donkey. This is the happiness we already have that we can only find when we let go of all the striving and looking and trying.
Here I am giving another pop culture reference. It echoes the social media reference to praying for strength over being protected because strength can be used to protect ourselves and those we love as well.
In the TV adaptation of Neil Gaimon’s American Gods, a character said that is the difference between his (Muslim?) prayer and that of the typical American – we pray to be given stuff, while in his tradition they pray to give thanks for what they already have.
Sit with that idea for a while. It is a game changer.
In summary, no one is saving us this year. This is the year when we learn to save ourselves. This isn’t the year when someone or something will make us happy – this is the year when we stop looking for happiness and can discover it was there all along.
Where ever or however you find it, I wish you a year of peace, health, and happiness.
Personally, I love a holiday that is open to anyone and everyone and no one gives a flying hootenanny how you celebrate. Good food. A plain pole. A stack of beer cans. It’s all good.
The Ten of Wands speaks to obligations that we put on ourselves, and the blockages, challenges and obstacles of our own making
Releasing holiday obligations that we put on ourselves (and that can kindle resentments) is its own kind of transformative holiday magic. Letting go of the things that no longer serve others OR yourself may be a little emotionally wrenching or guilt-ridden, especially during the winter holidays, but it makes room for something new, something joyous.
It’s been said that traditions are simply allowing ourselves to be held hostage by dead people. There is some truth to that. But there is also a a great truth that sameness and tradition can be extremely valuable and comforting in turbulent times. The more things suck now, the more we need comforting things like favorite movies and holiday traditions.
Especially those traditions that contain more meaning than money.
It’s OK to keep the perfect from being the enemy of the good.
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I follow a number of Taoist, Buddhist, Accupressure, Traditional Chinese Medicine and other such social media feeds.
This being the waning weeks of the year of the snake has popped up several times over the past few days, associating the end of the year with a metaphoric shedding of skin, as a snake does when it grows and enters a new cycle.
It reminds me of the ouroboros, the image of a snake or dragon eating its own tail that is said to symbolize cycles destruction and rebirth.
Drawing the Star card from the major arcana fits exactly that energy today.
This card is sometimes associated with guidance – like ancient sailors using the stars for navigation. Of course, this winter holiday season, the Christian minded among us might think of the star in the three kings legend. But that isn’t the energy this time at all.
Reference after reference connects The Star with rebirth and renewal.
This is much more cyclic. This is snake skin and ouroboros circles. It’s not about a singular point of guidance. It’s much more complex than that.
When I drew the Star card, I intuitively ‘heard’ “echoing silence” and was reminded of winter nights with a clear sky over snow-covered ground. Even if you are in a city parking lot or a suburban driveway, the night and silence are profound, the quiet echoing behind any noise you might hear.
We are at a cusp. We are at the tail of the ouroboros snake. No one star guides us through this transition.
An entire galaxy of stars promise rebirth.
As dark as this night may be, as anxious and terrifying as the echoing, frigid silence may feel, the stars burn on.
Even the stars move. Everything changes. And that includes changes for the better just as much as the tragedies our fears so often imagine.
It takes a certain courage and generosity of spirit to be kind to yourself. It is OK to be grateful to yourself for that kindness.
What seems flawed on the surface can contain great beauty when we look at it as a whole. Scars are lovely souvenirs of the life you have survived. Removing yourself from unhealthy environments and toxic relationships can cause an ever changing mixed bag of emotions. It can make you exponentially grateful for the good ones. Yeah, this is a time for family…but hopefully it is family defined by love and relationship – shared DNA is optional. Personally, I think the whole Friendsgiving thing is kind of brilliant now that we are years into being a country divided by bigotry, racism, religion, politics and more. I don’t know that it is entirely a bad thing – many have learned the hard lessons that come with living fully, authentically, and protecting your peace.
Expectations are the enemy of a happy holiday. You don’t expect the pickles to taste like pumpkin pie. Smile when vinegar tastes sour because that just means it tastes just like it should. Life can be both bitter and sweet, but it always is as it is. The bitter times make it all the nicer when the pumpkin pie tastes as it should, too.
I’m thankful for all of you, and thankful to still be able to read Tarot for you.
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Back with a card for tomorrow. See you at the next sip!
“The Shockjock” card is drawn from the Alleyman’s Tarot Podcast which expands the backstory and lore behind the Tarot deck, which is yet another facet of why Alleyman’s Tarot is one of my favorite decks. And yes, admittedly, I have collected more decks than I care to admit over the years. The Alleyman’s Tarot and this deck, the Alleyway Oracle of Secrets, is built on the same premise which is set in the same conceptual universe as the original deck.
In the podcast, the ‘shock jock’ is a low filter podcaster prone to blurting out anything who has been following the Alleyman urban legend along with the other cast of characters. (The podcast has a certain Twilight Zone quality and is interesting beyond the Alleyway, if you are interested in giving it a listen)
In any case, this is one of those times where intuition and energy screams louder than the guidebook meaning. This is one of those days that teach us how important it is to listen to your own inner guidance, not necessarily what the deck’s ‘little white book’ might say.
Following your own inner wisdom over outside influences is a giant life skill in and of itself, and we can circle back to that some other day. For today, let’s listen to the shock jock – all puns intended.
In the podcast and Oracle deck guidebook, the shock jock isn’t a deliberate or cynical provocateur. Sure, he is in it for the follows, like all of us on public cyberspace platforms – but he isn’t cruel. The guidebook gives the impression that this card is an irreverent jokester, rooted in humor. The intent is silly, comedic and harmless.
The energy today, however, is opposite. This feels like a reversed card in the classic sense, where the card is read as its opposite.
This is the dark side.
This is a lesson in free speech, connected in a way to the seven of pentacles.
Today is a reminder that cause and effect is still a thing.
You are free to say anything you want. You are equally free to experience the effects that your words cause. Since the energy is a little on the shadow side, it’s tempting to say that you are free to suffer the consequences of what you say, but there is more to it than that.
The seven of pentacles often carries a ‘you reap what you sow’ vibe about it. For both the seven of pentacles and the shock jock, we have to consider both sides of reaping and sowing, of speaking and experiencing.
As we’ve talked about before, “you reap what you sow” often seems punitive, something told to children so they don’t do bad things so that bad things won’t happen to them.
The other side of the threat is the promise. If you reap what you sow, then there is a promise that there will indeed BE a harvest, that good things WILL come from your sincere efforts.
The same is true for our inner shock jock.
Words have meaning. Words have power. They can be used thoughtlessly. They can be used to calm, encourage and heal. Words can be used to wound and cut down. Silence can be golden. Silence is complicity.
Like the seeds that are sown, words have consequences. Say anything you want, or stay silent if you choose, but you will reap a harvest either way.
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Oracle of Secrets deck by Seven Dane Asmund used with permission
Action Eases Anxiety layout shows ‘what it is’ (left – current energy or situation) and ‘what to do about it’ (right- advice to help move forward) Having a plan makes things less scary, even if the plan goes off the rails (which is usually does – being adaptable helps too)
Three of Pentacles: the physical realm, especially when it comes to work and career feels inside out and upside down. And it isn’t all under your control. The system or teamwork may be falling apart or under stress.
Knight of Wands: Now is the time to make a move in favor of yourself. You are your own best mentor and support team in this moment. Don’t be petty or hurtful or throw anyone deliberately under the bus, but do what you need to do for you. This is that moment where the oxygen masks are dropping and you have to put yours on before you can help anyone else. You are no good to anyone, yourself or otherwise, if you are metaphorically unconscious. Tend to your own physical and mental health this week so you can be present for new situations and other people later on.
Often this strategy brings guilt about not helping others in this moment, or worry that there will be pay-back or blow-back. Think of it as a short term investment for a long term gain. If there is blow-back for giving yourself a short amount of time to do what you need to do for yourself – then that shows the true colors. A time like this where the energy supports taking care of yourself shows who supports you and who doesn’t. Use that information to know how best to spend your energy and efforts moving forward. This time not only benefits you directly, but also lets you help others with sincerity and dedication in times to come.
The knight of wands carries most of the energy in this reading. It often reminds me of the book/series Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel. In that, the Knight of Wands turns out to be a harbinger of “magic returning to England”
The Knight of Wands is here to let us know that this is a time for our magic to come home. It is a time to pay attention to your passions, your loves, the things that make life most magical for you.
Your magic is returning. This is the week to welcome it.
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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