Two of Wands: Prepare. Plan. Get ready. Change or travel may come soon.
Nine of Wands: Live your enlightenment. Live the hard-won lessons you’ve learned. May them your own before you press on
Hierophant: Know what you don’t know. Don’t guess or feel your way through this time. If you don’t know, get help. Go find the knowledge you don’t have right now.
Looking at all three cards, there is a sense of “on the precipice” but in varying degrees. There is a feeling of something about to happen – soonest for those who chose the two of wands, slightly less soon for those who chose the hierophant, longest for those who chose the nine of wands. For all three cards, moving forward depends on you. Either there is some piece of knowledge or information you need to find in order to move forward well, or there is some bit of preparation you need to do for a good outcome, or it just plain isn’t time to move. Go for quality, not quantity in all three cases.
It’s President’s day here in the U.S. so the fam is home for the day – That’s where my energy is at the moment.
If you have any questions or comments, leave ’em below. I’m happy to answer any questions you have here in the blog. Next time: Learn With Me: BTS
I’ve made minor attempts at this since New Years Day, but this time I’m going to back up and do a proper run at some introductory material and give you a real behind the scenes look at how my particular style of Tarot really works. No nonsense, lots of transparency and plenty of shameless self promotion.
Zombie Cat’s unique way of yes/no Tarot readings. Order your private yes/no with Zombie Cat, no appointment needed
There are lots of ways to do a yes or no reading.
In my experience, the most essential thing is to have a question in mind and keep it mind throughout whatever process you use. It’s the same intention-setting process that Tarot readers use to write a layout. Throwing cards willy-nilly isn’t as helpful as having a clear layout and layout meanings clearly in mind before turning the cards.
For yes/no readings, there are lists of cards that are yes or no, and you do a single card draw for a succinct answer. Some of the lists I’ve seen don’t have much rhyme or reason for the yes or no connotations assigned to each card. I’ve seen some methods that say swords and wands mean no while cups and coins mean yes, which leaves a much shorter list of yes/no associations for the major cards.
Years ago in an intuition development class led by Joy Star, I learned a more complex, interesting and (in my experience) helpful three card method:
Deal the cards into three stacks. Stop dealing to a stack when it gets an ace or 13 cards, whichever comes first.
Three aces means yes
Two aces means maybe, leaning yes
One ace means maybe, leaning no
No aces means no.
Of all the possible yes/no methods, this was my favorite. It’s the only yes/no method I use, but with a couple of minor twists.
Most of the time, once you’ve determined the yes or no, the reading ends there, kind of like one of those Magic 8 ball toys. I add an extra layer of depth to take this reading over and above a simple yes, no, or maybe. I look at the three cards that are showing, whatever the yes/no answer turns out to be. That extra layer of meaning can either help you to support the answer if you are happy with it or give clues on how to change it if you aren’t.
Just like with the five card layout that I wrote in 2003, I want these readings to empower your choices and empower your control over your future through basic cause and effect. I changed the number of aces meaning to align with a three coin toss from Chinese I Ching divination.
The I Ching (Book of Changes) is rooted in Taoist philosophy, and the principle of yin and yang. In the taijitu, the familiar yin-yang symbol, the opposite color dots remind us that anything in its extreme holds the seed of its opposite. In I Ching, three coins are used to determine if any given line is yin, yang, yin “changing” or Yang “changing.” A changing line is one believed to be so strongly yin or strongly yang that it is in the process of changing into its opposite. We can do a “learn with me” later to describe the rest of the I Ching divination process, but the changing line is the only part we need for now.
To bring the changing line concept into Tarot yes/no, I adapted the meanings connected to the number of aces that wind up showing at the end of the three-stack dealing process. If the pattern is akin to a changING line in I Ching, I read it as a changABLE result in the yes/no Tarot layout. A yes-but-changable or no-but-changable answer puts the ball most strongly in your court so to speak. The time and place and energy is extra amenable to you making a real impact on the outcome.
So Zombie Cat does a yes/no Tarot reading this way:
The cards are shuffled holding the question clearly in mind
The cards are dealt into three piles, stopping when there are 13 cards in the stack or an ace appears, whichever comes first.
One ace is a hard no, it may be very difficult to change course
Zero aces is no, but things are easier to change
Two aces is a hard yes, this is the way things are likely to go if you do nothing
Three aces means yes, but can change if you act.
I write these under my Zombie Cat persona, which means the reading takes a more lighthearted, playful tone with plenty of cringe attempts at humor.
Zombie Cat is going to be the member’s special for March. Between now and March 31, 2024 Sage Sip members can get an upgrade to Zombie Cat readings as a substitute for any of the one card Sage Sip readings that are included in the monthly membership.
Non-members can order a zombie cat yes/no readings anytime HERE, no appointment needed. Scroll down through the menu list of readings to find the Zombie Cat layout.
Have a good weekend everyone! See you at the next Sip!
Sage
Zombie Cat doodle – by the author
Cat image from the public domain, modified by the author
PAUSE the video
PICK your card
RESTART to see the reveal
READ about your card below the video
The Fool: A week full of opportunity and new beginnings
Ace of Pentacles: The more grounded and balanced you can be, the more you efforts pay off
The Devil: Don’t panic. Use calm, common sense to stay on the safe side. Not the time for unnecessary risk
If you picked one of the two major arcana cards, that may hint at a high energy time near by. Both cards have a “shields up” cautioning energy. The Fool may be stressful in a good way. A lot of opportunity and business on your plate is still a lot on your plate, so take care to manage your stress even if the pressure is on because of very good things happening.
The difference between the two majors is The Fool feels an “it might be stressful and busy but worth it” feel. The Devil on the other hand is a “pull back” “be cautious” sort of energy. If you chose this card, take it extra easy this week.
The Ace of Pentacles is an all-good energy. Prosperous, but low-key. Not really any cautions to take it easy. I ‘hear’ “Things unfold but gently.”
When I say ‘hear’ in a reading, that’s shorthand for clairaudient intuition. It means the intuitive message takes the form of words, sound or music. Instead of a mental image, it’s mental words or sounds. I’m not hallucinating, honest. Intuition if often much like imagination with a purpose. Remember your favorite song – that memory gives you a sense of what clairaudient intuition is like.
Thanks for taking a look.
What do you think about this format? Comments are open and I’m on Instagram and Threads every day. (@sagewordstarot for both)
Wednesday I’ll post a collective energy example reading using the new “My Tarot Valentine” layout. I’d really like your feedback about that too. If you like it, it can stand as a regular “love and romance” themed reading. If no one voices and opinion, I’ll make it a seasonal thing. What say you?
When you listen to spirit or read the universal life energy or whatever words you like to hang on this psychic intuition thing, sometimes you have to take it at its word. Even when that word is nope.
Listening to spirit/energy is the same basic process regardless of whether you are reading for one specific person or for a general, collective audience. Either way, you are basically just translating spirit-speak into people-words that your client can actually ponder and use.
When you are reading for an individual, and something feels off the mark, you can just say that. When you are working with just one person, you can start a conversation that will eventually sort out the right message. Even working by email where the conversation unfolds over time, you can suss things out sooner or later.
Working with a collective audience is a little trickier. When you get the sense that something is wrong that figure-things-out conversation isn’t available to you. Sometimes it’s a wonder if anyone leaves a comment or feedback when you ASK for it.
When you are writing for a wide audience, it takes greater faith in your own instincts than when reading for a single person. No matter what you say, no matter what message you get/give, in a large audience there will always be a subset of people who need the opposite. There will always be some people where your message is batted away with a big old NOPE. No matter what message you give there will be someone who needs to hear the opposite.
And that’s ok.
Psychics and Tarot bloggers can’t be all things to everyone. The only thing we can be is true to our own intuition.
My Tarot Valentine is a good example. Relationship advice through a card by card reading of the Wands suit isn’t a bad idea. No doubt somebody somewhere is interested in that kind of relationship advice.
Luckily, if you need love and soulmate advice, there are LOTS of Tarot readers in the world and somebody is out there giving just the message you need to hear. I have 1000% confidence that the right message will find you.
I am also confident that this isn’t my year to give it.
A larger part of the collective spirit / energy is connecting me to a different message. There are people out there who need other things just now.
I need to bail out of the Valentine’s Day thing at the collective level.
The main blog and website had its yearly refresh last month, so feel free to browse the pages and blog archives. Use the search bar (right side of the page on PC, scroll down on mobile) to look for specific Tarot cards and topics.
I’m doing this month’s #KofiChallenge for a chance to win a small prize. I’d put it toward the next round of web hosting costs. If you could save or share any posts on the blog or socials that you like I’d appreciate it.
The “challenge” was to update the Sage Words Tarot Ko-Fi page. Here is what’s NEW as of February 6, 2024
TRIPLE the free readings for Sage Sip members. Get free Sage Sip one card readings per month instead of one. This is a permanent change. Other benefits include discounts on larger layouts, early access to upcoming “Big Read” blog posts, and Ask Me Anything DM access. The free readings are on demand, not automatic. Your request helps me to connect to your energy message
Zombie Cat has his own membership tier! The cat is going with his undead strength – 3 card yes/no readings. Get a FREE reading every month included with your $7 membership (regular reading price is $15) Members also get discounts on larger layouts in the “Readings” commissions menu (except physical media pen & ink readings) early access to upcoming “big read” blog posts and ASK ANYTHING DM access. Zombie Cat’s readings are on demand, and require that you request each one individually, too.
New ebook titles coming to the SHOP during 2024. The FREE Portfolio download is still available.
No appointment needed for any email readings. Send your membership reading requests by DM or email. Non-members order anytime in the Reading commissions menu.
The Free Tarot Reading Not-So-Fine Print
ALL of my readings are essentially a customized folk art intended for personal enrichment, encouragement, spiritual contemplation, creative problem solving and a little contemplation for your next cup of coffee. They do not predict the future.
These are highly customized and ephemeral, so no refunds or exchanges are available.
I shouldn’t have to say this but – nothing offered here can diagnose, treat, or prevent any illness and they cannot take the place of medical or mental health care. No medical, pregnancy or legal questions will be accepted. No liability is accepted, use at your own risk – you know the drill.
Next up: behind the scenes “When the Weather Says Nope”
My Tarot Valentine is a series of blog posts with one card Tarot readings from the collective energy with a focus on love, romance and relationships. I’ve collected the old posts from my previous blogs (TaoCraft Tarot and Modern Oracle Tarot) into an ebook. This year I’m continuing the series with a look at finding your soulmates (twin flame, life partner – whatever term you like to use) all through the lens of the Tarot suit of wands.
Wands are symbolic of fire, philosophy, spirit, and your relationship with yourself.
What does ‘self’ have to do with romantic relationships?
Everything.
Like attracts like. Be the soulmate you want to have in your life.
For example the Three of Wands is about active preparation, optimism, looking forward to a bright future.
If you have found your soulmate, actively cherish them. DO thoughtful things, emphasis on the the thoughtful. In this respect, all of the card suits are engaged, no just the wands. Even if you’ve been together for decades, it’s ok to show your emotion (cups) with thoughtfulness (swords) in any tangible (pentacles) way that hints at the depth (wands) of your feeling.
If you don’t have a relationship like that in your life, and if you want one, then the idea of preparation for something that may or may not ever happen seems odd.
But, on the other hand, how can that special someone step in where there is no room.
If loneliness and searching for your soulmate fills your psyche, there is little room for an actual soulmate to come in. If you are filled with certainty that they exist, the same thing can happen.
Only an empty cup can be filled. Hold space in your life for love to come in. The walls of that room, the sides of that cup are constructed of you – you being happy and healthy and living the best life that you can. That’s the thing that creates the space. That is the thing that prepares the place in your life for soulmate to walk in.
My Tarot Valentine is a series of one card romance themed Tarot readings from the collective energy. Private readings are available through the link below
It’s easy to say the number two cards of the minor arcana are about balance. Pentacles talk about moving balance, swords about the known vs the unknown and so on. Beyond the easy to say idea of balance, the two cards hint at something more philosophical: duality.
To say “balance” is to imply that there are two or more things that need to be balanced. Even if you have just one plate spinning on just one stick in the circus act of life, you are still balancing the plate vs gravity vs angular momentum vs why are you doing a circus act in the first place…
The Two of Wands is particularly dialed into this aspect of balance. Where there is duality there is choice.
When it comes to relationships, choice isn’t control.
You have total agency over what you do and say and give and take from a relationship, but you have no say in your love interest’s response.
It is heartbreaking when their response is rejection.
Which shows how precious it is when the response is love in return
But whatever happens, the choice always returns to you. When you are given the precious thing, it is up to you to make choices that protect and nurture it. If you are given the heartbreaking thing, it is up to you to make the choices that help you heal. That includes the choice to reach out to other people in other ways and get help when it is needed.
Either way, our response is our choice and our responsibility. Like the two upright wands on the card, our choice is our portal. It our doorway to relationship, to the great privilege of loving and nurturing others but also to loving and nurturing our own path through life, whatever shape that takes.
The Two of Wands’ Tarot Valentine for you is simply this: choose love.
That doesn’t mean other people will choose to give it back to you. It does mean that you always have the option of giving love be it to another person or to healing your own life path.
It takes two to tango and two to make a romance happen but it only takes one person to choose love even when it is out of our control where that love lands.
Get the short reading in the video description or come back here to get the full reading below.
King of Wands
The kings have been conferencing! The right message will always find you even if it seems like a mistake at first. I’ve mis-typed ‘king of pentacles’ twice. It feels like the king of pentacles is chiming in along with the king of wands. It’s a blend, not a substitution, so there are two threads of energy running through this card’s message.
There is a sense of practicality from the pentacle’s energy along with a strong sense of self from the wand’s energy. Kings are leaders and protectors. Combine it all and go do what needs done. Pay attention to details. Do all due diligence. That kind of work, practicality and prevention are a form of self protection and self care. Remember it is always easier to put out small fires before they turn into big ones.
The Hierophant
Sometimes called the Pope or the High Priest, this major arcana card is all about internal growth and personal development. It feels like this is the week to break old habits, make new ones, step outside of your comfort zone – especially in terms of social conformity. Use your inner wisdom. If this is a week for other cards to share energy with the ones we see, the Queen of Cups is the one chiming in here. You have deep knowing. Use it to go your own way (in fact, the Fleetwood Mac song by that name pops up here) Take the wisest action, even if it is unpopular at first blush. Being a people pleaser isn’t always the wisest thing for you, or for the people you are trying to please.
The High Priestess
The High Priestess is the guardian of the mysteries. Unlike the other two cards, this energy is all her. The word “portal” comes to mind, along with “the flow of time.”
“Time and inspiration must intersect” is the core of it.
It’s ok to not know something. It’s ok to not have the answers. One of my all time favorite ideas in Tarot actually comes from a physicist. Richard Feynman, known for his work in quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics, once said “I’d rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.”
And there is more to life that facts and knowledge. Emotion, spirit, wisdom, experience and all the many facets of being human have their role to play. Those things come in time, at their own time.
So often people come to Tarot to know the unknowable future. Tarot doesn’t have all the answers. Sometimes its best function is to help you ask the right questions – and then wait for the right time for the answers to come.
Tarot is immensely valuable as a source of advice. It gives us good ideas about what we maybe should DO.
Tarot is equally valuable as a source of caution. It can give us good ideas about things we should NOT do.
It isn’t a matter of good vs bad. I’m talking about the descriptive quality of things, not our internal judgement about those things. Hot or cold, light or dark, attract or repulse, yin or yang, do or do not; any of it can be good or bad for an individual situation or reading.
Sometimes a good, old fashioned, terse, to the point, flat-out “nope” is the best answer you can get from a reading.
Friday’s blog post is a perfect example of how a resounding NOPE can lead to better things.
Friday’s post? You’re right. There wasn’t one.
I came rolling into the new year with the big idea of blogging Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with this, your friendly neighborhood weekend newsletter. I also came rolling in full well knowing that part time, creative and intuition driven ventures never go to plan. (Ducks? Rows? Nope. Squirrel Rave? Wouldn’t have it any other way.
This is the week when our block was getting line replacements and upgrades. I’m very OK with that because I personally am a huge fan of safe, clean water and functional indoor plumbing.
I’m equally good with shelving the post for the day when the jackhammers and trench diggers were bringing concentration and focus to a halt. Writing that day was a big nope.
Thus we were back to my second favorite internet meme
Interestingly enough, the post was about a three card yes/no reading with a big old nope for the answer.
We can talk about how to do a yes/no reading and the Zombie Cat alter ego persona thing on another day. I do yes/no readings for kicks and giggles mostly, but they always have a useful thread of real insight buried int them, too. They can be helpful in nudging things one way or another when you really can’t make up your mind about something. Really big, important life decisions are better served by a more traditional layout style, but this layout is for small but not ignore-able decisions. These readings really are like Two-Face’s coin toss in Batman or that famous pool ball toy.
click cover to order
My question was about should I do a “My Tarot Valentine” series this year, like the readings from past years that I have collected into an eBook by the same name. On one hand, I really am not feeling it this year. On the other hand, romance readings are fairly popular and top of mind around Valentine’s Day. and the whole point of doing all of this is to help people sort things out. (“Tarot doesn’t tell you what is going to happen in life, Tarot helps you figure out what to do when life happens”)
Long story short, the answer is no.
I don’t stop there with my yes or no readings. I look at what message beyond yes or no that the cards used to determine the answer may have to offer. In this case, The Sun, the six of wands, and the ace of pentacles. I’ll spare you the behind the scenes thought process, but I distill the message down to “do what makes you feel the most at peace with the topic an happiness and income will follow in time.”
The really cool/weird thing is that these two NOPEs conspired to spark a brainwave. If it weren’t for the coincidental nope to writing on Friday, I would have posted as scheduled and set it aside as done rather than have another two days to ponder the whole thing. If the cards had been a yes instead of a no, I wouldn’t be writing about this whole process at all and instead would be trying to drum up a new “My Tarot Valentine Series.
As is often the case with this kind of work, synchronicity conspired to spark an idea, one I hope will allow Tarot to be helpful to somebody, somewhere.
I’m doing “My Tarot Valentine” – but not in the usual romance focused pink hearts and roses sort of way. Oh no. You aren’t getting off that easy if you you dare read this year.
This year you will be asked to throw some love at your mirror. This year the romance will rebound. This year we are going to do a study in the suit of wands – your relationship with yourself. If you can’t be happy in a relationship with yourself alone, how can you hope to be happy in a relationship with someone else?
Don’t get me wrong. Love, romance, marriage, partnerships are all vitally important. Especially if you’ve found that person that fits you like air fits your lungs. But for those who want that, but haven’t discovered it yet, the hallmark holiday can be, let’s just say, annoying.
Wands are our inner passions Wands are our inner fire. Maybe their light can show us all a good way to go this February.
Interactive: Please watch the video and choose your card.
After the reveal, scroll down for your card reading.*
The people and the numbers have spoken.
I’ve gotten some nice feedback about the “you choose” style of readings. It makes the reading feel more personal than a single collective card BUT the shorter format is better than the longer layouts. I’m still tweeking the timing to give enough time to choose and enough time to see your card. That part will improve in coming weeks.
So BEHOLD! One card meditation readings are back but in you choose style! I plan to do these as a guidance card for the week, but if you have any suggestions or feedback as we go along, I’m open to that – and so are the comments below. Or click over to the Ask Me Anything page and, well, you know what to do. Unless I hear something drastically different, I plan to flow with this for a while. The general plan is for “You Choose” on Mondays, “Learn With Me” posts on Wednesdays, Freestyle on Fridays (I won’t promise those will even be Tarot related) and the weekly Substack newsletter at some point during the weekend.
THAT being said, let’s get on to the good stuff, the cards.
Nine of Cups
I hear “happy endings” from a song that I don’t recognize. Might be something from the 90s, but I can’t dial it in enough to tell. This card is about just exactly that – happy endings.
Classically this card is often associated with contentment and family / holiday gatherings. I often get a fall & winter holiday vibe from it. This feels more like a January card – the holidays are in the rear view mirror and last year is well and truly tucked away.
Earlier today, Theresa Reed posted her card of the week as the Fool…new beginnings. These cards are two sides of the same large zeitgeist energy.
If you chose this card, this is a good vibe week. Things are wrapped or wrapping up in a good way that makes room to roll up your sleeves and get after whatever is next.
Ace of Cups
Cups typically symbolize emotion, intuition, and our closest relationships be they friends, family or romance. The ace always seems closer to the emotion and intuition aspect of the suit than the relationship aspect of it. That is very much the case for today. This card feels more off to the side and individualized than the nine does.
The nine feels like the big, collective energy card but the ace feels much more one to one. There is no way for me to ever know this, but it would be interesting to how many people chose which card. I wonder if more people picked the “collective” card and fewer people picked this one because this is the one they really needed.
If you picked the Ace of Cups today, first of all, well done for following your own intuition instead of the collective energy. This card feels like a validation of just that – your own creativity and instincts. “Muse” comes to mind. Your creative muse may well drop something in your lap soon, if it hasn’t happened already. When inspiration comes, this card is encouraging you to follow it at the same time it is giving you a pat on the back for your natural ability to hear and follow that kind of inspiration.
Judgement
This card stands out as being the only major arcana card of the three.
The energies this week may be important for you and are worthy of your attention and contemplation. Pay attention to the spirit part of your mind, body & spirit life balance.
Give yourself second chances. Never waste a good second chance.
By the same token, use your heart and head so that a second chance isn’t needed. Honor what you know and need and what you know you need. the first time around.
As a secular person, the religious iconography in Pamela Smith’s artwork for this card is always more annoying than inspiring for me. If you picked this card but it just isn’t resonating, by all means, please look for the inspiration you feel. Try googling the Judgement card and looking at other decks to see if another version of the card speaks to you more than this one.
I’ve found that many decks rely on this kind of imagery and options are hard to find. My favorite right now is “Karma” from Ellen Dugan and Mark Evans’ Witches Tarot which uses and eclipse and the term karma to bring ideas like contemplating the consequences of our choices and renewal. There may be dark time during an eclipse but light returns on the other side.
Thank you all for reading. Next up, in Learn With Me, we continue two card Lenormand readings.
See you at the next sip!
*if it went by too fast – left was 9 of cups, center was ace of cups and right was Judgement.
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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