Sage Sips is Tarot in the time it takes to sip your coffee
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New loot* from publishinggoblin.com and Seven Dane Asmund’s recent Kickstarters. With its consistent, stellar quality I recommend Seven Dane Asmund’s work. The story and lore he’s woven around the Alleyman / Alleyway card decks is almost burgeoning mythology. I’m looking forward to working with this new deck, just like the Alleyman’s Tarot has been a delight from the moment it arrived. It really is a masterful deck. It is the Stradivarius of Tarot decks. I suspect this is the equivalent in Oracle decks, or at least one of the best.
I suspect one of the things that raises it a notch above others is the way it lifts up and promotes the collective of artist who contribute to the deck. I see you, Seven. Bringing all of this together and giving the artists all due recognition, the storytelling of the Alleyman lore and podcast, the quality of the physical products…all of it together is genius. Respect.
Intuitively I feel pulled to do this a little differently. Instead of a methodical “learn with me” series like we did with the Publishing Goblin’s Oracle Dice. Let’s just jump in with both feet and USE this thing for daily meditation readings. I began reading cards with an Oracle deck (Medicine Cards by David Carson and Jamie Sams) There was nothing methodical there – just a Fool-like step off the cliff while still tethered to the guidebook. A sort of psychic bungee jump, it wasn’t until after I switched to the classic RWS that I began to really understand how card symbolism and pure intuition worked together. It might be fun to take the jump in and have at it approach but bring that hard-won understanding and years of experience along for the ride.
I hope you’ll join me. We’ll explore the deck together, but without a plan. You never know when or where you’ll meet the Alleyman.
*Not shown the other two death card enamel pins. They are already gifted to my son the scare actor. So proud. (shout out to Hundred Acres Manor – check them out if you are around Bethel Park PA this fall!)
Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee.
The light that you shine is a reflection of the star that guides you.
I’m currently reading The Witches Coin by Christopher Penczak. In it he writes:
“The way you look at the world is the way the world looks back.” and “how you see the world is how the world sees you.”
This reminds us of the two way flow, the interconnection between our inner intentions and the outer world. Affirmations, actions all conspire to co-create the world we desire.
Like attracts like. Birds of a feather flock together.
The Star is traditionally a card of hope and success. Today it feels like a promise. If you look for good, you’ll find it. If you look for connection, you’ll find it because if you make that the lense through which you see your world, that is how the world will see you, attracting like-minded people and like-energy circumstances to you.
Choose well the star that guides you because that is the light by which the world sees you – and the kind of world you will see.
Sage Sips members get longer, detailed one card readings by email included in the membership along with discounts on larger layouts, special offers and exclusive content. Join HERE.
Anyone can order private Tarot readings by email or video 24/7 no appointment needed HERE.
KISS as in “keep it simple stupid.” I frequently have to remind myself of that timeless little piece of advice. This summer definitely has a “keep it simple” vibe so far.
Just like pulling weeds from a garden, things grow better when the weeds are out of the way. It’s a clarion call to clarity if you will. Open spaces and clean energy are a path to prosperity.
And apparently also alliteration.
When it’s brutally hot out, when it is summer solstice and maximum yang, that calls us to adapt and respond with maximum yin. Think watermelon at a summer picnic – a very yin food to nourish and comfort on a very yang day.
It feels like a season of relentless simplification and lightening our load. I’m thinking Ten of Wands energy: Put down the unnecessary and get out of your own way.
I’ve been given the advice to reintroduce myself and my work periodically. It’s a chance to welcome new followers and thank The old ones. The change of seasons seems to be the natural time to do that. Summer solstice is in two days, so this is as good of a time as any to say hello for the season.
This long post is everything all in one go. I know I’ve been harping on re-introductions, explanations and promotions a lot lately – but writing it all down has helped me to organize and, you know, simplify. Sometimes writing is as much a process of self-discovery as it is an act of self-expression. Thank you all for your patience with that process. There will be less promotion and more Tarot content moving forward I swear!
Here we go:
Meet Your Reader
I’m Sage and I’ve been reading cards since 1993, professionally since around 2003. I started with online work under my old internet handle “Baihu” on Keen, Advice Trader, and AllExperts. After that I worked independently with my old website modernoracletarot.com and its blog Tarotbytes. In 2018 there was transitional rebranding to TaoCraft Tarot. Since 2023 everything is under the name Sage Words Tarot on the website and socials. My current blogs areSage Sips and Sage’s Other Words.
Free, Three, One
In addition to the free general audience Tarot readings on the blog and socials, I offer private distance readings in THREE layouts, THREE formats and THREE prices. No appointment is needed for distance readings.
I offer ONE live reading in ONE format at ONE price, by appointment only.
Sage’s Sip (one card meditation) for general advice, food for thought or a highly focused follow up to a recent larger reading with me – $5
Eclipse (three card pathway) shows fading energies, current message, and growing energies. Shows the path you are on – $15
TaoCraft (five card full layout) gives your energy path like the eclipse layout but adds pivot point (advice & choices) plus an alternate path cards – $30
Seasonal and Special Request
Available by special request or seasonal special offers.
Email format only
To request one of these when they are off season, please contact me
Modern Oracle – (seven cards) the same features as the TaoCraft layout plus additional “helping energies” and “potential challenges” cards – $40
Year Ahead (five cards) one theme card for each of the four seasons ahead and an advice card for the year as a whole – $25
Time Flow (four cards) designed to help us get organized: Let it rest, let it go, line it up, and let it flow.
Formats
Email: Pdf document sent to your email that includes a photo of your real world cards, a detailed explanation of the cards and a psychic summary with crystal energy and intuitive aromatherapy suggestions
Private share video: video reading files are too large to attach to an email. Pre-recorded video readings are privately shared with you through my YouTube channel and can only be accessed through the link that I will email ONLY to you.
InkMagick: pen and paper handwritten reading sent by USPS available to US residents only. Available in one and three card layouts. Members discounts are not available for InkMagick physical paper readings.
Schedules in advance – no same day appointments are available
Five Card format only – $30
Includes follow up email and photo of your real world layout
Membership
Sage Sips memberships are through my ko-fi page – join here
$5 per month
Members receive up to 3 FREE one card Sage’s Sip Tarot readings by email per calendar month, discounts on larger and seasonal layouts, random special offers, DM access and occasional exclusive content.
REMINDER: members please request your monthly free readings through ko-fi DM or by contacting me here (link above)
Ask Me Anything
Ask any question through the Ask Me Anything website page and get a FREE answer as a blog post (not a private response) Spam and inappropriate questions are deleted and blocked.
Party and in-person readings are currently closed.
All policies and disclaimers apply to all readings in all formats. You can read the details here, including appointment policies for the live readings.
In short, this is a customized, ephemeral folk art service. No refunds or exchanges are available. These readings are intended for personal enrichment, entertainment, general advice and as a spiritual practice. They do not predict the future. No medical, legal or third party questions please.
Accepted payment: PayPal via ko-fi checkout for distance readings. PayPal invoice for live readings.
Valid email required to participate.
There you have it. Welcome everyone. I appreciate all of you. Thank you so much for reading!
See you at the next sip!
Sage Sips blog is Tarot in the time it takes to sip your coffee (or whatever beverage you like this time of day)
Private Readings by email / recorded video are OPEN, no appointment needed.
Three of Swords: The first step in healing a broken heart is acknowledging it exists. It’s ok not to be ok. You don’t have to be ok. You only need to be. Moment by moment, day by day it slowly gets better. Dharma Drum Mountain gives the best advice I’ve ever seen for dealing with heartache and problems.
Face it
Accept it (accept it is real, not that it is right – more on that later)
Deal with it
Let it go
Nine of Pentacles: It’s a good place. It’s a good day. It’s OK to be OK. You don’t have to be broken. You don’t have to be overjoyed. You might be (or be on the road to being) one of the lucky ones. At the same time, you don’t have to be anyone else’s savior either. You only need to be. The good things around you will take care of the rest.
The Wheel of Fortune: Up or down, we are all riding the same wheel. As the wheel of life turns, your direction up or down depends on which way you look. Shift your perspective and you are suddenly moving toward instead of away from and vice versa.
Even with your choice, this is still a collective energy reading. You get to choose which card was for you, but the card’s message was still drawn from the larger, Zeitgeist, collective energy today.
Choosing to participate at all led you to the three descriptions together. If one of the other interpretations matches you better – that’s OK too!! The process still brought you to a message that resonates with you. That’s what really matters. Keep eyes and ears open and your right message will find you, one way or another.
Want a truly personalized, private, just-for-you reading? Email and recorded video readings are open now – no appointment needed, prices from $5 to $30 total cost, no hidden fees or per minute rates.
Email readings have a picture of your individual real-world card layout. Videos show your cards being drawn. No matter whether I type it or say it – you get the same reading and the same message. It makes no difference to the process if I say it to a mic, type it on a keyboard to tell you live on a phone call. The words are the same regardless of how the words get to you.
Ask Zombie Cat anything (link below) to get a free Tarot reading answer in the blog.
Happy Pride Month! I hope you know by now that this is a lgbtquia2+ safe space.
We are past the “unofficial” Memorial Day start to summer. It’s officially meteorological summer and hurricane season here in the northern hemisphere.
To make it super-duper official, Zombie Cat is shambling.
Zombie Cat yes/no readings throw caution to the wind and answer any questions you want with the caveat that these readings have at least a 50% chance of being dead wrong. So ask me, I mean, Zombie Cat anything – at your own risk of course. Zombie Cat readings are all tongue in what’s left of his cheek entertainment only.
Zombie Cat shambles through the summer until the equinox. For anyone new since last summer, meet Zombie Cat.
“People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint – it’s more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly… time-y wimey… stuff.”
– Doctor Who in the “Blink” episode written by Steven Moffat.
There are two words that make me cringe a little when I read (or hear) them in a Tarot question: “Will” and “When”.
Predictions and time are knotty subjects in this work.
Predictions are actually a scientific thing. A scientific prediction is in many ways an expert opinion about what should happen based on existing data and past results. For example, we can predict where in the sky Mars will be a year from now based on laws of gravity, planetary motion, existing observations and so on. As I understand it, that is the kind of “prediction” that a law of physics or scientific principle has to be able to make in order for the principle to be considered valid within the scientific method.
Science spends so much time and energy bashing and demeaning “psychic predictions” when they are, in essence, the same as the scientific kind of predictions. The psychic reader is an objective observer, knows human nature, and can see trends that the person getting the reading may not see. A Tarot reader can predict where things are going in a relationship just like a scientist can predict where Mars is headed over the next year. The only real difference is psychic predictions are based on non-linear logic and de facto psychology instead of linear logic and hard data.
And that is looking at it from a very superficial, everyday experience point of view. This is Isaac Newton kind of stuff. It’s like predicting that when an apple detaches from the tree, it will fall down. What if we go a just a little bit quantum about it?
Think Schrodinger’s Cat.
In theory, once the experiment is set up and started, the cat could come out of it alive or not. But why not both if you are into zombies? Or neither one if the cat suddenly ceased to exist? Disappearing / Zombie Cat could happen…it’s just extreme magnitudes of unlikely as I understand the BBC Horizon Series’ program “Parallel Universes” (hosted by Dr. Michio Kaku, based on his book “Parallel Worlds”)
When the moment of discovery is still in the future, the possibility and attendant probability exists for all outcomes. In the mysterious and undetermined future, all four conditions exist, even our unlikely disappearing / undead pet. Can you predict which way THAT is headed using nothing but your brain and handful of Tarot cards? If you “predict” the more likely dead vs alive construct, is that psychic or science? If you predict Zombie Cat, is that quackery or was the intuitive vision simply dialed into a different part of a far flung multiverse?
Zombie Cat may well exist out there. We don’t know because multiverses, as the video says, is unproven. No-cat and Zombie Cat might be out there, but they just don’t make the jump from possible to probable to IS, at least not in this world. All potentials exists until “the wave collapses” and the moment becomes NOW instead of future, and then slips instantly into the past. Now and Past are fully collapsed probability waves. They exist – ska-doosh! – done deal, nothing to predict. The future on the other hand, that’s a different animal still.
Now, just to make things really interesting, let’s introduce Zombie Cat to Alice the Vampire.
In the movie Twilight, the psychic vampire Alice could see the future insofar as people have decided what they want to do. If someone changes their mind or changes their action, then her vision changes. She can predict but with uncertainty. Her predictions are predicated on the course people are on, not any one fixed outcome. Alice the vampire’s visions and Zombie Cat’s existence are a matter of probability, not “accurate prediction.” And so it is with Tarot and psychic readings.
Let’s say our cat has human-like intelligence and has a choice rather than being a victim of circumstance as in the classic thought experiment. Using the Einstein gunpowder version of things, what if there was some choice the cat could make or some action it could take that would keep the gunpowder from exploding? What if it could disconnect the fuse? Now how do you make predictions under that set of conditions?
Imagine your psychic vision was of a dead cat? (a 50% probable outcome in the original experiment.) What if the cat heard you make that “psychic prediction” and blew out the fuse when it otherwise wouldn’t have? Was the prediction wrong?
Will you get that job? I dunno. Did you apply for it? Update your resume? Schedule an interview? Check the classifieds for other options? (What has the cat done to keep the powder from exploding) Has the person doing the hiring made any decisions or taken any actions? (collapsed the probability wave)
A reading can’t predict a specific outcome, but it can give you advice and it can help you make decisions that nudge the probabilities of getting the job in your favor such as be flexible (4 of swords), emphasize your skills and experience (The Emperor) or show you’d be a hard working team player (3 of coins). A good advice reading is like the psychic yelling at the cat in the thought experiment bunker to blow out the fuse to improve the chances that it won’t blow up.
When will you get married? I dunno. The future is just as wibbly-wobbly as the Doctor told us. But Tarot can give you ideas about how to bring love and happiness of all sorts of things into your life. Intuition can help you make the best possible choices along the way, not predict what lies at the end of the road.
If you do nothing, take no advice, make no choices, then it is all just a coin toss. You might get anything from an explosion right up to a Zombie Cat. But who knows? Meeting a friendly Tarot reading Zombie Cat might be a lot of fun.
Seriously…meet Zombie Cat at 2015 prices…get your own private three card reading by email HERE ($15) or Ask Zombie Cat ANYTHING and get a FREE ZOMBIE CAT Tarot answer in the blog.
Videos by Minute Physics, via youtube.com creative commons permissions Please watch! I highly recommend them!
Sage Sips blog is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee
Does this collective energy reading resonate for you? If not, private readings are available HERE
In this series of “Choose Your Card” posts, we are looking at topics instead of time. Instead of a “Card of the day” or a “look at the week ahead” let this reading guide whatever is on your mind.
At the same time, I’ll frame the reading through the lens of a major arcana card. We can grow our understanding of they major arcana card through the other cards.
I love when things have a little nuance, depth and complexity. This format adds YOUR intuition to the reading because YOU CHOOSE which card carries the best message for you. The lower cards help us understand the upper card and vice versa.
Choose a card.
Pause the video if you need more time to decide.
Restart to see the reveal.
Today’s major arcana companion card is the Magician. The magician often symbolizes manifestation, transformation, attraction. These are all about energy and energy is all about flow.
King of Pentacles: Manifesting money is one thing, but knowing what you want the money FOR is the real magic. If you want money to pay your bills and meet your needs focus on having those things, not on the money itself. Focus on the thing, not the money that helps you get it. More so if that thing the money helps you get is something intangible, one step beyond material things.
For example, think of someone who thinks they want money for an expensive car, but what they really want is the attention the car brings or the self worth that the attention brings. Focusing on manifesting or attracting money won’t be as powerful as focusing on the end product and core issue. In this example, don’t focus on gaining money, focus on gaining feelings of self-worth. Something like that is the real treasure that the Magician manifests and the King of of Pentacles protects.
Nine of Swords: Sometimes worry is worse than useless. Use real world stress management strategies to calm anxiety so your fear doesn’t become self fulfilling prophecy.
In their brilliant 1988 Oracle deck “Medicine Cards” Jamie Sams and David Carson frame the seemingly timid rabbit as a fearless warrior.
A rabbit could easily be paralyzed by fear. Bunnies are small, soft and don’t have a lot of protection. There are a bunch of bigger animals who would love to eat rabbit for dinner. But no. Rabbits use their small size to hide and their speed to run to that shelter. They are alert and literally get the jump on danger by being quick to run. Rabbit lives in happiness and contentment in the middle of a dangerous world by using its strengths which aren’t obvious at first. . Rabbit is a lesson in how to live with fear by facing it and dealing with it without wallowing in anxiety and potentially calling those fears into reality.
The nine of swords, as with rabbit, reminds us to deal with fears in real world ways so we don’t unintentionally activate the magician’s powers and call empty worries to us.
The Fool: A new beginning is the easiest magic of all. Take a deep breath. Remember every moment is a new one. Now begin again.
It’s said that every day above ground is a good one. It is also said that there is no time like the present. Clocks and calendars are man-made inventions. Life and energy is under no obligation to follow them.
There is only one moment: right here and right now. You can use it as a fresh start any time you want.
Thanks for watching and reading! Sage Sips blog is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee See you at the next sip!
Zombie Cat Yes/No readings are 100% guaranteed to contain words and have a 50% chance of being dead wrong.
It’s almost that time of year.
Life and the squirrel rave have finally forced me to get a little organized and simplify for 2024
Short and sweet: I have THREE layouts and THREE prices all of the time
Modern Oracle (5 cards, $30)
Eclipse (3 cards, $15)
Sage’s Sip (1 card, $5)
BUT I have lots of other layouts that are only available seasonally by email only.
June 1, 2024 is the start of ZOMBIE CAT’S SUMMER SHAMBLE
June 1 to September 1 Zombie Cat Yes/No readings are $10 for members, $15 for non-members. This layout gives a yes or no answer to ANY question (see disclaimer) plus insights based on the three cards we use to get your yes/no answer. What follows is an actual reading, used with permission, but lightly edited to protect privacy. More about yes/no readings coming soon.
Witches Tarot by Ellen Dugan and Mark Evans copyright 2012 used with permission Llwellynpublishing.com
Q: I’ve been going through a lot lately. Things are changing fast and I’ve been learning so many things the hard way. Are things ever going to calm down?
A: Maybe but leaning yes.
My hunch is that it is actually more yes than maybe, but with the downside that it won’t kick in for a few more months yet. In my minds eye I see the dogs howling at the moon that you see on some many Moon cards. For some reason that says “dog days of summer” to me. Maybe this is pure projection on my part, because this time of year with the sun, heat and humidity makes my fur more gnarly than usual. It feels like the current energy pattern is going to hang around at least as long as the hot weather. “Things will turn with the weather, bluer skies and sweaters.” Knowing where you are, I’m remembering painting outside on a 80 degree November not so long ago. I’m thinking don’t hold your breath for any real relief until a serious, growing season ending, killing frost. Sort of a big harvest moon, October–December vibe. That would go along with the 4 of Wands, which is about foundations, and community celebrations.
The 4 of Wands also speaks to the new place to live. Yes, it will become foundational, in time. I ‘hear’ “make a house a home” plus something about grounding or earth…this is gonna sound more nuts than usual. I don’t know what the issues are around the new address, but it feels like the energy there needs both cleared and grounded, swept of a lingering funk that pre-dates you and rooted and grounded … settled if you will… on an energy level to make a way for more literal grounding and calming to manifest. This is weird, purely intuitive, and has no basis in science or tradition that I know of on a conscious level. I get the image of sprinkling a 50/50 mixture of salt and diatomacious earth….literally just by pinches at a time…along the baseboards, along the perimeter walls of the house. Don’t worry about inner walls, or specific rooms, just the walls that join the outside. No need to make a big mess, just a ceremonial line using little pinches and clear intention. Sage and smuding are too airy and ethereal. This calls for a tangible bam of something.
The Ace of Swords is associated with air. This feels a little more cautioning than reassuring / advising like the 4 of wands was. Swords and air have to do with intellect. Don’t overthink during this upcoming season, now through the end of the year in any case. This also would go along with the literal grounding / clearing house thing, as being needed to balance the airy creative energy.
The Ace of Swords also reminds me of something you said when we were talking about which deck you’d like to use for this. You were talking about being more “ethereal….like a good spiritual student” with the other deck, but went with this one because it was “bubbling up inside.” I warrant that listening to the stuff that bubbles up inside IS what it means to be a good spiritual student. It is easy to equate spirituality with ethereal, good with serene and so on. This card, this part of the yes/no reminds me of what we were saying yesterday, if it seems like life is beating on you…it is. And that is ok. It first of all is probably because Life knows you are badass enough to deal with it, and second of all, chaos and pains in the ass are just as spiritual as rainbows and unicorns. Remember that article you sent, and that Alan Watts quote? “You are a function of what the whole universe is doing just like a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.”
In other words, don’t sweat it, you GOT this. The ocean of life, love and spirituality touch the great white shark the same as the angelfish. Rest will come in its time. Meanwhile, enjoy the swim. You wouldn’t be in the deep end if you couldn’t handle it. This is a chance to discover your inner orca, have a glass of wine, watch Shark Week on TV….that kind of thing. Recharge? Sure. You eat stress for breakfast. You got this.
The Ace of Wands continues in that vein with a more inward turn. Knowing that spirituality takes all forms, so does self-care. Like the human has said before about this card….carry a torch for yourself. Accept your passions and desires, strengths and weakness for what they are…both your increadable resiliancy and your sincere desire for a day off. Need a break? Take it! With gusto and passion! Tell it all to leave a message, and take a spa day. Which I guess takes us back to wine and shark week, but you get the idea. Let your passions shine, even if it is a passion for kicking things to the curb and carving out the peace and quiet you want. Want peace and quiet with burning passion! Or something like that.
So YES things will settle, but that process can be helped along. You have been answered “the hard way” because you can handle it. Rest hasn’t come yet because you still have a bit more to do. It may not feel like it, but you can keep on keeping on. Plus maybe this is a time to explore the gritty, gnarly, not–so-ethereal side of spirituality. Don’t ask me why, but Sam Elliot style movie characters come to mind…the grizzled antihero, Deadpool kind of thing. Not saying that you are that way, just that might be a good mental cosplay, a way to find a way to have a little fun with the chaos until the rest really does come, which it will, but later. Kind of like when the human let’s me come out and play and unleash a little Zombie snark on the world. It’s all just in good fun to get you through until that change in the literal and energetic weather.
Braaaiiiiinns!
Zombie Cat
Entertainment only. Zombies don’t exist and these readings don’t predict anything. Use with caution – the ideas here might change your perspective and improve your life choices.
Don’t vibe with your collective energy card? Private distance readings are open. No appointment needed for email or paper.
PAGE OF WANDS: “Know thyself” Act natural. Do you, and the path of least resistance will nudge you in the right direction.
That isn’t to say we should melt and fade at the first sign of a challenge. There is a lot to be said for persistence. At the same time, insanity is defined as doing the same thing persistently while expecting a different result. Sometimes roadblocks are there for a reason.
As a general rule, walking in harmony with the real you is the best way to go
THREE OF WANDS: Make plans, but keep your eyes open for unexpected opportunities. Good things come to those who wait.
Another way to say it is don’t sleepwalk through this thing on your mine (today, tomorrow, the upcoming week, a relationship, a career – whatever you had on your mind when you picked your card) Observe deeply. Little details might be the bright light bulb you need to light the way.
FIVE OF WANDS: Life is never all rainbows and roses. Train. Know what to do when the inevitable bad day happens for things to be ok in the end. Charge your batteries before the storm.
A paramedic instructor once said “prepare for the emergency and the emergency goes away.” When you are ready for life’s little stresses, the stress can go away even if the situation doesn’t fundamentally change.
Thanks for watching the video and coming to the blog for a few extra thoughts.
Shrek: No! Layers! Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. You get it? We both have layers
from “Shrek” copyright 2001 Dreamworks Pictures, quote via imdb.com
Layers mean complexity. Layers apply to all sorts of things that are actually more complex than they seem at first glance; ogres, onions, cakes and – you guessed it – Tarot.
Reading Tarot for yourself is actually quite simple. In a couple of hours I could teach you to do good DIY readings for yourself. (Related: PeaceTarot ebook)
Reading for other people is another story. High level professional readings are, like onions and ogres, more complex than it seems on the surface. That’s the whole point of them. A professional reading can gives you extra layers of insight and experience that you can’t get alone. Two heads are better than one. Two eyes give depth perception (related post: parallax) The two of us working together gives your reading another layer of understanding.
Sometimes layers talk about authenticity. Sometimes you have to peel back a few layers to get to the real heart of the matter. We’ve talked about authenticity and public Tarot practice before, after my Modern Oracle Tarot work was re-branded to TaoCraft Tarot and re-branded again to Sage Words Tarot.
That’s all well and good, but consider another aspect of layers: growing new ones. Interestingly, actual onions grow on the inside. New layers are added at the core while older outside layers get dry and thin and ultimately fall away. In this, onions give us another useful metaphor.
In the medical field, and no doubt many other professions, continuing education is required. You have to keep learning and keep current if you want to keep working. Whether it is required or not, whether it is career related or not, lifelong learning is a respected mark of excellence. Learning isn’t just formal education. Learning comes from experience and experimentation and the living of life. Artists’ work evolves over time. Any person’s point of view can evolve over time.
As I’ve learned and gained experience, the original “Modern Oracle” layout has evolved too. I’ve re-named it as it changed and changed it back to “Modern Oracle” as my website and blog evolved.
Back in the early 2000s I wrote the initial Modern Oracle layout meanings to create a bridge from old fashioned, predict-the-future, fortune telling layouts to a more modern advice, guidance and empowerment reading. I wrote the layout specifically to show the power that your choices have over your future. Cards that once were called “past, present and future” in older readings became “lessons from the past, current situation, and moving forward.” Predicting the future evolved into making an action plan.
Now it goes one step further. The reading is about dynamic energy flows, not a concrete road through time. Now, the layout is both about your choices and a read of the energy conditions ahead. Think of it as being like a GPS traffic update with a weather report. It is a guide to help you decide which way to travel and a general idea of the conditions you will most likely be travelling in.
Card 1, lessons from the past, became Fading Energies, symbolizing energies that are decreasing in influence and things that need less of your attention than before.
Card 2, the current situation, is now Current Energies. This reflects the energies that are strongest, and deal with things that need your attention most needed in this present moment.
Card 3, moving forward, is Growing Energies, reflects the energies that are growing, might need more attention soon or are gaining influence in the path you’ve currently chosen. It still isn’t predictive. It is information for decision making. Just like with gps driving condition updates, if you know about a traffic jam ahead then you can choose another road.
Card 4 will remain Choices. It is still placed under the current energies card and at the center of the layout because that is still the place of power. Empowering your choices is still the heart of the reading. In the GPS analogy, this suggests a better road if traffic is heavy ahead, or it can encourage you to stay the course you are on if conditions are good. Either way, you are still the driver. In the end you are the one who chooses where to drive and how to get there no matter what the GPS or the Tarot cards say.
Card 5 is still Alternative Path just like before, showing the most open alternative path you if you decide a change is needed.
Card 6 Helping Energies and card 7 Potential Challenges are just what the name says they are. Change the five card Modern Oracle layout into the 7 card TaoCraft layout that is only available seasonally.
Over the years. the five card layout has proven its value. It’s useful, insightful, practical,gets right to the point and is affordable. It has the best balance of quality, detail and affordability.
Ogers and onions are complex, but they are always evolving and growing new layers. Reading Tarot is the same way. There are complexities, but sometimes the best new thing is taking off those old outer layers to reveal the green and fresh life underneath.
This is the summer of simplification.
Starting in May 2024 my private readings will have 4 formats, 3 layouts and 2 levels of availability.
Four Formats:
Email: my specialty
Pre-recorded video: private – only you will get the link to the video.
Pen and Paper: old school snail mail, archaic but powerful
Live phone or zoom call
Three Layouts
Modern Oracle (Five Card) – $30
Eclipse (Three Card) – $15
Sage Sip (One Card – $5
Two availabilites
No appointment needed, order anytime (email, video, paper)
Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee – or whatever you are sipping at the moment.
Updated today from a September 2020 post
Heart of Stars Tarot, copyright 2007 Thom Pham, used with permission
Three of Wands. Yes – again.
Different deck, different day, same card. A cool thing happened; about an hour after I filmed the card draw above, I did a private one card reading with a different deck (Steampunk, their favorite) and wouldn’t you know it – Three of Wands. This card is really trying to get our attention.
It also gives us a little insight into how Tarot can be such an endlessly useful tool for something as complex as spiritual guidance or the human psychology. The math is pretty convincing. Let’s start with a one card daily meditation reading. You have one card position raised to the power of 78 possible cards, raised to the power of all the possible keywords and meanings that have been attached to each card over the years, raised to the power of our limitless imagination and intuition.
Even if you leave out the intuition bit, and just look at card numbers, the cards are pretty amazing. Here – let a real expert explain this:
Now, let’s consider that kind of calculation for a full Tarot reading. Never mind a classic 10 card Celtic Cross – let’s just consider my 5 card Modern Oracle layout.
For five layout positions, regardless of the meaning you assign to that position, the first card could be any card from the entire deck. The first card has 78 possible results. The second position has the whole deck minus the first card, which gives 77 possibilities. The third position has the whole deck minus the first two cards for 76 possibilities and so on
If I’m using the online calculator correctly, that means there are over 2 million different card combinations for any given five card layout.
Now add all of the possible card meanings into that mix.
Then raise it all to the infinite possibilities that pure intuition can lend to the reading.
Now you know why we charge the rates that we do. The more cards in a reading, the more complex it becomes, and the more insight, wisdom and raw Tarot experience it takes to make sense out of it all for a client. When you add in ethical, professional conduct – $35 for a five card email reading is insanely affordable.
That is beside the point. The point is that when you consider the mind-boggling number of possible card combinations, a repeating card in disparate circumstances sustained over time is a card definitely worthy of our attention.
The Three of Wands is often associated with things like watchfulness, active waiting, observation, proper timing, or vigilance.
Recently, the energy seemed to flow toward the idea of watching for the right timing, watching for events to happen that would in turn prompt you to action.
Today, the energy is more toward the vigilance end of things. This feeling of watchfulness isn’t timed to a particular action. It isn’t about timing your action just right. It has a more general sense.
This is also an energy connecting the card to the idea of healthy boundary setting. First discover where your best boundaries ARE, then the Three of Wands encourages you to watch over them, maintain them and defend them. Words like “periphery” and “vigilance” come to mind. Based on current events, turbulent times are likely on the horizon. The Three of Wands card is further reminding us to guard our energy and mental health. It is always better to over-prepare than to under-react to such things, be it literal storms or political ones.
Thank you for reading this updated post from the archives. I hope you will use the search bar on the right hand side of the page (or the bottom of the page on mobile) and browse the archives. There are six years of Tarot readings here, more over on “Sage’s Other Words” so chances are you can find something interesting.
The day job is back on a typical schedule so I’m hopeful to have a new “Choose Your Card” Tarot reading for you on Monday.
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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