Welcome to TaoCraft Short Sip Tarot: a one card meditation Tarot reading in the time it takes to sip from your morning coffee.
Today’s card is the Fool, traditionally the first card in the major arcana part of the Tarot deck.
Here we have yet another example how one card can have multiple layers or threads of meaning. Over time, every card has picked up about a bazillion and a half key word meanings and short interpretations.
As we talked about with the Judgement card yesterday, just because one meaning is given for one reading, and another meaning is used in another session or by another reading doesn’t mean that one interpretation was right and the other was wrong. It just goes to show how Tarot has been able to stay relevant as useful tool for insight, understanding and personal growth. With the abundance of key words, a card can adjust to meet the needs and energies of the moment while staying true to its key symbolism and core meaning?
That’s where personal intuition comes in. We all have it. We can all develop it. But sometimes it is easier to just ask someone. I mean, generally speaking anyone can learn to change the oil in their car. With practice and study they could become a really good card mechanic. I could do that – but I don’t want to. I take it to a pro for that. If you don’t want to sort out which thread of meaning a card holds for you, that’s what I’m here for. Not only can I do a full on reading for you, I can consult with you to get a better understanding of a reading you’ve done for yourself. But that’s beside the point.
The Fool card has a couple of core meanings. When that happens in a Tarot card, most of the smaller keyword meanings tend to fall under the heading of the larger core meanings. In this case, the Fool can point toward a new beginning in some way, or it can be a reminder of the value of play and lightheartedness. It is a matter of pure intuition which to use in any given reading that you are doing.
Today, my sense of it the vast general energy out here in the world wide webbernet is pointing toward the playful side of things. I’m not talking about some cutsey sit-com sillyness. Sometimes the Fool card will point to the wisdom that can be spoken through comedy.
In an interview about his book Scorpion’s Gate, author Richard A. Clarke said that sometimes more truth can be told through fiction than nonfiction. The same is true of comedy. A spoonful of laughter helps the difficult ideas go down.
That’s not quite right for today. This is a subtle shift within that core. The energy isn’t as much with the new beginnings side of things, althought if you’ve been needing a push to start something, this could easily be that nudge you’ve been needing.
This isn’t talking about giggly silly play. This isn’t quite talking about learning through humor. It feels like permission.
We’re told that it’s OK to not be OK. That’s true. But it is also OK to be OK. Even in the middle of a time where things are not OK, it is perfectly fine to have a moment where you enjoy something. It is OK to take a moment to play, to allow yourself a moment of enjoyment. Don’t worry – you can get back to being stressed and depressed and all that other stuff in a minute.
Whatever it is, take a deep breath, take a minute, and enjoy.
Q: What does the Universe most want me to know right now? What are my next steps on my life’s path?
A: I love this question!
This is the absolute best kind of question for Tarot. I’m so grateful for the anonymous donor that allowed me to share this question with the blog. It’s a perfect example of what Tarot is most meant to do: to guide us along our life path, not make specific predictions.
Whenever I’m doing a reading with someone for the first time, I try to explain about my layout and how it may differ from the classic layout that inspired it. All of the layouts I offer are either updated versions of classic layouts (like this one) or ones that I’ve written from scratch (like the 7 and 5 card “TaoCraft” layouts). I’ve put the layout explanation in the video. If you want that detail, feel free to watch. If you want to just get to the cards, then scroll on.
If you order any email reading with me this is what you would get: photo of your actual, real-world card layout, general pattern, card by card discussion, and psychic summary that can include things like crystal or aromatherapy suggestions. That part is super individualized and works entirely from intuition. Given that, there are no real promises or guidelines about what the summary will include or not include. The three card pathway reading that follows is an example, used here with permission.
Keep in mind that the energy and message of each person’s reading naturally adapts to that individual’s needs. Some people might need a spiritual frying pan to the face while other people need a gentler touch. As such, example readings ONLY show the general format and process. The actual detail and content varies from person to person. YOUR reading will be unique and tailored to YOUR individual needs, just like this reading was given to this person in this way at this time.
The cards today are:
Energy moving away from you: Nine of Cups
Energy around you: Knight of Swords
Energy moving toward you: Knight of Cups
General Pattern
There isn’t much to say about the pattern in a one or three card layout. That comes more into play for the larger layouts. But you do have two knight cards, which is attention getting in a layout this size. Knights are about action, doing. You are being asked, I think, to take an active responsible role in your well being. If you have a habit of thinking of yourself as a victim, the energies now may be helpful to you if you want to change that thought-habit. But that kind of change is work and requires much effort. There is no shame in talking to experts or professionals who know a lot about such things. I’m not an expert. But the action / knights energy of the reading suggest that you do what you know to do to make things better, seek knowledgeable advice when you don’t know what to do.
Two cups cards hint this has to do with emotions more than external or physical circumstances. That is the mind part of mind-body holistic wellness. It also touches the spiritual aspects of mind-body-spirit in balance. Improvement in any one of those areas is going to have benefits in the other areas. Managing stress / emotional health can support physical situations and vice versa. This is speaking of general principle, NOT about any specific impressions or situations.
Energy Moving Away: Nine of Cups
Cups as a suite represent closest relationships, not just romance as some think. It can include any kind of important relationship: friends, family, children. In this case, it doesn’t feel like the energy is moving away from you as much as it is a change. There is a little bit of advice and a little bit of cautioning here. There is a danger of psyching yourself out a little bit, reading things as more negative than they really are. The advice is to be steady and try to see things as they are and not reading things into it that really aren’t there. If you aren’t sure, ask. The nine of cups in particular has to do with close knit family celebrations and traditions. I see this card a LOT during the fall and winter holiday season. There is a much greater sense of comfort and hospitality with other decks than there is with this one. If you get a chance, google Ellen Dugan’s Witches Tarot for this card. Mark Evans’ artwork for the card captures the feel of your card better than this does.
Seasons change. Families change. Celebrations and holidays change, especially as young ones get older. It is easy to become sad or overly nostalgic. On the other hand, what greater joy than seeing children grow into caring, thriving adults? The nine of cups is a happy card. It showing itself in the ‘moving away’ position does not, in your case, mean that the happiness is moving away from you. That part hints at the risk of you isolating yourself from happiness. Instead of seeing change as a loss of old times, try to embrace change in the family as normal and happy and an accomplishment for everyone. This card is reminding you to celebrate the new times even as the old times move away.
Energy Now: Knight of Swords
The knight of swords is a card of action and daring and courage. The message here is DO something. I get the feeling it has to do with self-care. DO something to take care of yourself. DO something…any small thing that will feed your sense of accomplishment. Do something that is just inside your comfort zone. Find something that you enjoy to no end…DO something that you enjoy and that gives you joy. It’s a pop culture, back of a mug silly little platitude, but one I read that we should “do yourself into a new way of thinking, not think yourself into a new way of doing.” I see that as speaking to the mind-body connection and holistic wellness. I get the feeling that this is also nudging you toward some sort of activity for health and wellness. I don’t take health questions and never ever comment on medical or heath conditions…I’ll post more about that policy in the blog in coming days if you like….but what comes to mind here is something gentle like yoga, walking outside, mild stretching…something that encourages mind/body health and stress reduction. I suggest that you find a class, or consult a holistic wellness expert or at the very least look into some sort of meditation perhaps. Mind-body wellness seems to be a big part of this cards energy and advice.
Energy moving toward you: Knight of Cups
In the old days, this card was the dashing and handsome stranger. Another classic meaning is one of messenger. It is the messenger energy that I’m sensing for you. Hold tight. Wandering what is next and wondering what to do is top of mind for you right now, as we saw in your question. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific, but this card is letting you know that the answers are on the way. I don’t have any sense of the details right now. I know this is exactly the kind of vague, evasive, useless nonsense that skeptics use to criticize intuitive readings of any kind. They aren’t wrong. It’s hard to put this card into words, but I think what this is saying is “God helps those who help themselves” in a sense. Knights suggest discovering your own power and ability to act and do. The knight of cups specifically is letting you know that encouragement and emotional support … likely from spiritual sources … is on the horizon. Stand up for yourself now, and that will help the spirit of good news and a feeling of closeness with your spiritual supports come to you as you walk the path ahead.
Summary
This isn’t a matter of superficial self-confidence. The energy here is about refocusing on the energy of surviving and turning that into an energy of thriving.
Red colors and crystals support the root chakra that has to do with that sort of energy shift. Red jasper, red spinel, anything ruby red colored comes to mind for you. It is a powerful, fire energy.
I also see a red jar candle, something you can safely use. And I get the fragrance of cloves. Not just some pumpkin spice fall blend, but deep rich cloves, maybe a little cinnamon but not much else. If you like fragranced candles or room scents, maybe try something that is very SPICE scented.
Wearing red might be helpful too.
And there the energy steps back.
I hope you find this helpful…that goes both for the person who so generously allowed this AND for all of the blog followers. Please, lets all send thoughts of love and support to each other. An individual reading is very unique, BUT appreciating Tarot and all that is can do is a COMMUNITY. Anyone with an interest in Tarot can lend their energies to helping each other.
Intention is everything in energy work.
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I’m a clairvoyant and I have a confession: The floor is my friend.
I write a lot of one card meditation readings for the TaoCraft Tarot blog. I pulled the Ace of Pentacles, which means that it’s a good day to make friends with your floor.
I’m not suggesting anything weird. Well, at least not THAT weird. You won’t even have to sweep up when you are done. All you need is your feet.
We hear about being “centered” or “grounded” but what does that really mean?
In physics, or at least in my puny understanding of it, electricity goes along the path of least resistance. That’s how lightning rods work. Metal wires provide a safe path for lightning to go into the ground instead of blasting its way through a building.
The emotional kind of grounding is similar. Instead of re-routing a lighting bolt, emotional grounding reshapes strong emotions.
So what does lightning and emotions have to do with the Ace of Pentacles? Emotional grounding is one of the classic meanings for the card. Pentacles as a group are associated with the alchemical element of earth. The literal earth is a safe place to send lightning but symbolically the earth is a safe place to send strong emotions like fear or anxiety.
Connection is key to both types of grounding. Wires connect electricity to the ground. When we feel connected to another person, to a group or to some identity outside of ourselves it helps with the emotional type of grounding.
The mind is a powerful thing. Imagination and visualization are like the wires in a lightning rod. You can use them to make friends with your floor and find a little emotional grounding.
The science kind of grounding was discovered through experiments. Let’s try a mental experiment to see if we can find some of that emotional grounding.
Put your feet flat on the floor.
That’s it.
It doesn’t matter if you are sitting or standing. Just pay attention to your feet touching the floor. Allow yourself to be aware of the actual physical sensation. Let your sense of touch remind you that you are connected to the floor
… and to everything else for that matter. You are part of this whole planet and a member of the entire human race whether you feel that connection right now or not.
It’s a big planet. Earth can handle your worry, your fear, or your anxiety. Imagine any stress that you have right now going through your feet, out into the floor then safely out into the ground – just like lightning goes through the wires of a lightning rod. Give it a try for a few seconds. Right here, right now as you listen to this, feel the floor through your feet and let the floor carry your stress safely away.
Now, how do you feel? How did that little experiment work for you? If you were feeling good when you started, has the quality of that feeling improved at all? Maybe it feels a little more solid or a little more durable than it did at the beginning.
If you were feeling stressed at the beginning of the experiment, did that feeling change at all? Does anything feel even a tiny bit calmer or a little bit more confident?
If not, that’s ok. Failure is always an option in these kinds of exercises, no harm done. You can learn by doing no matter what the results are. It is an easy thought experiment to do. Try this visualization a few different times and you’ll get a sense of whether it is right for you or not.
That’s it. That’s the confession. When emotions run high, the floor is our friend.
Do you have a question about clairvoyants or tarot readings that you’d like to have answered on the podcast? Please visit the clairvoyant confessional podcast page on taocrafttarot.com to submit a question. It doesn’t cost anything except a minute of your time. The link is in the episode description. While you are there, feel free to browse the website for the print only Tarot readings and other blog content.
As always, any podcast follows, blog follows, likes, or shares that you can spare are always greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for listening! I’ll see you on the print side and talk to you next time in the clairvoyant confessional.
Fear and desire are at the root of indecision. We desire to do the right thing. We fear the consequences of doing the wrong thing. We fear harming others with the consequences of our choice. We desire to avoid the responsibility of choosing. We want to avoid the nuisances of minor choices. Fear paralyses.
Consider the alternatives, have a plan B, remind yourself if/when you can reverse directions should you unintentionally make the wrong decision. Think: is your decision (or lack of one) motivated by some desire – including th desire to avoid? Addressing fears about potential outcomes might make a difficult choice little bit easier to make.
New Podcast episode coming soon.
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Maybe it’s a message for me as much as anyone else. But that’s how these things often work. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? My intent is that the blog will help somebody out there somewhere at some time or another, whenever they happen to see this. At risk of sounding like Prince lyrics, the whole point of Tarot is to help any and all of us get through this thing called life
The Four of Swords ties in to several energies that have already stepped forward lately. I still get a strong mental image of the different color flecks in stones from this weeks interactive reading Speckles. It feels like we are at long last getting a respite from the communal, zeitgeist energies that have so strong for the past year or so. It isn’t so much that we are being asked to stay in our lane and stick to our knitting – but rather the communal energy has disengaged and left us to our own devices. It is almost as if the universe has given us a day off to have a play date with ourselves. We are a collective of individuals. There is beauty in diversity. In a very gentle way, today feels like permission to get down with your bad self in a sense, whatever level of frenetic or zen energy that may be for you.
There is also the idea of lifelong learning (Growing Ogres) It is a mark of excellence in any profession. It seems the best of the best are always learning, evolving, growing new onion layers and letting old ones fall away. That’s what a sabbatical is; an opportunity for professors to study more stuff.
It doesn’t have to be forever. A break in the energetic action is a very different thing from being stuck or stagnant or lazy. It certainly isn’t a sign of failure. In Reiki, the five core precepts (letting go of worry, letting go of anger, working honestly, being grateful, being kind) are focused on the present moment. “Just for today” is a liberating, enabling, empowering thought. Just for today, take the Four of Sword’s advice. Just for today, get some rest. Just for today, give yourself a break and work on something else. “Respite”and “Sabbatical” doesn’t mean be unproductive. You can rest one thing while doing something else. Or not.
The ancestors connected at distance using the arcane device known as a “telephone.” Conversation is a minimal connection with our fellow human beings, especially during times like these when in-person companionship isn’t available. Connecting through communication is such a deep and primal need that we have put new technology to that use ever since new technology consisted of banging on a drum or lighting a fire.
Communication is not separate from intuition. If we can speak our insights and feelings across a table , we can bang them, flash them, write them, phone them, video them or email them. We have used intuition at a distance from the beginning. Think “sacred scrolls.” Scrolls are ancient communication at a distance. Intuition and spirit made them sacred.
I’m not saying an email Tarot reading is a sacred scroll, but it goes to show that Tarot at a distance is at least equal to an in-person reading. Arguably, in our time, distance readings have the advantage.
Before the pandemic we were busy, and distance tarot is convenient Tarot. You buy the thing whenever you want, and read the answer whenever you want. No appointment is needed. Distance readings flow seamlessly into your schedule, no matter what your schedule may be.
Because of the pandemic, distance Tarot is the safest Tarot. COVID can’t travel to you through the internet. (Wear your mask! Watch your distance! Wash your hands!)
Distance Tarot is authentic Tarot. You know that it is pure intuition, and not stage mentalism or a ‘cold reading’ based on body language or your answers to leading questions. Your questions are welcome before you order, in your order, and after the reading. Every email reading includes a follow up for any questions that come up during the reading.
Distance Tarot is affordable Tarot. I don’t maintain an office or rent space in a store so I can pass those savings on to you. All of my prices are flat rate, not per minute so you know your full cost up front. Compare my $40 seven card readings to other hour-long sessions.
Tarot, as a whole, has never been mainstream or like other so-called ‘normal’ businesses. That unconventional nature has always been and advantage, but never more so than now, during these unexpectedly stressful times. Distance Tarot readings are arguably better than in-person sessions. They are certainly, at the very least, equal.
Order distance Tarot 24/7, no appointment needed HERE
Today’s Tarot: The Empress. Get some fresh air, or at least refresh the feed on a webcam
The Empress is a major arcana card, and in many ways the feminine counterpart to the Emperor card as you might expect. Minor arcana king cards are protective, outward, proactive leadership and queens are nurturing, care taking leadership. The Emperor and Empress are the same, but with the energy turned up to 11. They are the power couple of the major arcana.
Like many, if not most cards, there are multiple threads of meaning and energy. In addition to nurturing leadership and a sometimes association with growth and fertility, the Empress broadly represents nature. Nature in this case also has multiple connotations. It can talk about the literal, physical natural environment; the plants and birds and rocks and things we can directly experience. Nature includes the inner world, as in nature vs. nurture or being true to your nature.
When a card has multiple threads of meaning, I stop, listen for a minute and see if one thread seems to draw attention more than the others. Today, the part that catches my attention is the simplest and most pleasant: nature-nature. The rocks and trees one.
I vaguely remember a study about natural images. I don’t remember the source or details enough to even try and search for it. I have the impression it was a small study at a college (Emory springs to mind, though I have no logical justification for why) In any case, I can speak to study size or methodology, but the result was the same as the Empress’ advice. Humans benefit by interacting with nature. Naturally (ha!) actually being outside is best. Even a walk down the street or a few minutes on the porch is something. If that isn’t available, the study, if memory serves, suggested that substitute interactions can have a stress reduction benefit, even something as simple as looking at pictures of nature on a computer.
The advice from today’s card is just exactly that. In a world of social distancing and self quarantines, enjoy nature (six feet away from any other humans) or at least find small natural indulgences. A brief touch is better than none: water a houseplant, step out on a porch or fire escape, go to a park, find a live webcam of a zoo or aquarium (or a live volcano – why not?)
It was an idea born out of tragedy, and there is a certain discomfort in writing a book inspired by stories of loss and violence. It feels a little like taking advantage of a disaster, even though the core idea is to help and comfort. Even so, every time I would chicken out, the Muses would take a deep breath, then start whacking me over the head with the idea all over again.
The notion of #PeaceTarot first came around after the September 2012 attack on the American Embassy in Bengazi, Libya. As bad as that was, it was even more discouraging to hear politicians and presidential candidates try to turn those events to suit their own self-serving ends. Their rhetoric was verbal violence heaped on top of violent tragedy. What could one unknown blogger do to speak for peace when some of the country’s most powerful people seemed intent on the opposite? I reached for the one thing literally at my fingertips: the Internet. I posted tarot meditations on Twitter with the hashtag #PeaceTarot and asked other tarot readers to do the same. Some friends picked up the challenge, but after a few days hashtag idea faded along with the headlines. It didn’t trend one bit, so I just chalked the whole thing up as a nice try.
After the mass shooting of school children in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, #PeaceTarot came to mind again. Several friends of mine were genuinely upset by the news. It was a loss that touched every parent in the nation. Maybe this time #PeaceTarot needed to be something more than a few ephemeral tweets. Maybe Tarot could be a source of comfort for anyone moved to emotion after a tragic event, no matter the circumstances. After all, that is what Tarot and psychic readings are really all about. Readings help us understand our situation, ease emotions, and find a way forward – plus maybe find a little inner peace along the way.
Day after day, violence continues; Shootings, bombings, chemical weapons being used and hostages being taken. #PeaceTarot demanded to be written, and for better or worse here it is.
If one person can find one moment of serenity in these few pages, then this book has served its purpose. That one person and that one moment contributes to the sum total of peacefulness that exists in the world. Peaceful thinking and calm emotions change the choices that we make. When we choose differently, then we can literally change our future. Thought by thought, moment by moment, we all can contribute to a more peaceful world for everyone.
Today’s Tarot: Eight of Pentacles – yes, pentacles. This is still resonating with the pandemic. Stay home, don’t touch your face, clean everything, and wash your hands
Back in the long dark days before the webbernets, we had coffee mugs, posters and t-shirts instead of memes.
Somewhere along the way, on something like that, I read “Don’t think yourself into a new way of doing, do yourself into a new way of thinking.” At first I wrote it off as a hallmark grade shallow platitude, but for some annoying reason it stuck in memory along with other 70s debris like the “keep on truckin'” shirt and pet rocks. Much later, after I started working with holistic health, it came in handy as an example of the mind-body connection. The mind-body connection is very much a two way street. Even more than our little leftover platitude would suggest.
It’s true (see the literature review in my dissertation) that changing you mindset, or in other words, “decreasing perceived stress” will have a positive impact on physical well being. It is also true that physical wellness can have a positive impact on our emotional outlook. The idea is to bring mind, body and spirit into best possible balance and function. Books have been written about how to do that. The kicker is where to start, which is very much an individual choice. Do you start on the mental side and work you way into improved physical health or go physical and let the more comfortable body support a more relaxed mind and more pleasant emotions?
Just like Zombie Cat is my answer to Schrodinger’s thought experiment, my thought here is to do both, but that’s another story. I might have to fire up my old holistic health blog for that one.
Today the 8 of Pentacles nudges us to a physical side start. The boilerplate advice these days seems to do something small, however minute, to give yourself a feeling of accomplishment or comfort; make the bed, water the houseplants, brush your hair, change out of those 2 day pajamas into a fresh pair of yoga pants….something. Do yourself into a fresher mental and emotional state while you are at it.
The intuitive feel around this card today is that it is aimed with direct targeting cross hairs at the privileged among us (myself included) who can stay home with functioning internet. uninterrupted utilities and pick up groceries. If you are fed, safe and well, you have no business complaining.
If you are out there in the thick of it, then the “do” in this case is all about self-care. The “do yourself into a new way of thinking” thing strikes me as way too snippy, and judgy, implying that anybody’s thinking needs changed. If anything, the “change” is to decrease stress and find some tiny granule of hope in it all. To “do” yourself into that, take care of yourself, even if right now that care comes in the form of a crappy cup of coffee or a five minute chair nap. And thank you for what you do.
The cure for holiday stress is to celebrate YOUR holiday, not other people’s.
Christmas cards – CHECK!
Gifts mailed to out of state family (which is everybody except the hubster and the padawan) – CHECK!
Cookies – batch one, devoured – CHECK!
More cookies coming? You betcha.
All that is left is a grocery store run for the big meal itself.
This has been the lowest key, biggest Zen, fewest fucks given Christmas ever. I probably forgot something really big and embarrassing. But then there is the part about fewest….well, you know.
Here we are over a year on, and I’m still niggled about the name change. I think the big niggles come from the big symbolism. Rebranding to the TaoCraft Tarot name is both a stage of life evolution and a giant step out of several self imposed closets. This year and this holiday season is filled with more authenticity than ever. TaoCraft is starting to feel lived-in and cozy.
It never fails to amaze me how there seems to be a Tarot card for everything…even the long slow process of sweeping Christmas out my psyche. It is one of the hardest things to let go, but still necessary to release. When it comes to tradition wrangling, the High Priest is just the thing. Or, from the opposite side of the same coin, rejecting the pope / hierophant is just the thing.
For a recovering fundamentalist, there can be a lot of mixed feelings and internal conflicts this time of year. Not only do you have to come to some sort of terms with family relationships (or the lack of them for those who ‘come out’ and are rejected) but you also have to come to terms with your feelings about the extant holiday itself. What do you do about pleasant childhood memories or a desire for all of the things about Christmas that are, after all, truly enjoyable? How do you celebrate the good stuff while letting go of the toxic stuff? In spite of the feelings at the time, looking back, all the things I cherish most about ‘Christmas’ has zero to do with the religious parts of the holiday. By letting go of christian christmas, I lose nothing.
My ethos has always been to make some pro forma gestures and try to keep the peace with religious family members. After all, evangelicals and fundamentalist respond well to sweeping things like that under the rug. With visions of the Ghost of Christmas Present dancing in my head, I’d remind myself that a simple little card was a small thing to do to reach out to my fellow humans, and honor whatever thread of relationship may persist. Still, it felt like *I* was putting a lot of time and effort and postage into *their* holiday. Right or wrong, that is a recipe for stress and resentment. We who have “left the faith” are thought to have left the holidays too. We have been so ‘othered’ that it takes a deliberate effort to find some sort of common ground with Christmas much less see a new path through the holiday season. It is hard to see a current spiritual or secular path through all the haze of Christmases past. It is conflicting to want to engage with the larger, more spiritual symbolism of the season but not the narrow christian-only aspects.
This year, for once, feels different. By scaling everything way back, enough evangelical energy is drained away that I can finally claim this as a holiday of my own. Call it Yule. Call it Solstice. Call it Festivus. Yes, there will still be a tree (no star on top) cookies, egg nog, gingerbread, lights, that plastic garland that I love despite it’s vintage cheesiness, and the whole holly jolly thing. But this year it’s MY holly jolly secular pagan thing. It a small and happy thing to mail gifts and write cards and bake and do when it all done in celebration of MY holiday instead of as a conciliatory gesture toward theirs. If it has some surface appearances in common with *their* holiday, so be it. But Christmas is not me. Not anymore.
When you were raised in the evangelical fundamentalist sub-culture, it is easy to forget that acting FOR something is vastly different than acting in compliance WITH something. You have every right to YOUR holiday traditions even if they are shiny new self-created ones. You have every right to celebrate nothing at all.
The moment we stop celebrating other people’s holidays all of the seasonal stress vanishes.
I give no energy to Christmas. Pumpkin soup to roasted chestnuts, Thanksgiving to New Year, I am celebrating Yule, Solstice, Festivus, all things cinnamon, cookies, egg nog and the light of the human spirit.
You may not be celebrating those things. Jesus may be the one and only reason for your season, which is just fine. But that is not why I send these wishes. From a place of holiday spirit, from a place of those things deeply meaningful to me….I wish you all a season of love, happiness, health, safety and prosperity.
Wishing you all the best throughout the holidays and the New Year
Speaking of the holidays…I’ll be available for email Tarot readings throughout the entire month of December. There may be some delays in delivery while I get the cookies out of the oven, watch Christmas Vacation for the third time or baste the ham, but be patient. I will get your reading to you. Email readings do not need an appointment, order HERE any time.
In-person and party tarot will be closed Dec 20, 2019 through Jan. 2, 2020.
But did I mention email Tarot is open? It’s my specialty, you know.
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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