The five of wands has always had a note of success about it. Sure, there is striving, effort, even conflict around the situation on your mind – but the effort isn’t futile. Some sort of progress can be made here.
I’ve always liked the spin that challenges can be met with style, panache, even a little humor. Effort and challenge doesn’t have to mean being up tight, stressed and anxious while you do it.
There is a trace of that old adage that if you do what you love, then you’ll never work another day. Combine that with the notion of choosing your battles. When you choose your battles you are managing your resources. Those resources include your internal energy and mental/emotional bandwidth. Choose your ambitions and your striving in life wisely. If you spend effort on the things you love then stress and striving melt away.
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Merry Monday. I think. I am soooo not a morning person, but here is to it anyway.
Today’s card is a nice one to start. If you are seeing this on a not-Monday, it is a good vibe for any time.
Pentacles are practical, grounded and centered. A nice reminder that we don’t always have to be chipper and enthusiastic, but it is sometimes ok just to get the job done with no bells, whistles or drama. It’s ok to be a little low energy but get whatever needs done, well, done.
What’s the harm?
Pentacles also symbolize the physical realm, career and money. It is also a reminder that it is ok to indulge in a little superstition if it makes you feel your ability to attract what you need. The feeling is the power when it is couple with action – regardless of the level of enthusiasm. When superstition equates to inspiration, what’s the harm?
Green and gold, round coin shapes all come to mind this morning. Feng Shui to the rescue!
Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee
“Going with the flow” sounds relaxing, doesn’t it?. More often than not, the six of swords carries that kind of energy. Most of the time it talks about healing, progress, transition and placid waters ahead.
It isn’t always that way.
A roller coaster is going with the flow of gravity. A kayak expert in class V rapids is going with the flow too.
The more insane the spins, the stronger the current, the flowing it takes. Going with the flow can be quite a ride sometimes. Going with the flow can seem like crazy advice when life is at its most turbulent.
But on the other hand, can you imagine fighting a current like that?
Sometimes, it is OK to seek out a little comfort, sameness and nostalgia. It can be the bigger boat you need to flow with the fast waters of stressful times.
Which is why I’m going back to my emotional support cup of coffee. See you at the next sip!
Summer hours update:
I’ve been trying to give myself a little patience and grace as TaoCraft Tarot transitions from “freelance business” status to “it’s a hobby”. As it stands now, I don’t do in-person or other live readings. I still do private readings by email (let’s face it – those are my best readings anyway)
What all of that means is that the posting schedule will be more erratic than ever.
BUT
Private readings by email never needed a schedule in the first place. Order anytime. The delivery window is 48 hours but it’s worth it to get the equivalent of a one hour Tarot reading for about half of what most one hour live sessions would cost.
The proceeds from private email readings, ko-fi memberships, and ko-fi virtual coffees all go toward creating and webhosting Sage Sips as an inspiration and lifestyle Tarot blog.
Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee
The two of pentacles is the classic card of “balance.” Of course this echoes the classic Taoist idea of “balance” of opposites, or the harmony of opposites. It takes two to tango as the saying goes, so in a broad, general way, it takes at least two things to strike a balance.
Often that balance is between static and dynamic, stillness and motion.
Balance is an important concept. It has both a major and a minor arcana card to carry its message. Temperance talks about balance from a grand, life-lesson point of view.
The two of pentacles talks about balance from a practical, down-to-earth, an action-to-take-now point of view.
“Life is like riding a bicycle.To keep your balance, you must keep moving.“
Albert Einstein
The two of pentacles is particularly about balance in motion. Life is movement. Life is change. To stay in relative balance – to stay functional, really – we are in a state of constant adaptation.
My favorite example is a unicycle rider who is always making constant small adjustments to stay in balance. If they aren’t moving full-on forward, they move little bits forward and backward in one small spot to stay upright.
Or think of a wrestler or a judo match. Planting your feet and staying still might seem strong and immovable, but staying rigid and not moving makes you susceptible to being tipped over if you are pushed. But if you take a step with the push – roll with the punches if you will – then you are less likely to fall flat on the mat.
One foot up, one foot down. Movement, or at least the ability to adapt and move, gives you greater balance overall and can protect you from a fall – literally and figuratively.
Tune in tomorrow for “Weekend Oracle” with the Alleyway Oracle of Secrets deck. Proceeds from your private readings, memberships and virtual coffees all support this free, no-paywall blog and the free newsletter on Substack.
No boundary can be respected if no one knows it exists. Defining then effectively communicating what the boundaries are is the first step to consistently protecting them. It is a necessary step toward protecting your inner peace.
“Setting boundaries” is a common pop psychology kind of term these days. But, as I understand it, it is rooted in real psychology and very real mental health.
“Self-care” is another term that is thrown around a lot on social media.
Both things boil down to Socrates “know thyself.” You have to know your inner world before you can define and protect that boundary line where the inner world and the outer world meet. You have to know your self before you can care for yourself and protect your inner self.
Setting boundaries isn’t about being antagonistic to other people or indulging in narcissism. Setting boundaries is self defense. Setting boundaries is knowing yourself, knowing what you need to be your best self, communicating that to others and not letting them harm your basic self respect.
It’s all easier to do once you realize that no one can make you happy, neither can anyone take it away. That boundary between you and the outside world is yours alone to set and protect.
KNIGHT OF PENTACLES
Stay steady, be patient. Too many changes can sabotage the plan. Stand strong and call what you need to you.
There is a meme with this card that always gives me a giggle. “Behold, the field where I grow my f* cks. Lift up thine eye and you will see that it is barren.”
There is a kind of happiness, a feeling of being content and at ease within your own skin when you let go of worry about what other people think of you. It is a steady place to stand.
Pentacles (coins, disks) cards are often about physical things; career, money, the nuts and bolts of being in the world. This is no different. Sometimes the key to what you need is steadiness and patience.
This connects with the seven of pentacles card in a recent reading. Sometimes you just have to lean on your rake and let the seeds you planted do their thing. Sometimes you just have to sit still on your horse and pull what you need to you, like Luke Skywalker using the force to pull his lightsaber into his hand.
Making too many changes or giving too many f*cks could throw a monkey wrench into the gears of life right now. It’s ok to be chill every now and then.
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Take a deep breath and relax. Think about a question for the cards or think about your week ahead. Follow your first impulse and choose a card.
Restart the video to see your card and get the reading below:
The World (reversed)
I don’t always read a lot into reversed cards. If you think about it, it is right side up for someone sitting across from you. It’s a perspective thing. Reversed cards always ask for a little extra thought about context and perspective. Sometimes it can be a cue that a particular energy or topic or part of life is turbulent or blocked. Sometimes the context is this deck is printed on very glossy cardstock and chucks out reversals all of the time that don’t necessarily carry meaning.
In this case, the reversal is, intuitively, screaming for attention. It means something. The world is a major arcana card so it is a cue to high energies, key messages, possibly life lessons close around you.
The World is the final card in the major arcana suit. It has connections to completion, success, wholeness. It is also connected to connection…everything touches everything, and every part in a way contains the whole, touches the whole, hologram style. The card is pointing to this gestalt, holistic thinking today.
I’m not usually a heavy metal music fan, but thanks to family members I’ve heard some and “The Future is a Foreign Land” by Ghost, especially the part with the lyrics “when it all burns down.”
What do you do when your world has been turned inside out and upside down? What do you do when the person you thought was the one person who would be there for you when it all burns down is the one lighting the match?
Time may seem desperate, but when you get to the end of the major arcana then you go back to the Fool card and begin again, heartbreak and all.
Four of Cups
The pouring cup gets all of the attention here.
This is why I love the Alleyman’s Tarot deck. Sometimes it is profound. Sometimes it makes you feel “wut?”
That disconnected, ‘it’s just not resonating’ feeling is an element of the message today. The baseball imagery just isn’t getting it for me today…but that’s the message. It’s not about me.
And your concern may not be about you.
To be psychological about it, this is about intention and control. Despite our best intentions, we can’t control other people. You could pour a tanker truck of love and energy out but you can’t make someone feel any certain way. As the old proverb says: You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.
Cups cards are about emotions. Regardless of the response, to love is the victory. To love is the means and the ends and all that matters. Pour your cup of love, hopefully it will water the roots of a tree rather than wet the feet of a statue.
Thank you so much for watching and reading.
I wish you all a deep drink of love and wholeness.
See you at the next sip!
Deck: Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund, used with permission, Publishing Goblin LLC
Today is the kind of day this new layout is all about. Action dissolves anxiety. Making an action plan helps. Doing the plan helps even more. Action dissolves (or at least decreases) anxiety. Many thanks to Dan Harris for sharing that concept with everyone. I heartily recommend his Substack and social media
Today’s energy has a genX meme, “suck it up buttercup” feel to it. It’s time to put on the big kid britches and do the thing. Today needs practical action. Be as level-headed, logical, and practical as you can be. Go with what you already KNOW. Just for today, put intellect ahead of emotions and head over heart as best as you can.
Be kind to yourself if you can’t. If emotions get the better of the situation, step back, cool off and try again later. It’s ok.
It’s ok to be kind to yourself even on the days when your self is a bubbling hot mess.
Be a cool headed as you can, and bandage up the rest later.
There are reasons why the horse is standing still and strong on the knight of pentacles card. Rock on, but rock steady, one logical step at a time. The King of Swords is all about cool, cutting intellect and decisive leadership. Good leaders know when to get help and look for resources.
It isn’t easy. It isn’t about perfection. It is about step by step making it through.
Sage Sips blog is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee.
“Tarot doesn’t predict what is going to happen in life. Tarot helps you figure out what to do when life happens” – Sage Snow
ADA two-card readings are a daily meditation style Tarot that is intended to help ease worry and help creative problem solving because uncertainty sucks. Having a little understanding of a situation and a first step plan of action can go a long way to turn down the volume when anxiety happens.
The current energies: Four of Cups. Emotions just are – they come handed to you by life. You are the one who gets to decide if an emotion or a situation is a good or a bad thing. You get to decide whether to embrace or reject it. Don’t be stubborn about it. Your happiness is up to you.
What to do next: Page of Swords. Learn something. Knowledge is power. Swords are cards of mind and intellect. Googling social media doesn’t count here. Get real, science level information and education. Use your head. Use your know-how to cut through the fog and find your way through the storm of emotions.
Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee
Sage Sip Members! Big announcement this weekend!
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Current energy: Two of Coins/Pentacles. Balance is needed, along with a blend of logic and intuition. Feels connected to real-world money, budget and career.
What to do next: Four of Coins/Pentacles. Balance caution and fear. Avoid impulse or reckless buying, but don’t let fear stop you from making a good investment or needed purchase IF it checks out logically and realistically.
Sage Sips is Tarot in the time it takes to sip your coffee
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What the energy is: THE LILIES – folks are tired. It’s the end of winter, not quite spring. The energy environment is craving sincerity and stability. Provide that where you can to make the week better, but also protect your own peace of mind.
What to do about it: THE CHILD – the bear in Christoper Butler’s artwork here is key. Kids tell it like it is, so give your fullest honesty and authenticity as you can, but hold on tight to your teddy bear. The deck author writes that the bear symbolizes protection and empowerment. Being authentic is a place of strength. Protect your inner true self: from others, but also from your own inner critic, and let the real you shine.
Deck: Healing Light Lenormand by Christoper Butler copyright 2021 all rights reserved Llwellyn Publishing, used with permission (free tarot education)
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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