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My Tarot Valentine: Six of Pentacles
Tag: Tarot Cards
Seasons Change
The year is young! The Four Seasons reading is still available and can help you navigate the energies ahead.
Since it is past New Year’s Day, I’ve discounted the Four seasons email reading to $20, but when the Equinox comes, both this layout and the special price disappears for a season or so.
Order yours HERE .
Updated “about” page
My readings won’t tell you what is going to happen in life. They help you figure out what to do when life happens.
All of my readings have the same basic structure. Distance and in-person sessions give the same identical information. The only difference is convenience (email does not require an appointment) and the ability to ask questions in real time rather than emails back and forth.
All readings have these same basic parts.
- Photo (or drawing) of your unique card layout
- General pattern: any messages from the overall layout
- Card-by-card discussion: meaning, layout position meaning, type of message from that card (advice, caution, validation, etc)
- Affirmation based on your cards
- Sigil elements: any shapes or sketches that intuition gives, if any. You may use these as elements to create a sigil for yourself if you like.
- Psychic Summary: this allows for any impressions that come from intuition whether it is related to the cards or not. Often this includes helpful crystal, color, and aromatherapy suggestions.
Allow 45-60 minutes for an in-person session. All prices are flat rate, not per minute so you know your full cost up front. Appointment required for in-person and Party Tarot.
Distance readings are my specialty. As a writer, a keyboard is a direct-dial hotline into the best of my thinking and intuition. Since I can do this kind of reading almost anywhere, I do them all of the time, usually filling orders within hours, no appointment needed. I can type out a reading as easily as speaking it out loud in person, and give exactly the same information in both.
The small print: All the usual policies and disclaimers apply to all readings, Reiki sessions and meditation tutorials. The short version is that everything here is for entertainment, personal enrichment or spiritual practices, and does not ever diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any mental or physical illness. Nothing here can take the place of professional medical care. I don’t accept medical or pregnancy questions because Tarot just doesn’t work for that kind of thing. When you contact me, that indicates that you agree to the policies and use these services at your own risk; no liability of any sort is accepted.
Happy 2020!
Click play to see the cards for this reading. If you were to order a Four Seasons distance reading for yourself, it would work exactly like this one, except it would be a photo of your unique card layout, not a video of the card draw.
The Cards Are:
- Winter (now-March) The Hermit
- Spring (March – June) Queen of Pentacles
- Summer (June – September) Ace of Swords
- Fall (September – December) The Empress
- Year (as a whole) The Sun
General Pattern
Every year, it has been fun to play with the idea of predictions. With all the social media zeitgeists, precedent defying politics here in the U.S. and assorted crisis around the world, the energies look like a swarm of tiny tornadoes more than any clear path. This is more like a weather report than a prediction about how 2020 will go. The word “unstable” comes to mind just now. When I drew the cards, I did with the intention that this reading will help someone somewhere who reads it, and capture the energies well enough to help us all navigate what could be a truly unpredictable time.
Three major arcana cards hint that it will be a high energy year, again my attention is drawn to volitility. Major arcana cards typically hint at big energies, and times of significant choices. I am reminded of that adage of where there is chaos there is opportunity. In some readings I’ve done lately there has been a ‘choose’ energy…lots of opportunities, lots to choose from. In this case, it feels like it is hard to choose because every time you do, the rub moves out from under you. The sense of it is “choice is your security, but entrench at your peril”. Choose, pick a direction, choose SOMEthing to be your guiding star. That inner structure, that skeleton, will be your salvation among the chaos, BUT remain adaptable. Be willing to change, adapt. In my minds eye, I see that contest show “Face Off” where they make masks and costumes. They have a ridged cast of their models face, and they design the costume in clay on the form underneath for a custom fit. If things don’t work with the original design, they change the clay on top and make changes, but the solid form underneath stays the same so the end product still fits the model, no matter how many times the initial clay design changed. The same seems important here, for this year as a whole…the Sun represents steadiness. Usually the format for a reading is to talk about an individual card in it’s turn. Yet, here, the sun and stability steps forward right away in the ‘general pattern’ part of the reading structure. So we adapt. But we keep to the structure otherwise so we can move through the reading in a way that makes sense. (If you would like more behind the scenes information about how all of my readings are structured, click TaoCraft Portfolio free download)
The minor arcana cards include two special cards, a queen and an ace. Pentacles (in some decks coins) resonate with the element of earth, and reflect our relationship with the material world. Swords resonate with the element of air and can hint at either action, intellect or our relationship with culture and authority. For both of these cards I feel pulled more to ward the more contemporary relationship with the material world / culture than with the older elemental associations.
Winter
The Hermit is a good card for winter time. Winter is a time when maximum yin energy is the norm. The weather is cold, we naturally hibernate a bit. While we are home in our cozy clothes, sipping tea or hot chocolate or what have you, it is a good time to think and plan. Activity is largely mental and intellectual. The light on the Hermit card seems very important. Read, listen, watch…however you take in new ideas and inspiration, do that. Think of gathering wood in the distant past. It was fuel for not only survival, but preparation for the coming spring. Feed your mind and creativity, gather what you need and get the rest you need so you can spring into action. Once the winter passes and the energy shifts, the shift happens quickly. Here I get mental images of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, and the starter’s gun at a track meet sprint.
Spring
The Queen of Coins is all about “hearth and home”. Queens are a caretaking, nurturing sort of leadership. The energy points to “bloom where you are planted” particularly where work and career is concerned. If you want a change, it is a time to lay a foundation to make a smart, safe move later in the year. This is not the energy for a flamboyant walk-out. If you are thinking more in terms of promotion or working within the system where you are, this is your time to shine. I can’t quite pull it into focus, but there is a reference to some saying about a lotus blooming in mud. Be the lotus in spite of the mud. Energies are favorable for making the most of things as they are. If that doesn’t work, keep an eye out, lay the foundations for opportunities to present themselves later on. There is also a sense of literally staying near home. Staycationing might be a better choice than traveling.
Summer
The Ace of Swords has to do with creation, creativity. Steve Jobs making a ding in the universe comes to mind here. Swords denote action, but at the same time are association with doing, making, creating, and our relationship with culture and society at large. If you are a politically active rabble rouser…get to rousing, Civic duty looms large, be in a campaign, which of course speaks directly to the US presidential primary. This is politics as bloodsport, no one can stay on the sidelines. It really is the crisis the media has portrayed it to be. “Things are getting real up in here” comes to mind.
On a more personal level, if you have been wanting to shake things up, and the “bloom where you planted” energy just isn’t working out, this energy is more favorable to make a move, especially if you have done your homework and laid your foundation during the winter and spring months. That energy feels especially strong later in the season, and may spill over into the Fall.Do it right. Do it with courage, strength and integrity. This is your time to put your ding in the universe. Rise.
Fall
The Empress is about nature but also about bringing about something new. Often the card is associated is motherhood, and the Empress on the card is often drawn pregnant. It feels like coming to term. This was one fast growing baby (flash pop culture reference: Renesmee in Twilight.) There is a sense of completion or coming to full term. Here all the swirling energies start to find their footing again, and all the changing and adapting may slow just a bit. Projects prepared for in the winter/spring, and begun in the summer will either come to completion in the fall or come to a place where you can more reliably see the road ahead. Decisions become a bit easier, planning moves from short term fast adapting to something more long term.
Year
The Sun card stepped forward early. The advice about having strong inner armature that is able to adapt and change very much stands. Now I see jointed armature for a statue…a bendable metal skeleton that holds the weight of the sculpting clay that can also move and change. The early appearance of the card was a reassurance for us. As chaotic as the spring and summer may be compared to winter and fall, the sun always rises, where there is yang there is yin, chaos rises, chaos falls. I’m not touching the election results with a 20 foot pole, but whichever result there is, the response will be vigorous. There will either be great ecstacy, or a deep entrenchment and readying for more storms to come. Either way, Fall will let the pressures of spring and summer escape for a time. There will be a relief of knowing, a moment for a breath, then move on to whatever is next.
The pattern seems to be think and prepare, decide, adapt, do, adapt, see results, then adapt some more within that end of year fullness, fulfillment and respite.
I hope this helps somewhat for someone somewhere somehow.
In any case, I wish you all a very happy,
Q&A: What is the “sigil element” in the reading?
Q: I like that you put extras like crystals, aromatherapy, and an affirmation in your handwritten Tarot readings, but what is the “sigil element”? What is that for and what does it do?
A: I’m sorry I didn’t explain that part more clearly.
When I do in-person readings, I always write notes for the client to have. That lets me draw or doodle any abstract shapes or images that intuition may give during the reading. Most images in a reading are common and easy to describe like ‘rain’ or ‘a tree’ or ‘a teapot’ or what have you. Sometimes I get abstract shapes that hint at a concept and look like schematics or hieroglyphs. For example, I might get a stair step image to show progress that starts and stops, or a “Y” shape that hints at a fork in the road kind of decision. The sigil element above is an example. It came to mind when I first began developing the “InkMagick” readings a few years ago. It represents a quill pen and paper, while the lines and dots symbolize it being digitized and sent by email. Thanks to new tech that converts my handwriting and doodles right into a .pdf file, now I can share those intuitive shapes in a distance reading the same as in an in-person session or a pen and paper reading.
Around the same time, I discovered sigils and began working with them for my own use. Because I am so new to the art, I don’t claim to be able to create fully formed sigils for clients. I really think sigils are most powerful when you create them for yourself, anyway.
I share the intuitive shapes, psych-a-doodles, sigil elements…whatever you want to call them… for two reasons. First and foremost to better show you what intuition is showing me. Second, I hope the image will inspire the visual, creative side of you.
Which still begs the basic question: What the heck is a sigil anyway?
Sigils are essentially drawn designs that are thought to have some sort of esoteric power or energy, and can act as a talisman or amulet. In other words, it is a shape or symbol that you design in order to attract something into your life or to influence your life experience in some way. The confusing part is the word sigil itself. It can mean old (medieval or earlier) symbols traditionally believed to name and summon demons in ritual magick. The more modern sense of the word still means power symbols, but instead of summoning demons in complicated occult rituals, these contemporary sigils can be used to focus your energy on a particular outcome. It all has to do with your intentions. So like anything intention and energy driven, set your intent clearly in your mind from the very beginning, and stay focused on being a source of light and love throughout the process. Do that, and it is pretty unlikely anything shaggy and goat-headed will show up at your doorstep.
Intention is everything. Intend the loving highest and best. It’s that simple.
That is the theory of it. Now for the nuts and bolts of it.
First decide what you want the sigil to do. Draw it. Activate it. Let it go. It is like a metaphysical Ron Popiel gadget…set it and forget it.
It is up to you how simple or fancy you want to be. You can use a calligraphy brush on fine rice paper, or a ballpoint on a napkin.
You can use some sort of method for creating the sigil, like drawing lines on a grid that corresponds to letters of a key word. You can just draw a collection of smaller meaningful symbols (lines, spirils, crescents, circles and so on) or you can combine letters and shapes.
After you create and draw your sigil, some action is taken to “activate it.” The activation process usually ends with the sigil drifting into your subconscious mind. Tradition holds that it is the subconscious intention that connects with the universe to manifest your intended outcome.
Activation takes all sorts of forms. Some will simply fold up the paper and carry it. The simple act of possessing the symbol in its written form gives it the activation energy. Sometimes sigils are printed on a commonly used object like a shirt or a mug so that when the object is used, the sigil’s intention is energized as well. Some will burn the paper to release the sigil’s energy to the universe to be manifested.
There are many ways of creating and activating sigils. The details are outside the scope of one blog post, so I would suggest reading the experts below for more details if you are interested in sigil making.
In my experience, the real value of a sigil is going through the process of designing it in the first place, however you ultimately use or activate it. It is a creative, expressive process. It converts your desires from verbal to non-verbal form and lets you engage with those desires in an emotional, visceral way that words alone can’t quite capture.
I call the doodles “sigil elements” for lack of a better name. I also hope that they hold more energy for you than simple illustrations. I hope you can use the sigil element to create your own power symbol, or at least think about spirit’s guidance in a way beyond words alone.
Sources:
- Sigil Witchery by Laura Tempest Zarkoff (https://www.lauratempestzakroff.com/shop.html)
- Practical Sigil Magic by U.D. Frater (https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Sigil-Magic-Creating-Personal/dp/0738731536)
- The Tao of Craft by Benebel Wen (https://benebellwen.com/the-tao-of-craft/)
You Choose Tarot
Left: Two of Cups. A good time to follow those romantic impulses. Give your love their favorite dessert. Buy yourself some flowers. Hold the door for a stranger. You don’t have to be in a romance with another person in order to be in a relationship with life.
Middle: The Hanged Man. People invented calendars. Life doesn’t care what year it is or how fast you want things to happen. Whatever name you give this day, make it a good one.
Right: Two of Wands. This is the time when we naturally want to look to the future. Look ahead, make plans. Then think about what you are going to do when those plans blow apart and nothing goes as expected. “I always say don’t make plans, make options” – Jennifer Annisten (via brainyquote.com)
Deck: Heart of Stars, third edition, by Thom Pham, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
Four Seasons Readings are available for a limited time. This special layout looks to the year ahead with one card for each season and one card to snapshot the energy for the year as a whole. Order HERE anytime, no appointment needed. Distance readings are open all holiday season 2019.
You Choose Tarot (7 Dec 19)
Left: Four of Cups. You don’t have to take your feelings out on other people to express them or honor them. Have a good pout. Sit and snarle at the air. Have a good cry. FEEL you feelings for a little bit. It is surprising how quickly they move along on their way once they have been heard and acknowledged. Both people and emotions want that same simple thing; to be heard and acknowledged.
Middle: Ace of Swords. Today is an updraft for some folks. Rise to the occasion. If a brilliant insight or creative idea hits, roll with it (or at least write it down.)
Right: Seven of Cups. Don’t be paralyzed by fear. It is ok to go slow and think through overwhelming options, but at some point the reasoning transforms into fear. Choose before that happens
SEASONS OF THE YEAR READINGS FOR 2020 AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME
12 Second Tarot: Two of Wands (18 Nov 19)
“Mornings are for coffee and contemplation” – Sheriff Hopper in Stranger Things
Welcome to the Monday grind, folks. It’s a good day to look ahead and plan – soberly, deliberatly and with a lot of practicality. A little cynacism might be your friend.
12 Second Tarot: Nine of Cups
Happy Friday! If you are feeling the holidays, roll with it, and enjoy it to the hilt.
Even if you are tired of pumpkin spice and just not feeling the holidays, let it go, roll with it and let other people have their fun. You’ll feel better in the end if you don’t fight the flow of the season. Besides, any excuse for drinks and cookies is a good one, right?
FAQ: How Do Distance Readings Work?
Q: How can you read someone who isn’t there? Doesn’t the person have to be with you for the reading to work?
A: When I do a reading, I don’t connect with the person at all. I connect to universal life energy and their spirit guides (if they step forward) on the person’s behalf. Spirit and energy exist outside of normal space an time anyway. Spirit and energy is everywhere, all the time, so where we sit is irrelevant. I connect to the person’s specific message within that universal energy when I hear OR read their question, topic, or request for an open reading.
In my head, to my intuition, the mental images, words, sounds and feelings are the same no matter where the client happens to be at the time. The intuitive side of things looks the same to me no matter if you are across the table or across the world. I’ve done both types of readings for a really long time. The words I speak in a live session come from the same intuitive place as the words I type in an email session. The readings I’ve done for clients in Australia and Papua New Guinea have already put that to the maximum test. They are literally on the opposite side of the Earth from me. According to the feedback those clients have kindly given, it really, truly is the same quality as the face to face readings.
It is a little like cloud computing. The information is “out on the cloud” just like your email is stored on a server somewhere out there on the internet. You (or anyone with your password) can access that information from anywhere else, anytime. You can check your email on your work computer, your phone, your table….what have you.
Intuition is like that. We all have it. We are all born with a spiritual connection. Some people operate at dial up speed, while others naturally operate at 5G broadband. Learning and practice ups your bandwidth. Anyone can learn to listen to their own intuition. Pro readers are just a little more skilled at connecting to the whole “cloud” and not just their own email account. Pro readers are more skilled at translating spirit-speak into actual, usable English sentences. That’s what lets them be able to connect & translate for other people. It is more as more language and communication than mystical spiritual ‘gifts’ really.
When we talk at the beginning of a reading…be it in spoken form or written form…you give me a limited sort of guess pass to listen to whatever message spirit energy sends. My job is just to listen, translate the message from intuition-speak into English sentences for you to use however you see fit.
So long story short….let me look at spirit’s energy email for you. No matter where you are, I’ll send the translation as an attachment in an email, or just read it out to you in person. The translation itself is exactly the same either way.
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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