Tag: tarot reading

Solitude doesn’t have to be lonely

Sage Sips blog is Tarot in the time it takes to sip your coffee

“There is a difference between solitude and loneliness”

Maggie Smith

“There is a difference between solitude and loneliness” – Maggie Smith

The source wasn’t cited, but recently on social media someone posted a meme that said something along the lines of “Loneliness is the price you pay for personal growth.”

Yes and No. 

On one hand, it is a very common thing that I’ve seen time and time and time again in Tarot clients – and have experienced myself…

When you heal or grow as a person, old connections often fall away. Sometimes you simply outgrow old friends or family members. Sometimes you all are growing in lovely, healthy, beautiful ways – but in entirely different directions. Whatever the reason, that change can feel very lonely. 

Your path to wisdom, autonomy, and emotional maturity is uniquely your own so yes, your spiritual path is one you by definition must walk alone. 

But no, it need not be lonely. Not at all. 

“There is a difference between solitude and loneliness.” We walk our spiritual paths alone, but it can be a journey of peaceful solitude rather than painful loneliness. 

As old friends fall away, we can hold space for new ones to come along. When we are true to ourselves and learn to make peace with our path, we often find ourselves in more company than we expected. “Your vibe calls your tribe” as the saying goes.

If our path is lonely rather than peaceful solitude, it begs the question of who are we lonely for? Are we lonely for other people or are we lonely for a happier version of ourselves? Being at peace with outer life can only begin with accepting and making friends with our inner selves. When the Hermit on the card holds his lantern up to a mirror, what does he see? 

The beautiful part of walking a solitary path is that it is still progress. If you don’t like what you see in the Hermit’s mirror, change it. In the words of Alan Watts “You are under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.”

This kind of change is well within your power to do, but it has risk. 

For good or for bad, other people might not like the changes you make. The change, like the Hermit’s lamp, brings the problems to light. Those who never respected you in the beginning, those who take advantage of you or project their issues on to you are probably the only ones falling away. The unhealthy relationships are the first to go. The people who need you to be at your worst are often the first to fade away when you are at your best.

Alone need not be lonely. Sometimes alone is freedom. Time alone often gives your spirit the space to heal. No one can do that for you. The key to transforming loneliness into peaceful solitude is not other people. It’s you, making peace with you.

Loneliness isn’t a call to fill an empty spot with another person. Loneliness is a call to fill the emptiness with the best version yourself. 

Tarot Soup

Sage Sips is Tarot in the time it takes to sip your coffee

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Good soup has layers of flavors. The best soups build over time. You start with root veg and aromatics. Then meats, spices, seasoning and garlic. Then broth. Save any added salt for later – you get the idea.

Tarot readings have layers too.

Just like a well stocked spice rack in your kitchen lets you create a delicious meal, having a variety of Tarot layouts at your disposal lets you create a satisfying reading perfect for the time and question at hand.

I like to combine traditional layouts with some that I’ve written to create my Tarot spice shelf, so to speak. Choosing the best layout for the question is the beginning. Looking at the pattern of the cards and the layout as a whole is the base. The individual position meanings within the layout is one layer of meaning. Each individual card’s meaning is another layer. The connection, the way a position can subtly direct our attention and modify the card meaning adds depth and complexity to the reading. Using pure intuition throughout the reading and to summarize at the end is like the pinch of salt that brings the whole soup together in the delicious end.

I had hoped to post a “you choose” video yesterday, but clearly I’m going to have to shift gears again and adapt a little bit. For the next two weeks, I’m going to focus on how-to and behind the scenes posts. THEN we’ll get back to general audience and interactive Tarot readings.

Please subscribe to this free blog, or follow me on ko-fi, Substack, Threads, Facebook or Instagram so you don’t miss anything. Please visit tomorrow and we’ll start taking a deeper look at all of the layouts and more. Stay tuned!

Private readings are OPEN. There might be a few delivery delays around the weekend of September 27-29

You Choose Tarot Card of the Week: Work and Ponder

Watch the video. Choose your Tarot card for the week. Pause if you need a little time. Get your Tarot reading in the post below.

The ko-fi page is back to TaoCraft Tarot!

Three of Pentacles: “Team work makes the dream work” is cliche and cringe, but this is a good week to be open, give a fair listen to other ideas. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Adaptability can help you thrive. 

Ace of Wands: Inspiration CAN come from anywhere, but for you, Don’t forget to filter,  use discernment. Look at other ideas in the firefight of your own passions. 

Alleyman’s Tarot deck by  Seven Dane Asmund  used with permission

You Choose Tarot: your choice, your card, your reading is below

Interactive Tarot: use your intuition to make your card choice and get your Tarot message for today

High Priestess: Read between the lines. Look for the mysterious wrapped up in the obvious. Know the real story before snapping to judgement or jumping into action.

Seven of Wands: Life isn’t all smooth sailing. Conflicts happen, so this card is as much about HOW you handle them, not if they will happen. When the inevitable hiccup happens, handle it with compassion, humor, and style. Bring the logic, kindness and all the rizz you can muster.

The website might be a little redecorated, BUT email private Tarot readings are OPEN. Private Tarot readings by email are my specialty and I have 30 years of Tarot experience to bring to YOUR private reading.

Order HERE 24/7, no appointment needed. Most readings get to your inbox within 24 hours.

Sage Sip Members get FREE one card email readings at your request (up to 3 per calendar month – $15 value for $5 monthly membership) PLUS discounts on larger layouts and exclusive ko-fi blog content.

Things are already looking a little different.

It’s 9-9, September 9th. I read somewhere that 99 is a good fortune number in multiple different traditions. In numerology, someone wrote that it combines “inner wisdom and endings.” And naturally where there are endings, there are also beginnings. It would make sense that is why the Death card from the major arcana is actually symbolic of change.

Change is one thing you can count on.

Adaptability is a survival skill. Only dead things don’t change, which is kind of ironic given that the Death card from the major arcana is all about change.

The old you must cease to exist if the new you, your new life, can come into existence. Change is the only way anything can get better. Sure, it might get worse, too. That’s the chance you take with this crazy squirrel rave we call life.

Sometimes change means a heart rending good-bye to something you really, REALLY wanted. Other times, like this one, it means happily, gleefully, joyfully long-distance punting a stupid mistake into the stratosphere.

Sage Words Tarot was a relapse into masking and smoke-screening from the evangelicals and their ilk. No more. I won’t go back.

Returning to TaoCraft Tarot is an incantation, a spell to manifest a universe of safety where we can all be our authentic selves. I am reclaiming my time and my web name. My website is reverting to its original address and the Facebook page is set to change its name to reflect the blog “Sage Sips.” I’ve added a TaoCraft Tarot page back to Facebook too. That one might have a little bonus woo woo content on it.

But in any case, hi! I am Sage, and I write Sage Sips Blog on www.TaoCraftTarot.com

PS Tumblr you’ll get your turn soon.

Q&A: Work & Retirement

Visit the “Ask Me Anything” page to get a free Tarot answer as a blog post like this one

Related posts:

Q: Will I be at same job and company I have now til I retire? At what age should I retire?

Hi ****

Thank you so much for your question. I hear you. Career and money is such a huge part of our lives. It occupies an enormous chunk of our time and mental bandwidth so I applaud you for giving it this kind of care and attention. Work and retirement are a big part of life as a whole. The happier you are as a whole person, the more present you can be in all the non-work aspects of life too. When work and career are in a good place, then we can turn our best attention to putting or keeping the other parts of life in a good place, too.

Unfortunately, the honest answer to your question is that Tarot can’t give you a fair answer to this at all.

“Will” is always a problematic way to think of things when it comes to psychic and Tarot readings because, as I’ve said a zillion times, Tarot can’t tell you what will happen in life, Tarot helps you figure out what to do when life happens.

It is all up to you. The answers to your questions are already in your hands and always have been.

Will you stay I this company? I dunno.

Are you planning to quit? Are you looking for other work? Have you done anything to get fired? Is there any risk of layoffs? Is the company solvent enough to last until you retire? Tarot can’t predict these things so Tarot can’t tell you if you will be at this job until you retire.

More importantly – do you WANT to stay at this company until you retire? If so, why? What about the job do you want to continue as part of your life? If this particular company or job goes away due to unforeseen circumstances beyond your control, what about this job would you want to replace? What about this job could you replace?

Now dig a little deeper. Why are you asking this question? Are you worried about the job’s stability? If it is unstable, do you need to make a backup plan instead of asking Tarot about it? Do you hate it and want to change? Worried about making enough income to live? How can you best meet this real, deep underlying need? Answer that and the need to know “if” or “will” this job last until retirement goes away and puts the power squarely in your hands. Think about why you want to know if the job will last to retirement, then you know what to DO. You can think about ways to keep the job if you like it and what you need to do to replace it if it goes away.

When you should retire is absolutely positively up to you, your individual situation, and your actual financial resources. Retirement timing is 1000% NOT a question for Tarot. That calls for real-world logic and financial know-how. If you don’t know what you need, then it is important to talk to a financial advisor, or someone knowledgeable about retirement planning. Assess your needs logically and crunch the numbers and get real, expert guidance if you need it. Asking me, an artist, what age you should retire is like asking a plumber about your coronary bypass.

All of that being said, let’s pull a card that should give you one of two things:

Either it will give you a place to start thinking about these work related things, OR it will nudge you to look at something outside of your career that needs your attention. If your career path is unclear right now, that might be a hint from the universe that something else needs your attention first, and getting that something in order might, in turn, make the job and retirement question come into better focus for you.

Your card today is JUSTICE

This is from the major arcana portion of the Tarot deck. Major arcana cards typically carry higher energy, a bigger emotional impact, big life lessons or an important turning point in life. Retirement decisions certainly qualify for that!

The old fashioned way of reading cards connects Justice with literal legal concerns. So be on your guard, get good advice, don’t fall for anything scammy or shady out of fear or concern for retirement. This is not a time to “call Saul” as the television series goes.

Justice also points to wisdom, integrity and balance.

This is another reminder that retirement planning is a ‘use your head’ logic and fact driven decision primarily but also a reminder to keep the big picture in mind. “Work-life balance” comes to mind. Don’t sacrifice quality of life NOW with regards to health, family, relationships, friendships and the like for the sake of some arbitrary point in the future. That isn’t to say go all YOLO and be reckless or selfish now, that is to say to be mindful, appreciative and get the most emotional and spiritual connection out of this present moment as you can while at the same time you make reasonable plans for the future.

In other words, don’t sacrifice current quality of life on the alter of some arbitrary future point. Be adaptable. Keep the big picture in mind, making sure the big picture contains both the present needs and reasonable, logical future planning.

I hope that helps a little bit.

Best Wishes to you!

Would you like a one card private Tarot reading by email similar to this public one for only $5? Order private email readings, no appointment needed HERE. Most readings come to your inbox within 24 hours.

Choose Your Card: Two paths, same mountain.

Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee

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Queen of Pentacles: Walk your talk. Show who you are through what you do. Make your actions your love language. LIVE what you have learned before moving on to new lessons. Integrate the emotional and spiritual into your physical realm existence. Not a week to walk around living inside your own head.

High Priestess: Think first. This is not a week to phone it in. Listen to your heart. Use your head. Understand deeply. Act thoughtfully. Know why you are doing what you are doing. Choose well the spiritual engine that motivates you actions.

Although both paths are different, both can lead to a place of balance and compassion. Both are good, so choose your path fearlessly!

Choose your card Tarot: anchor or float.

Sage Sips is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee.

The Heirophant (right): Anchor. Find your footing. What is your foundation? Go with what you know and take comfort in traditions to get through the next few weeks.

Six of Swords (left): Go with the flow. Now is not the time to fight upstream. Choose your battles, this is not the day for conflict. May mean travel for some who chose this card – a leisurely vacation is a better choice that an active, over-scheduled one.

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New Deck, Who Dis?

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!)