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Action Eases Anxiety 2026

Happy New Year! Thanks for reading in 2025! I hope you will stick around for 2026 too. Sage Sips Tarot blog will stay free to read, no paywall at all, supported by Tarot fans like you.

2025 was a helluva year or a lot of folks individually not to mention the collective energy here in what was the United States. Inspired by my favorite meditation teacher, Dan Harris (inner peace, motherfuckers!) “Action Eases Anxiety” is stepping forward as a key idea for the new year. What is that David Axelrod quote? “Everything you can do is all you can do” or something like that. If we do all we can, then whatever happens we can also rest easy without regrets knowing we did everything possible. Then we can regroup, re-plan, re-relieve any new anxieties and try again as needed without beating up on ourselves about it.

Given that energy, I’m setting aside the usual prediction-tinged “Season” layout and bringing back what I used to call the “Timeflow” layout or some such thing. For 2026, I think a better name might be “Action Plans Ease Anxiety” I’ve re-worked the layout meanings to be a more substantial version of the two card Lenormand “Action Eases Anxiety” layout.

Understanding a problem is key to solving it, yes. But that kind of understanding is the foundation of any Tarot work, really, not predictions. I’ve said it before and I’m going to keep saying it…Tarot doesn’t tell you what is going to happen in life, Tarot helps you know what to do when life happens. This year the plan is to post primarily daily meditation readings, two card Lenormand action eases anxiety readings, and these larger Time Flow / Action Plan (I need to come up with a better name for this thing. PLEASE – feel free to leave suggestions in the comments!)

Anyway, here is today’s layout with the intention behind each card position

The general pattern of any layout holds its own message over an above the meanings of the individual cards. It can give context to the individual cards or it can be a whole message in and of itself within the context of the reading.

Today this is a whole-assed message, almost independent of everything else. Three out of the four cards are major arcana. This is nothing short of a loud buckle up buttercup we are going for a ride.

High energy doesn’t mean bad energy. I ‘hear’ “glimpse of recovery” as if the high energy is re-energizing more than doom-saying. I see sunny gold light and a clover lawn. (Bonus points – look up the clover card in the Lenormand deck). The level expanse of clover makes me thing that the energy and dynamics are all ‘under the hood’ Earlier today @spiralseatarot on Threads posted about the common wand image on the Magician and three other cards. In numerology, 2026 is a ONE year (2+0+2+6 = 10 and 1+0 = 1) The magician is typically numbered 1 in the RWS style Tarot decks, a magic wand echoes the shape of the number one. Both last night and this morning I coincidentally looked at the clock at 11:11. Wands in Tarot are self, and the element of fire. Be mindful and prepared and ready to control the fire, but in the end the Phoenix of 2026 rises from the ashes of 2025.

Part of me thinks all of that sounds a little psychotic. The bigger, intuitive part thinks we are being hit over the head with a message to “rekindle the fire within.”

The “Hold It Tight” card is about the things that are beneficial, helpful or very much needed in this moment – but might have been flying under your reader. This is an idea to pull out of the shadows, embrace and USE.

Here we see the Emperor. I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to Norse Mythology, but I’m getting an Odin vibe here. That is the face to put on the Emperor card in this context. BE YOUR OWN ODIN. I don’t remember the author, but read on social media from a pagan themed feed that the typical christian-ish prayer mindset was to pray asking for protection and safety from diety, while the Nordic pagan mindset was to pray and ask for the strength and resources to protect ourselves. That is the message of the Emperor today. It is a reminder that what we need can be available. We aren’t going to be rescued, but we can / will be able to get the strength, wisdom, and resources to help ourselves and those around us. Hold tight to that strategy and mindset.

“Let It Go” is just exactly that – release the things that no longer serve so those things can move to another place to help and serve others. Don’t carry what you no longer need to carry. Release makes space for better things to fill in.

Here we see The Sun – happiness. This is a very Buddha – like paradox. Let go of happiness…to find happiness?

Yup.

It’s not the happiness you are letting go…it’s the searching, striving and TRYING to be happy that has to go.

Stop trying to be happy and stop relying on something or someone in order to be happy. Stop the search for happiness…and just be happy right here, right now with things just as they are in SPITE of everything being just as they are right now. Let go of finding happiness, and just BE whatever you are. It’s like the old Tshirt…Smile. It makes everyone wonder what you are up to.

Or, as Mark Salzberg wrote in Iron and Silk, “There is a saying that it’s the height of stupidity to look for the donkey that you’re already riding on.”

If you spend your time and effort looking for happiness, you never find the happiness that has been riding around inside you the whole time.

“Queue It Up” is like the green room for a TV guest on a talk show, or the on-deck circle for the next batter in a baseball game. This is a growing energy, that is close at hand but not quite in its time just yet. Timing is a theme here, combined with a message to trust your own instincts. This tells you what would be good to carry in your back pocket…your intuition will tell you better than anything when is the right time to deploy this action or this idea. “Queue it up” is something to prepare so you can use it when your intuition says the time is right.

In this case we see our third major arcana card, The Fool. The thing we are preparing is ourselves. All of this manifesting and ash-rising might require a little agility. You might be asked to start something new on spur of the moment. A chance, a leap of faith might crop up in this year’s energy environment, and this card is advising us to keep a little openness, adaptability and willingness to say yes to the unexpected in our pocket so we can take advantage of any sudden, unexpected but excellent opportunities.

Finally we come to the card of the moment. THIS is the idea whose time has come. This is where to focus our energy and attention right NOW. This has an element of release, too, being located right next to our “let it go” card…but this isn’t something to release, but rather something to ALLOW – this is the task at hand, and the flow to roll with.

Being the only minor arcana card gives two hints….that this nonthreatening. It isn’t the big Major arcana energy…it’s going to be ok. Trust. Flow.

Also this is the path of least resistance right now. Fighting the flow might be exhausting. Let it be easy for a few minutes. Not everything has to be filled with effort and striving. Here we get an echo of the previous Sun card’s message.

The ten of pentacles is also a card of happiness. True happiness, and appreciation and gratitude for all that money can’t buy. This is the donkey. This is the happiness we already have that we can only find when we let go of all the striving and looking and trying.

Here I am giving another pop culture reference. It echoes the social media reference to praying for strength over being protected because strength can be used to protect ourselves and those we love as well.

In the TV adaptation of Neil Gaimon’s American Gods, a character said that is the difference between his (Muslim?) prayer and that of the typical American – we pray to be given stuff, while in his tradition they pray to give thanks for what they already have.

Sit with that idea for a while. It is a game changer.

In summary, no one is saving us this year. This is the year when we learn to save ourselves. This isn’t the year when someone or something will make us happy – this is the year when we stop looking for happiness and can discover it was there all along.

Where ever or however you find it, I wish you a year of peace, health, and happiness.

Happy New Year!

Acknowledge the Bittersweet

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New Year traditions around the world often include literal housecleaning. New Years, whenever on the calendar you celebrate it, is a big ‘out with the old, in with the new’ kind of vibe.

The ten of wands energy that has been around for the past few days or s0 isn’t finished with us yet and has called for reinforcements in the form of the five of cups.

The idea of releasing the broken things that no longer serve us and letting them be repaired, refreshed, renewed or reused by others is still here. The idea of releasing old obligations and giving yourself permission to deeply enjoy scaled-down holidays feels just as strong for the new year phase of the holidays as it was for the christmas part.

Letting go of obligations or dialing down the observance of traditions is liberating, but also wistful. Feelings of loss or grief can come hand in hand with the lightness and release. Change is a two edged sword. The wheel of change moves up and down at the same time. It is OK to acknowledge the emotions of this season just as much as it is OK to release the obligations of the season. Releasing the old is an act of courage and hope, one of trust that the void will be filled with the right thing for this place in time.

Thanks again for reading! See you at the next sip!

Have an OK Holiday

Happy Festivus to all who celebrate!

Personally, I love a holiday that is open to anyone and everyone and no one gives a flying hootenanny how you celebrate. Good food. A plain pole. A stack of beer cans. It’s all good.

The Ten of Wands speaks to obligations that we put on ourselves, and the blockages, challenges and obstacles of our own making

Releasing holiday obligations that we put on ourselves (and that can kindle resentments) is its own kind of transformative holiday magic. Letting go of the things that no longer serve others OR yourself may be a little emotionally wrenching or guilt-ridden, especially during the winter holidays, but it makes room for something new, something joyous.

It’s been said that traditions are simply allowing ourselves to be held hostage by dead people. There is some truth to that. But there is also a a great truth that sameness and tradition can be extremely valuable and comforting in turbulent times. The more things suck now, the more we need comforting things like favorite movies and holiday traditions.

Especially those traditions that contain more meaning than money.

It’s OK to keep the perfect from being the enemy of the good.

I wish you the happiest OK holiday season.

See you at the next sip!

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Today’s Tarot: In The Quiet

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The strongest people are often the quietest, gentlest, and kindest.

Integrity and power often work in silence.

Listen –

Do you hear the electrons as they move to power the screen you are looking at right now?

An industrial magnet might make a humming sound….but it can lift a car.

Beware the loud and bombastic. Often it cloaks more hypocrisy than integrity.

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Today’s Tarot: Choose Your Ambition

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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Today’s Tarot: Echoing Silence

It’s a shocker, I know.

I follow a number of Taoist, Buddhist, Accupressure, Traditional Chinese Medicine and other such social media feeds.

This being the waning weeks of the year of the snake has popped up several times over the past few days, associating the end of the year with a metaphoric shedding of skin, as a snake does when it grows and enters a new cycle.

It reminds me of the ouroboros, the image of a snake or dragon eating its own tail that is said to symbolize cycles destruction and rebirth.

Drawing the Star card from the major arcana fits exactly that energy today.

This card is sometimes associated with guidance – like ancient sailors using the stars for navigation. Of course, this winter holiday season, the Christian minded among us might think of the star in the three kings legend. But that isn’t the energy this time at all.

Reference after reference connects The Star with rebirth and renewal.

This is much more cyclic. This is snake skin and ouroboros circles. It’s not about a singular point of guidance. It’s much more complex than that.

When I drew the Star card, I intuitively ‘heard’ “echoing silence” and was reminded of winter nights with a clear sky over snow-covered ground. Even if you are in a city parking lot or a suburban driveway, the night and silence are profound, the quiet echoing behind any noise you might hear.

We are at a cusp. We are at the tail of the ouroboros snake. No one star guides us through this transition.

An entire galaxy of stars promise rebirth.

As dark as this night may be, as anxious and terrifying as the echoing, frigid silence may feel, the stars burn on.

Even the stars move. Everything changes. And that includes changes for the better just as much as the tragedies our fears so often imagine.

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Consequences and Time

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Think of your question or the week ahead. Choose a card.

Pause and choose the card before they are revealed. Choose after. Choose both. There is no wrong way to do this.

Full Moon, reversed: Take advantage of the shift in energies or the shift in energies might take advantage of you. Read the room. Be responsive to the vibe around you, and things can get better. Ignore it, and problems could continue.

Three of Autumn: Things long forgotten now work their cause and effect magic. Something you thought small, beneath notice has grown into something good. A very seven of pentacles type of energy. Enjoy the good investment that you made.

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See you at the next sip!

Deck: Normal Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund

When the pumpkin pie tastes just as it should

It takes a certain courage and generosity of spirit to be kind to yourself. It is OK to be grateful to yourself for that kindness.

What seems flawed on the surface can contain great beauty when we look at it as a whole. Scars are lovely souvenirs of the life you have survived. Removing yourself from unhealthy environments and toxic relationships can cause an ever changing mixed bag of emotions. It can make you exponentially grateful for the good ones. Yeah, this is a time for family…but hopefully it is family defined by love and relationship – shared DNA is optional. Personally, I think the whole Friendsgiving thing is kind of brilliant now that we are years into being a country divided by bigotry, racism, religion, politics and more. I don’t know that it is entirely a bad thing – many have learned the hard lessons that come with living fully, authentically, and protecting your peace.

Expectations are the enemy of a happy holiday. You don’t expect the pickles to taste like pumpkin pie. Smile when vinegar tastes sour because that just means it tastes just like it should. Life can be both bitter and sweet, but it always is as it is. The bitter times make it all the nicer when the pumpkin pie tastes as it should, too.

I’m thankful for all of you, and thankful to still be able to read Tarot for you.

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Back with a card for tomorrow. See you at the next sip!

The World in A Cup

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Pause the video if you want more time to think, then restart to see the reveal.

The World: Whew! You made it through the past few weeks. Halumi and R’amen for that! The World is your cue that things are turning. The world is always your oyster. Sometimes it is just a matter of hanging on until your part of the world turns toward the sun again.

Six of Cups: Only everything is everything. The smallest pleasures hold a universe of delights. It’s OK to enjoy the small things as much as the big things. Delight can come anywhere, from anything, at any time.

When you celebrate little wins, feel relief at finishing tough weeks, and find joy in small things anywhere you find them, the world is delight in a cup

Weekend Oracle (21 Nov 25)

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“The Shockjock” card is drawn from the Alleyman’s Tarot Podcast which expands the backstory and lore behind the Tarot deck, which is yet another facet of why Alleyman’s Tarot is one of my favorite decks. And yes, admittedly, I have collected more decks than I care to admit over the years. The Alleyman’s Tarot and this deck, the Alleyway Oracle of Secrets, is built on the same premise which is set in the same conceptual universe as the original deck.

In the podcast, the ‘shock jock’ is a low filter podcaster prone to blurting out anything who has been following the Alleyman urban legend along with the other cast of characters. (The podcast has a certain Twilight Zone quality and is interesting beyond the Alleyway, if you are interested in giving it a listen)

In any case, this is one of those times where intuition and energy screams louder than the guidebook meaning. This is one of those days that teach us how important it is to listen to your own inner guidance, not necessarily what the deck’s ‘little white book’ might say.

Following your own inner wisdom over outside influences is a giant life skill in and of itself, and we can circle back to that some other day. For today, let’s listen to the shock jock – all puns intended.

In the podcast and Oracle deck guidebook, the shock jock isn’t a deliberate or cynical provocateur. Sure, he is in it for the follows, like all of us on public cyberspace platforms – but he isn’t cruel. The guidebook gives the impression that this card is an irreverent jokester, rooted in humor. The intent is silly, comedic and harmless.

The energy today, however, is opposite. This feels like a reversed card in the classic sense, where the card is read as its opposite.

This is the dark side.

This is a lesson in free speech, connected in a way to the seven of pentacles.

Today is a reminder that cause and effect is still a thing.

You are free to say anything you want. You are equally free to experience the effects that your words cause. Since the energy is a little on the shadow side, it’s tempting to say that you are free to suffer the consequences of what you say, but there is more to it than that.

The seven of pentacles often carries a ‘you reap what you sow’ vibe about it. For both the seven of pentacles and the shock jock, we have to consider both sides of reaping and sowing, of speaking and experiencing.

As we’ve talked about before, “you reap what you sow” often seems punitive, something told to children so they don’t do bad things so that bad things won’t happen to them.

The other side of the threat is the promise. If you reap what you sow, then there is a promise that there will indeed BE a harvest, that good things WILL come from your sincere efforts.

The same is true for our inner shock jock.

Words have meaning. Words have power. They can be used thoughtlessly. They can be used to calm, encourage and heal. Words can be used to wound and cut down. Silence can be golden. Silence is complicity.

Like the seeds that are sown, words have consequences. Say anything you want, or stay silent if you choose, but you will reap a harvest either way.

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Oracle of Secrets deck by Seven Dane Asmund used with permission