when there is never no hope, that means there always is.
There is never no hope means that there always is.
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.
To my way of thinking, the eight of swords is one of those cards with dire looking art, but a bright kernel of courage and perseverance held within it. Just like the yin yang, deep inside anything is the seed of its opposite.
The 8 of swords could be seen as hopeless. The figure is bound, surrounded by swords. As long as time still flows, there is hope. Ropes may loosen, swords fall. Gaps can be found with slow, deliberate, careful, small movements.
This eight of swords card is from the alleyman’s tarot deck by seven dane asmund, used with the author and Publishing Goblin permission. Card art by Liz Mamot.
Swords denote both intellect and action. They also connect with the element of air which can find the smallest spaces and flow between obstacles. When the eight of swords shows up it is your cue to act but thoughtfully. Use out of the box thinking and creative problem solving. Flow and adapt like an autumn breeze. Move, but gently. As long as time still flows there is something to do, even if it is to wait for your opportunity.
Thank you so much for listening. The podcast music is “Daylight is not for Owls” by Owltree, used under a attribution noncommercial nonderivative creative commons license.
The blog and podcast are not monetized. That means that your Tarot message comes first, but it relies on audience support. Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi where your purchases, memberships and virtual coffees all support this unique and free to access Tarot Content.
Links are in the episode description for podcast listeners.
A good Tarot reading begins before anyone touches a card. How do you find a psychic that you can trust?
The best place to start is at the beginning. Or in this case, before the beginning.
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.
Picking up where we left off in the Real Talk Rewind blog post and in honor of the Halloween anniversary of re-branding my old Tarot work into TaoCraft Tarot, I’m re-introducing the whole story start to finish. On one hand this is the part of online work that feels egotistical and weird. Self-promotion is very icky feeling and I can totally see why there are old school superstitions about money and spirituality. On the other hand, the cure for the ickiness is communication and the cure for superstition is rigorous professionalism and full transparency. That’s why I do all of this “a rose by any other name” writing around this time of year.
I am grateful for the opportunity to do Tarot work, and the TaoCraft name and content is the most authentic expression of what it’s all about. But I’ll get back to that later. In fact, I’ll get back to all of that in the ebook I’m still trying to put together, TaoCraft: Portfolio.
If the place to begin is the beginning, let’s begin the story of TaoCraft Tarot BEFORE the beginning. The real beginning of the beginning is when you decide that you want to get a reading.
That is exactly where Portfolio begins too.
Once you have decided that you want a reading, how do you find a psychic that you can trust to do the reading? This is about that step in the process. This is about finding the right person to work with you on that reading you just decided to get. That is where Portfolio comes in. It is written to give some context and background to Tarot in general and my readings in particular so that you can see in detail if TaoCraft Tarot is the right place for you.
This ebook excerpt has a permanent page on the website, and I’ve posted it in the blog before. Here it is again as a beginning before the beginning of any reading we do together, including the collective energy, broad audience Short Sip blog posts and podcast episodes. What follows is an excerpt chapter fromthe upcoming ebook TaoCraft: Portfolio.
The Tao of Finding a Psychic
There aren’t many spiritual portfolios around. So how do you know who is the right psychic for you? How do you avoid scams and know who to trust?
The first step, of course, is to follow your own instincts.
Right away, that sounds like a bunch of double talk. If using your instincts was the answer, then you wouldn’t need to consult a psychic in the first place.
I believe that we all possess good intuition, but sometimes it helps to have another point of view. Two heads really can be better than one. It takes two separate eyes for us to physically see depth and distance. Two points of view can give depth and distance to our ideas, too. Even professional readers consult with other psychics sometimes. Tarot cards and professional psychics are amplifiers for your intuition, not a substitute for it. It’s said that spirit speaks in whispers. We professionals serve to translate spirit’s whispers into louder language that you can actually use.
Most people wouldn’t hesitate to ask friends, family or neighbors for a recommendation if they need a plumber or a mechanic or a hair stylist. Why should this be any different? I wouldn’t suggest asking your super religious granny if she knows a good psychic, but asking like-minded people is a pretty reliable way to find a good reader. Word of mouth is often the only way to find some of the best psychics . If you already know a psychic that you like and trust, recommending them is a wonderful way to support their work.
Without a personal recommendation, you might have to dig a little; read ads, visit websites, ask at small local bookstores or holistic health shops. Those of us on this side of the reading table are a little underground for all the same reasons that you need to be on guard. We still have to protect ourselves and our families from cultural and religious bigotry, even in 21st century America. We have to protect ourselves from the reputation scammers and con artists have brought to psychic services. We have to protect ourselves from people trying to scam us. We have to deal with all the same pitfalls that you do. Wariness on both sides can make it hard for sincere psychics and well meaning clients to connect with each other.
When you get a recommendation or find an ad that catches your attention, don’t be shy. Talk to the person. Text, email or call, but the trick here is to ask calm reasonable questions. Don’t suddenly pour out your heart to a stranger or interrogate them as if they had already done something criminal. Instead, ask them about practical things, like scheduling, location, hours, prices, accepted forms of payment and so on.
It is often easier to get a feel for the person’s personality and ethics from this kind of bland conversation than any other way. Questions like these are safe, neutral ground for both of you. Working psychics want to protect everyone’s privacy and comfort level. If you are just a little bit friendly, you’ll find that a trustworthy psychic will meet you more than half way. If they treat mundane business questions with professionalism and kindness, chances are they will treat your reading the same way. If they seem like they are hiding something, making a hard core sales pitch or it all just seems way too good to be true, then by all means pay attention to those feelings. It’s ok to talk to several people before you commit to an appointment.
Once you’ve talked to people or browsed the ads, if it feels right and you can afford it – try a session. If it is a good match, you’ll know right away. A Tarot reading should never make you feel judged or uncomfortable. If that first session isn’t a good experience, simply try again with someone else. Personality and style are important factors in finding the right psychic for you. Some people enjoy a little glam and drama. Others prefer a relaxed, cookies-at-the-kitchen table vibe. A mismatch in style or personality doesn’t mean that the reader did anything wrong. Neither did you. You should never take it personally or be made to feel that a bad session was your fault for “not believing” or any such nonsense.
Of course, always use plenty of common sense to steer clear of the many scams that do exist. So-called psychics who promise to fix your love life, cure anything, give 100% accurate predictions, or demand regular appointments should be approached with caution. Or better still, not approached at all. I’ve met a lot of excellent psychics and Tarot readers over the past 30 years. None of them, not a single one, ever offers a reading out of the blue to a stranger. Never. Advertising, special offers, or giveaways to the general public are normal business practices. Targeting an individual in the guise of “feeling a connection” or being “led by spirit” to do a reading for them is on par with spam bots and email phishing – or worse.
Thanks to the Internet, no matter where you live, you can get affordable, expert Tarot readings. The extrasensory, intuitive, psychic part of a reading comes from outside of ordinary space and time. Communicating the reading to you by phone or internet instead of in-person doesn’t change the content of the message itself. Distance readings are as exactly as valid as in-person sessions, possibly more so. With a distance reading, you know the message is truly intuitive. With email in particular, there is no way for you to give away body language cues or answer leading questions. Distance readings protect you from deceptive ‘cold readings’ and stage mentalism.
Finding a trustworthy psychic online poses the same problems as finding one in-person, multiplied by the sheer number of people available. Trusting your feelings is all the more important when you work online despite the many cost, convenience, and privacy benefits of a distance reading.
Distance readings are my specialty. I began my public Tarot work online. Over the years, I learned that websites can carry a vibe the same way that physical spaces do. A psychic may not have technical skill as a webmaster, but you can still get a feel for the person behind the web page. As time goes on, blogs and social media have become easier and easier to use. A psychic with few computer skills can present themselves well. An up to date website and social media presence is a good clue to the amount of care and attention that the psychic is putting into their professional practice. An outdated website can mean that the reader is no longer working professionally or that they are better suited to in-person sessions. Good distance psychics seem to be a fairly tech savvy crowd.
In-person or at a distance, there are lots of sincere, trustworthy psychics available but they are sometimes hard to find. It’s worth the effort to find the right price, style, personality, and format for you. You’ll get a better reading and more value for your money in the long run. Following your instincts combined with a little common sense can help you find a trustworthy Tarot reader.
After reading this booklet, I hope your instincts will be to work with me.
Thank you for reading and listening! I appreciate it!
I also appreciate any likes, subs, shares, follows, questions and comments that you can give.
The blog and podcast are not monetized and depend on you. Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot Page on ko-fi.com where your purchases and memberships all support this free to access blog and podcast.
There are more big drink background posts to come. Until then, I’ll see you at the next sip!
A few thoughts on the Two of Pentacles and the time-space continuum.
Lau Tzu, Ben Franklin and Dirk Gently walk into a bar…
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here. These short sip posts & episodes are Tarot contemplations in the time it takes to sip from your coffee.
It sounds a little like some sort of bad “walks into a bar” joke, but the Tao Te Ching, Benjamin Franklin and Dirk Gently all factor into the collective energy today.
Before we get to today’s Two of Pentacles card, I want to thank Madam Adam on Tik Tok for reminding me of the word collective. “Collective energy” really is the perfect way to describe how these general audience reading for social media or a blog feel. It is a much better word for it than the “zeitgeist” or “general audience” energy that I was calling it. It simplifies and clarifies the message when we can refer to ‘the collective’ in the way that energy often refers to the client or sitter or seeker or quierant or whatever word you like to use there. So with thanks for the reminder. Collective is the new adjective.
OK. Back to the collective energy and our unlikely trio of loosely related ideas, all of which comes back to the Two of Pentacles, our penultimate balance card second only to Temperance in the major arcana.
I doubt Benjamin Franklin was influenced by the Tao Te Ching quote “Nature does not hurry, yet all is accomplished” when he wrote that “haste makes waste” but I like to think he would have enjoyed the Tao Te Ching, not to mention the Dirk Gently novels or my personal favorite, the 2016 Max Landis TV adaptation with Dirk’s whispery, excited “everything’s connected.”
Everything IS connected.
The haste and hurry that Franklin and Lau Tzu talk about both are inseparable from physical space and the passage of time. It is science and physics – velocity is distance divided by time. The stars we see in our sky are boggle-your-mind old because they are boggle-your-mind far away and it has taken that long for the light to get here. Time, space, human perception, human activity, haste and waste are all, you know, connected.
Now lets walk around to the other side and look at this from a psychological or spiritual point of view instead.
When do you get stressed? How does time or the perceived lack of it factor into those stressful feelings for you? It seems like excess demands and looming deadlines play an outsized role in perceived stress. We have too much stuff to do and not enough time to do it. How much is too much varies from one person to another, but too much for you is too much however much that much may be.
Sooner or later, something has to give. It’s better to change the circumstances than have the circumstances change your mental or physical health.
You know how when you are resizing an image in a photo editor you can grab a corner and it keeps the proportions the same? The length and the width are connected and if you change one, the other changes right along with it. That is the kind of connectivity that we are talking about here. And that connectivity can be used to improve stress and life balance just as much as it may have helped cause it.
Too much stuff to do? Change that and your perception of time slides right along with it to a more comfortable state of being. That idea of triage and prioritizing and cutting out the unnecessary is a Ten of Wands thing, but it applies here because that is the means and method of finding the balance that the Two of Pentacles is referencing. In this scenario, if we were doing a multiple card layout, the Ten of Wands may well appear as a way to support the Two of Pentacle’s message.
Time passes.
There isn’t anything we can do to stop that, but how we measure time is completely arbitrary and under our control. Deadlines? Move them. If there are bad consequences to doing that, then the deadline might be the better option. If you look at it from a consequence perspective, then your schedule may not shift, the amount of activity needed may not shift, but instead our perception shifts. The deadline and work level may be better than the alternatives. It may all still suck, but it sucks less when you deliberately choose it compared to something worse. Perception isn’t a physical shift, but it is a shift toward increasing balance and decreasing stress just the same.
*sips coffee*
Which is all well and good, but what about the Two of Pentacles here, now, today.
I guess what all of this is saying is that when you are feeling stressed or out of balance, change and adapt what you can, and the rest of it will flex in the direction of less stress because everything is connected, haste makes waste and Nature never hurries and yet all is accomplished.
Use it or lose it with the obscure three of books card
Atrophy is a thing.
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.
The beautiful part of the Alleyman’s Tarot is the exposure it gives to unique or less well known Tarot cards. The downside to the Alleyman’s Tarot is the unique and lesser known cards. 99% of the time the cards read easily, no reference book required. Sometimes a card just doesn’t resonate on that intuitive level. That dissonance can happen even with the most well known and much used Tarot deck that you own. Maybe that is just a professional’s problem. You do a high enough volume of these things, fizzles and disconnects will happen.
Fortunately it is an easy fix. The Alleyman’s Tarot came with the Alleyman’s guidebook which was styled to look like a handwritten journal and is just as brilliant as the deck itself. So when I pull a card that I’m not familiar with and it doesn’t read intuitively, going to the guidebook usually shakes some message or another loose.
If the deck is standard Rider-Waite-Smith type then it gets even more fun. Then you have the option of turning to that deck’s guidebook, any guidebook from any deck that follows that format plus all the stand alone references that aren’t connected to any particular deck. With all of that material as inspiration, something somewhere is bound to ring a bell and resonate with the day’s energy.
Today neither of those things that generally apply helped much.
The Three of Books is from the Jost Amman deck, a 16th century game playing deck. While the artwork on the cards by German artist Jost Amman was originally presented in a booklet with inspirational sayings, the book is rare or lost from what I’ve seen in a brief internet search. So that leaves us with Dane Asmund’s excellent guide book.
Which, today, doesn’t quite capture the feel. He talks about teaching and taming baser instinct. I get mental images of honing a knife on an old fashioned whetstone. After seeing his read and going “nah” that and the mental image led me to the idea of use to avoid atrophy.
Here is another path to the same basic concept.
In Breaking Dawn, Stephanie Meyers writes of elder vampires from Hungary or somewhere in Middle Europe seeming to have physically deteriorated from lack of movement…or something like that. It’s been a while since I read the book, and I don’t think this detail was in the movie. Atrophy is a thing. Muscles that aren’t used, shrink. Couch potatoes and astronauts alike have proven that fact.
In other other words – use it or lose it.
That resonates with today’s energy a little better than taming instincts.
In the 1980s and ’90s there was an American study funded by the National Institute on ageing of over 900 nuns that looked at lifestyle, aging and the onset of dementia. The study showed that nuns who had higher education levels, higher verbal skills at a younger age, and who remained physically and mentally active had less and later onset of dementia.
The moral of the story and advice of today’s card is, essentially, read a book.
Meyer’s vampires became more decrepit the less they moved in spite of their immortality. The nuns aged well because they read more. The human animal is healthier when they are both physically and mentally active and agile.
So read a book. Or three. And I’ll see you at the next sip.
If you enjoyed this free Tarot Reading or any of TaoCraft Tarot’s content, please visit the TaoCraft Tarot Ko-fi page. Reading purchases, shop purchases and virtual coffees all support the creation of this blog and podcast
Please also visit the podcast and blog website and click the purple link for the TaoCraft Tarot Octoberversary celebration offer. (print readers click HERE)
October is TaoCraft Tarot’s fourth anniversary. Look for a special giveaway to celebrate. I know, I know. I swore no more crazypants sales, promotions or giveaways – but this is different. This is a celebration of what is, and has already happened, not a by-product of trying to hustle up new business. BIG difference in energy.
I want this to be all celebration-vibe and zero desperate hustle vibe. I’m grateful for the 15 years I was able to work under the Modern Oracle Tarot website name and the Tarotbytes blog (the archives still exist they are over on my personal blog “Sage & Stuff“) but even more grateful for TaoCraft Tarot where I can finally be my Taoist, witchy, atheist slightly snarky self.
I have a few more finishing touches to finish for this years Fall overhaul. I plan to write an omnibus introduction to things-as-they-are but you know how that goes. You know how that goes. Squirrels.
Our strengths and weaknesses connect us like jigsaw puzzle pieces and together we are stronger
It fits.
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.
Finally things are back to a little bit of a routine. Yesterday, instead of a single card reading, I wrote about the Hermit card and inner peace as I would have for a private email reading for a client.
On one hand, it is a good thing because it gives all of you a look behind the scenes at a private reading and what they are like. You’ll know exactly what to expect
On the other hand, it can be confusing. During a reading with a return client, some parts take on a sort of short hand of references to previous information. That short hand gets even shorter when you are fabricating an example reading based on impressions you get for yourself.
In fact that is what the MadamAdam quote was really about. When he said that he wouldn’t want to take dance lessons from someone who couldn’t dance, he was talking about why on earth would you get a reading from someone who couldn’t / doesn’t read for themselves. That is part of holding up our end of the bargain. As Tarot readers, we hold up our end of the bargain with our clients by reading for ourselves, reading books, watching and learning from other practitioners…we keep ourselves mentally and emotionally healthy to be strong readers and advisors for our clients.
The same, as we saw in the example reading, is true for everyone. By stepping back, by isolating and taking time for ourselves as the Hermit suggests we make ourselves strong to be present and helpful and hold up our end of the bargain with those we love.
Today’s card, Strength, is also from the major arcana just like yesterday’s Hermit card and earns all the same attention for all of the same reasons. (I’ll put a link to that post & episode in the show description for the podcast people. Blog folks can click the link above to get to the same place.)
The Strength card is picking up the thread and continuing the Hermit’s message a bit.
The Hermit gave advice about how to cultivate strength. Strength, the card, is advising what to do with it once its cultivated. Strength in this case is channeled into connection with others.
We each have our strengths and our weaknesses. Think of it as yin and yang. Yin is inward, receiving, like the carved-out parts of a jigsaw puzzle piece. Yang is outward, like the pointy bits of a jigsaw puzzle piece. When we cultivate our strength and use them to help others, AND we allow others to help us and fill in where we need with their particular strengths, that is where we connect. That is where we become stronger still, collectively and individually.
Thank you for reading and listening! Any likes, follows, subs, shares, questions or comments that you can spare are always greatly appreciated. Just like season 3 of the podcast, nothing I do is advertising monetized so I can put your Tarot message first, not a commercial message. If you enjoy these Tarot readings and behind the Tarot scenes insights, please support the blog and podcast on ko-fi.com/TaoCraftTarot
Thanks again, and I’ll see you at the next sip!
Kune ni estas fortaj is Esperanto for “Together we are strong”
Example of a private client email Short Sip Tarot readings. Private readings have a different focus from the broad topics we usually see on the blog
It’s called “inner” peace because that’s where it has to happen no matter what the outside is like.
Hello and welcome back to TaoCraft Tarot blog for what I’m calling season 4 of the audio blog a.k.a. the podcast. I’m glad you are here whatever you want to call it. The text to speech capability that wordpress, anchor fm and spotify offer is working out really well for me so I’m going to keep the blog and podcast as they are unless I hear differently from all of you. I’m a good writer, but not such a good media talent or voice actor. I’m happy to let technology compensate. In the end, you will get a better tasting sip of Tarot.
Happy belated equinox everyone! This is as good of a time as any to start a new season of the podcast. I’ve heard that it’s good practice to re-introduce yourself every now and then. October is the fourth anniversary of rebranding from Modern Oracle Tarot to TaoCraft Tarot. Halloween is often considered the witches’ new year so it all kind of fits. Look for some review and announcement content on the print blog over the next few weeks
Generally speaking, the blog and podcast will post late morning or early afternoon Monday through Friday, but it may skip some days unexpectedly. Social media is completely random. The members-only blog will still get a reliable “Pathway Through the Month” reading near the 1st of each month, a newsletter close to the 15th of each month and the “Tarot Turnover” intuition building exercise every weekend. Stay tuned to the free print blog to learn about other members-only benefits.
The most important message I want to get out to you today is that I am always, always grateful to you for reading, listening, liking, subscribing & sharing but most of all for your questions and comments. Thank you to each and every single one of you.
It happens sometimes.
Sometimes I will pull a card with every intention of doing a general audience blog reading but instead the Tarot message will land right in my own wheelhouse like the Hermit card did today.
The card resonated so well when I drew it that it gave me an idea. Instead of the usual “short sip” reading, I’m going to write this as if it was a one card reading for a client. That way all of you can see (or hear) how my email readings work. The information and detail you get in a private one card is different from the broad topics we usually talk about in a short sip post.
Because I’m a writer, email readings like this are my specialty. Think of an email reading as a written transcript of exactly what I would say to you if we were meeting face to face. Written intuition being exactly equal to spoken intuition is the introverted clairvoyant’s superpower. It’s a win-win for everyone. I get an enjoyable work flow while you get the convenience of 24/7 no-appointment ordering plus a photo of your cards plus a record of the session that you can read (and re-read) whenever you like, as many times as you like. Email readings are supremely private, utterly convenient, not to mention affordable. Here is a comparison for you. In my in-person one hour sessions I use a seven card Tarot layout. I give you that exact same reading by email for 65 cents a minute. Compare that 65 cents per minute to the current national average of 1 to 5 dollars per minute for a psychic reading. That’s already a heck of a bargain when you factor in my 30 years of Tarot reading experience. So no, I don’t do readings for free outside blog and podcast, and no, I’m not doing any more sales or giveaways other than those that are part of the ko-fi memberships. This isn’t a scam but I have legit expenses like web hosting, book keeping, food and so on.
But I digress. Back to the Hermit card.
Let’s roleplay this a little.
I’ll write today’s post as if it were a one card email reading for a private client, using the impressions that came through when I drew the Hermit card earlier. If you like, pretend this is a private reading, just for you. Kick the tires and take it out for a test-drive to see how you like the email format. Then if you ever order a private email reading with me, you can be confident it will meet or exceed your expectations because you’ll already know what to expect.
Question: Hi. My name is Tired Person who has had a super chaotic couple of weeks. I would like the left cut of the deck when you shuffle please. I don’t have a question or topic. I’m open to whatever message or guidance the card can give. Thank you.
A: Hello Sleepy. I hope the reading gives you a little boost. Tarot is all about that kind of encouragement and inspiration, not predictions, but you already know that. I know your circumstances from our conversation earlier, but I won’t publish any of those details. Protecting your privacy is a major priority. Thank you for giving permission to share your card reading. I never share a reading for a specific person without their permission, and even then I redact it more than the CIA to keep any identifying information out of it.
Had a hunch that the Alleyman’s Tarot was the right one to use today. Your card is the Hermit from the major arcana. This particular Hermit card was drawn by Aka Skyweb for the Ariadne’s Thread Tarot deck. (Side note to the blog and podcast: I use the Alleyman’s Tarot deck with permission from Publishing Goblin LLC. )
Major Arcana vs minor arcana isn’t quite as telling with one card as it is in a larger layout. Intuitively it doesn’t feel like the card is pointing to a major life lesson, big decision, or major turning point in life as major arcana cards sometimes can. Minor arcana cards outnumber the majors almost two to one. I don’t know the exact math, but chances are that any given single card draw will result in a minor arcana card. Given that, major arcana cards always earn a little extra consideration in any size of reading.
If the arcana reads into this at all, it is to say that this is a high energy time time for you, just as you described. For you it felt chaotic, but that level of energy can also be stressful or invigorating. Everyone feels it differently. Whatever this higher intensity energy makes you feel, usually you feel a lot of it. However you describe it, the card is acknowledging and validating the high wattage energy you’ve felt recently. In any reading, any card in any layout position can have different spin or different flavors of message. It can be an advice message giving you something to consider doing. It can be a caution message giving you something to consider avoiding. It can be recognition or validation, like a cosmic “I hear you.” Or, as in this case, it can be a reassurance message. The feeling around this card very much is letting you know that you are on the right path and doing the right thing for this moment in time.
The Hermit symbolizes seeking isolation and finding inner peace and wisdom. It is about insight that becomes a light in the dark. Outer quiet clearly isn’t an option for you right now, so let’s look at the inner part of it.
In your case, it is letting you know that the self care you have already been doing is the right thing. It is perfectly ok to dial back a little on things that you have been focused on to shift your attention elsewhere. It’s better to do one thing at a time as best as you can than to half-ass a bunch of different things. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.” Your time and attention is a worthy gift. If you wanted to share a bottle of expensive wine with friends, you wouldn’t break the bottle into pieces to share it all at once. You would pour a little into each glass in turn one at a time. I don’t know the full details of the situation, but it feels like you are being told one thing at a time, not everything all at once. “One thing at a time in the right order, first things first” is good advice for adults too, not just small children.
I ‘hear’ “Red thread of continuity.” Of course, when I say ‘hear’ it means that the intuition comes as mental words, sounds or music instead of as mental images (that’s the difference between clairaudient and clairvoyant) which refers to the read thread on this particular version of the Hermit. I think what that all means is that whatever that thing you set aside or de-prioritized for a time CAN and SHOULD be picked up again once the current chaos has passed. You did the right thing putting one thing on the backburner for a time in order to give the best of yourself to something more important.
This card strongly reminds me of a live feed I was watching of a fellow Tarot reader (MadamAdam) Some of what he said very much applies with the energy here.
You’ve talked and written about self care. It’s important that you have led by example during this time. It’s important that you stepped back from work to take care of yourself and your family. People need to know your advice is real, and that you follow it for yourself and that it WORKS. Like “Madam Adam” said that it is important to “keep up your end of the bargain” your family, yourself and your professional clients by keeping yourself healthy and well and learning and growing and doing all of those things we professionals, in all of our wisdom, tell other people to do. He really made the point when he said “Why would I take dance lessons from someone who can’t dance?” Indeed. Why would any of us take advice from someone who doesn’t take care of their own spiritual and emotional wellness?
Stepping back from work did something important for yourself. Stepping back from work also kept up your end of the bargain to provide good service to your clients. Don’t beat yourself up for not sticking to some arbitrary schedule that you make up for yourself in the first place.
By stepping back from work, you gave a fuller measure of yourself to loved ones which is infinitely more important than ANY mundane task.
Plus the red thread thing shows that nothing was lost, you can pick right up where you left off.
The red thread of continuity shows that everything was gained by being true to your own insight and your own priorities.
A lot of times the Hermit card gives us advice to find quiet and carve out the quiet time we need. All the quiet and isolation in the world won’t help when you are churning on the inside. By the same token, all the outer chaos in the world can’t touch calm that comes from the inside. That’s why they call it “inner peace” because that is where it has to happen no matter what is or isn’t going on around you.
Intuitively I see a shiny black crystal…I think it is black tourmaline more than hematite which will protect your energy. In my mind’s eye, I see meditation beads so whatever meditation, yoga, tai chi or chi gong practice you might have, please do indulge in that as best as you can. For aromatherapy, I get sandalwood, copal, amber. Lavender, chamomile, bergamot are your standard issue aromatherapy recommendations for stressful, chaotic times. I think they might actually get on your nerves more than support them. Go for warm smokey woody scents for those times when the world is getting on your last nerve.
And get some sleep. Take a nap as much as things will let you. Sleep is an incredibly healing thing.
There the energy steps back. I hope that helps. As always if you have any questions about the reading or anything else, leave it in the blog comments or send an email. The contact is on the website.
Hang in there!
I hope the mock up reading helps you, too. Thanks again for reading and listening. See you at the next sip!
Hi and welcome to the TaoCraft Tarot Blog and Podcast. I’m glad you are here.
Yay! We made it to September. Consider this place magically totally decorated for Autumn and Halloween just like the internet memes. Because it is officially pumpkin spice season, and because I say so. Cinnamon everything for the next six months!!
Today’s card is The World from the major arcana and it fits the mood. The World is a generally positive card, associated with yes in the really old, complicated ways of doing yes-or-no readings. I’m not burning brain cells on memorizing the yes or no implications for all 78 cards, so I’m sticking with my three stack deal and aces method. It works really well for that kind of reading. Older isn’t always better, even in Tarot.
The world card is a good omen card if you work from a predictive stance. The world is the last of the major arcana cards. The Fool is the first card and has come to be associated with new beginnings. In much the same way, the World card connotes happy endings. I’ve always associated it with that saying “the world is your oyster.” The interwebs say the phrase originated with Shakespeare and signifies life giving riches and good things like an oyster produces a pearl. I’m guessing that it might also hint that you are able to make good things happen for yourself no matter what life throws at you just like an oyster makes a pearl out of a grain of sand. That idea in turn resonates with that whole make lemonade out of lemons thing. Put all of those impressions together, and today seems to be a good day to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps despite this avalanche of homespun aphorisms and be confident about it because energies are flowing toward a good outcome if you do.
Looking at life through the biggest of big pictures is a way to help you to create that good outcome, it seems.
German must be a fun language. Part of me wants to learn it, but the part of me that dislikes noun gender tends to win that debate. Still the German language has given us some pretty cool words, like geshundheit to say for sneezes, schadenfreude for when political tea is spilled, Reinheitsgebot for their beer purity laws and the one that always makes me giggle like a 12 year old – krankenwagen for an ambulance.
Gestalt is another useful German word. According to the Google machine, gestalt literally translates as “shape” As it relates to the World card, however, it is more like the gestalt branch of psychology and psychotherapy. In a shorthand sort of way, it is about understanding the shape of things. I think of it as starting from the biggest big picture point of view that you can muster, then see how everything fits together into that – if you will pardon the pun – world view. It’s no surprise that gestalt and wholeness have been added to contemporary meanings for the World card.
When the World card turns up in a reading, consider it a good omen and a sign of a happy conclusion on the way. If that doesn’t fit then consider it a reminder to keep the big picture in mind. Look at how all the pieces fit together. Look at the whole forest, not just one bothersome tree.
Which is why astronaut Ron Garan’s The Orbital Perspective is on my enormous want-to-read list. I’m a gestalt kind of gal. The more I see and understand the big picture the better I like it. That is also why I would urge all of you to read Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot.
Problems shrink when you stack them next to the whole world.
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Thank you again, and I’ll see you at the next sip.
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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