yes or no tarot – Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot

Q&A: Did I make a mistake?

This is a yes/no layout that the recipient allowed me to share with you, so you can see what an email Tarot reading with me is actually like. Instead of a video (that I for the blog) email readings get a static photo of your unique, real-world card layout.

Q: I got a reading with you almost a year ago. The reading said it was a good time to think about a job change. Not long after that, I got an unexpected job offer and took it. It seemed like the right thing to do and everything seems to be going well, but some doubts are starting to creep in. Did I do the right thing?

A: First of all thank you for letting me share your reading with the blog. It is such a positive energy and we could all use a little boost of good news these days.

And positive it is!

This is the most definite YES! energy that I’ve seen in a while. Usually, even in these “Zombie Cat” yes/no readings there is a lot of fluidity and emphasis on the power of choice.

This reminds me of that bitmoji where the energies and your spirit guides just sip a coffee and say YUP.

I apologize for this being a short reading. It always feels like these concise clear answers are too easy, that I’m not giving you your money’s worth. I hope the ‘yup’ is as valuable and reassuring as the energy feels on this end. It feels surprising too. If you ever had any doubts about your personal power, your path of magick, you can set those right on to the side. You are in a good place. All the effort has been worth it and people are starting to see all you’ve put into your growth and building good things for you and your family both in terms of real world, tangible things – but even more importantly for the positive esoteric energies that follow you around like your favorite perfume.

As you probably remember, these yes/no readings work a little like an I ching coin toss. Two aces = yes, but three aces mean a yes that can be easily tipped over to the opposite if you choose to do so. In this case, you are solid, which I’m guessing is just the news you wanted to hear.

Going card by card after the basic answer –

Ten of Cups is just as good as it looks. Cups are symbolic of closest relationships (as well as the element of water, intuition, emotions) This shows that the choice you made is good for you and your family, which you have always said is your number one priority.

Ace of Pentacles is as job related as you can get for this question. Pentacles are Earth, real world, career, finances. This is pure reassurance that work will work out ok.

Ace of Cups moves its focus from family & relationships to the water & intuition realm of the suit. Your instincts were right on target. Again, huge validation energy here. Doubts are normal. Stay on the lookout for any real problems emerging, certainly, but don’t get stuck in the past. The energy is very forward-looking at the same time it is reassuring.

I see blue…like a lighter gemstone, along the lines of blue lace agate or apatite. But that being said, I also feel pushed to say wear whatever crystals make you feel as powerful as you are. Lapis Lazuli steps forward too. In fact that is overtaking the lighter. Lapis, definitely lapis. I’m getting the usual woody scents like the meditative ones that usually come through for you. This time it is a little sweeter like copal or frankincense.

A quick flash of crossed over loved ones of an older generation – parents or grandparents. I ‘hear’ “honor the ancestors” but it is Dios De Los Muertos season. Now the taste of candy, like a vanilla taffy. Does that have any meaning for you?

Again Dia De Los Muertos (I hope I’m spelling that right) images.

And there the energies step back.

I hope that puts your doubts at ease! Gurrrl – you are SO on the right path!

Thanks again for letting me share such a cool-feeling reading!

Cheers and best wishes

The Layouts Explained

Tarot behind the scenes. Private readings are OPEN throughout the holiday season.

Order Private Tarot HERE

When we talk about the “layout” or “card spread” in Tarot, it literally means how the cards are placed on the table during a reading. The photo above shows a three card layout.

Anything beyond that becomes arbitrary, symbolic and part of the internal intuitive process of doing a reading. In this three card example, the cards could mean past, present and future. It could be read left to right or right to left. It could be a yes-or-no layout (a “no” in this case) Owl and Bones on Instagram once posted a layout where three cards like this could be read as “embrace, face, erase.” The possibilities are endless.

With layouts, the most important thing is the position meanings.

For the layout and reading to be helpful, it is important to have a clear, set idea about what each card position means. If we think of the cards in the picture as a past-present-future reading, before you even shuffle, know for sure which card will mean which thing. Are you reading right to left or left to right? Is the high priestess being read as past or future? Know before you go as they say.

You can write a layout to have as many cards with whatever card position meanings that you like. It is all perfectly fine, as long as you decide before you begin. That decision is a key thing that helps the right message and meaning to come through your reading.

Here are the layouts that I’ve written that I use for my private Tarot readings:

Seasons

five cards
layout intended to give advice about how to best navigate the energy environment for the upcoming year
four cards for each upcoming season, read left to right in calendar order beginning from the current season when the reading is ordered
One card above the others to summarize the year as a whole

TaoCraft Path

Five cards
intended for understanding the current situation and guidance navigating the near-future path at hand
read right to left: the past’s influence, the current energies, the best way to move forward, the ‘greater path’ (the direction things are headed, the most accessible path forward) and the lesser path (a path forward that is open to choose, but holds more challenges)

Yes / No

Three cards
elaborate shuffling and dealing method to reach the final three cards
uses all three showing cards to determine a simple yes or no answer
each of the three cards is then used to give a message relative to the question that was asked

Sage Sip

One card
general guidance, daily meditation, or focused follow-up to a larger reading
Ancient and ubiquitous, no one knows the origins of the one card layout.

Sage Sip members on ko-fi get free one card readings by email (at your request only) up to 3 per calendar month, discounts on the larger layouts, exclusive content and special offers. JOIN HERE.

Image credits: all photos by the author using public domain Waite Smith cards except “seasons” layout image, also photo by the author using Witches Tarot deck by Ellen Dugan and Mark Evans copyright 1996 used with permission Llewellyn publishing

Layouts and Prices updated

Affordable, convenient, cozy and kind: Email readings are my specialty and most arrive to your inbox within 24 hours. No appointment needed for email readings.

effective now:

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“Seasons”: 5 cards to look at the energy year ahead – $30
“TaoCraft Path“: 5 cards to guide decisions, open advice – $30
“Zombie Cat” Yes-or-No: 3 cards for a short, focused answer $15
Sage Sip One Card Meditation: specific clarity or open guidance – $5
Email Sage Sip readings are FREE for Sage Sip ko-fi members

Order recorded video Tarot

Spoken word, pre-recorded reading
See your unique, real-world cards being drawn
private share video
Seven Cards – $40

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Experience the ancient magick of real ink and paper
Includes hand drawn sigil representing your reading’s intent
Available to US Residents only
postage and handling included
4 card TaoCraft Path $30
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Private In-person or live phone/online readings

by advance appointment only, limited availability – contact me to schedule
Phone: 5 cards – $30
In-person: 7 card – $40
Pre-pay with PayPal invoice
Live readings average 30-45 minutes but please allow up to 1 hour if needed
in-person: we meet in a quiet public place. I don’t keep a physical office and pass the savings on to you.

All Tarot readings are customized ephemeral folk art intended for entertainment, enrichment and spiritual expression. These advice style readings do not predict the future. No medical, legal, or third person questions

All policies apply.

Back Up and Start Over

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

You can do anything you want.

Sure, there are consequences to our decisions, but you can choose anything if you are willing to deal with the fallout.

Unless you are a physician, health care professional, public safety first responder, military commander or one of some very special people, we typically don’t make irrevocable life and death decisions in our daily life.

Some decisions change us forever. The old version of ourselves is forever changed; Birth, death, marriage and more

The simple passage of time changes everything. Every moment is new. Every moment is forever gone after its brief spark of existence.

And there are some decisions that just don’t matter all that much. Wear one shirt today, wear the other tomorrow. Have whatever for lunch, have the other thing tomorrow. The ability to adapt and change – including changing your mind about things – is an essential skill. Adaptability is a survival skill.

In the big picture of things, the name of a side-business is a trivial thing.

You all know me, my work. I want it to reach new people and thrive. Sage Words just isn’t getting the traction I’d hoped and honestly, I just like the name TaoCraft better.

I made a bad choice, so now I’m rolling it back. Sure, it isn’t the best idea from a marketing or business standpoint, but that isn’t why I do Tarot. I read because I enjoy it, I’m good at it, it’s fun to do something you’re good at doing. If Tarot is some measure of comfort or entertainment for other people – double bonus!

And yes, I want the money. I’m earning it honestly through the writing skill, high level of professionalism and Tarot reading experience that I bring to your readings. Plus, I like being able to buy food and stuff, so getting paid for my time and work comes in mighty darn handy. Especially when it’s that web hosting bill time of year.

As the frosting on top, I just plain like the TaoCraft Tarot name better. It makes me happy. I don’t care that it sounds odd, or that I have to spell it for people all of the time. Taoism and witchcraft have brought joy to me over the years. It’s not cultural appropriation to honor that, as this name is intended to do.

I’m rambling on and on about names again because over the next few weeks I’m reclaiming my favorite one.

The writing name and blog name is staying though. I like those.

Just wanted to let you know to expect a gradual un-rebranding over the next several weeks. If you want a reading, and a link is broken or you can’t find what you want, please don’t hesitate to email directly to TaoCraftTarot@gmail.com OR to SageWordsTarot@gmail.com (both will work for a long time moving forward)

It’s still me, it’s still all the same quality, the same policies, the same coffee-loving blog metaphor.

And Zombie Cat yes/no readings are still on the main reading menu until 9-21-24

See you at the next re-re-branded sip!

Ask Me Anything Q&A: Sing

M**** asks:

Should I become a singer? Would people listen to my music?

Hi M___

Thank you so much for your question.

Before we start, I want to let you know that I personally know nothing about music. Everything in this reading is 100% pure intuition. So if I say anything that feels prickly, or makes you feel defensive, or feels just wrong from a musician’s point of view, please pay attention to that. Those feelings are telling and can guide you as much as what the cards say.

I do have several semi-pro musicians & amateur singers in my family. Knowing how important music and performing can be to a person, I could never tell you NOT to sing. But that is the real crux of all of this. Do you want to sing, or do you want to be a singer?

But that being said, let’s look at the second part of your question first, then we can draw cards and get to the real root of this message for you.

Would people listen to my music? – I don’t know. No one knows. Tarot and psychics do not predict the future, or read people’s minds. If I knew what people were going to like and do, I wouldn’t be on social media trying to showcase my readings and entice people to buy them.

It’s like the “choose your card” post that included the “Lightning in a Bottle” card from the Alleyman’s Tarot deck: “If you want to catch lightning in a bottle you have to stand out in a lot of rainstorms.”

The only way to know if people will listen to you is to sing. Even if you find out the hard thing the hard way, you’ll know. If people listen, you’ll know it was the right choice. If they don’t, you’ll know if being a singer is worth trying and trying and trying again until they do – or not. Is singing worth it if nobody listens but you? Is the music and singing your passion? Is singing its own reward? Or is the people listening to you the real reward and it doesn’t matter if you get their attention through singing, or dancing, or acting, or writing, or some other form of artistic expression?

The first part of your question, “should I become a singer” is perfect for for a “zombie cat yes/no” layout. I explain how those are done in the post from back in February “The Way of Zombie Cat“

Your three cards were: Ace of Wands, 8 of Swords, and The Lovers

One ace among three cards is a NO.

If that answer disappoints you, then that is your real answer.

If you were hoping for a ‘yes’ then let’s keep reading with the other cards and see how to change the ‘no’ into a ‘yes.’

Are you willing to be a singer even if no one listens?

Let’s look at this card by card.

Ace cards are the essence of the suit. Wands have to do with your relationship with yourself, your inner world of philosophy and spirit. Wands are associated with the element fire symbolizing passions. This is the ‘yes’ energy of the reading, even if it is outnumbered by the other card energies.

My hunch this means that the ‘no’ is more of ‘not right now’ than a flat ‘never.’

Something inside needs to change before being a singer is the right thing to do. You need to know how important it is to you. You need to understand the reasons why you want to be a singer and decide if it is worth it, even if it is hard, even if it doesn’t work out the way you want it to work out. Does your fire burn bright enough to endure if endurance is needed?

Eight of Swords: something is holding you back. It’s like that old saying “if you have to ask you can’t afford it.” If you have to ask if you should become a singer, then something is holding you back. What is causing your uncertainty?

By the same token, never wait for perfection. If you wait for the perfect time, the right time will never come. Waiting for the right time can be smart, but it can also be a prison. If you want to be a singer, why not? If no one listens, so what? The experience will always be a part of your story. In the long run what will you regret more – trying and failing or never trying and never knowing if you could do it?

Whatever the mental trap is, this card also means it is escapable. Whatever problems can be solved, but you have to think outside the box. Creative problem solving is key.

The Lovers is a major arcana card, and as such can carry two messages sometimes. That is the case here.

The Lover’s isn’t about romantic relationships as much as people like to think. It is about deep desire for anything, regardless of what that may be. When it comes to being a singer, think about what it is you really want. Is your heart’s desire to be involved with music? Or is performance? Or is it communication? Or self-expression? What is it you really want from being a singer. Focus on that – and the path to and through singer-hood will be easier to find.

The second message this card carries is a nod to the popular reputation that the Lovers card has. It is just a reminder to think about how being a singer will fit into the big picture of your life. What effect will being a singer have on your family relationships, your work relationships, friendships, and yes, any romance that may be in your life.

So, will anyone listen to your music. There is no way to know except to perform or have your music performed and see.

Should you be a singer? If you are asking the question, the answer is probably no. BUT after you look inside, after you become clear about your motivations and desires and true goals, then you’ll know the answer for yourself, no tarot cards required.

That’s when the answer could easily turn into a YES. One you know in your heart if you should be a singer, then nothing can stop you from finding your path.

Good Luck!

Would you like a question answered for free in the blog, possibly with a full free Tarot reading like this one? Click the “ask me anything” tab in the menu at the top of the page. Take a chance. All “Ask Me Anything” questions are answered for free with a blog post.

If you would like a private yes/no reading like this, you can order it HERE. Zombie Cat will be on the order page until the autumn equinox for $15 ($10 for members) After that, they return to ‘special request only’ status.

drawing of a white zombie cat holding a tarot card.

Pick a deck, any deck

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

Pick a Deck, Any Deck

If you are going to read Tarot cards, first you need – um – Tarot cards.

There is lore, tradition if you will, that to be a successful Tarot reader you must receive your first deck as a gift.

Bullpuckey.

Literally, this holds no water at all. I can see a metaphor in it. That the “deck” must be “given” could be the good advice to find a teacher. Teacher might mean anything from a book, an actual person, or even a humble blog like this one. The point is to have some guide, some inspiration, some point of reference and learning. Psychics should be life-long learners just like any good professional. The wise people and cunning folk who are drawn to Tarot tend to be curious with a love of learning anyway, professional or not.

I’ve had many wonderful teachers over the years – both in actual classes and defacto examples, beloved authors and more.

First was Sallie who gave my first ever reading and whose oft repeated phrase (and later title of her book) “the highest and best” is still the prime intent of every reading I do. Thanks to Paul and his brother Roger who taught psychometry and aura reading, visiting a museum will never be the same. Joy Star taught intuition development classes – and sparked many epiphanies. I can’t recommend the writings of Ted Andrews, Christopher Penczak, Mat Auryn, and of course “Magical Tarot, Mystical Tao” by Diane Morgan highly enough.

All of that is great, but what about the actual, literal deck of cards?

Pick a deck, any deck.

It’s an occupational hazard for Tarot readers. We all have a bunch of decks. (If you don – you will, child, you will)

Like everything else in the business, the best advice is to follow your instincts. When you know, you know. When looking at a deck seems to pop ideas and interpretations right into your head, then that deck is very readable for you as an individual. If you want it and can afford it – go for it.

Most of my deck purchases have been driven by the aesthetics (and granted permissions) of photographing the cards for the blog. Special thanks and shout-out to Seven Dane Asmund of publishinggoblin.com and Thom Pham of heartofstarstarot.com for allowing me to use their brilliant creations.

Once you have more than one deck, how do you know which deck to use in any given reading? Once again – pure instinct comes to the rescue.

We Tarot types also tend to anthropomorphize our decks. They do seem to have personalities. I suppose it’s no different than the kind of relationship Han Solo had with the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars or that a sea captain has with his ship. For example, I have one deck that I mostly picked up to support a small business and as a souvenir of a vacation. Although I know some readers that love it, that particular deck is about as readable as a brick for me EXCEPT for yes/no layouts. My black cats deck loves yes/no readings. That’s partly what sparked the idea for bringing “zombie cat” out of a one time post and making a full on alter ego reading out of it.

Zombie can and the black cats deck have an attitude, and will answer any questions even if they turn out to be dead wrong about it.

With distance readings, I’ll pick up whichever deck just seems right. More often than not, it will prove itself to be a good choice because the artwork on the deck is more apt for the message compared to other decks.

When I go to in-person readings, I often carry two decks and let the client choose while they are still in the bag. For parties,which I very seldom do any more, I’ll choose whichever deck I’m feeling for the night in order to meet the demands of party style readings.

(P.S. party and in-person readings are still closed for summer. When they return in the fall, it will be on a very limited basis – please follow the blog for details)

Do you have a favorite Tarot card or one you feel really represents you right now? Most of us do, and it seems common for it to change as time goes by. If you are in the market for a Tarot deck, comparing your personal “significator” card among decks is one way to find a deck that is a good energy match for you. Look for a deck that has artwork that increases the resonance with that one special card even more.

Or look at a few favorite cards. If special key cards resonate with you, there is a good chance the whole deck will be serviceable as far as readings go.

Aesthetics for photos is another story. Make sure you are clear about copyrights and permissions for that, no intuition about it.

Once you pick your new deck and indulge in purchasing (or, lucky you, get one as a gift) make friends with the deck. There are lots of ways to do that.

Just handling it, shuffling it, browsing it is a good start. Or, as we’ve done here with the Alleyman’s Tarot and the Lenormand Tarot, just USE it. Daily one card meditation readings are a great way to learn BOTH your deck and how to read Tarot in general.

Want to learn to do daily meditation readings? It’s HERE in my ebook Peace tarot.

You can also get to know a new deck through interviews. You can set the intention of learning the deck, then ask questions about the deck itself. Daily-Tarot-Girl.com has some wonderful interview your new deck ideas. Check out Kate’s fantastic suggestions!

I’ve tried this one – it works. You know that Black Cats deck I was telling you about earlier that seems to like doing the yes/no readings? The interview technique confirmed that hunch, so that’s the deck I use for Zombie Cat readings these days.

So yes, in a sense, you must be “given” your first Tarot deck in a symbolic way insofar as finding a guide: books, a class, a mentor of some sort.

And no, you don’t have to be literally given your literal first deck as a gift – although it is a really cool gift to receive regardless of your Tarot reading experience level.

In short, pick a deck, any deck – and then get to reading.

Speaking of reading – thank you as always for reading Sage Sips’ blog and social media posts.

See you at the next sip!

I’m as curious as you are

Private readings are OPEN. Order video or email HERE, no appointment needed

Deck citations: top row Alleyman’s Tarot by Seven Dane Asmund, used with permission. 2nd and 3rd rows Black Cats Tarot by Maria Kurara copyright 2013 all rights reserved, used with permissions granted on llwellynpublishing.com

Tarot readers are as bad as everyone else.

As deeply as we know that the future is fluid, subject to choice, controlled by simple cause and effect and not subject to exact Tarot predictions – we love a good game of magic 8 ball and will instinctively try to peek at the path ahead as much as anyone else.

Back when I used to work as a Tarot reader for parties and events, I would sit and do yes/no readings to amuse myself until the event opened or until guests wandered over to my table. Shuffling and turning the cards would also let people know exactly what was happening at a glance.

In any case, I’d do three card yes/no readings (exactly like the “zombie cat” yes/no readings available for the “summer shamble”) for silly, fun, trivial questions like “will it rain tomorrow” or more importantly (depending on who you talk to) “will the Penguins win the Stanley Cup next season?” or something like that.

The three card yes/no Tarot layout that I use deals three stacks of cards, stopping at thirteen cards or an ace card whichever comes first for that stack. no aces =no, but easily changed; one ace = flat no; two aces = flat yes; Three aces = yes, but easily changed.

For individual private readings, I’ll add any intuitive thoughts the individual card meanings prompt to fill out the total reading, including the usual psychic / intuitive summary paragraph.

The down side to this is that it doesn’t tell you squat for nothing about open ended questions like “who will win tonight’s presidential debate?” You have to break it down into multiple yes or no components to get any sort of insight at all.

In the photo above, the top row of three was the response to “will President Biden win tonight’s (27 June 2024) debate?

The second row is will (the fascist, racist, rapist, convicted felon whose name will never be mentioned) win tonight’s debate

Dealing and shuffling all of this was a little tedious to do much less video, so you are going to have to trust me that after shuffling 7 times each and dealing right to left to each stack these are the end results.

Will President Biden win? – flat yes

The ace of wands hints that the President will express his true self and true character. If he wins the election this would be his last term, he has nothing to lose by making an impassioned, authentic case. The knight of pentacles and ace of pentacles in the artwork used in this deck (a favorite for yes/no layouts) both hint at a journey in progress. Pentacles themselves hint at physical realm success and wealth – perhaps a bump in fundraising but both cards have an energy overall positive outcomes.

Will the fascist, racist, rapist, convicted felon win? – flat no

Interestingly, in spite of re-shuffling the cards seven times and re-dealing the stacks from scratch, both have the ace of wands in the same position. I think it holds the same meaning for both men, that they will show their true colors. How those colors are seen and received will, as always, depend on the lens through which the audience views them. But the Star card is interesting. I think it is directed more toward audience perceptions then evil orangefuhrers debate performance. The Star card is very much a ‘guiding light’ kind of star. Perhaps the debate will have a greater impact on voting decisions than originally thought. Maybe, must maybe, it will dawn on people who haven’t cared before or haven’t followed the news before what, exactly, is going on.

I have too much personal bias to fairly interpret the final card. In my eyes the Hierophant (Pope) card speaks to evangelical support for this candidate and their blind fanaticism for his candidacy, which mirrors their blind, dogmatic following of their religion so they will not be swayed. While not technically a ‘win’ overall or to 2/3 of the nation, his evangelical base will not be lost either.

But take all this with a giant grain of salt. I thought Bernie Sanders was going to win in 2016.

Let’s hope the timeline we land in tonight is a brighter one than we landed in back in November 2016.

Like with Tarot, your choice matters more than any thin attempt at “prediction” – political or personal.

James Carville’s famous quote applies just as much to Tarot and intuition as it does to politics: “…I’d rather not predict, I’d rather affect.”

Same.

I’d rather not predict. I’d rather give you the conceptual tools to make choices that will affect your future, to help you create the future you hope for.

See you at the next sip. Or rather large drink, depending on your political leanings.

Short Sip Zombie Cat Tarot: Nope

Honesty is healing even when it is harsh.

No. uh-uh. Cards say noooo.

Hi and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here. Short Sip episodes are Tarot contemplations for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee.

Yesterday we had a whole mug full with the rewrite of “Meet Zombie Cat.”

Today we are to sounding like that insurance company commercial that knows a thing or two because they’ve seen a thing or two. I’ve done a lot of Tarot readings. I stopped counting at 300 plus way back in my online “Baihu” days.

Tarot is best suited to answer”Am I doing the right thing?” but Tarot is most often asked things like “Will we get back together?”

Not, mind you, that it’s a bad question.

There are a billion different circumstances that are bad and worse that could lead to this question, but for now, let’s think of in terms of a non-married shorter term romantic break-up.

These types of break-up questions, while common, are the best and worst of Tarot all at the same time.

The bad part is the “will…” Can Tarot predict what will happen? Nope. Can Tarot read your significant other’s heart or mind or feelings or intentions or know what they will do? Big nope.

On the other hand, this is exactly the kind of situation where Tarot is at its best.

Have you ever noticed that criticisms of Tarot and psychic work are all laser focused on the prediction part and ignore the rest, which is missing the point as completely as you possibly can? Nothing is ever said about the real value of Tarot and Psychic readings: personal development, personal enrichment, spiritual expression, facing and understanding emotional distress, brainstorming creative solutions and spitballing ideas about how to CHOOSE and to ACT to make things better.

Nothing else in the human experience can make you feel like every bone and vital organ has been shattered into a million pieces like the loss of a beloved relationship. If Tarot readings can help soothe that kind of hurt for a moment, it is more than worth it, no matter what the critics say.

But it has to be a sincere reading, an authentic reading without the onus of accurate predictions. So-called accurate predictions are impossible to make anyway and only open the door to greater hurt. As with physicians, we must do no harm.

There is a big difference, however, between doing harm and uncovering anger. Anger is an honest emotion that may, if faced, lead to better things.

If you are the one hearing the “nope” then it is normal, natural, even expected to get angry when you get the answer that you’ve been dreading the most. In the long run a harsh truth is more healing than a sugar coated platitude. I’ve gotten nopes like this before and stomped off angry like the self-involved early twenty-something brat that I was. But looking back it was one of the best readings ever. Honesty heals even when it hurts. More so when it is given kindly and with the sympathetic tone of someone who has been through this kind of experience before – which is pretty much everybody. Calling you on your -ah -stuff – is what people who care about you do. It’s like telling someone when they have food stuck in their teeth. It might zing a little in the moment but it spares them greater embarrassment later on.

WILL you get back together? A better question would be SHOULD you. WHY did the relationship end? Has any of those things changed one iota? Has the past itself changed? Nope. Unless you’ve talked things through, time has passed, and trust has been re-built, it’s still a nope. Even if you wind up back together, unless something has changed, from the “should you” perspective it’s still a big no. Without those changes, what good is it for you to return to the same situation all over again?

Will you get back together? According to a one ace layout, no. Should you get back together? Still not a good idea.

Consider the Queen of Wands symbol of nurturing leadership and inner passions. How are you owning this breakup? What role did you play? What have you learned. Are you willing to lead the relationship part of your life in a new direction? Or not? What feeds and protects your inner flame: trying to rekindle a failed relationship or being on your own with a passion for the life you have (as opposed to obsessing over the life you don’t have.)

Consider the Ace of Cups. This is about emotions. Are the emotions that ended the relationship healthy or unhealthy? Are the emotions driving your desire to get back together healthy? Or, on the other hand, are emotions that make you want to never ever ever get back together the healthy ones?

Consider the Temperance card. Are you in a balanced state of mind when you ask this question? Are all parts of life in balance or is the break-up taking all of your mental and emotional resources? Are you obsessed with romance and ignoring all the other good things in life? What do you need to release to re-balance the scales? What is missing OTHER than the relationship that may be throwing things out of balance?

Zombie Cat tells it like it is. Will you get back with your ex? Nope. BUT there is a lot of good advice under that big, fat NO. Balance this loss with other happiness and other relationships, and other parts of life. Be the leader of your own inner life. Take ownership of your own emotions and our own role in the thing that happened. Be honest about your emotions.

Then the the big, fat nope might not sting quite so much.

Thank you all for reading and listening.

I appreciate you and any likes, subs, follows, shares, question or comments that you can spare.

The blog and podcast are not monetized so your spirit message comes first, not the advertisers’. Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi where the shop, memberships and virtual coffees all support the creation of this (almost) daily Tarot content

Thanks again! See you at the next sip!

Get your own private Zombie Cat reading HERE (only available by email) – no appointment needed.

Meet Zombie Cat ’22

Meet Zombie Cat: the original post revisited and revised.

For the past two days, in the “Proceed” and “Zombie Cat’s Short Summer Shamble” posts we’ve talked a lot about how to do yes or no Tarot readings for yourself. Today is a throwback to the original blog post where we meet Zombie Cat.

First published in April 2015, I re-post it every year to go with Zombie Cat’s summer shamble. By summer shamble I mean the annual summer special offer for my yes or no Tarot readings that I’ve named for the notion of a friendly, tarot-reading zombie cat.

I make tiny changes to the original post every year to update any new things I might pick up about the science part of it. I haven’t learned much that impacts the original post. More importantly, precise scientific accuracy is by not by any means the point of the post in the first place. It is about the common ground between psychics and science. And yes, that common ground really does exist in the case of genuine, authentic intuitive readings. With fiction, fantasy, ego trips and scammy nonsense – not so much.

This year I’ve given the original post a major overhaul. I’ve updated links to the videos that explain the Schrodinger’s Cat thought experiment and changed some of the text to make the whole thing a little more podcast-friendly.

This post was written well before I rebranded from Modern Oracle to TaoCraft Tarot, but it still shows the influence Taoist philosophy has always had on my Tarot philosophy. I guess it was in some sense foreshadowing the name and aesthetic change. Zombie Cat was probably the first big tap on the brakes when it came to my bad habit of trying to make Tarot acceptable to mainstream suburbia. Now I’m protecting my Tarot work FROM mainstream suburbia and current American politics. Things can change a lot in seven years, even if Zombie Cat himself hasn’t changed much.

To my mind, science and spirituality mirrors the yin yang symbol. The original post was in large part inspired by an episode of Menage A Tarot podcast where we talked about the interplay of science and spirituality in Tarot. That harmony of seeming opposites also reminds me of a quote from the 1996 movie, The Craft “Magic is neither black nor white – it is both because nature is both; loving and cruel all at the same time.”

Tarot, science, art, emotion, wonder, curiosity, spirituality, and skepticism are all compatible things within the whole of human experience all at the same time.

Carl Sagan said “The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us — there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.”

Zombie Cat as a character is unafraid of the mysterious and unknowable. No matter what happens to Schrodinger’s cat or why, Zombie Cat begs the question of “why not?”

Zombie Cat likes quotes, too. The original post started with one by Steven Moffat writing in the “Blink” episode of BBC’s Doctor Who

“People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint – it’s more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly… time-y wimey… stuff.”

There are two words that make me cringe a little when I get them in a Tarot question: “will” and “when.”

Predictions and time are knotty subjects in psychic work.

Predictions are actually a scientific thing. A scientific prediction is essentially a pronouncement about what will happen based on existing data and past results. For example, we can predict where in the sky Mars will be a year from now based on Newton’s laws of gravity, Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, existing observations and so on. As I understand it, that is the kind of prediction that a law of physics or scientific principle has to be able to make in order for the principle to be considered valid within the scientific method.

Skeptics spend a great deal of time and energy bashing and demeaning “psychic predictions” in the name of science. Unlike overt scams, ego trips and outlandish fiction, when psychic predictions are made authentically and traditionally, they are essentially the same as the scientific kind. The psychic reader is an objective observer who is knowledgeable about symbolism and human nature. Because of that wider perspective the reader can see trends that the person getting the reading may not see. A Tarot reader can predict where things are headed in a relationship just like a scientist can predict where Mars is headed in the sky. The biggest difference that I see is that psychic predictions are based in non-linear logic and psychology instead of linear logic and numerical data.

That is looking at it all from a very superficial, everyday experience point of view. This is Isaac Newton kind of stuff. It’s like predicting that when an apple detaches from a tree, it will fall down. What if we go a just a little bit more modern with it?

Think Schrodinger’s Cat.

Schrodinger’s Cat is a thought experiment that everyone seems to love. Scientists who try to explain it love to use it to take a swipe at non-scientific or spiritual thinking. If you want to understand the hard core science side of this, Star Talk with Dr. Degrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice is very understandable (and fun!)

I’m no physicist but let me take a stab at this, more for the analogy than for the science of it. As Dr. Degrasse Tyson hints, this experiment is really about stuff we can’t observe and we can’t know. Tarot is one way people could talk about stuff we can’t know in a time long before quantum physics. The Visconti-Sforza Tarot deck dates back to the 1440s, predating both Galileo and Newton. The discovery of quantum physics doesn’t mean that Newton’s laws are untrue. The existence of objective science doesn’t mean subjective experiences of human intuition is untrue.

Thought experiments rely on your imagination. Intuition relies on your imagination. So it seems reasonable to use a thought experiment to talk about psychic predictions.

But back to the Schrodinger thing.

In the thought experiment, a poor unsuspecting cat from an era when no one cared about animal welfare was put in a box with a vial of poison gas. There is a trigger on the vial connected to a radioactive molecule that has a 50-50 random chance of breaking down within the next hour. During that hour we cannot know and we cannot predict what the result is going to be. Either the molecule decays and triggers the poison, or it doesn’t. Until the observation is made and the whole thing has happened the cat can potentially wind up in either condition. During the time that the experiment is in progress, the cat is both dead and alive up until the moment when we look in the box to see what happened.

Once the experiment is set up and started, the cat could come out of it alive or not. But why not both or neither? Why are those possibilities excluded when so much of life is on a spectrum like electromagnetic energy? Why are other possibilities excluded when so little of life is a strict dichotomy? Disappearing Cat or Zombie Cat could happen…it’s possible. As I understand the BBC Horizon Series’ program “Parallel Universes” (hosted by Dr. Michio Kaku, based on his book “Parallel Worlds”) anything and everything is possible. Some things are, however, very very unlikely within the laws of physics of our particular universe. Multiple universes is one possible explanation of it all. The cat is both…it just does it in different universes. It can’t be both dead and alive in the same universe.

Why not? I ask the computer screen every time I see the Minute Physics video about multiple universes. Why not a zombie cat that is both or a disappearing cat that is neither?

When the moment of discovery is still in the future, the possibility and attendant levels of probability exists for all outcomes. In the mysterious and undetermined future, all conditions exist, even our wildly unlikely disappearing or undead pet. Can you predict which way THAT is headed using nothing but your brain and handful of Tarot cards? If you “predict” the more likely dead vs alive construct, is that psychic or science? If you predict Zombie Cat, is that quackery or was the intuitive vision simply dialed into a different part of a far flung multiverse?

Zombie Cat may well exist out there. We don’t know because multiverses, as the video says, is unproven. No-cat and Zombie Cat might be out there, but they just don’t make the jump from possible to probable to IS, at least not in this world. All potentials exists until the possibility becomes “entangled” with our reality and the moment becomes NOW instead of future, and then slips instantly into the past. Now and Past are fully collapsed probability waves. They exist. Ska-doosh! It’s a done deal with nothing to predict. The future on the other hand, that’s a different animal than any of our imaginary cats.

Now, just to make things really interesting, let’s introduce Zombie Cat to Alice the Vampire.

In the movie Twilight, the psychic vampire Alice could see the future insofar as people have decided what they want to do. If someone changes their mind or changes their actions, then her vision changes. She can predict but with uncertainty. Her predictions are predicated on the course people are on, not any one fixed outcome. Alice the vampire’s visions and Zombie Cat’s existence are a matter of probability, not “accurate prediction.” And so it is with Tarot and psychic readings.

Let’s say our imaginary cat has human-like intelligence and has a choice rather than being a victim of circumstance as in the classic thought experiment. What if there was something the cat could think or do or meow that make or some action it could take that could detach the vial from its molecular decay trigger? Now how do you make predictions under that set of conditions?

Imagine your psychic vision was of a dead cat which had a 50% mathematical probability in the experiment. What if the cat heard you make that “psychic prediction” and disconnected the trigger when it otherwise wouldn’t have acted that way? Was the the initial prediction wrong?

Will you get that job? I dunno. Did you apply for it? Update your resume? Schedule an interview? Check the classifieds for other options? Has the person doing the hiring made any decisions or taken any actions that have connected the possibility to reality?

A reading can’t predict a specific outcome, but it can give you advice and it can help you make decisions that nudge the probabilities in your favor such as be flexible (4 of swords), emphasize your skills and experience (The Emperor) or show you’d be a hard working team player (3 of coins). A good advice reading is like the psychic yelling at the cat in the thought experiment box to disconnect the trigger and improve its chances of survival.

When will you get married? I dunno. But in the meantime you can do social things that make you happy (3 of cups) be clear in your mind about the kind of person and marriage you really want (The Lovers) and engage with the life you have now as happily as you can (10 of pentacles)

The future is just as wibbly-wobbly as the Doctor told us. But Tarot can give you ideas about how to bring love and happiness of all types into your life. Intuition can help you make the best possible choices along the way, not predict what lies at the end of the road.

If you do nothing, take no advice, make no choices, then it is all just a coin toss. You might wind up with anything from a happy cat right up to a Zombie Cat. But who knows? Maybe a friendly Tarot-reading Zombie Cat might not be such a bad thing.

Thank you all for reading and listening. I appreciate you and any likes, subs, follows, shares, questions and comments you can spare. I appreciate your attention so much that if you send a yes or no question, any questions within reason, I’ll answer it for you in an upcoming blog post and podcast episode. So here is some science and math for you: no names plus a yes or no question equals a Zombie Cat readings through the blog and podcast. You get an answer from an expert Tarot reader, I get content ideas. It’s a fair trade.

The blog and podcast are not monetized. Your Tarot message comes first over any advertisers’ Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi where the shop, memberships and virtual coffees support the creation of this (almost) daily Tarot content.

MEMBERS: get 60% off Zombie Cat yes/no readings when you order through the ko-fi shop.

Proceed

Use Yes or No Tarot to answer the question “Am I doing the right thing?”

Sometimes the very best thing a Tarot reading can do is confirm what you already deep-in-your-bones know.

Hi and welcome to TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.

Yesterday we talked about Zombie Cat’s Summer Shamble. Zombies in general and Zombie Cats in particular are kind of a Halloween thing. Here in the Pittsburgh area where they filmed the classic Romero movie Night of the Living Dead and its sequels, we have a soft spot for the zombie genre any time of the year. I also have a soft spot for Halloween any time of the year, both of which fuel my fondness for the whole Zombie Cat mascot slash alter ego slash persona thing.

Yes or no Tarot readings have been around for as long as fortune telling whatever oracle they use. I like Tarot because it lends a TON of subtlety and nuance and layers to a reading. I’m kind of hardwired to like that. It is part of what makes me good at this.

Nuance isn’t always the best thing. Sometimes you just need a quick check-in with a topic that has already had a full reading. Doing full readings over and over and over again on the same issue is worse than just not helpful. It can be counterproductive and make things worse through the confusion. A one card meditation or a simplified yes or no layout like this one.

The more I think about it, the more I like this layout. No wonder Zombie Cat Shambles through every summer with some iteration of a special offer. It gives a smack-down of in-your-face clarity with a reassuring hint of nuance in the card by card part.

Yesterday we talked about the spin I put on the ubiquitous, timeless, been-around-forever yes or no layout. I took out maybe and put in “changing lines” …a changeable yes or no. It’s an I Ching concept that we can talk about some other time. When I do the three card “Zombie Cat” readings, I also add an intuitive card by card comment to give you ideas how to either keep or change the yes or no that you got – whichever you prefer.

This isn’t the only yes/no layout in existence, either. There are probably as many iterations of it as there are Tarot readers. Over time positive and negative, a yes or no quality has been given to each card, so you can take that into account as well if you have a mind too.

Nuance, I like. Gestalt, I like a lot. Pedantic detail – not so much. I’ve never really done the academic research into the yes or no connotations of each individual card. I’d rather have the flexibility that an intuitive read at my disposal. I like having the hard yes or no come from the layout and let the individual cards do their thing with empowering you and your choices.

The traditional version of a yes or no layout is really simple. I learned the basic format from intuition coach Joy Star who learned it from a rural spiritualist minister in South Carolina who had no idea what its origins were. You could easily do this at a party with playing cards. At that point, it is about the level of one of those magic pool ball toys and absolutely just as much fun. I encourage you go give it a try, and see what your intuition brings to the experience. If you use playing cards, my ebook Peace Tarot teaches you how to get those nuanced Tarot meanings with the playing cards, so that might be helpful to you too.

It goes without saying that it should be a question that can be answered with a blunt, one word yes or no. If you really really REALLY can’t put your question that simply, then see me. It may be time for a full reading or an intuition driven one card meditation. Some things are hard to do for yourself and we professionals are here to help.

The process is the same for both Tarot cards and playing cards. If you use playing cards, it doesn’t matter if the jokers are left in the deck or not.

The first step is to decide what pattern of cards means what. In the classic style, no aces is a firm no

One ace means maybe but leaning no

Two aces means maybe but leaning yes

Three aces is a firm yes.

Shuffle the cards while you say your question. You can say it out loud if you want, but if you don’t try to keep the question as clear in your mind as you can while you shuffle. I think it helps to repeat the question a few times while you shuffle for extra clarity and connection to your intuition.

Then start dealing the deck face up into three piles. Stop dealing to a stack whenever it gets an ace or gets 13 cards, whichever comes first.

If you feel weird about the number 13, pick another number. Something between 10 and 15 would probably work best.

When you are done, look at the aces that are showing on your three stacks of cards. That gives you your answer.

As you can guess, most of the readings are going to fall in the “maybe, but….” category. “Maybe” isn’t a super helpful answer when you are looking for specific guidance and clarity. That’s part of my reasoning for blending the yes/no with I Ching fortune telling.

The I Ching or Book of Changes is advice and insight divided into 64 chapters with each chapter corresponding to a hexigram. A hexigram is a pattern of six lines made up of a combination of broken or yin lines, and unbroken or yang lines. One way of finding the hexigram to guide you involves tossing three coins six times to get the line pattern. When you throw the three coins, two heads means a yang line, two tails mean a yin line. Three tails means a yin changing line and three heads means a yang changing line. When a line is “changing” that means it is SO yin or SO yang that it is read to tip over into its opposite. Reading the hexigram that includes those lines as their opposite might give additional relative insight.

I’ve applied that same principle here. One ace is a simple no. Two aces is a simple yes. A three ace yes is SO yes it could be easily nudged into a no. Absent aces is SO no it could be tipped over into a yes.

In this case we have a very common but fictional question “Am I doing the right thing?” The answer is yes. To keep it yes, a focus on creativity and creation is helpful. The Empress is often shown as an expectant mother. Ace of wands has to do creation and creativity. Ace of Pentacles hints at success, a pay-off, something coming to fruition. Intuitively I hear “bring something new into the world” and see a fancy maitre d’ making a little bow and that sweeping arm “after you” gesture. Two aces are a solid yes. A little affirmation and validation from a Tarot reading can go a long way. Maybe even long enough to encourage someone to persist, to proceed and ultimately succeed.

Thank you so much for reading and listening. Please check back tomorrow when I’ll be re-posting the original Meet Zombie Cat post that started this whole yes/no thing.

Hello and welcome to all new followers. Thank you. I appreciate you and I appreciate any likes, subs, shares, questions and comments any of you can spare.

None of my TaoCraft Tarot content is monetized. Your intuitive energy message comes first, not an advertiser’s message. Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi.com. The shop, memberships and virtual coffees all support the creation of the blog and podcast.

Thank you again for reading and listening! See you at the next sip.

Want a yes/no reading from Zombie Cat? Order yours HERE 24/7 no appointment needed. Members get 60% off of the yes/no reading when you order through the ko-fi shop.