Pause the video if you need more time to choose. Restart to see the reveal.
Pause the video if you need more time to choose your card, then restart to see the reveal.
Cerridwen: The Welsh goddess of rebirth, transformation and inspiration. She is connected to the couldron as a symbol, “the couldron of inspiration” Use set apart times like weekends, evenings to make changes, to re-invent yourself if you feel called to do that. Classes apart from your main job or a side hustle feels energized.
Luna Moth: Spirit speaks in whispers but it is speaking to you. Pay attention to subtle clues. Keep a dream journal or do what you can to remember your night time dreams. Spirit guides at times speak through your sleeping dreams. If a dream or waking coincidence seems meaningful to you – it is.
Thanks for reading! See you at the next sip!
Deck: Oracle of Secrets by Seven Dane Asmund, used with permissions by Publishing Goblin LLC
Watch the video. Choose your Tarot card for the week. Pause if you need a little time. Get your Tarot reading in the post below.
The ko-fi page is back to TaoCraft Tarot!
Three of Pentacles: “Team work makes the dream work” is cliche and cringe, but this is a good week to be open, give a fair listen to other ideas. Inspiration can come from anywhere. Adaptability can help you thrive.
Ace of Wands: Inspiration CAN come from anywhere, but for you, Don’t forget to filter, use discernment. Look at other ideas in the firefight of your own passions.
Sage Sips blog is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee
Does this collective energy reading resonate for you? If not, private readings are available HERE
In this series of “Choose Your Card” posts, we are looking at topics instead of time. Instead of a “Card of the day” or a “look at the week ahead” let this reading guide whatever is on your mind.
At the same time, I’ll frame the reading through the lens of a major arcana card. We can grow our understanding of they major arcana card through the other cards.
I love when things have a little nuance, depth and complexity. This format adds YOUR intuition to the reading because YOU CHOOSE which card carries the best message for you. The lower cards help us understand the upper card and vice versa.
Choose a card.
Pause the video if you need more time to decide.
Restart to see the reveal.
Today’s major arcana companion card is the Magician. The magician often symbolizes manifestation, transformation, attraction. These are all about energy and energy is all about flow.
King of Pentacles: Manifesting money is one thing, but knowing what you want the money FOR is the real magic. If you want money to pay your bills and meet your needs focus on having those things, not on the money itself. Focus on the thing, not the money that helps you get it. More so if that thing the money helps you get is something intangible, one step beyond material things.
For example, think of someone who thinks they want money for an expensive car, but what they really want is the attention the car brings or the self worth that the attention brings. Focusing on manifesting or attracting money won’t be as powerful as focusing on the end product and core issue. In this example, don’t focus on gaining money, focus on gaining feelings of self-worth. Something like that is the real treasure that the Magician manifests and the King of of Pentacles protects.
Nine of Swords: Sometimes worry is worse than useless. Use real world stress management strategies to calm anxiety so your fear doesn’t become self fulfilling prophecy.
In their brilliant 1988 Oracle deck “Medicine Cards” Jamie Sams and David Carson frame the seemingly timid rabbit as a fearless warrior.
A rabbit could easily be paralyzed by fear. Bunnies are small, soft and don’t have a lot of protection. There are a bunch of bigger animals who would love to eat rabbit for dinner. But no. Rabbits use their small size to hide and their speed to run to that shelter. They are alert and literally get the jump on danger by being quick to run. Rabbit lives in happiness and contentment in the middle of a dangerous world by using its strengths which aren’t obvious at first. . Rabbit is a lesson in how to live with fear by facing it and dealing with it without wallowing in anxiety and potentially calling those fears into reality.
The nine of swords, as with rabbit, reminds us to deal with fears in real world ways so we don’t unintentionally activate the magician’s powers and call empty worries to us.
The Fool: A new beginning is the easiest magic of all. Take a deep breath. Remember every moment is a new one. Now begin again.
It’s said that every day above ground is a good one. It is also said that there is no time like the present. Clocks and calendars are man-made inventions. Life and energy is under no obligation to follow them.
There is only one moment: right here and right now. You can use it as a fresh start any time you want.
Thanks for watching and reading! Sage Sips blog is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee See you at the next sip!
The Hermit: Balanced light leads the way. Use discernment. Choose your influences and mentors wisely.
Seven of Swords: Short cuts can have long consequences. Make sure your short term gain doesn’t lead to long term pain.
High Priestess: The Cosmos is under no obligation to bend to your level. But if you reach up, it can lift you like a mother picks up her child.
(Cards are interpreted left to right, opposite of a pathway layout)
Hi Everyone!
Been a little off schedule taking care of some unexpected busy times at the day job and with the family schedule, but all in a good way. As always thank you all for your patience and understanding.
The squirrels have been raving hard the past couple of years, so the schedule around here is officially no schedule at all for 2024. I’m going to roll with the rave and see how that goes.
I aim to post M-W-F but no particular time of day. The idea is You Choose card of the week will post on Monday-ish, Learn With Me or some sort of BTS on Wednesday (give or take) and something pithy and potent on Fridays to guide us into the weekend. Not beating myself up if I miss the mark and I’m not promising to post any particular time of day, just grooving with the squirrel rave playlist as it comes up so to speak.
Which allows me to put my Tarot attention where I really want to put it and where it rightfully belongs – on member’s readings and private readings.
Don’t forget, members get up to three one card readings by email included in your membership each calendar month. Until the end of March, you can upgrade your membership readings to a three card yes/no at no additional charge.
I call them “Zombie Cat” readings because they flirt with predictions more than other layouts. Meet Zombie Cat (originally from my Tarotbytes blog in 2015 and inspired by Menage A Tarot podcast created by David S. Dear) is still one of my favorite rants about psychics who claim “100% accurate predictions” and predictions in general. I like using the Zombie Cat persona to tap into the lighthearted and playful side of Tarot. Yes/no readings are a good vehicle for a pure entertainment reading. I chose the yes/no method that I use because while you can stop at the silly, snarky, ‘magic 8 ball’ surface of the thing, it can still serve as a portal to more nuanced and serious insights too. Members: feel free to try one with some silly frivolous question just for fun if you want.
It reminds me of Spongebob’s magic conch shell. (Copyright Nickelodeon and all that jazz, please don’t sue me Viacom Paramount We *heart* Spongebob at my house, especially when my son was small)
Wishing you all a great week. See you at the next sip!
Pick a card from the picture above. Watch the video to see the reveal. Get your reading below.
Magician: This is a card of manifestation and transformation. It is also a card of co-creating, in other words working with the universe to bring your intentions into reality. Often this kind of magickal working is heavy on the WORK. The magician must do their part.
King of Pentacles: Survey your kingdom. Focus on what you have. Don’t spend your energy wanting what you don’t have this week. Once you see what you have on hand, it becomes clearer what you truly want, what you need and how to get what is really missing. Wanting what you have is contentment.
Death: Change is inevitable. Seven Dane Asmund, creator of this Tarot Deck (Alleyman’s Tarot, used with permission) He calls this the “dancing death” of the several versions of the Death card in this deck. Dance with this moment. Embrace it. Fully be a part of it because, for better or for worse, this moment will change momentarily.
PAUSE the video
PICK your card
RESTART to see the reveal
READ about your card below the video
The Fool: A week full of opportunity and new beginnings
Ace of Pentacles: The more grounded and balanced you can be, the more you efforts pay off
The Devil: Don’t panic. Use calm, common sense to stay on the safe side. Not the time for unnecessary risk
If you picked one of the two major arcana cards, that may hint at a high energy time near by. Both cards have a “shields up” cautioning energy. The Fool may be stressful in a good way. A lot of opportunity and business on your plate is still a lot on your plate, so take care to manage your stress even if the pressure is on because of very good things happening.
The difference between the two majors is The Fool feels an “it might be stressful and busy but worth it” feel. The Devil on the other hand is a “pull back” “be cautious” sort of energy. If you chose this card, take it extra easy this week.
The Ace of Pentacles is an all-good energy. Prosperous, but low-key. Not really any cautions to take it easy. I ‘hear’ “Things unfold but gently.”
When I say ‘hear’ in a reading, that’s shorthand for clairaudient intuition. It means the intuitive message takes the form of words, sound or music. Instead of a mental image, it’s mental words or sounds. I’m not hallucinating, honest. Intuition if often much like imagination with a purpose. Remember your favorite song – that memory gives you a sense of what clairaudient intuition is like.
Thanks for taking a look.
What do you think about this format? Comments are open and I’m on Instagram and Threads every day. (@sagewordstarot for both)
Wednesday I’ll post a collective energy example reading using the new “My Tarot Valentine” layout. I’d really like your feedback about that too. If you like it, it can stand as a regular “love and romance” themed reading. If no one voices and opinion, I’ll make it a seasonal thing. What say you?
Get the short reading in the video description or come back here to get the full reading below.
King of Wands
The kings have been conferencing! The right message will always find you even if it seems like a mistake at first. I’ve mis-typed ‘king of pentacles’ twice. It feels like the king of pentacles is chiming in along with the king of wands. It’s a blend, not a substitution, so there are two threads of energy running through this card’s message.
There is a sense of practicality from the pentacle’s energy along with a strong sense of self from the wand’s energy. Kings are leaders and protectors. Combine it all and go do what needs done. Pay attention to details. Do all due diligence. That kind of work, practicality and prevention are a form of self protection and self care. Remember it is always easier to put out small fires before they turn into big ones.
The Hierophant
Sometimes called the Pope or the High Priest, this major arcana card is all about internal growth and personal development. It feels like this is the week to break old habits, make new ones, step outside of your comfort zone – especially in terms of social conformity. Use your inner wisdom. If this is a week for other cards to share energy with the ones we see, the Queen of Cups is the one chiming in here. You have deep knowing. Use it to go your own way (in fact, the Fleetwood Mac song by that name pops up here) Take the wisest action, even if it is unpopular at first blush. Being a people pleaser isn’t always the wisest thing for you, or for the people you are trying to please.
The High Priestess
The High Priestess is the guardian of the mysteries. Unlike the other two cards, this energy is all her. The word “portal” comes to mind, along with “the flow of time.”
“Time and inspiration must intersect” is the core of it.
It’s ok to not know something. It’s ok to not have the answers. One of my all time favorite ideas in Tarot actually comes from a physicist. Richard Feynman, known for his work in quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics, once said “I’d rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.”
And there is more to life that facts and knowledge. Emotion, spirit, wisdom, experience and all the many facets of being human have their role to play. Those things come in time, at their own time.
So often people come to Tarot to know the unknowable future. Tarot doesn’t have all the answers. Sometimes its best function is to help you ask the right questions – and then wait for the right time for the answers to come.
TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee.
A new plan is in motion and you can play a part.
Welcome to the TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’m glad you are here.
Today’s card is the three of wands from the Alleyman’s Tarot deck.
This card, along with a couple of others, suits August energy particularly well -at least here in the northern hemisphere. The seven of pentacles reminds us to be hands-off and let nature do its thing. The eight of wands is hints at hands that are tied. Things are in progress but out of your control and there is nothing you can do until the penny drops and the arrows land.
The three of wands has an outward appearance of waiting, like the other cards, but with a greater degree of mental alertness and engagement. This card signifies a time of expansion and growth, but with inner attention as much as outward motion. In that sense, it is a little bit like a Chariot light card. It’s akin to the major arcana’s chariot card but less intense. It’s watching your homemade caramel sauce like a hawk to make sure it doesn’t burn. It isn’t slam into the side of a mountain level stuff like the test-pilot chariot card, but it is about being alert and watchful. It’s like chef Anne Burrel says. You can go “from master to disaster” in a few seconds if you aren’t careful.
The three of wands lets us know that stuff is happening. It is a wide horizon, expansive energy. There is plenty of room here to flex your intellectual muscle and emotional maturity. This is a big open mental space where you can fuse logic and intuition into foresight.
Personally, I identify with the “stuff is happening” part of this. I’m streamlining my email readings so people can send their questions and order the reading in one seamless process when you use the commissions menu on the ko-fi page. I hope to have more ebooks coming online as the Fall and Winter progress. I’m working on some options that will hopefully allow me to inflation proof my private reading prices, although I still need your support for this blog and podcast through the shop, commissions, memberships and virtual coffees on the ko-fi page.
Please stay tuned for all of those announcements. BUT for today I have something else in mind. Today is August 1, mid season between summer solstice and the fall equinox, and that seems like an auspicious time, and the three of wands seems like an auspicious card to introduce card cuts into all of my readings.
Cutting the cards is a Tarot tradition. Sometimes it is just a part of shuffling the deck. I like the tradition of cutting the cards and letting the client choose which portion of the deck we use to draw the cards. I’ve done this forever for in-person readings. It really does bring your intuition and your energy into the reading in a more powerful way. Even though the connection isn’t affected by time or distance, when we are working individually at a distance through email readings or collectively at a distance through the blog and podcast, it still helps to forge some sort of connection. Of course the most potent connection is your decision to read the blog, listen to the podcast, or purchase a private reading. Making a connection with an individual reading is easy. In person or online we talk about your question or whatever it is that prompted you to get the reading in the first place. Individual email readings are just as easy. Whenever I see your name and question (or permission for an open reading) in print, that’s when the connection clicks into place.
I’ve been experimenting with making the connection to blog and podcast and you tube readings more personal. You might have seen those in the “You Choose Interactive” posts. It clicked, but not as well as I’d hoped even with embellishments like crystal or shapes or something else to help the choice besides “left, center, or right.”
If individual choice is awkward, let’s try a collaborative choice. You choose. We’ll try left, center anr right again but as a group.
Want to play along? Just put a comment somewhere with your choice of left, center or right. Drop it here on the blog, over on the you tube channel, or on any of the socials (I’ll put links in the podcast episode description). In upcoming videos and posts, I’ll cut the deck into three piles. Tell me whether you want me to draw the short sip card from the left, center or right. I’ll watch the comments, and whenever there is a clear majority, that’s the cut I’ll use for the next week or so in the short sip readings. I’ll put the call out for a new cut, and you can comment your choice again. And so it goes. Even if you choice isn’t in the majority, the whole process is energized by your effort and intentions, making it better for everyone. I wonder what Carl Jung and his collective unconscious theory would say about this exercise? Put a little energy in, get a more energized reading back. Fair enough, right?
Thank you so much for listening. Feel free to take your time, browse the blog, and please leave a comment with your choice of deck stack for the next few readings. Heck, comment about anything in the blog / cast. Or go all out and ask a question! I won’t promise it will all make it into the blog, but all questions are welcome. I look forward to hearing from you soon and I’ll see you at the next sip!
Pause the video if you need a moment to choose your card for today, then restart the video to see the reveal. You know what I wrote on the blog about Pentacle cards repeating? Scratch that…nothing has changed about the pandemic. It’s an eneregy shift today, NOT a physical realm one. More on that in another post. Meanwhile, we have to stay in Samuel L. Jackson mode…. STILL wash your hands, don’t touch your face, and stay the f*ck at home. New York City is still in the thick of it, so the worst is yet to come for the rest of us. Be safe, and take good care of yourselves as best as you can.
Left: 3 of Cups. Even the introverts are starting to catch a little cabin fever…until we listen to the news or scroll social media. Forget mass media. Take a loooong break from your socials. The human spirit is thirsting for real, genuine one to one conversation. We can’t feed our need for physical interaction so it is all the more important to feed our need for genuine conversation and a meeting of the minds. Use technology for genuine conversation and connection, not mass broadcast. Leave that for the professional journalists. Write a letter. Make a phone call. Text. Zoom if that’s your thing. It is a two for one offer. The conversation just might lift the whole group’s spirits.
Middle: The Moon. The physical moon moves through cycles in its appearance to us on earth, so this card is often associated with the natural cycles of things. That daisy-chains to effect of the moon on the tides, connecting the card to water and intuition. The energies today are right to experiment with your own intuition. Listen with your heart, extend your feelings. What shifts in mood and energy do you sense? What is in your energy environment right now that needs your attention? Is it within you, hinting at a need for self-care or is it outside of you calling you to help others?
Right: The Wheel. Freud was right. Sometimes a cigar really is just a cigar. Sometimes the message from a card is just as obvious, simple and straight forward as it seems. This will all change. Life changed from normal to pandemic mode and will change again in time. It will never go back to what once was because this will always have happened…this time and this experience will always exist. Time will move on, things will change. It will become our choice whether we let this time scar us, strengthen us, empower us or haunt us. Change is inevitable, but the choice is yours about how…and if…you embrace it.
Left: Death. Momento mori. Valar Morghulis. Wash your dang hands, listen to experts, mitigate viruses…if not for yourself, then for someone you love.
Middle: The Emperor. It’s ok to be ok. It’s ok to take it all in stride. That just means that this is your time to shine, to be hero and protector for the vulnerable ones. Valar Doheris.
Right: Five of Coins. We are all riding this space rock together. Just be excellent to each other.
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
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