Tag: zombie cat

Q&A: Change or Persist?

yes or no career tarot reading with behind the scenes explanation

Yes or no questions seem predictive: Will X happen, yes or no?

Yes/no readings are a fun to play with. I could sit here, play Zombie Cat* and make predictions all day just as long as everyone realizes that it is all really coin-toss random-ass probabilities and not really a serious “prediction.”

Yes/no Tarot readings can be much more than a magic black ball entertainment prediction. They can give legit, genuinely helpful, short term guidance. It is all a matter of focus and application.

Tarot’s greatest value is overarching, big-picture, life path guidance. It is all about spiritual enrichment, spiritual expression, personal cultivation….you know – generally trying to be a better person and live a good life. Tarot readings, especially the bigger 3, 5 and 7 card layouts, are all about understanding the current situation, making better choices and moving ahead in the best way possible. Big readings are like GPS directions to where you ultimately want to go.

Instead of long term GPS, a yes/no reading is like a single sonar ping of any given moment. It gives a very helpful, but short term, close range nudge in the right direction when you are choosing between two seemingly equal things or want a quick follow up to a previous big reading. Yes/no readings help you deal with right here and right now, but not much else.

Today’s question is a little bit of both. It is one of those all-else-equal things, and also follows up a longer reading from a few weeks ago. It is about a fine tuning a current solo project, nothing to do with long term plans or that would affect other people. Considering all of that, a yes/no reading is ideal for this question.

Q: Should I switch _____ back to _____ or should I continue as it is?

Ok, to start with, a yes-or-no layout can’t answer a this-or-that question. I don’t mean for that to sound harsh. I get it. It is hard to distill things down to a yes-or-no question when you have all sorts of options and resources and different possibilities all swirling around in your head. If you could focus things down to a clear yes or no question, chances are you wouldn’t need a Tarot reading to help make up your mind.

In the early days of my professional practice, I would ask the questioner/sitter to rephrase the question, thinking that it was important for them to put the question into yes/no format in order to properly connect to their spirit message. Learning from experience, I don’t do it that way anymore. They’ve got enough on their mind. That’s why they are here. I convert the question into yes/no format and then proceed with their consent.

Today’s question has two main components; changing and continuing, which begs the question of which part do you ask yes or no about?

After all these years of experience, I’m totally comfortable with just following intuition, and focusing on the component part that seems to carry the greatest energy signature….in other words, which part seems to step forward to carry the weight of the question. If you are reading for yourself I suggest doing the same. If you don’t feel comfortable with shoot from the hip pure intuition, there are lots of different randomizing strategies you could use to help you pick between “Should I change yes or no?” and “Should I persist, yes or no?”

In a two option question like this one, it really doesn’t matter which you choose. A no on one automatically gives you a yes on the other and vice versa. If it is a multiple componant question, things get a lot more complicated. You could do a series of yes/no readings on each of the components, but that gets muddy, convoluted, contradictory and very confusing super fast.

Don’t.

Trust me, just don’t. Write down the components and pick them out of a hat. Triage, and take the most time critical piece first. Do eenie meenie miny moe….anything. Just don’t do strings of of yes/no readings in a row. If the question is too complex, either use a larger, more nuanced layout OR simplify the question and focus on one key part.

The process of dealing into 3 stacks until you either get an to an ace or to 13 cards (whichever comes first) is an old, common knowledge, nobody knows where it came Tarot reading. I like to take it one step further and interpret the final three cards together as if they were a pathway reading in order to get more guidance from the whole process than just a yes or no answer alone.

If that seems like a big, complicated, pain in the ass process to get a good result from a simple yes-or-no question…it is. If you don’t want to yes/no read for yourself, please, order a yes/no reading from me. It’s affordable and I could sort the whole thing out in half the time it took me to explain it all just now.

New Q: Should I change?

A: Maybe but lean yes. Probably yes, actually.

The Fool card speaks to the fresh start and a new infusion of energy and enthusiasm that the new direction would bring to the project. Being a major arcana card, the Fool lends an extra push in the “yes” direction.

The Ace of Swords speaks to the creative and intellectual energy a change could bring. There is a very upward, uplifting quality to the energy.

Of course, seeing the Ace of Pentacles is always a good sigh in any kind of work or career related reading, even a quick yes/no like this one.

All things considered, this hints that making the change in the project is a good idea. Intuitively I feel very positive about it. My attention is drawn to the gold color on the Pentacles card. It isn’t so much about the precious metal as it is the color psychology and the resonance with the solar plexus chakra which in turn has to do with confidence and optimism and personal power. Wear gold or gold tone jewelry if you can. Pyrite or Tiger Eye are also good crystal energies here. It feels temporary…not a long term alliance between you and the tiger eye, however. Again the gold tone feels like a better fit. Grounding, centering woody scents seem important, like sandalwood in particular comes to mind. Pretty standard kinds of recommendations. After a time, I get the sense the tiger eye energy will drift back to the light blue and blue lace agate for communication that we talked about before, but for now the sun / yang energy and warmth of the brown and gold feels more forward.

Thanks again for your permission to do your reading as an example. I’m pulling for you and hope this works out really well, especially for a financial and name recognition boost.

Best Wishes – Ronda

*AZCA is still a thing . You can ask Zombie Cat Anything for free. Use the contact form HERE to ask anything, even for a prediction. Your answer will come in a redacted-for-privacy blog post (like this one, but without the video.) All Zombie Cat answers are for entertainment only, 100% guaranteed to contain words, and have a 50% chance of being dead wrong.

All Exposed ’21

TaoCraft Tarot is exposed.

Not, thankfully, to any viruses. BUT all of my available layouts are exposed. No seasonal readings. No limited time cutesy pants special offers. All the Tarot I have to offer is all out in the open for all to see, all affordable and super convenient (only live phone readings need an appointment.)

You can order everything on the home page

  • Seven card by email $40
  • Five card by email $30
  • Three card Pathway by email $20
  • Zombie Cat yes/no $10
  • One card by email $5
  • TimeFlow (4 card get-organized) $20
  • Year Ahead (5 cards, yearly guidance) $30
  • Five card video reading by email $30
  • Five card reading gift certificate $30
  • Ask Zombie Cat Anything – FREE (submit your question HERE)

Or visit the shop for a similar selection of email readings PLUS

  • Hand made mala style meditation beads
  • “InkMagick” pen and ink hand written and illustrated keepsake Tarot readings
  • Downloadable .pdf e-books
  • unique jewelry
  • COMING SOON: mindful moments bracelets

Stay tuned for shop updates on social media (@taocrafttarot on facebook, tumblr and twitter, @taocraft.tarot on instagram) and a return to YouTube starting this coming weekend (barring further last minute schedule changes)

See you on the socials 🙂

The Year Ahead: A Chat With Zombie Cat

Here in the U.S., literally at the exact time as the election results were being announced in favor of President-elect Biden, Trump’s lawyers held an inept and thoroughly mocked press conference at “Four Seasons Total Landscaping” a lovely garden supply place nestled between an adult bookstore and a crematorium. Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up. Internet hilarity has, of course, ensued. As a result I can hardly look at the word “seasons” and keep a straight face. The “Seasons of the Year” layout name had to go. I offered to give a reading to the person who could come up with the best new name for it. Know how many people participated? None. Zero. Nobody.

*sips hot cup of schadenfreude*

I’m over it.

Not the laughing at the fall of the worst administration in U.S. history part. THAT is actually pretty entertaining. I’m over finding some cutesy-pants name for the layout. “Year Ahead” says what it is. Clear, straightforward, it works. I’m also over trying to “market” what I do here. I am a wise, skilled, experienced psychic. I’m here if you need me. I’ve done my part: Made my presence known, put things in order, and put a candle in the window metaphorically speaking. The sign on the cyber-door says open.

Beyond that, I can take a hint. None of the promotions have ever really connected with people. It feels like all the giveaways and special offers come from a place of fear and worry. I like to imagine I had a chat about the whole marketing thing with my fictional, snarky, dgaf alter-ego, Zombie Cat.

We’re both over it.

It’s just not the right vibe for this place. TaoCraft is about authenticity, simplicity, honesty, compassion – all the treasures that a Taoist influence has to offer. All of the layouts are now available all of the time, including Zombie Cat’s yes/no. The prices are as low as I can afford to make them – all of the time. It’s a fearless, solid, steady, and reliable energy. Really good Tarot needs that kind of environment.

Tarot is a respite in an emotional storm. Tarot is a light bulb over your head just when you thought you were all out of ideas. You can’t build those things out of solicitous, cutesy-pants, attention seeking energies.

If you want real, genuine, honest, skilled, experienced…and yes, affordable…Tarot guidance, I’m here for you. Normal pants and all.

Distance Tarot including the Year Ahead and Zombie Cat’s yes/no layout is available for order anytime, no appointment needed on the HOME PAGE

Let’s Predict the Election!

One thing hasn’t changed from the Modern Oracle Days.

Predictions.

In my experience, they still work the same way as they always have. That’s why I brought “Zombie Cat” and “100% accurate predictions and a big cube of jello” over here from the old archives.

I’m not a physics or statistics person. Or at least I’ve never been formally educated in the subjects. Still, it seems to me that Tarot is more akin to fluid dynamics, probabilities and the butterfly effect than a 100% accurate friendly phone psychic infomercial. Yoda was right. The future is fluid and changing and the product of cause and effect – with causes as complex and ephemeral as someone making a choice.

Besides, what would you DO with the information even if accurate predictions were possible? What are the ethical considerations? What are the quality of life considerations?

Take, for example, today’s U.S. elections. More and more with each passing minute, the deed is done, the cake is baked, our spam is in the can so just enjoy the ride and wait for the the whole electoral college nonsense to do its thing. If, accurately or not, we predict the election now, what good is it when it is too late to act on the information?

If we tried to predict it months ago, when there was still time to do different things and make different choices based on the prediction, then those very actions and choices would change the prediction itself. A prediction made in time to be actionable could be invalidated in a heartbeat.

Let me ask you this: how helpful is you favorite GPS app or device if you have one?

Predictions aren’t super useful, but navigation IS. Navigation is what good psychic and Tarot work actually DOES.

GPS doesn’t predict where you are going. You decided that when you entered your destination. GPS can tell you high traffic areas and alternate routes. GPS doesn’t predict the cars you pass or things by the roadside, but it certainly helps navigating to wherever you want to go. Intuition, psychics and Tarot can tell you which directions the energies and probabilities are headed. It can show the shortest way to where you want your life path to go. It can show where there are blockages and potential challenges, but is not so great at predicting other people who pass through or exact events along your way.

Psychic Tarot isn’t the right tool for every situation and this is one of them. This election is far too important to play around with “predictions.” Lives are literally at stake. Justice and civil rights and democracy is at stake. This isn’t a time for frivolous predictions. This is a time for reason, speaking out, peaceful protest if necessary, but above all this is a time to vote.

As with medical questions, trying to read this situation is about using the right tool for the right job. As I’ve said many times, you can’t hammer nails with your cell phone and you can’t make a phone call on a hammer. You can’t even send a text. The right tool for this situation is data, logic, stress management, and accepting the fact that we don’t know how this is going to end until it does.

Readings touch subtle energy. That is the nature of Tarot and intuition. I personally am not willing to engage with the radioactive toxic brew of political energy here in ‘Murica today. You can use the “Zombie Cat” yes or no layout to predict the election all you want for yourself, if you like. (I show you how it is done on the YouTube channel) Don’t get me wrong, predictions can have deep value. Predicting this election is very instructive in one way. If you get an answer you don’t like, it shows you where your attachments and expectations really lie.

PLUS (and this is no small thing) these ‘predictive’ yes/no readings are a straight up giggle. Back in the before time, when I was still doing business and party appearances, I’d sit at my table and do yes/no readings for myself until people would wonder what the heck I was doing and come over to the ‘fortune teller’ table. I’d ask trivial things about Stanley Cup wins, or what to make for dinner, or if mail order packages would arrive on time – stuff like that. Never underestimate the value of humor on a stressful day.

Because of that light, fun factor, I waive the rules about predictions …. I mean …. Zombie Cat doesn’t have any rules about predictions in his yes/no readings. So if you want a predictions you have to talk to Zombie Cat. Ask anything! He’ll read any question so long as you realize there is a 50% chance he will get your question dead wrong. Maybe more. After all, he’s a zombie. And a cat.

P.S. If you want to ask Zombie Cat a question about anything, now is your chance! Zombie Cat shambles off (at least until next summer) November 7. Order your reading at a final week reduced price HERE

Still here? GO VOTE!

Interact with Zombie Cat

ask a yes or no question, get a yes or no Tarot answer

Let’s do this a little differently. Instead of starting the video and choosing a card based guided by your intuition, think of a question BEFORE you start to watch. It has to be in a yes-or-no format (general topic or questions with “or” won’t work in this particular exercise) but it can be about any topic. Keep in mind this is like every Zombie Cat reading – it has 100% chance of containing words, but a solid 50% chance of being dead wrong. This is one of those once in a blue moon times where I can’t think of anything to add to the video card interpretations. So roll that beautiful card footage

My side of the Table? I’m not convinced this is anywhere close to working. The energy is just too dilute. This layout is brilliant and a load of fun when you add in the Zombie Cat persona AND when you have a specific question for specific person. YouTube is a weird energy environment on the intuitive level. That’s why I really, REALLY hope that you all will leave some feedback. I’m a good writer, a VERY good Tarot reader, but not exactly a video media maven. But if you are kind enough to tell me the topics and content that YOU want to see, I’ll learn how to create it. If worse comes to worst, I’ll write about it instead of film it, but I will get your requested content out there in one form or another.

Yes/No Interactive Tarot: Don’t Throw Good After Bad

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK IN THE COMMENTS

I admit it…I’ a writer not a YouTuber. If you let me know what kind of content you want to see on YouTube I can learn how to make it. Badly.

That’s on purpose, you know. You don’t get to edit in a live Tarot reading, so why should this be any different?

But like a rambled about in the video: Everybody and their monkey’s uncle are doing straight readings and pick-a-card videos, especially on YouTube and Instagram. I think I’ll stick with this for a little while, unless I hear differently from YOU. So wadda ya think? Helpful? Interesting? Mildly entertaining? Good enough to kill 5 minutes or so with it? Do you have any YES OR NO questions? If you email them to TaoCraftTarot@gmail.com I might be able to convince Zombie Cat to hang out and do a few on YouTube just for fun and content creation if you are interested. If I have a real question to focus on, the video can give you a better taste of what live phone readings are like (or in-person ones if we ever get back to that point.)

When I pulled these cards I didn’t have any question in mind at all. I just did it with the usual ‘help somebody somewhere, hopefully as many as possible’ intent that I usually use here and on social media.

Here is the key to these readings going forward:

  • No aces = strong but changeable NO
  • One ace = maybe, but probably no
  • Two aces = maybe, but probably yes
  • Three aces = strong but changeable YES

In Taoist thought, anything in its extreme holds the seed of the other. As a not to I Ching wisdom, I read all-aces and no-aces like the “changing lines” in I Ching. It is like standing on your toes with you weight leaning forward. Those two results are SO yes or SO no that the answer can quite possibly, through decision and action, be pushed in the other direction.

There are lists, out there in the ethers, of single card yes/no meanings, where you can randomly draw a single card and ostensibly get your clear yes or no answer. I’ve tried that method, but I never connected with it very well. There didn’t seem to be any structure to why each card was given their meaning, either by logic or by energy.

This method connects in much the same way as any Tarot reading. There is a base structure, an underlying logic that acts as armature, a skeleton that helps us connect spirit and energy to the real world in a useful way.

These videos are one thing, blog posts are a better articulated thing, but getting a reading is a whole other thing. If you want to give yes/no a try, Zombie Cat is around for another week on the home page or distance tarot page in the menu above.

If you want a personalized free “digital mini inkmagic” one card Tarot reading by email (policies and disclaimers apply) then you have slightly more than 24 hours to get yours on the special offer page, also in the menu above.

Be Safe. Be Well. Thanks for reading.

Zombie Cat’s 2020 Shamble

Zombie Cat shambles off into the sunset on November 7, 2020

Zombie Cat has had it with 2020. He’s going to go take a dirt nap until next summer. Order now if you want to get one of Zombie Cat’s yes-or-no readings before he shambles off into the sunset on November 7th.

These readings use 3 cards to answer any one yes-or-no question. AND they are $5 off for the rest of the Halloween season! How can you say no to that?

After you order with the secure paypal button below, send your question to TaoCraftTarot@gmail.com. Zombie Cat is extra cranky and snarky this year, so if you don’t send a question, Zombie Cat will just make one up for you, OR if it isn’t in yes/no form, Z.C. will put it there.

All of Zombie Cat’s readings are just for fun, 100% guaranteed to contain words and have a 50% chance of being DEAD wrong.

IMG_20190708_082316_364.jpg

Zombie Cat’s Yes / No Tarot

Limited time! Special price! Answers any one yes or no question. Send your question to TaoCraftTarot@gmail.com. If you don’t, Zombie Cat will make up a random question for you. If it isn’t in yes/no format, he’ll put it there. All Zombie Cat readings are entertainment only, 100% guaranteed to contain words, and have a 50% chance of being DEAD wrong. Available through Halloween season only.

10.00 $

TaoCraft Portfolio: The Layouts

Get a FREE download of TaoCraft Portfolio ebooklet HERE

No matter which of these layouts you choose, the reading progresses in the same fundamental way we talked about in the last chapter. All layouts are available by email. The seven card reading is the only one I do for individual in-person sessions and InkMagick readings. Phone and video readings can choose from both 5 and 7 card (Modern Oracle, extended Modern Oracle) layouts. 

The most important thing to remember about any of the layouts is simply this: NONE of them predict the future. I specifically created the Modern Oracle 5 card and the Expanded Modern Oracle 7 card layouts to give the greatest possible respect to your choices and your actions. The one card meditation is ubiquitous, as old as Tarot readings. The Pathway layout is based on the old past-present-future layout but with modern, choice-oriented approach. Four seasons is also my layout that gives you ideas, themes or navigation points for the year ahead. Zombie Cat is a playful but thought provoking yes or no answer to any one question. TimeFlow is new layout that I’ve written that will be available in October 2020.

Tarot doesn’t tell you what will happen in life.Tarot helps you decide what to do when life happens

One Card Meditation: This is just as it says, a single card. This is helpful for both ends of the Tarot experience and detail / focus spectrum. On one hand, the one card meditation is an excellent way for absolute beginners to learn the Tarot deck. It has the broadest focus of any reading. It can be a large, vague idea, intended for you to ponder it throughout the day and see how it unfolds for you. I use them as general audience readings in the blog because they are best able to capture the general energy of the day and open audiences.

Personalized One card readings inhabit the middle ground. They take a little more experience to do well, and they have a great deal more detail and focus than a DIY meditation reading or a general blog reading can give. This middle ground personalized reading are available by email or in the “mini InkMagick” pen-and-ink real paper format.

On the other end of the spectrum, an experienced reader can use a one card reading with laser focus to get a clear but narrow insight on a specific question, or to get a quick update on a question that has already been explored in a larger card layout. I typically reserve this kind of one card readings for clients who have already had a larger reading with me for an ongoing issue.

Three Card Pathway: This layout shows a progression through time and the path you are on but does not predict the future. It tells you how to put your best foot forward, and helps you move toward the future you wish to create. This layout includes

  • Lessons From the Past: things you have done well or lessons you have learned that you can bring forward to help you now.
  • Current Situation: Energies around you now that are asking for your attention or can help you understand the current circumstances
  • Moving Forward: Ideas to help you move forward well, and move toward the future you wish to find, not predict what will happen or not happen.

Five Card Modern Oracle: I wrote this layout around 2003, inspired by the Oracel character in the first Matrix movie. It starts with the pathway cards then adds:

  • Advice and Choices: This is a card to show the place where you can make the biggest difference in your path. It is a pivot point. You can use the energies here to change the direction of your current path if you choose to change, or you can use it to help stay on course if you like the way things are going.
  • Alternative Path: This card hints at other energy paths that are easily open to you if you want to change or shows alternatives that are worth considering even if you don’t ultimately choose them.

Seven Card Expanded Modern Oracle: This is the largest layout that I offer. In my experience, larger readings deteriorate into circular logic and contradictions very easily. This layout provides detail, but stays focused. It builds on the Modern Oracle five card spread using the pathway cards, the advice and alternative cards, but adds

  • Helpful Energies: Things that are working in your favor and can act like a wind at your back when you are on the right path.
  • Potential Challenges: Again, this does not predict. This is simply a heads-up to potential problems. Keep an eye out for them, and you can act to prevent problems or take care of them early on before big problems arise.

Four Seasons: This layout is especially popular at New Years, graduations, anniversaries and birthdays. The reading starts with whatever season we are in at the time, them progresses through the coming seasons in order to cover the full year ahead. Each season card gives a theme for a three month period, based on solstices and equinoxes. Then it gives a single card that is the overarching theme for the year as a whole. I usually offer this during the winter holiday, new year season from winter solstice to spring equinox. If it isn’t actively listed, please ask and we can make arrangements to do this layout for your special occasion.

Zombie Cat’s Yes or No Tarot: This layout uses three cards to give a simple yes or no answer to any one yes or no question. Zombie Cat is a character I created in the Tarotbytes blog on ModernOracleTarot.com in 2015. He was inspired by Schrodingers famous cat and the “Test Tubes and Tarot Decks” episode of Menage A Tarot podcast that I had co-hosted with David Dear and Daily Tarot Girl Kate. These readings are lighthearted, meant to entertain, and come with a liberal sprinkling of snark and humor.  Zombie Cat readings are 100% guaranteed to contain words, but have a 50% chance of being dead wrong.

If you want to try any of these layouts, email readings are available to order 24/7 no appointment needed HERE Like live readings better? Schedule a live phone reading at taocrafttarot@gmail.com

Visit the special offers page to get your unique FREE “Mini InkMagick” digital email reading. InkMagick readings are my custom creation and ONLY available here.

Today’s Tarot: Do Your Way

Today’s Tarot: Eight of Pentacles – yes, pentacles. This is still resonating with the pandemic. Stay home, don’t touch your face, clean everything, and wash your hands

Back in the long dark days before the webbernets, we had coffee mugs, posters and t-shirts instead of memes.

Somewhere along the way, on something like that, I read “Don’t think yourself into a new way of doing, do yourself into a new way of thinking.” At first I wrote it off as a hallmark grade shallow platitude, but for some annoying reason it stuck in memory along with other 70s debris like the “keep on truckin'” shirt and pet rocks. Much later, after I started working with holistic health, it came in handy as an example of the mind-body connection. The mind-body connection is very much a two way street. Even more than our little leftover platitude would suggest.

It’s true (see the literature review in my dissertation) that changing you mindset, or in other words, “decreasing perceived stress” will have a positive impact on physical well being. It is also true that physical wellness can have a positive impact on our emotional outlook. The idea is to bring mind, body and spirit into best possible balance and function. Books have been written about how to do that. The kicker is where to start, which is very much an individual choice. Do you start on the mental side and work you way into improved physical health or go physical and let the more comfortable body support a more relaxed mind and more pleasant emotions?

Just like Zombie Cat is my answer to Schrodinger’s thought experiment, my thought here is to do both, but that’s another story. I might have to fire up my old holistic health blog for that one. 

Today the 8 of Pentacles nudges us to a physical side start. The boilerplate advice these days seems to do something small, however minute, to give yourself a feeling of accomplishment or comfort; make the bed, water the houseplants, brush your hair, change out of those 2 day pajamas into a fresh pair of yoga pants….something. Do yourself into a fresher mental and emotional state while you are at it.

The intuitive feel around this card today is that it is aimed with direct targeting cross hairs at the privileged among us (myself included) who can stay home with functioning internet. uninterrupted utilities and pick up groceries. If you are fed, safe and well, you have no business complaining.

 

If you are out there in the thick of it, then the “do” in this case is all about self-care. The “do yourself into a new way of thinking” thing strikes me as way too snippy, and judgy, implying that anybody’s thinking needs changed. If anything, the “change” is to decrease stress and find some tiny granule of hope in it all. To “do” yourself into that, take care of yourself, even if right now that care comes in the form of a crappy cup of coffee or a five minute chair nap. And thank you for what you do.

Now everybody go wash your hands.

12 Second Tarot: Two of Wands (15 October 19)

Watch for opportunties. Use the now to prepare for the soon.

* Zombie Cat’s Yes or No Tarot readings are half price for a limited time during the Halloween and holuday season. Order yours HERE on the homepage