If you want to get to know me before you get a Tarot reading, this FREE ebook is a great way to do exactly that. “I want to show you the art of Tarot and this book is my portfolio.”
“I want my Tarot readings to be more like a conversation with a friend than a big drama. I want to earn your trust with this behind the scenes look. If you want to get to know me before scheduling a Tarot reading, then reading this ebook, this is a great way to do exactly that.
When an artist interviews for a job, they bring a portfolio of their work so the potential employer can decide if they are a good match for the company or project. This booklet will help you decide if we are a good match to work together.
I want to show you the art of Tarot and this is my portfolio.”
– Sage Snow from the introduction to TaoCraft Portfolio
Click the cover to get your FREE download
Thank you to #kofichallenge for the inspiration to finish this project 🙂
Throwback Thursday to ogres, onions, and peeling back the layers of the TaoCraft Tarot reading layout (available by email, no appointment needed)
Shrek: ….ogres are like onions
Donkey: They stink?
….
Shrek: No! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. You get it? We both have layers
from “Shrek” copyright 2001 Dreamworks Pictures, quote via imdb.com
Layers mean complexity. Layers apply to all sorts of things that are actually more complex than they seem at first glance; ogres, onions, cakes and – you guessed it – Tarot.
Reading Tarot for yourself is actually quite simple. In a couple of hours I could teach you to do good DIY readings for yourself. (Related: PeaceTarot ebook)
Reading for other people is another story. High level professional readings are, like onions and ogres, more complex than it seems on the surface. That’s the whole point of them. A professional reading can gives you extra layers of insight and experience that you can’t get alone. Two heads are better than one. Two eyes give depth perception (related post: parallax) The two of us working together gives your reading another layer of understanding.
Sometimes layers talk about authenticity. Sometimes you have to peel back a few layers to get to the real heart of the matter. We’ve talked about authenticity and public Tarot practice before, after my Modern Oracle Tarot work was re-branded to TaoCraft Tarot (related: what’s in a name, Shakespear’s Roses, Spell Your Name)
That’s all well and good, but consider another aspect of layers: growing new ones. Interestingly, actual onions grow on the inside. New layers are added at the core while older outside layers get dry and thin and ultimately fall away. In this, onions give us another useful metaphor.
In the medical field, and no doubt many other professions, continuing education is a condition of licensure and employment. You have to keep learning and keep current if you want to keep working. Whether it is required or not, whether it is career related or not, lifelong learning is a respected mark of excellence. Learning isn’t just formal education. Learning comes from experience and experimentation and the living of life. Artists’ work evolves over time. Any person’s point of view can evolve over time.
And so, the “Modern Oracle” layout is evolving. I’m calling abort on the video / text hybrid format. It was an experiment that failed, and I’ve learned something important from it.
Remember how deeper layers are often perceived as more authentic and how old layers of growing onions turn papery and fall off? It’s time for the 5 and 7 card Modern Oracle layouts to evolve, to become more authentic, to show more of their inner complexity. The video hybrid isn’t the way for that to happen. The names of layout card positions are changing. It’s a tiny detail that you may not even notice from your side of the Tarot table. On my side of the table it is important shift in mindset. This allows me to fully and authentically follow what intuition and spirit shows me.
I wrote the initial layout meanings to create a bridge from old fashioned, predict-the-future, fortune telling layouts to a more modern advice, guidance and empowerment reading. I wrote the Modern Oracle layouts specifically to show the power of your choices over your future. Cards that once were called “past, present and future” in the old style became “lessons from the past, current situation, and moving forward.” Predicting the future evolved into making an action plan.
Now it will go one step further. I in my minds’s eye, I see a reading in terms of dynamic energy flows, not a concrete road through time. As Modern Oracle layouts become TaoCraft layouts, we will let go of time and predictions entirely. If the Modern Oracle layout was like GPS map for your path ahead, the TaoCraft layout is like a GPS traffic update with a weather report.
Card 1, lessons from the past, will become Fading Energies, symbolizing energies that are moving away from you. These are things that need less of your attention.
Card 2, current situation, will become Current Energies, the energies that are strongest, and deal with things that need your attention in this moment.
Card 3, moving forward will become Growing Energies, energies moving toward you, or gaining influence in the path you’ve currently chosen. It still isn’t predictive. It is still intended to guide you, help you prepare for possible conditions ahead. Think of it like a weather report. It doesn’t tell you exactly what will happen to you during your day, but it can give you the chance of rain or sun while it happens.
Card 4 will remain Choices. It is still placed under the current energies card and at the center of the layout because that is still the place of power. Empowering your choices is still the heart of the reading. The choices card will take on a more advisory tone than before. Instead of suggesting how to persist or how change your path, it focuses on whether changing or whether staying the course is the wisest thing to do.
Card 5 is still Alternative Path just like before, showing the most open alternative path you if you decide a change is needed. (Or it can help keep you on your path if you like the way things are headed.)
Card 6 Helping Energies and card 7 Potential Challenges are the same as always, and speak to exactly what the name implies.
Long story short, if you are dead set on a specific “accurate” prediction, you aren’t going to like the new TaoCraft layouts. If that’s the case, you need the Zombie Catyes/no readings like we did the other day. Even then, you have to realize it isn’t 100%.
If you are ready for next level, dynamic energy readings, I can help. Welcome to TaoCraft Tarot.
Page of Pentacles: Cleverness saves the day. TaoCraft Short Sip is Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip your coffee
Hello and welcome to TaoCraft Short Sip: Tarot for your day in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. I’m glad you are here.
Today’s card is the page of pentacles made by Eli Norvell for the Alleyman’s Tarot deck pictured above. If you are listening on the podcast, there is a link in the episode description if you want to take a peek at a super fun card. It has a sort of anime, kawaii, bubbly cuteness about it.
Today’s reading actually started yesterday, but it still feels relevant. As always, use your own feelings and discernment to decide if the card applies to you or not. That’s the difficult thing with these blog and podcast readings. It can’t be all things to everyone. If something is on your mind or giving you the feels and this reading doesn’t hit the mark, by all means please consider drawing a card for yourself or consulting with someone like me to get a more personalized reading. So if this helps – great! If not, don’t be discouraged. Keep looking. Your guidance is out there, somewhere, even if it takes some thinking and pondering and contemplating to get to it. That’s why the person getting a Tarot reading is sometimes call “the seeker” instead of “the sitter.”
Just after drawing this card yesterday morning, I got a call from my relatively new part time job at the local library. I love to write, so spending a few hours a week up to my eyeballs in books is a natural fit. It is a small place that our family has enjoyed and supported ever since we moved here years ago. Needless to say I jumped at the opportunity to spend time in one of my favorite places AND make up some income from closing in-person Tarot during covid. When there was an unexpected staffing need, I was so there.
The Page of Pentacles is about newness and opportunities. You could take it to mean that the card predicted that I would be spending the day with my new opportunity half an hour before the phone rang. I wouldn’t mind imagining that I’m that good of a movie grade psychic but that’s not how any of this works. That’s not the message of the moment – yesterday or today.
I may not be TV style psychic, but my intuition is, however, clairvoyant. That means it works with mental images. It is also clairaudient, meaning it works with mental sounds and words. And, as you who follow the blogcast know, it also works heavily with pop culture references – mostly references filtered through my Gen X lens.
To go along with the cute, bubbly, almost anime-like artwork on the card, I was reminded me of an 80s pop song.
This shows a little bit how intuition works through a daisy chain of associations sometimes. Critics say this is stretching, or reaching or fishing for answers in the vein of psychic “cold readings.” When you are reading in person for someone else, it can certainly seem that way. We can talk about cold readings another day, but for now let’s look at one card meditation readings for yourself. How is searching for connections within your own mind something wrong?
It isn’t
It is prompt. It is a structured way to think things through. It is a topic for contemplation. THAT’s what Tarot is all about after all. No matter if you are reading for yourself or getting a reading from a pro, Tarot is food for thought. Sometimes that thought process takes a few steps. Sometimes food for thought takes a few steps to digest.
Ok, back to this intuition daisy chain.
The early 80s Culture Club album “Kissing To Be Clever” came to mind as did the scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone where Hermione talks about “books and cleverness.” The word “clever” seemed to be the thing grabbing my attention through this card.
Learning, training, books and cleverness is a concept we see in any of the Page cards. Pentacles bring the page into the realm of groundedness and practicality. Put the two together and that says life hack to me.
This feels like an advice card, reminding us to work smarter, not harder. Look for the life hacks that really work. Let practical experience teach you and make things better next time around.
Yesterday, I posted an announcement that I wouldn’t be doing this episode right after the YouTube short and Instagram reel like usual. That post led me to another piece of life hack advice: have a plan B
Sometimes you have to drop back and punt. Sometimes you have to adapt. The universe provides, but it provides what you need not necessarily what you want or expect. Look for some life hacks, develop a plan B for when life throws the unexpected at you.
And if you can do it all while cute and clever – then bonus points to you!
This podcast is not monetized and 100% relies on audience support. Your private emial Tarot readings purchases through the blog website and Tarot Table memberships all contribute to creating this unique Tarot content. There are clickable links in the blog and in the podcast episode description. Your likes, ratings, subs, shares and follows are always greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much for listening. See you at the next sip!
This is one of those times where the card feels, to me, to be way out of synch with today’s energy. It just doesn’t capture the momentum of the moment. Something’s off.
Sometimes when this happens I’ll just re-draw the card and take the “off” feeling as my cue that some other message is more urgent or pressing than the first card can convey.
Other times I’ll just let it stand in the hope that it helps some unknown someone somewhere out there in cyberspace. This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about the other day in the podcast:
BUT, as I go along, today’s card is turning out to be less about the card, less about a somebody-somewhere message and more about the Tarot reading process. This is a message for folks on my side of the reading table. Any card could potentially carry this energy thread, not just the three of cups.
The “I don’t know who needs to hear this but….” trope has always made me feel a little annoyed and agitated, but I never understood why until now. Not only is it overused and cliche, but strikes me as a little arrogant self-serving. It is as if the person writing it thinks they have some special, secret, better knowledge than everyone else. Maybe they do, but why not just say what’s on your mind without the “I don’t know who needs to hear this” part? It sounds like a power play over that unknown someone that you think you know better than. You were going to post the idea anyway. It serves no purpose to amp it up like you are some hero messenger from on high going out of your way to drop some wisdom on some poor wretch who doesn’t even know they need helped.
Of COURSE we don’t know who needs to hear it. We are pushing our ideas out into a public forum, not responding to a specific person. If we publish a reading about a particular person, then that flirts with violating their privacy (unless they give conscious consent for the reading to be used that way, which some people have…for which I am very grateful.)
OF COURSE we don’t know who “needs to hear this.” They never ASKED to hear it. That unknown someone out there might not WANT our almighty opinion. Who are we to say what anybody NEEDS to hear whether we know who they are or not? We are interpreters, neither judges of need nor arbiters of truth.
It’s a roundabout way to get there, but this mis-matched energy today is a good reminder of why I want to bring Reiki and medical ethics and professionalism to my Tarot work. In Reiki we don’t do energy work with someone without some level of consent. One of my Reiki teachers once told a story about a time where they saw breaking news on TV. Out of kindness and an impulse to help they sent energy to a person in the live news feed. The energy bounced back hard because it wasn’t requested or wanted. Since then, they use and teach the intent of sending energy unconditionally and without expectation, so the energy can be accepted OR rejected as the recipient sees fit – even in planned distance sessions. I’ve tried to adopt that same stance in Tarot blogging and social media. The Reiki in our teacher’s example was sent out of sincere compassion and a desire to help, not at all intended to be arrogant. The same is true of those “I don’t know who needs to hear this” posts online. But as the adage goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions – and tired social media tropes. There is such a thing as unintended consequences. We may not intend to be egoistic, but our work can still drift in that direction if we aren’t careful. I’m as guilty of that as anyone, maybe more than most.
Sometimes the lines between simple enthusiasm, a sincere desire to help, passionate evangelism and outright arrogance are very narrow. It is up to us to keep our ego in check. It is up to us to respect the universal life energy we read and the ones we read it for, both known and unknown.
That is exponentially true for those of us who have been raised in the American evangelical subculture. Our lives were so saturated with arrogant holier-than-thou pronouncements that it seems normal…but it’s not. Making holier-than-thou arrogant pronouncements is one of those things that a recovering fundamentalist has to be constantly on guard against. It really does have a certain kinship with the way that chemical dependency requires lifelong vigilance against triggers and relapses.
So no, I don’t know who needs to hear this unusual, convoluted energy message today. I won’t presume to think anyone does. I give it without expectation, for you to accept or reject as you see fit. Which is a very freeing, comforting thing on my side of the Tarot reading table. Being right all the time and the inerrant source of higher knowledge must be exhausting.
So let me raise a virtual chalice of thanks to all the many unknown someones out there. We mean well, but we also rely on your discretion and discernment. If we tell you something you needed to hear, great. We are happy to have helped. If not, then thank you for ignoring the BS and hanging in there with this until a useful message does come along. Here is to you, dear reader, for silently, energetically helping us online types to respect our audience.
I’m old enough to remember when people wrote letters on actual paper and had actual conversations on landline telephones, so I still appreciate the technology that lets this blog and podcast happen. It warms my Gen X cyberpunk loving heart. I’m also self aware enough to know I’ve got work to do as a media speaker. Dammit Jim, I’m a writer and this automatic thing is going to make a better, more articulate, more entertaining podcast, right?
Right?
I’m not so sure.
Basically, I’m thrilled to bits if anyone reads or listens to any of this. I’ll be doing a full on happy dance if anyone decides to get a reading because of anything in the blog or podcast. But it bothers me that the automated audio doesn’t sound the same as the words sounded in my brain when I wrote them.
My narration may not be Webby worthy – yet – but at least it has more emotional tone and verbal context than the electronic version. It is, after all, human. Humanity is what intuition, clairvoyance, psychology, Tarot and personal development are all about. This tech part is fun as heck and only going to get better as time goes on. But it is what it is, and so is the human side of it all.
I propose a hybrid. When you see “Confession” in the title, you’ll know that’s me recording the episode. If you see “Today’s Tarot” or some other title, you’ll know to expect the cyber side of the podcast.
True to the renegade pirate radio motif, nothing about Clairvoyant Confessional is set in stone. It is naturally evolving to be short, little jelly bean sized episodes. There is no sense holding something like that to a regular release schedule. Text to speech will let me drop content more often, as the inspiration hits. The “confession” episodes will happen less often, BUT they will also be longer and take a deeper dive into the humanity of clairvoyance, psychics, intuition and Tarot. Q&A episodes will always be recorded and never automated.
Did you hear that sound? That was the loud thud of a hint being dropped. If you want to submit a question to be answered in the podcast, possibly in the form of a Tarot reading, just visit the Clairvoyant Confessional podcast page on TaoCraftTarot.com. There is a link in the episode description if you are listening to the podcast. The page is in the top menu for those of you reading the blog.
Thank you all for reading and listening. I really do appreciate any follows, subscriptions, likes, or shares that you can spare. And please, for the love of your own ears, send some feedback or some questions. I can’t read for a question until you ask it.
Thanks again, and I’ll talk to you all when the next jelly bean drops.
Shrek: No! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. You get it? We both have layers
from “Shrek” copyright 2001 Dreamworks Pictures, quote via imdb.com
Layers mean complexity. Layers apply to all sorts of things that are actually more complex than they seem at first glance; ogres, onions, cakes and – you guessed it – Tarot.
Reading Tarot for yourself is actually quite simple. In a couple of hours I could teach you to do good DIY readings for yourself. (Related: PeaceTarot ebook)
Reading for other people is another story. High level professional readings are, like onions and ogres, more complex than it seems on the surface. That’s the whole point of them. A professional reading can gives you extra layers of insight and experience that you can’t get alone. Two heads are better than one. Two eyes give depth perception (related post: parallax) The two of us working together gives your reading another layer of understanding.
Sometimes layers talk about authenticity. Sometimes you have to peel back a few layers to get to the real heart of the matter. We’ve talked about authenticity and public Tarot practice before, after my Modern Oracle Tarot work was re-branded to TaoCraft Tarot (related: what’s in a name, Shakespear’s Roses, Spell Your Name)
That’s all well and good, but consider another aspect of layers: growing new ones. Interestingly, actual onions grow on the inside. New layers are added at the core while older outside layers get dry and thin and ultimately fall away. In this, onions give us another useful metaphor.
In the medical field, and no doubt many other professions, continuing education is a condition of licensure and employment. You have to keep learning and keep current if you want to keep working. Whether it is required or not, whether it is career related or not, lifelong learning is a respected mark of excellence. Learning isn’t just formal education. Learning comes from experience and experimentation and the living of life. Artists’ work evolves over time. Any person’s point of view can evolve over time.
And so, the “Modern Oracle” layout is evolving. I’m calling abort on the video / text hybrid format. It was an experiment that failed, and I’ve learned something important from it.
Remember how deeper layers are often perceived as more authentic and how old layers of growing onions turn papery and fall off? It’s time for the 5 and 7 card Modern Oracle layouts to evolve, to become more authentic, to show more of their inner complexity. The video hybrid isn’t the way for that to happen. The names of layout card positions are changing. It’s a tiny detail that you may not even notice from your side of the Tarot table. On my side of the table it is important shift in mindset. This allows me to fully and authentically follow what intuition and spirit shows me.
I wrote the initial layout meanings to create a bridge from old fashioned, predict-the-future, fortune telling layouts to a more modern advice, guidance and empowerment reading. I wrote the Modern Oracle layouts specifically to show the power of your choices over your future. Cards that once were called “past, present and future” in the old style became “lessons from the past, current situation, and moving forward.” Predicting the future evolved into making an action plan.
Now it will go one step further. I in my minds’s eye, I see a reading in terms of dynamic energy flows, not a concrete road through time. As Modern Oracle layouts become TaoCraft layouts, we will let go of time and predictions entirely. If the Modern Oracle layout was like GPS map for your path ahead, the TaoCraft layout is like a GPS traffic update with a weather report.
Card 1, lessons from the past, will become Fading Energies, symbolizing energies that are moving away from you. These are things that need less of your attention.
Card 2, current situation, will become Current Energies, the energies that are strongest, and deal with things that need your attention in this moment.
Card 3, moving forward will become Growing Energies, energies moving toward you, or gaining influence in the path you’ve currently chosen. It still isn’t predictive. It is still intended to guide you, help you prepare for possible conditions ahead. Think of it like a weather report. It doesn’t tell you exactly what will happen to you during your day, but it can give you the chance of rain or sun while it happens.
Card 4 will remain Choices. It is still placed under the current energies card and at the center of the layout because that is still the place of power. Empowering your choices is still the heart of the reading. The choices card will take on a more advisory tone than before. Instead of suggesting how to persist or how change your path, it focuses on whether changing or whether staying the course is the wisest thing to do.
Card 5 is still Alternative Path just like before, showing the most open alternative path you if you decide a change is needed. (Or it can help keep you on your path if you like the way things are headed.)
Card 6 Helping Energies and card 7 Potential Challenges are the same as always, and speak to exactly what the name implies.
Long story short, if you are dead set on a specific “accurate” prediction, you aren’t going to like the new TaoCraft layouts. If that’s the case, you need the Zombie Catyes/no readings like we did the other day. Even then, you have to realize it isn’t 100%.
If you are ready for next level, dynamic energy readings, I can help. Welcome to TaoCraft Tarot.
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.
I’m happy to announce a NEW format for all email readings on the TaoCraft Tarot website (Etsy shop readings are unchanged)
Now you get a video introduction with every reading. Not just text and a photo, not just a lengthy video file to download. You get the best of both worlds in one private document because…
Vox humana
There is something special about a human voice. That includes real people voices not just YouTube or professional media voices. It’s a human touch that that technology still can’t quite replicate.
We all respond to the human voice one way or another, but we all learn from voices differently. Language touches our hearts and lives in our brains in individual ways. Some, like me, are bookworms. I love to read, I learn from books easily and I write very well. It’s my thing. Other people are audiophiles. I have multiple family members who learn and engage with ideas magnitudes better when it comes to them through the spoken word. Audiobooks and podcasts are invaluable to them. Still others need an immersive experience that uses both seeing, hearing and hands-on interaction.
That’s why I’m introducing a unique kind of distance Tarot reading that combines audio, video AND text to provide an enriched distance Tarot experience that works for all kinds of people.
With the new TaoCraft Tarot distance readings, you get the no-appointment-needed convenience of email but also a taste of the immersive in-person experience.
All at the same price as before. LIVE phone readings are still available and the same as always. I hope you’ll try a session.
There is more to come. I have other plans, and will be re-doing “The Big Explainer” behind-the-scenes peek at card layouts on the YouTube channel as I hone some some video & presentation skills. (ie fuck it I’m reading from a script) and putting some examples here on the blog. I’d LOVE it if one of you would send me a questions (or permission for an open reading) that I could answer in the blog for you (no names or identifying information, of course. You’d know who you are. Use the comments, because I moderate them and wouldn’t make that one public OR just email me at TaoCraftTarot@gmail.com)
But welcome to spring, a little change and a seed planted with the intention that it brings happiness and prosperity to all.
Authenticity is the whole reason that I re-branded from Modern Oracle Tarot to TaoCraft Tarot. It is an unfortunate reality that psychics and Tarot readers can be a target for all sorts of biases. We are often caught in the crossfire between religious fundamentalists who are convinced we are all evil and pedantic would-be skeptics who think we are all criminal. When I began in-person work in 2003, I had a whole laundry list of reasons to do so with a low profile inoffensive public image.
By 2018 that list had changed. By then, Modern Oracle no longer reflected who I am or the kind of Tarot work I want to do. I still don’t intend to deliberately offend anyone, but I am no longer willing to dilute my work to spare other people’s exaggerated sensitivities. Some places still require us to use the “for entertainment only” disclaimer. Tarot is entertainment because it really is a lot of fun. It is also much more. Tarot is a genuine expression of spirituality and life philosophy. Being honest is more important than being inoffensive. Integrity is more important than expanding market appeal.
Authenticity circles right back to the core premise of TaoCraft Portfolio. How do you find the right Tarot reader for you?
Professionalism and transparent business practices is a good place to start. If you are looking for entertainment, then a good stage personality is all it takes. But if you want a reading because you need honest to goodness guidance, both professionalism and personality matter. You wouldn’t want to talk about sensitive emotional or spiritual issues with someone who holds ideals that you find repellent.
I am Taoist, Zen, and solitary eclectic all in one. I was raised evangelical, but I’ve been an atheist for decades now. Science works regardless of what we believe. I am a LGBTQIA+ ally. Black lives matter. There is a climate crisis caused by humans and we must do everything we can to live in balance with nature. Women’s rights are human rights, especially reproductive choice. Healthcare is a universal human right. Shit happens, but love is love, and compassion is the one measure of it all.
You may think it odd that I want to come out and say these things so explicitly. You may think it is odd that anyone would care about such things. Still, if we know there are no unexpected cultural or political landmines, then we can do the reading from safe, solid ground. Both of us can relax. If any of these things anger you or offend your religious sensibilities, then I’m not the right Tarot reader for you. If you don’t mind this worldview (or maybe even agree with it) great! Let’s get started!
The free download version of TaoCraft Portfolio explains all of the basics about TaoCraft Tarot: descriptions of a session, a sample reading, explanation of the layouts, policies and so on. The “About” page in the menu gives you the same information but also has background pages about philosophy. The full expanded version of TaoCraft Portfolio will be available in the Shop late 2020 and has all of the “about” information collected in one place but adds expanded essays about philosophy and the occasional peek behind the scenes of Tarot readings.
My first apartment was 15 minutes away from where they filmed Night of the Living Dead, and I don’t know of anyone here who hasn’t been to the mall where Dawn of the Dead was filmed. Maybe that was part of the influence in creating my imaginary pet / alter ego Zombie Cat who emerged fully formed from the confluence of Menage A Tarot podcast’s episode “Test Tubes and Tarot Decks” and aMinute Physics episode about Schrodinger’s Cat.
I’ve always thought it would be fun to do a live AMA, but then we would have to figure out a good time and a good place that suits as many of you as possible. So why not do it RIGHT EXACTLY HERE and ALL THE DOGGONE TIME….
It may not be real-time fast, but it still asking and it is still anything. It still feels kind of end of the world out there, so Zombie Cat is the perfect person (Being? Entitiy? Fictional Character?) to take on a post apocalyptic zombie shamble speed Q&A session. Here is how it works
You ask a question
Zombie Cat writes the answer in a blog post.
When it comes to the AMA Q&A, it’s Zombie Cat’s world and we are just living in it. I’m giving ZC control over what he answers and when. Watch out for the snark. All of ZC’s writing is guaranteed to contain words, but has a 50-50 chance of being dead wrong. Ask anything in the comments at your own peril.
Sage Words Tarot 