pittsburgh – Sage Words Tarot

Ogres, Onions and the Tarot Reader

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 and re-branded again to Sage Words Tarot.

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 required. 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.

As I’ve learned and gained experience, the original “Modern Oracle” layout has evolved too. I’ve re-named it as it changed and changed it back to “Modern Oracle” as my website and blog evolved.

Back in the early 2000s I wrote the initial Modern Oracle 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 layout specifically to show the power that your choices have over your future. Cards that once were called “past, present and future” in older readings became “lessons from the past, current situation, and moving forward.” Predicting the future evolved into making an action plan.

Now it goes one step further. The reading is about dynamic energy flows, not a concrete road through time. Now, the layout is both about your choices and a read of the energy conditions ahead. Think of it as being like a GPS traffic update with a weather report. It is a guide to help you decide which way to travel and a general idea of the conditions you will most likely be travelling in.

Card 1, lessons from the past, became Fading Energies, symbolizing energies that are decreasing in influence and things that need less of your attention than before.

Card 2, the current situation, is now Current Energies. This reflects the energies that are strongest, and deal with things that need your attention most needed in this present moment.

Card 3, moving forward, is Growing Energies, reflects the energies that are growing, might need more attention soon or are gaining influence in the path you’ve currently chosen. It still isn’t predictive. It is information for decision making. Just like with gps driving condition updates, if you know about a traffic jam ahead then you can choose another road.

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. In the GPS analogy, this suggests a better road if traffic is heavy ahead, or it can encourage you to stay the course you are on if conditions are good. Either way, you are still the driver. In the end you are the one who chooses where to drive and how to get there no matter what the GPS or the Tarot cards say.

Card 5 is still Alternative Path just like before, showing the most open alternative path you if you decide a change is needed.

Card 6 Helping Energies and card 7 Potential Challenges are just what the name says they are. Change the five card Modern Oracle layout into the 7 card TaoCraft layout that is only available seasonally.

Over the years. the five card layout has proven its value. It’s useful, insightful, practical,gets right to the point and is affordable. It has the best balance of quality, detail and affordability.

Ogers and onions are complex, but they are always evolving and growing new layers. Reading Tarot is the same way. There are complexities, but sometimes the best new thing is taking off those old outer layers to reveal the green and fresh life underneath.

This is the summer of simplification.

Starting in May 2024 my private readings will have 4 formats, 3 layouts and 2 levels of availability.

Four Formats:

Email: my specialty
Pre-recorded video: private – only you will get the link to the video.
Pen and Paper: old school snail mail, archaic but powerful
Live phone or zoom call

Three Layouts

Modern Oracle (Five Card) – $30
Eclipse (Three Card) – $15
Sage Sip (One Card – $5

Two availabilites

No appointment needed, order anytime (email, video, paper)
By appointment only (phone/zoom)

One Reader – me! Meet Sage HERE

Ace of Cups: Have enough love

Have enough love to forgive yourself for who you used to be.

“You are under no obligation to be the same person you were five minutes ago.”
Alan Watts

Click HERE for private Tarot by recorded video or email, order 24/7, no appointment needed. Proceeds in part support this blog and its free Tarot content.

Gifts to the tip mug always gratefully appreciated (goes toward web hosting costs)

CYC: The Fool

Choose Your Card: Collective energy readings with a personal touch

PAUSE the video
Take a breath
Decide how you want to use the card – guidance for the day, the week ahead, anything on your mind
Choose Your Card
Restart the video to see the reveal and hear a little bit about your card.
Collective energy card not resonating with you? Private one card readings are free on demand for Sage Sip monthly members and available for order 24/7 no appointment needed HERE for non-members

Judgement: Use your good judgement, reason. Head over heart for this decision. You must rationally decide when & how to begin.

Death: Something has to changed or released in order to make your start or to get a fresh start. Is this new thing worth what you must give up to get it?

10 of Pentacles: Yup. This is solid, practical, a good omen. Go for it.

Cheerleaders from the Great Beyond

Tarot behind the scenes

“Mood’s a thing for cattle and loveplay, not fighting!”
Dune by Frank Herbert, David Lynch screen adaptation

And not for Tarot readings when you are working for other people

Moods and Tarot make an interesting Venn diagram, and it all hinges on whether you are reading professionally or privately.

Should you read Tarot if you aren’t in the mood for it? If you are reading privately for yourself (or for someone you know and aren’t charging them) then no, if it just isn’t vibing for you, by all means wait until you are up for it. Or find someone who is in the mood. Or find a professional.

If you do put yourself in the public eye as a Tarot reader and ask for compensation for your time, skills and artistic service then something else has to happen. Either you have to put your own mood aside and listen to spirit / energy objectively on behalf of your client or you have to have the self-awareness to reschedule the client until such time as you are mentally, emotionally, and physically capable of doing a good reading for them.

There is no hard and fast rule for when to read or reschedule. You have to use your own good judgement about that, just like using good judgement about any adult thing. Don’t drink and drive, don’t stick a fork into a light socket, don’t read Tarot for money if your head isn’t in the right place.

But then, having good judgement and a little wisdom is why you are a Tarot reader in the first place, isn’t it?

There are a lot – a LOT – of things to consider before going professional with your Tarot readings, and we’ll get back to that at some point, but for now – what do you do with a mis-match between mood and message?

My core approach is to be an objective translator.

I’m not some word-from-on-high gifted expert. I just speak spirit pretty well and can translate for you. I don’t have to be in a particular emotional mood to do a reading any more than I need to be in a particular mood in order to speak Esperanto or read knitting patterns abbreviations.

Lately the mood of a couple of readings have not matched my personal mood at all. It’s hard to visualize, but imagine being in a Wednesday Addams mood and getting intuitive information that sounds like the blond haired girl scout.

Sometimes people need a little cheer leading, sometimes they just need someone to hear them out, and most of the time it isn’t for a Tarot reader to judge which time is which.

All I know to do is to give the intuitive message as honestly and true-to-tone as I can, regardless of my personal mood. That in turn relies on trusting the intuitive Tarot reading process.

But that’s also why the best Tarot readings are a conversation, regardless if that conversation happens by email or face to face. All of my distance readings include a follow up email. If something just doesn’t resonate with you or feel right to you or just doesn’t make sense, for goodness’ sake just say so! Spirit and I will try to find a better word, a better image, a better something to get a more helpful message to you.

So speak up! You won’t hurt my feelings and we’ll try to get the chirpy cheerleader from the great beyond to try again. When we reach out, the energies reach back however it takes. I really believe your true message will find you, one way or another, one translator or another, one means of communication or another.

My promise to you is to give the most accurate version of the energy message, no matter what our moods may be.

Thank you so much for reading. Private readings are open and available HERE

There is a new members only special offer running until the summer solstice on June 20, 2024. For only $5 per month, Sage Sip members receive:

Free Sage’s Sip one card Tarot readings by email upon request up to 3 per calendar month.
Discounts on larger layouts
Exclusive content
Special offers

Join Sage Sips members HERE

See you at the next sip!

Technical Pentacles

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

This week’s choose your card video reading will post tomorrow or Wednesday

Members-only exclusive card reading is now available.

Hi everyone!

Merry Monday! The day job is day-jobbing and the squirrels are raving today. This is my 7th day of muggle-ing in the past 8 and I honestly don’t have the bandwidth to do a card of the week for you all today. I’d rather do a good job a day late than cram everything together this morning. Self care and self awareness is important in this line of work. Even if you are reading cards for yourself, it helps to be in the best frame of mind you can muster for the reading. Even if you aren’t particularly feeling it, a good night’s sleep, a healthy meal, a walk outside – anything like that – can go a long way toward a getting better Tarot message in the long run.

Instead of a “card for the week” today, we’ll try something else different and fun tomorrow or Wednesday because the new schedule is that there is no schedule. If there is anything in the world that benefits from going with the flow and following our instincts its Tarot and psychic work.

Meanwhile, there is a new one card reading up for members with this really cool techno-looking Ten of Pentacles from the Alleyman’s Tarot deck (used with permission, of course.)

See you all at the next sip!

Want to be a member? Join here!

Sage Sips Membership ($5 monthly) includes

Free private Sage Sip one-card Tarot readings by email at your request up to 3 per calendar month (non-member price $5)
Discounts on larger layouts
DM access on ko-fi (ask me anything!)
Occasional exclusive content & collective energy Tarot card readings

Zombie Cat Membership ($6 monthly) includes

Free private Zombie Cat three-card yes/no Tarot reading by email one per calendar month at your request (non-member price $15)
Discounts on larger layouts
DM access on ko-fi (Ask Me Anything!)
Occasional exclusive content & collective energy Tarot card readings

All private readings require that you ask for them each time for a few reasons:

Seeing your name, topic, question or permission for an open reading in the email is how I connect to your unique energy message
It confirms you consent every time, which is a way to respect you and your energy message
It gives a firm email connection to make sure your reading document arrives with as few glitches as possible.

Behind the Scenes: Tarot Diplomacy (aka real talk from your spirit guides)

Distance readings are my specialty! ORDER HERE

Same (or better) reading as you would get in-person
Lower cost than in-person
No appointment needed

It’s a learned skill.

And an internet meme.

James Bach, author of “Secrets of a Bucchaneer Scholar” once posted on social media that “People get defensive because they have something to defend.” It’s a normal, natural response and part of the learning process. After you read Tarot professionally for a while you learn not to take it personally. They’ll get over it. Or not. It’s up to them.

Sometimes the thing people are defending is something they actually need to change. Sometimes the “it” they are getting over is an honest answer that they didn’t want to hear. Nobody enjoys being called out on their s**t.

Sometimes being called out is exactly what we need.

As much as we enjoy indulging our confirmation bias, tempers flare when our biases are challenged instead.

As I read the cards, Tarot is usually a world of ideas, empowerment, encouragement, expanding horizons and gentle nudges. A little diplomacy goes a long, long way.

On the other hand, if subtle messages and gentle nudges are ignored, after a time our spirit guides (or however you think of these things) roll up their sleeves and break out the frying pan to the face method of communicating.

That’s the case here. Cups cards deal with emotions and close relationships. The emotion in question for the inverted four is moping and self-pity. There is no nonsense around the card today. Short, sweet and to the point, kind of like a caveman club over the head, the reversed four is telling us to stop moping, it’s time to move on. Wallowing in self-pity serves no one here. AKA …Knock it off!

Fire alarms aren’t quiet, subtle or diplomatic. They are loud and in your face and don’t care about feelings.

It isn’t fun for anyone when things get tense or feel confrontational. That’s never the intent of a Tarot reading. The intent is to shake us out of a stuck place or turn up the volume on a spirit message loud enough that we can finally hear it. The more important it is for us to hear a message, the more blunt, loud and direct the spirit message will become. A good Tarot reader can reflect that sense of urgency without being mean about it.

Even when spirit is telling it like it is, a little Tarot diplomacy (and humor) can go a long way.

Thanks so much for reading! Please follow the blog to get all of the latest posts direct to your inbox. See you at the next sip!

For the record, I wrote the bulk of this post yesterday, so no (private client from this morning) this isn’t directed at you. We all need a little bit of brutal honesty from the cards every now and then.

Choose Your Card Tarot: week of 15 April 2024

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

Want an affordable private Tarot reading? Click HERE and scroll the list. Prices and layouts for every question and budget.

Ugh…forgot to set the thumbnail AGAIN. Sorry about that. Guess your choices are that half-covered one on the right, the Flippy one in the middle, or the normal one on the left.

Am thinking about doing next week’s CYC with the non-RWS oracle-like Alleyman’s Tarot cards. What do you think? Or would you prefer the classic Pamela Smith artwork for a while? Lenormand? Comments are open if you have an opinion or any questions at all.

Ace of Swords: Head rules heart this week. Listen to your emotions but try not to let them cloud your thinking. Decisive action is needed.

High Priestess: It may feel like other people may know more than you, but they don’t know more about you. Don’t sell yourself short. You are the absolute expert about you. You know best what you need even when what you need is help or guidance.

Judgement: The boat never moves forward if people on the boat are all rowing in different directions. Use clear-headed judgement combined with courage to put the most harmful people off the boat and onshore all together. The boat moves forward very slowly if there is no one left to help you row. Use clear-headed judgement combined with wisdom to be be as generous as you safely can with second chances.

Deck: Alleyman’s Tarot, used with permission

Page update: Why Distance Tarot?

PRO TIP: scroll the entire readings list! I have lots of layout options to fit any question or any budget! Readings from $5 – $40 total cost. Order yours HERE

It’s my specialty: My distance readings are equally as good & probably better than in-person sessions. You get the SAME reading as you would in person but at a fraction of the cost. Intensely private, distance readings engage your intuition, imagination and emotions in a way that live readings cannot. You can re-visit the document or video multiple times for greater understanding. Hectic schedule? First time for a Tarot reading and feeling uncertain? Just not feeling social? These readings are perfect for you.

Convenient: No appointment is needed for email or video readings. Order the reading whenever you want, 24/7. Open the email (or snail mail for the InkMagick pen & paper version) and experience your reading whenever you want, as often as you want. Live phone readings are almost as easy, but require an appointment.

Affordable: With email, I can offer smaller layouts that are not available in-person. E-mail readings start as low as $5. A one card reading by email is an affordable way to sample a reading and see if you think we are a good match to work together.

By working online (or by phone) I don’t maintain a physical office space and pass those savings on to you. On the phone or live online, my five card readings last on average 45 – 60 minutes. Other readings in this price range are usually limited to 15 – 30 minutes

Private: No one sees you go anywhere. It is entirely up to you when, where and how you experience the session. Read on the fly, or turn it into “me time.”

Eco-friendly: Neither of us travel anywhere. No is gasoline is burned, no paper is used, no trees are cut. I opted for a renewable electricity provider, so there is zero carbon footprint for a distance reading!

Q: How can you read me if we aren’t together?

A: The distance between us doesn’t matter because I’m not reading you, I’m reading energy or spirit to get guidance for you. Since that spirit energy comes from outside of physical space, our proximity within physical space doesn’t matter.

The words are the same whether I say them out loud, type them into an email or write them on paper. The only difference is the way in which you enjoy receiving your message, not in the message itself. Phone sessions tend to be social, light, chatty, friendly. Your questions are answered in the moment as we go along. Written or recorded readings are private, powerful and intense. Written words amplify the emotion and magick of the moment. All distance Tarot readings include a follow-up email to answer any questions you might have.

Want to sample a reading for free? The archives are free to explore with the search bar on the right of this page (scroll down on mobile) There are years of readings to browse. You might find your answer there, or at least you can see if we are a good match to work together on new, paid private reading for you.

Want to learn more about my readings including advice on how to find a psychic you can trust? Get the FREE ebook Tarot Portfolio in the Sage Words Tarot ko-fi shop.

Ready for a reading just for you? Order HERE. I’m looking forward to working with you!

Ask Why – part 2

Distance Tarot is my specialty – order anytime, no appointment needed. I don’t celebrate Easter, so readings are OPEN this weekend.

The Allbright by Annalise Jensen from the Alleyman’s Tarot Deck used with permission

Before looking at specific behind-the-scenes topics, last week we started at the very beginning. Why do Tarot at all? What’s the use of it?

I’m biased, of course. I’m a professional Tarot reader which means that I’ve earned money in exchange for my art and expertise. (I would very much like to continue – so please buy my readings!)

All kidding aside, Tarot has a great deal of inherent value. I’ve experienced the benefits of Tarot for myself as a client which is why I continued to practice and study enough to become a professional. Tarot has something to offer everyone regardless of your seat at the table; reader, client or do-it-yourself-er.

Tarot can

Reduce stress and ease difficult emotions
Give insight into specific problems
Encourage personal growth in general
Serve as spiritual expression
Inspire decisions
Break old thought-habits and encourage creative problem solving
Validate your intuition and empower you and your choices
Entertain: humor and playfulness are valuable in their own right, beyond the ability to relieve stress and lift emotions.

Every yang has its yin and vice versa. You’ll notice none of these have anything to do with predicting the future, which brings us to the other half of “why ask why?”

No reason. No need to ask why do a Tarot reading. Not at all.

Here we get back to the foundation benefit of Tarot: Freethought. Tarot empowers your thoughts, your intuition, your power, your choices and your reasons – even when there are none

Ask why.

Question anything a Tarot reader says or does that isn’t clear or comfortable for you. If a reader can’t stand up to a simple “why” then maybe that reader isn’t a good match for you. A good reader will either have a reasonable explanation of the Tarot process or they will have the courage and honesty to say that they don’t know or that there is no particular reason why.

There doesn’t have to be a reason for every single little thing in life, especially where things like aesthetics, intuition or spirituality are concerned. With Tarot, if you enjoy something, there doesn’t have to be a reason why. You can believe what you believe without explaining it to anyone. You don’t have to justify following your intuition. No one is judging you. Get a reading or do a reading for any reason you like or no reason at all.

That is why I always give people the option of asking a specific question, choosing a general topic or just leaving the reading wide open.

If you have a specific ‘why’ you want to get a reading – that’s great! We’ll look at the energy through that lens.

If you don’t have a specific idea in mind – that’s great! We’ll just follow the energy and see where it goes.

Yes, absolutely ask why. Always.

In Tarot, “just because” or “I just want to” or “it’ll be fun” are perfectly good answers.

Next up: Look for some members’ exclusive content over the weekend. Your Choice Tarot is planned for Monday. I’m trying something a little different with the YouTube upload and automatic captions – so let me apologize now for any boneheaded technical mistakes I might make. See you at the next sip!

Gentle Integration

Private readings are open, no appointment needed!

Spiritual growth is not an exercise in mass consumerism.

It isn’t a contest to see who is the most woke, the most pious, the most serene, the most wise, the most anything.

It isn’t a sprint. It isn’t even a marathon. It is about the quality of this present moment. It is about you being happy with you – right here, right now.

The most important lessons in our personal growth and evolution and maturity and autonomy are often learned the hard way. They are often hard-won over significant amounts of time. So it is important not to diminish those lessons by moving on too soon.

The two of pentacles is about balance, but it is the quicker, dynamic equilibrium of a unicycle rider. Temperance is the balance of a glacier, it is the balance of Stonehenge.

Temperance is more than just balance, it is about integration.

Balance can be juggling two different things. Temperance’s type of balance is about integrating those two (or more) things into a stable, foundational new thing. The two of pentacles is a balls in the air, juggling kind of balance. Temperance is a low center of gravity, “weebles wobble but they don’t fall down” kind of balance. To borrow from Frank Herbert’s Dune, Temperance type of balance comes from Usul, the strength of the base of a pillar.

When a hungry person eats, they must then digest. The same is true of insights and epiphanies. The work of finding them is lost if we don’t integrate them.

We must change the big lessons and the big progress from a ball in the air that needs to be balanced into the integrated base of the pillar that imparts balance. This is why integration and transformation are integral parts of the Temperance card’s message of balance.

Live as your new self. Live your new truth. Make the new you an integral part of the old you. Then you can move forward again in certainty and – you guessed it – balance.

Next up: more “My Side of the Table” Tarot behind the scenes

See you at the next sip!