The Week Ahead: More than meets the eye

The Tarot week ahead in the time it takes to sip from your coffee

My, my. Aren’t we chatty again today.

Hello and welcome to the Sage Words Tarot blog and Sage’s Short Sip Tarot podcast. I’m glad you are here.

On Mondays, my hope is to do a Pathway Tarot reading for everyone, on all the platforms where you can find Sage Words Tarot. As always, it isn’t a hard core prediction. No Tarot or psychic reading ever is. As I see it this functions a lot like a weather forecast. It isn’t 100% definite most of the time (unless you hear the word “warning” which means it is already happening, so you should do something about it.) If you take a squinty-eyed look at what is probable, then you can be ready for the possibilities and opportunities that cross your path. It’s our mantra here: Tarot doesn’t tell you what is going to happen in life, it helps you figure out what to do when life happens.

​The energy this week is quite a bit like last week. Neil DeGrasse Tyson once said that “The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.” That is true of hard science, social sciences, and folk art like Tarot. The universe is under no obligation to make one iota of sense and by the same token, it is under no obligation to move or change according to our hopes, aspirations, expectations or schedules.

If a regularly scheduled Tarot broadcast seems repetitive, it isn’t necessarily because the person doing the reading isn’t skilled or that the whole technique isn’t valid. The collective energies are what they are and under no obligation to keep us entertained.

We’ve had this “yeah it’s an annoying pain in the backside but you got this” energy around for a few weeks now. But compare that to 2020 when it was all mental images of hurricanes and a sense of Holy Duck stay focused on the practical problems at hand and batten down the hatches. The feel is totally different. This is feet up sipping coffee time by comparison.

Sometimes the energy changes within a matter of hours. Sometimes things shift over weeks or months. It varies from time to time – and certainly from person to person.

The energy seems fairly steady and low-key at the moment. I personally, will take that. I could use a little steady for a little while. So good news for me, but frustrating news for anyone who is feeling stuck, frustrated or impatient. Like I’ve said before relative to the Hanged Man card…one man’s stuck in the mud is another man’s day at the spa. It’s up to you to decide if the energy reads we get here are good or bad news for you personally.

One of the clue for me that we are still in a bit of the same groove is how chatty the cards are.

By chatty, I mean that the reading is more clairaudient than usual.

Clairvoyant means “clear sight” and refers to intuitive impressions that come in the form of mental images. I use the verb “see” to refer to those.

Clairaudient is that same intuition, just in the form of something sound-related like words or music. When those come along I use the word “hear.” Very seldom are the sounds actual sounds, although right now I’m getting the screeching tires and breaking glass sound effect from a don’t text and drive public service announcement just as an example of what that would be like.

Try putting THAT into words for a blog and podcast.

But back to chatty.

I’ve been getting more than the usual amount of word-driven intuition rather than mental image intuition the past couple of weeks as we begin the new pattern of things under the new name.

The change from TaoCraft Tarot to Sage Words Tarot is mostly finished, by the way.

When I do a private email Tarot reading, the first thing we’ll do is take a look at the general pattern of the cards on the table. This week is starting off with a bang and every single card in the layout is from the major arcana portion of the Tarot deck. I genuinely don’t see that often. I don’t know the math of it. Only 22 of the 78 Tarot cards are major arcana, but there is still some crazy big number of possible combinations in a three card reading….what is it? 78+77+76 to the power of three or some ridiculous thing? I don’t know the precise science-answer, but there are a LOT of possible combinations and only a portion of them include all major arcana cards. So the fact that this layout beat the odds and gave us all majors deserves attention and consideration.

Thinking about this pattern gives sort of a blurry double image, like opening your eyes under water. I am reminded of that old adage about being a duck in an emergency…calm on the surface but furiously paddling underneath.

All major arcana cards are a high energy, rapid change situation. That is in direct opposition to the sedate, steady feeling of the energy.

So how do we reconcile the seeming opposites?

I think the weird juxtaposition is a hint at timing. In the big picture and the overall pattern of things the theme of sedate and steady rules the week, but there may be small or short-lived little “KER-POWs” of energy.

There is an example of both clairvoyance and clairaudience at work. I ‘hear’ or ‘get’ the word KA-POW plus I also get a mental image of it as a cartoon or comic book image of the word, like during the fight scenes in the 1960s Batman TV show that in itself was a parody of even older comic books.

I also see a pebble thrown into a pond…a little splash in a big quiet surface.

I don’t think there is anything much under the surface. We might have to do a little ker-pow of duck paddling at some point this week, but it isn’t a major upset, just a little burst of speed to scoot out of the way of a minor disturbance.

At least on the outside. Here I get the impression that most of the major arcana action is going to be internal, in the spiritual or psychological realm of things, which would certainly fit the symbolism of the duck who seems to be gliding calmly on top but paddling like crazy with its feet under the smooth glassy surface of the water.

The first major arcana card we see is the Justice card. With that I hear “Be fair, including with yourself.” “You are part of the mix and deserve equal fairness with everyone.” This card is in the diminishing energies position within this particular layout, at which point I hear “Let It Go”…. in the form of the song from that Disney movie.

Which in turn reminds us to keep it light, keep your sense of humor, and don’t turn this week’s splash into more of a tidal wave than it really is.

In the current energy position we have the Strength card. This card feels like pure validation and reassurance. You got this. I get the mental image of a weight room or a gym. This is practice. This is a normal workout for your resilience and persistence. Be strong. Don’t whine. Do the do and you can get back to your calm and steady energies shortly.

The growing energy position belongs to the Fool. I see underlines…so this card is reinforcing the idea of lightness and humor. Keeping your sense of humor about things seems important this week.

The Fool card is also symbolic of new beginnings. Our chatty cards are giving me the “break on through to the other side” lyric from some old song from the Doors. Don’t ask me which one. I’m not THAT old. If it grabs your attention as something for you personally, then by all means google it or stream the song or something.

​For our purposes, I think the “other side” is the other side of whatever stress or burst of energy this week brings. Be it next week, next month or next year, this feels like a reassurance that something good is available to us if we put a little effort into it.

It’s weird, but I see grass, and colored eggs on grass on the other side of clear plastic kitchen wrap. Good thing are waiting for us if we are fair to everyone and ourselves, stay strong and make the little effort of breaking on through to the greener grass on the other side of this week.

So stay calm but keep paddling my duckie friends!

Daily Sip members on ko-fi get Tarot every weekday (plus a standing shop discount) Tarot Table members get that plus a personal Sage’s Sip Tarot reading by email on request one per calendar month that they are an active member. People who follow the free blog on SageWordsTaot.com get exclusive weekend content, and the socials are whatever whenever although Instagram is the only one where I actually interact with the comments.

And that is the online week in a nutshell.

Or in a Tarot reading in the time it takes to sip from your coffee. See you at the next sip!

Delicate Times and Door Kicking

I got it!

I know what to do with weekends! (as far as cyberspace and Tarot goes, anyway)

  1. Nothing! The schedule is that there is no schedule. Family is first priority all the time, but even more so on the weekends. Paid private email readings always get priority over the rest of cyberspace so sometimes there will be free Tarot content during the weekend, sometimes there won’t
  2. Exclusive Free-Blog content! If I write or create any free Tarot content at all on the weekends it will be my first and greatest love – writing. On the weekends I’ll post either here or on the associated but non-Tarot “Sage’s Other Words” blog (or both.) This long-read SageWordsTarot.com exclusive content, plus the occasional announcement or update, is why it is worth your while to follow THIS blog by itself or along with a paid membership.

This free blog has its exclusive posts, The Daily Sip subscription has its exclusive posts, both together gets you everything. I post to a variety of social media, but Instagram is the only one I really interact with so if you want to say hi – that’s the place. Simple!

And it all begins tomorrow.

Monday mornings are earmarked for three card pathway readings for the week ahead for everyone: members, free blog, and free podcast. The YouTube channel, Instagram Reels and TikTok will show the real-world card draw for the reading. Facebook and Tumblr will get links to the free blog when it publishes.

Only The Daily Sip membership will get daily Tarot for the rest of the week.

Some days will be a Tarot contemplation with a public domain vintage RWS card image:

Some days will be cards from a different public domain RWS deck that I own, photographed by me and paired with a relevant public-source quote:

Some days will be my card photo and my original card interpretation for the day:

Frank Herbert wrote that beginnings are a time for taking most delicate care. Or as the 1984 movie version put it “A beginning is a very delicate time.” That may be especially true in the planning stages…in the beginning of the beginning. Now it feels more like kicking in the door and getting the party started.

Let’s do this thing.

Fresh Starts Aren’t Foolish

There is a difference between falling off of a cliff and jumping off of one on purpose.

Hello and welcome to the freshly renamed TaoCraft Tarot blog and podcast. I’ve jumped off the marketing best practices cliff and everything TaoCraft will gradually change over to Sage Words Tarot.

The name change feels totally different this time.

In 2018 when I re-branded from Modern Oracle to TaoCraft Tarot it felt like that scene from The Walking Dead tv series where they watch a cabin the woods burn down as a symbolic release of the character Daryl’s past and old self-image. The change from Modern Oracle to Tao Craft was moderately terrifying because it took every Tarot everything I’d built since 2003 and blew it to bits. It was like taking a step backwards off a cliff and hoping you don’t crash on the rocks below.

Sure, it was all rebuilt as a stronger, more cohesive brand that was following all the good marketing advice I could get my hands on. TaoCraft was far more organized from a business standpoint AND far more aligned with my authentic self. It’s a deeply meaningful as a name to me…but I don’t think it resonates very well with anyone else. I felt like I always needed to explain it. All the T and C sounds made it a little confusing to spell and that’s all a problem because Tarot is about making things clearer, not more confusing. Tarot isn’t about me, it’s about YOU.

Sage is a pen name, which protects privacy a little better for both of us in these days of openly growing theocratic tendencies in this country. Christian nationalism and evangelical bigotry is a real thing. I want to do all I can to make this a safe space for my fellow atheists and the lgbtquia community that is so important to me.

Sage the herb evokes cozy feelings. It has a familiar scent and taste from home cooking and holiday turkeys.

In aromatherapy, Sage incense and smudge sticks can clear negative energy, calm anxiety and promote a general feeling well being.

Most of all, the word sage means something or someone who is wise. The word speaks to all of the wisdom that has accumulated around the Tarot cards over the centuries.

Safety, comfort, calmness, wisdom and a feeling that things will be ok in the end are all qualities that I hope you’ll experience if we do a Tarot reading together. All of these are qualities I hope you’ll experience when you read the blog or listen to the podcast.

And THAT, my friends, is what I’m calling an introduction, not an explanation.

This time the Fool’s cliff feels more like the movie Ironman 2 where Tony Stark gleefully jumped off the side of a building while yelling to Pepper “you complete me!”

Fresh leaps of faith, fresh jumps off of buildings in your super suit aren’t necessarily foolish. Fresh leaps can make things better for everyone. No matter how long you’ve been doing something, you can always make a fresh start in the new year.

Or the new day.

Or the new moment.

Thank you for reading and listening. I’m glad you are here. See you at the next sip!

Go Gestalt

Sometimes the big picture is the best picture.

Sometimes the big picture is the best picture

Hi and welcome to the TaoCraft Tarot Blog and Podcast. I’m glad you are here.

Yay! We made it to September. Consider this place magically totally decorated for Autumn and Halloween just like the internet memes. Because it is officially pumpkin spice season, and because I say so. Cinnamon everything for the next six months!!

Today’s card is The World from the major arcana and it fits the mood. The World is a generally positive card, associated with yes in the really old, complicated ways of doing yes-or-no readings. I’m not burning brain cells on memorizing the yes or no implications for all 78 cards, so I’m sticking with my three stack deal and aces method. It works really well for that kind of reading. Older isn’t always better, even in Tarot.

The world card is a good omen card if you work from a predictive stance. The world is the last of the major arcana cards. The Fool is the first card and has come to be associated with new beginnings. In much the same way, the World card connotes happy endings. I’ve always associated it with that saying “the world is your oyster.” The interwebs say the phrase originated with Shakespeare and signifies life giving riches and good things like an oyster produces a pearl. I’m guessing that it might also hint that you are able to make good things happen for yourself no matter what life throws at you just like an oyster makes a pearl out of a grain of sand. That idea in turn resonates with that whole make lemonade out of lemons thing. Put all of those impressions together, and today seems to be a good day to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps despite this avalanche of homespun aphorisms and be confident about it because energies are flowing toward a good outcome if you do.

Looking at life through the biggest of big pictures is a way to help you to create that good outcome, it seems.

German must be a fun language. Part of me wants to learn it, but the part of me that dislikes noun gender tends to win that debate. Still the German language has given us some pretty cool words, like geshundheit to say for sneezes, schadenfreude for when political tea is spilled, Reinheitsgebot for their beer purity laws and the one that always makes me giggle like a 12 year old – krankenwagen for an ambulance.

Gestalt is another useful German word. According to the Google machine, gestalt literally translates as “shape” As it relates to the World card, however, it is more like the gestalt branch of psychology and psychotherapy. In a shorthand sort of way, it is about understanding the shape of things. I think of it as starting from the biggest big picture point of view that you can muster, then see how everything fits together into that – if you will pardon the pun – world view. It’s no surprise that gestalt and wholeness have been added to contemporary meanings for the World card.

When the World card turns up in a reading, consider it a good omen and a sign of a happy conclusion on the way. If that doesn’t fit then consider it a reminder to keep the big picture in mind. Look at how all the pieces fit together. Look at the whole forest, not just one bothersome tree.

Which is why astronaut Ron Garan’s The Orbital Perspective is on my enormous want-to-read list. I’m a gestalt kind of gal. The more I see and understand the big picture the better I like it. That is also why I would urge all of you to read Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot.

Problems shrink when you stack them next to the whole world.

Thank you so much for listening and reading. I appreciate you for doing that. I’d also appreciate any follows, likes, subs, shares, questions or comments that you can spare.

The blog and podcast are not monetized in any way and totally rely on your support. Please visit the TaoCraft Tarot page on ko-fi.com (it sounds like no fee or coffee) Proceeds from the virtual coffees, shop purchases, private readings and exclusive content memberships all help me to create these free to access Tarot readings for everyone.

Thank you again, and I’ll see you at the next sip.

Something wonderful this way came

Photo of my newest Tarot deck, and brief deck review. Rave review that is. It’s a modern day masterpiece for an ancient art.

If I were a violin player, this is like finding a discounted Stradivarius online and getting surprise bonus bows, rosin and music besides. This is a modern day masterpiece for an ancient art.

I felt a kinship on the first page. Years ago, I wrote on my decks as the alleyman claims to do with his in his notebook. Cards are just tools while the process and experience of getting and giving readings is almost a living, breathing, evolving thing.

Add favorite cards from my other decks – or take some out as the guide suggests? Change and collaborate both with an unknown to the creatore – “with the Alleyman’s blessing” – as part of the unspoken collective of Tarot readers and artists? Count me in. This is something special.

I don’t give cards away like the fictional Alleyman because I want – need – to protect and possess my tools, and build a relationship with them. This deck had my attention at first sight. The hood and fingerless gloves is a whole mood. The deck is easily coated with my energy. There is delicious mystique and aesthetic to be co-created here. This deck speaks succinct truths with many mouths. There is art and poetry afoot.

Rubber duckie Fool? There is joy in a good beginning.

There is probably more to say, but unboxing isn’t my jam. A thoughtful review is more up my alley. And this one requires some thinking.

Bravo, Seven Dane Asmund. Bravo.

Learn more about this artists’ work and the Alleyman’s Tarot at PublishingGoblin.com

Enjoy

Welcome to TaoCraft Short Sip Tarot: a one card meditation Tarot reading in the time it takes to sip from your morning coffee.

Today’s card is the Fool, traditionally the first card in the major arcana part of the Tarot deck.

Here we have yet another example how one card can have multiple layers or threads of meaning. Over time, every card has picked up about a bazillion and a half key word meanings and short interpretations.

As we talked about with the Judgement card yesterday, just because one meaning is given for one reading, and another meaning is used in another session or by another reading doesn’t mean that one interpretation was right and the other was wrong. It just goes to show how Tarot has been able to stay relevant as useful tool for insight, understanding and personal growth. With the abundance of key words, a card can adjust to meet the needs and energies of the moment while staying true to its key symbolism and core meaning?

That’s where personal intuition comes in. We all have it. We can all develop it. But sometimes it is easier to just ask someone. I mean, generally speaking anyone can learn to change the oil in their car. With practice and study they could become a really good card mechanic. I could do that – but I don’t want to. I take it to a pro for that. If you don’t want to sort out which thread of meaning a card holds for you, that’s what I’m here for. Not only can I do a full on reading for you, I can consult with you to get a better understanding of a reading you’ve done for yourself. But that’s beside the point.

The Fool card has a couple of core meanings. When that happens in a Tarot card, most of the smaller keyword meanings tend to fall under the heading of the larger core meanings. In this case, the Fool can point toward a new beginning in some way, or it can be a reminder of the value of play and lightheartedness. It is a matter of pure intuition which to use in any given reading that you are doing.

Today, my sense of it the vast general energy out here in the world wide webbernet is pointing toward the playful side of things. I’m not talking about some cutsey sit-com sillyness. Sometimes the Fool card will point to the wisdom that can be spoken through comedy.

In an interview about his book Scorpion’s Gate, author Richard A. Clarke said that sometimes more truth can be told through fiction than nonfiction. The same is true of comedy. A spoonful of laughter helps the difficult ideas go down.

That’s not quite right for today. This is a subtle shift within that core. The energy isn’t as much with the new beginnings side of things, althought if you’ve been needing a push to start something, this could easily be that nudge you’ve been needing.

This isn’t talking about giggly silly play. This isn’t quite talking about learning through humor. It feels like permission.

We’re told that it’s OK to not be OK. That’s true. But it is also OK to be OK. Even in the middle of a time where things are not OK, it is perfectly fine to have a moment where you enjoy something. It is OK to take a moment to play, to allow yourself a moment of enjoyment. Don’t worry – you can get back to being stressed and depressed and all that other stuff in a minute.

Whatever it is, take a deep breath, take a minute, and enjoy.

YouChoose Interactive Tarot: Commitment, Congratulations, Cognition

Please watch the video for today’s reading. Thanks for watching!


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A Sip of Tarot: One More Time

Today’s card is the traditional first of the Tarot deck, usually given the number zero.

The zero is interesting. You could get all philosophical about it. Zero, as in “you’re a big zero” was an insult, but I don’t know that anybody has cared about it since the 70s. I think of it more in terms of the Zen enso, the circle. It is a symbol of infinity from which all springs, including the newborn journey of the Fool. From there you can veer into the oroborus, the snake biting its own tail which in turn points to alchemy, manifestation and sorts of other things. It’s interesting as heck, but not the path where the energy is flowing today.

The word fool didn’t originally have the connotations that it does today. The king’s fool was more of a court jester who, through their antics and seeming insanity could tell greater and blunter truth than any other advisor. Think of comedians like George Carlin and Eddie Izzard and many others. They can make incisive social commentary, and nobody seems to mind because it comes wrapped in humor. Laughter really is good medicine. Stand up comics still remind us of the legitimate value of laughter, fun and play. Call it stress reduction if it makes you feel better, but it works, and it is imprtant.

That aspect of the Fool card is where the energy is flowing right now.

My intuition has a clairaudent (clear-hearing) aspect to go along with the clairvoyant (clear-seeing) part. Sometimes that means intuition comes as mental words instead of mental images. Sometimes sounds or music will come to mind. That’s not paranormal. It’s not the slightest bit unusual to have a song brought to mind by some circumstance or another. But if you are in a situation of wanting a message or are actively working with intuition and that happens, it is worth paying attention to the song that comes to mind.

In today’s case, the song that popped to mind was “One More Time” from Daft Punk on their Discovery album.

I know that seems wildly random but creativity and intuition are all about connecting widely separated and wildly random dots like this.

The phrase “one more time” means repetition of course, but it can also hint at frustration if the repetition is from something unwanted or out of our control. The mental image here is building a house of cards that falls down and having to start from the beginning one more time. And one more time again.

This combination is akin to the the Ten of Swords and the famous proverb that the ten so often calls to mind “fall down seven times but get up eight.” All that getting up can get exhausting and frustrating after a while. Humor and play can make frustration and repetition and having to start all over again one more time less infuriating. The Fool reminds us that humor and lightheartedness can help make that metaphoric eighth time up a little easier.

Today’s Tarot: Tipping Point

Frank Herbert famously wrote “A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct” which in turn was adapted into the more famous movie line “A beginning is a very delicate time.”

Beginnings, I would add, are also tipsy, unpredictable, even mildly terrifying times.

The Fool depicted as Captain Jack Sparrow is one of my favorite cards from Thom Pham’s Heart of Stars Tarot deck. The character, as played by Johnny Depp, captures all sorts of threads held within the card.

The Fool card isn’t about “foolish” as contemporary language might make you think. Humor and play are certainly connotation within the card. But there is more to this kind of humor than meets the eye. Just like Captain Jack. He turns out to have both unexpected cleverness and ulterior motives. Contemporary stand up comedy is another analogy for the Fool card. Think of comedians who deeply insightful social observations in their humor; Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Jimmy Fallon, Eddie Izzard and George Carlin to name a few personal favorites. Author Richard Clarke once said that you can tell more truth through fiction than non-fiction. You can tell more truth through humor than you can say outright. Such is the nature of the Fool card.

A beginning is the best known connotation of the card, ostensibly because it has long been the first card in the major arcana part of the deck.

Beginnings are weird. No matter how much you expect them and prepare for them, then there is still a pretty good chance something is not going to go according to plan. Sometimes we think about something, but for some reason we never set a hard start or take the leap. Sometimes that is a by-product of uncertainty, lack of confidence, or outright fear. Sometimes it is a matter of timing. Going back to Frank Herbert, enough time has to elapse and conditions have to be right for the spice mass to reach critical mass and blow. That is why it is a classic Tarot trope for the Fool to be off balance, one footed, or on the edge of a cliff. If you don’t begin something that needs begun, life will often come along and begin you. Maybe that’s why Captain Jack moves the way he does.

copyright Ronda Snow

This is my new beginning: Clairvoyant Confessional is my new podcast available on Spotify, Anchor.fm, PocketCast with more outlets on the horizon. If you would like a private distance session with a podcast psychic – here’s your chance.