Ning, ning, ning!
In my head, it rhymes with, “Ding, ding, ding!”
May 7, 2008
May 2, 2008
Readers Studio Report
Last week, my husband Dan and I made our annual pilgrimmage to the Readers Studio tarot conference. I’ve attended them all, ever since the Tarot School of New York started organizing them in 2002, and Dan has only missed a year or two.
This year’s Studio was bigger than ever, and in a brand-new location to boot. Like a band of traveling gypsies, we left our old conference home in Queens, and became readers in residence at the Airport Sheraton in Newark, New Jersey.
The change between the two locations changed the event in ways I didn’t expect. Also, I tried my hand as a vendor for the first time, and that changed the event for me, too.
Because the new location could accomodate more people, this year’s crowd was huge. There were 140 people at the conference, as opposed to the 78 readers who used to max out the event when it was in Queens. I really noticed the difference.
There were a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, of course, but there were also dozens and dozens of new people to meet. In other years, I used to table hop so I could get to know the other participants. That didn’t work this time around … the audience was just too big to meet everyone simply by changing seats. What’s more, a lot of the attendees seemed to have come as part of a group, and some of them didn’t seem to take well to the idea of musical chairs. During one session, one woman almost had a tantrum when someone new joined our table … she complained until my husband jumped up to bring in an extra chair, and we assured her there was room for everyone. Still, she kept giving me the evil eye for the rest of the weekend. (Aieee!)
Did that keep me in my assigned seat? No! For one thing, I’m a little thick when it comes to social subtleties, and it took more than a few people grumbling and muttering under their breath to make me notice the shift in attitude. Actually, it took me until midday Saturday to realize that my old way of circulating through the room was interfering with other people’s plans to stick together all weekend long.
That felt a little cliquey to me. Why would you go to a tarot event only to sit with people you already know? Why wouldn’t you want to meet everyone? But then again, maybe I’m just jealous … I assumed that the whole room would be my “group,” and when that turned out not to be the case, I felt a little left out.
This was also the first year that I actually brought books to sell, which further removed me from the feel of the crowd. I felt like I should be at my vendor’s table during the breaks, so I wouldn’t have to haul 100 pounds of books back through the Newark Airport, and return sadly to Minneapolis with unsold inventory. That meant I didn’t mingle in the lobby or in the bar, which I missed. I didn’t sit with any groups at lunch or dinner. And that, I’m sorry to say, was a mistake on my part.
I’m not sure I’ll rent a vendor’s table next year. I don’t like selling my own work. It makes me feel self-conscious, like that software guy on TV who says, “Try my product.” It’s hard to keep track of the money, and it’s worrisome to wonder if the endeavor will lose money, make money, or break even …
But then again, I should point out that the vendor’s tables were very reasonably priced. (My half of the table I shared with Julie Cuccia-Watts was just $100.) I loved being in a room filled with luminaries: Julie, and Joanna Powell Colbert, Robert Place, Crystal Sage, and Jeannette from the Tarot Garden. Actually, the down times in the vending room were some of the best moments for me. How often do I get a chance to visit with Bob Place about his artistic inspirations, or revel in Joanna’s Gaian Tarot imagery? Not often enough, I tell you! Maybe I will be a vendor again!
I just have to learn how to deal with change.
April 11, 2008
Sepulchre — A New Book Based on Tarot
Click here to see Kate Mosse, bestselling author of thrillers like “Labyrinth” speak about her latest work, “Sepulchre” — a novel about a rare deck of tarot cards that affect the lives of two women living several generations apart.
February 19, 2008
Dark Moon
From National Geographic News:
The Hollywood writers’ strike may be over, but perhaps the best prime-time show this Wednesday night is in the sky: a total lunar eclipse.
The moon will be completely submerged in Earth’s shadow from 10:01 to 10:51 p.m. ET.
“It’s very well placed for the U.S.,” said Fred Espenak, an astrophysicist and eclipse expert at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.The celestial spectacle is visible throughout the Americas as well as during the wee hours of Thursday morning in Europe, most of Africa, and western Asia.
All told, well over a billion people will have the opportunity to view the show, according to Espenak.
Eclipse Dynamics
A total lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon form a nearly straight line in space. The alignment causes the full moon to pass through Earth’s shadow.
The moon doesnt completely disappear, because some sunlight scatters around the edge of Earth’s atmosphere and reaches the moon.
“It usually glows as an eerie, coppery red disk in the sky,” Sky and Telescope magazine explained in a media statement.
NASA has more information about the eclipse here.
February 16, 2008
Happy Birthday, Pamela Colman Smith!
Pamela Colman Smith — the artist who painted the Rider-Waite Tarot deck — was born 130 years ago today.
February 15, 2008
You Are Now Under My Control
Here’s my new favorite possession: a “Controlling Amulet” I picked up in Chicago for a mere $4.95. You heard right: $4.95, for the power to work my will upon another! How could I resist?
It really does work, too. The first night I had it, some friends and I were waiting for a table at a Chicago restaurant. After an hour had passed, I pulled out my Controlling Amulet and started willing that table to become available. A mere 30 minutes after that, we were seated!
February 12, 2008
The Eye of Horus looks at “Tall Dark Stranger”
The Eye of Horus bookstore is featuring a nice review of my book, “Tall Dark Stranger: Tarot for Love and Romance.”
You should totally go to the store (or the website) and buy a copy for Valentine’s Day!
February 5, 2008
Black and White
Here are three of my recent beading projects: a long hematite and pearl necklace (it’s magnetic), a black and white bracelet done on memory wire, and a little beaded bracelet I made for my five-year-old, complete with tiny silver flower spacers.
Photo credit: Katherine Kenner
A Catalog for Collectors
The 2008 tarot catalog from U.S. Games Systems has just been released, and it’s a must-have for tarot enthusiasts and collectors.
Seriously, this thing excited me so much I started to hyperventilate a little when I got it in today’s mail.
For starters, the cover is gorgeous:
And inside, you’ll find all of U.S. Games’ tarot decks, listed alphabetically.
My own deck — the Epicurean Tarot — is on page 15.
I think I might need to do some shopping this afternoon.
