Pre-Conference Madness and Pimpage

I will be furthering my tarot knowledge at the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium this weekend. People can feel free to keep requesting my tarot services via e-mail but I probably will not be returning e-mails until Monday at the earliest. Like it says on the hand-painted shingle on my door, "foresight is better than hindsight!" I also will not be doing my Card of the Day draw on twitter and facebook for Saturday and Sunday. Friday's Card of the Day will be extra-early for you East Coasters!

I haven’t packed yet and am firmly convinced I can manage with just a carry-on, considering I will be away for only three days. However, I will need to remember that am taking the same carry-on for the trip back, which means limiting my purchasing of new decks. Yes, I have a problem, and thy name is tarot. Considering I was just graced with the Cosmic Tarot (which I've been coveting for years) and the Mystic Dreamer Tarot as prezzies, it's much easier to be good on this trip.


I can't wait for this conference. Readers Studio was the most amazing experience, and I truly was not the same person walking out of it than I was walking in. I anticipate a similar occurrence with SF BATS. I can't wait to see what I learn, and then translate that into better readings for my clients. The continuation of tarot education is something I strive for... I will never stop learning, because there's simply more to learn about tarot than one could manage in several lifetimes of study!


Moving on to the PIMPAGE portion of the blog:
 
WEST COAST PEOPLE: Have you ever had Courtney Weber teach you tarot or read your tarot? Want to know the basics of circle-casting and why it’s done? Are you near Napa (or willing to get your ass there)? Read on. This blog is probably coming too late to those wanting to attend the tarot workshop, but I believe the circle-casting workshop is tomorrow, and Courtney is also available for readings as well. Check out the link for more details. Take advantage of Courtney's wisdom before us New Yorkers selfishly keep her for ourselves!

Blogging about Readers Studio: Classes

Classes I took at Readers Studio:

The three Master Classes:

Tarot and Astrology by Corrine Kenner

Okay, I thought I knew at least a little something about Astrology. Turns out I know diddly squat, but through Corrine's class, I'm beginning to understand it a little better and how it fits into tarot. Very beautiful handouts, too, which I keep rereading over and over again, each time absorbing a little more information. I also can kinda read a natal chart, which I couldn't claim to do before!

Tarot Spreads: Make Your Readings Even More Fabulous by Barbara Moore

Despite threats from Courtney, Theresa, and Barbara herself to have me teach her class, Barbara ended up doing the class, and it was extremely informative. Have you ever wondered why the Celtic Cross spread is so effective and is a wonderful foundation reading for those clients new to getting their cards read for them? Layout, layout, layout and how the human brain works when seeing cards laid out above, below, to the side, and crossing the significator. Truly an informative class, and Barbara makes anyone believe that they can create useful spreads for any occasion or client request.

Hunting the Lady: Using the Significator Skillfully by Caitlín Matthews

This class would have been worth it just from hearing Caitlín sing in person (gorgeous!), which she did often to call her class to order and to bring us back after working in groups. This class made me want to do reading using significators, when I usually don't. And by don't, I mean I use a randomly selected significator and start my reading based on that. Which is valid, but could go deeper if I applied some of the techniques that were discussed during her class.

Night workshops:

Social Media for Tarot Readers by Theresa Reed

Taking Theresa's class was a no-brainer. I've been using social media for a little while, specifically using twitter to pull cards for the day and give my interpretations of them. There is A LOT more that you can do with social media. Theresa also covered some pretty interesting ground about promoting yourself, taking the ickiness out of the word promoting. Less "used-car salesman" and more "I'm a good reader with this style, I'm here when you want a reading." Using social media opens the entire world up to you as potential clients. The biggest lesson from this class? Just be you. The younger techno-savvy generation (am I part of that?) can spot bullshit from a mile away, and even more so if it's bullshit on a computer screen. Don't bullshit. Be yourself. And don't write about yourself in the third person; that just makes you sound douchy.

The Game of Tarot by Alec Satin

More for fun than anything else! Did you know that there is a game of tarot? I sure didn't. And no, you won't be using your Rider-Waite Deck to play it, either. Alec was a very good teacher, and we were able to play quite a few hands with his supervision, because in my experience there's no better way to learn something than by doing it.