Cult of Tarot Forum

After about 20-hours of travel I have arrived in the beautiful city of Portland Oregon. I now lie awake at 4am in my room at the Monarch Hotel, still digesting an assortment of yesterday's airline and airport delicacies, and I decided to write a few lines about the experience so far.

Firstly and very importantly, travel went very smoothly so I am glad for that. Uneventful travel is the best kind of travel. Well, unless you get surprise bumped to 1st class and get seated next to Clive Owen or Lady Gaga or something. Short of that unlikely anomaly, I was very happy to find the people on on my planes were pleasant and the flight had a good vibe.. One nice touch, the woman sitting across from me was daubing herself occasionally with lavender oil so the area surrounding us smelled quite lovely. A highly unusual state on a long-haul flight in economy class.

I did learn an interesting thing about travel. If your boarding pass prints out like mine did with SSSS printed on it, (as mine did) be prepared to be invited for a very special Security check. Super fun.


I must have triggered the system somehow. Was it that Crowley deck in my carry-on bag?

But after 3 airports and countless security controls, I finally arrived at Portland Airport where I caught the free-shuttle and was immediately joined by 3 other Tarotistas for the ride to the Monarch Hotel.

I have to admit, to suddenly find myself chatting away with 3 other people about tarot and what we all do with tarot was really a beautiful surprise and yet exactly what I came here for. Like many people, though I have a pretty active Tarot life online, my real-life doesn't include a lot of discussion or people who are even into tarot much less who are able to speak about it on a level like this. To be around people who are so different, yet share a deep connection like this is going to be fun getting used to.

Just a quick bit of name-dropping, In the shuttle were two of the presenters for the sympsium, Sage Lee (The Royals and the Enneagram, A New Way to Understand and Master the Court Cards) and Judy Dale (Using the Tarot to Interpret Dreams.) There was also a very a very charming reader in the most astonishing and beautiful hat (sorry now I did not get a photo) named Anastasia. Later in the hotel bar, she and I perused the conference schedule together and are both having a difficult time deciding which workshops to attend. There are so many, and many are at conflicting times, so it's not easy to choose. There in the bar we also met celebrated author and Taroist Richard Hartnett and we had a very interesting conversation about decks and people and about reaching out to the tarot world.



It is now approaching 5am. I am wide awake and starving. In a few hours I will be attending something I have been really looking forward to, a 3-hour presentation from Mary K. Greer titled "A Junguian Approach to Tarot."

I will do my best to get some photos over the next few days. This hotel is just busting at the seams with tarot people and it feels so,..I don't know... freeing I guess. To be around so many people so enthusiastic about the same beautiful and enigmatic thing. I guess that isn't so odd for sports fans for example. But for me, at my very first Tarot conference, it does feel very special indeed.

One word: Jealous!!!

Have fun. Looking forward to hearing more about the conference. And I wish you a bit of rest!

I will in this entry spare you the details of my jet-lag except to say I'm getting used to it and we are becoming friends.

Yesterday was the first actual day of the conference and it was really busy and I wish I'd taken photos to share but I did not. I will try to today.

I really missed one really good photo op because, well, it guess it just isn't my style to think about making selfies ever, but especially not with strangers, my mind just doesn't go there which precludes me I'm sure from becoming the internet sensation I'd otherwise be destined to be. I was walking to the hotel lobby, and waiting at the the elevator all alone was Mary K. Greer. It was just her and me there. I got all fan-girl and gushed about how I was looking forward to her talk and I stuck out my hand which she politely shook and smiled and thanked me. Again, it would have made a great selfie. Maybe I can catch her again over the next couple days. We'll see.

Mary K. Greer's talk on Jung and Tarot was very well attended and she was wonderful. She introduced some really cool spreads for pinpointing and working with The Shadow Self. I took lots of notes and will be sharing those with everyone soon. She is a charming person and a good presenter. And I'm reminded to say here that the overall vibe at this conference is very warm and supportive.

Funny thing happened, before she started to present, I got up from my seat leaving my Cult of Tarot notebook at my place. When I came back the woman who was now seated next to me said, "I know you." and it turned out to be Jamie Sawyer the artist behind 2 beautiful decks in our Deck Library, Sawyer’s Path Tarot and Sawyer’s Lenormand and the subject of an interview I did for this forum. She introduced me to her mom who was sitting next to her. I really loved that. Jamie mentioned her mom and her influence a lot in the interview and it was so nice to meet the woman who brought this extraordinary artist to the world.

I attended two other workshops, one on Kabbalah (tough going but interesting. I keep waiting for that penny to drop as Nemia puts it) and the other on Decans. It was cool to learn about the historical record regarding decans.

Yesterday was also the opening of the Psychic Fair and Metaphysical Market. There are about 40 here vendors with all kinds of great stuff (I bought a Ouija Board bracelet right off the top because it was just so strange and funny.)




But the big danger here are the deck sellers. Oh my. SO MANY DECKS! Of all kinds. There is one booth of just historical decks. Gorgeous. And also many contemporary artists and decks, many of then appearing in our deck Library here on the forum.


I should probably start pulling myself together here and get ready for another day of workshops. Still haven't decided which ones to take. We'll see what happens. And I will try to get some pics.

Oh my... i am so jealous how i wish i can be there... so many decks, i think i will spend all my penny on them i like your bracelet, it looks unique !

Keep us update on your days over there. Do take care and have fun !

Still waking up at the ***crack of dawn but that's okay. I learned yesterday how to put that to good use.

I learned a lot yesterday. I had a great deal of luck in the workshops I chose to attend. One expecially fun class was taught by Susie Chang, author of Tarot Correspondences: Ancient Secrets for Everyday Readers which appears to be an utterly amazing compendium and scholarly study of symbols and all that. (it is early, so please forgive my simple language today.) Susie Chang also co-hosts with Mel Meleen the wildly informative and entertaining podcast Fortune's Wheelhouse. Each episode is dedicated to the study of the symbols of each card of the tarot.

Anyway, she did a workshop on Writing Magic spells using Tarot. It was so fun and really inspiring. When I get more settled I plan to introduce some of the techniques here on the the forum so we can all have a try at it. It really was an eye-opener. She use The Kabbalah Tree and tarot and a bit of rhyming fun. It was just great.

I also attended a workshop on deck creation by Jadzia DeForest where I picked up some really useful information (and a book) about optimising the printing and design processes behind tarot deck creation. I will also be sharing this information soon.

The last workshop I had was so charming and pleasant. It was run by artist Cade Burkhammer and he described the creation process behind his stunning work of 15 years, The Wise Fool Tarot, a copy of which I picked up immediately (and he signed for me !) I can't wait to share it with you all. I do plan to use it for the Vernal Equinox seasonal reading coming up soon.

Today, Sunday, is the last day for me. I have 3 workshops then off I go to continue my adventures elsewhere for the next couple of weeks. While I may not have a lot of time to post for a while, I am re-charging all my batteries and when I am back in full swing here, look out! I have so much to share with you all and I can't wait to work with you using all the new and magical things I have learned.

I just want to say a quick hello to everyone. I am still on my travels and in addition to being really preoccupied I've been a bit under the weather as well so I haven't been as attentive to things here as usual.

I just hope everyone is staying active and I really want to encourage those of you who can to participate in the Sacred Days of the Vernal Equinox reading exercise. It's a beautiful way to use tarot to connect in a powerful way to this exciting change of season.

I have a few days left of running about, a couple more plane rides and cities and people to visit. I will return home mid next week and though my visit here is really wonderful, I am really looking forward to being home.

I've seen and learned so much while I've been here and I plan to share a lot of it with everyone. I really can't wait to be able to take the time to write and think and put together everything from this adventure.

It sounds like you had a wonderful time, your report paints an excellent picture of it. A real shame about the SSSS check! The jetlag too, I get it having worked in Canada.

Mary K Greer's talk sounds like something I would love to have heard, as Jung is greatly of interest and Mary has posted a lot of super articles with excellent spreads.

Best wishes

Cara

CaraHamilton wrote: ↑19 Mar 2019, 12:56 Best wishes

Thanks Cara!

So 5 airplanes, 2 rental cars, 2 hotels, 3 Airbnb's and countless Ubers in Las Vegas later, I am finally home again and feeling just oriented enough to start getting back into all this with a new-found energy and lots of new ideas.

To everyone I owe replies to on PM's and to everyone who sent me new decks to add to the library, I will be getting to all of you in the next couple of days. Thank you for your patience!

I have many things I want to share with all of you, all kinds of things I picked up in my travels. I learned about the business of tarot, I learned to cast spells with cards, I learned all kinds of stuff and can't wait to start practicing, implementing and just talking about it all in different parts of the forum.

I also want to provide some feedback to those of you who did readings for me before I left and let you know how (very!) accurate you were.

I hope everyone enjoyed the Vernal Equinox and I want to remind you it isn't too late to participate in the Sacred days readings. I just got caught up today and I find it so immensely helpful right now to take the time out for that exercise.

It was so lovely meeting you and sitting next to you for the keynote! I had a great time and am planning already for what I’ll do differently for next year... Like staying in the actual hotel so I don’t miss out on any tarot fun! I am also still trying to mentally unpack everything I experienced. It was so amazing and fun!

I hope tarot brings us together in the future again soon!

Joan Marie wrote: ↑21 Mar 2019, 15:50
I have many things I want to share with all of you, all kinds of things I picked up in my travels. I learned about the business of tarot, I learned to cast spells with cards, I learned all kinds of stuff and can't wait to start practicing, implementing and just talking about it all in different parts of the forum.

It all sounds so interesting, I would love to hear about what you learnt!

BlueStar wrote: ↑28 Mar 2019, 11:40

Joan Marie wrote: ↑21 Mar 2019, 15:50
I have many things I want to share with all of you, all kinds of things I picked up in my travels. I learned about the business of tarot, I learned to cast spells with cards, I learned all kinds of stuff and can't wait to start practicing, implementing and just talking about it all in different parts of the forum.

It all sounds so interesting, I would love to hear about what you learnt!

Hi There Joan,

I am with BlueStar on this one. I would love to hear more about this subject and perhaps share some things I know about the subject. It was really nice to meet you in person although I was sorry that you were ill. You managed to pack an amazing and healing journey into a very short period of time. How has it been being back at home?

Victoria

BlueStar wrote: ↑28 Mar 2019, 11:40 It all sounds so interesting, I would love to hear about what you learnt!

BreathingSince72 wrote: ↑28 Mar 2019, 16:13 I am with BlueStar on this one. I would love to hear more about this subject and perhaps share some things I know about the subject. It was really nice to meet you in person although I was sorry that you were ill. You managed to pack an amazing and healing journey into a very short period of time. How has it been being back at home?

Being home is nice but the jet-lag travelling east is worse for some reason. My sleeping is just chaotic. But I feel fine.
I'm so sorry I wasn't feeling better when we met Victoria, but I had such a nice visit. Thank you again for your hospitality and I'm glad you didn't catch anything!

I too am looking forward to sharing some of the stuff I learned. I'm sitting here with a pile of handouts and other materials I collected while there. One thing I want to get to soon is spell casting with tarot. That was really a fun exercise and so interesting. Lots of things to keep me busy here for sure.

Joan:
Thanks for the picture of the Ouija bracelet you bought from us (Readings...And More!) at Northwest Tarot Symposium, and your reactions to my Tarot and Kabbalah: An Introduction. I agree: tough subject, thanks for also saying interesting. I hope the handout helped fill in some holes, gave you useful books for follow up, and that the penny eventually dropped.

Blessings,
Murray Porath,
Readings...And More!

Murray Porath wrote: ↑13 Apr 2019, 04:02 I hope the handout helped fill in some holes, gave you useful books for follow up, and that the penny eventually dropped.

Murray! so nice to hear from you and so glad you have joined us here. I was wearing my bracelet just last night, probably when you were writing this message!

I hope you have a chance to visit our Kabbalah section on the forum. One of our members, Nemia, has some amazing entries there. She has a really lovely and clear way of explaining things.

I commented recently that learning Kaballah, for me, has been enhanced by coming at it from different directions, different points of view and styles of presentation.

It would be wonderful if at some point you might be able to add to our forum and share some of your expertise and interest in Kaballah or any other topic.

In any case, welcome to Cult of Tarot!
-Joan

Thank you, Joan.

I've looked at Nemia's Kaballah posts, and yes, she's brilliant and much too modest: she's a scholar; I say so; that settles it.

Of course, my opinion is based on how much I agree with her and she with me. We say a lot of the same things (yes, some of which she says better), use the same diagrams, etc. She knows the importance of the Shoresh שרש Root. (No, I didn't talk about Shoresh שרש at NW Tarot Symposium, but I talk a lot about it in my Hebrew for Kabbalists class [Hebrew For Fun And Prophets].) She even uses similar transliteration and translates Netzach נצח as Enduring, not Victory! I know only two other people besides her and myself who do that, and one of them is my big sister the Rabbi.

I left a post on her Forum

Oops.

I left a post on her Forum conveying my respects. Most of it was in Hebrew 1) to establish my bona fides, and 2) I'm a showoff.

Murray Porath מדריך,
Readings...And More!

It is always a privilege to be of service.

Murray Porath wrote: ↑15 Apr 2019, 18:39 I've looked at Nemia's Kaballah posts, and yes, she's brilliant and much too modest: she's a scholar; I say so; that settles it.

This is nice to hear from someone such as yourself.

Nemia is taking a break right now, but when she returns I know your words will mean a lot.

In my post I wrote that it's possible that she understands Hebrew better than I...and I wrote it in Hebrew to demonstrate that that is not necessarily a low bar.

Joan Marie wrote: ↑01 Mar 2019, 12:55 ... There was also a very charming reader in the most astonishing and beautiful hat (sorry now I did not get a photo) named Anastasia. Later in the hotel bar, she and I perused the conference schedule together and are both having a difficult time deciding which workshops to attend ...

Hi Joan Marie!
So funny to come across this. Hope you'll be at NWTS 2020. So excited to say I'll be there ... and PRESENTING a class called "Jumping Timelines with Tarot". Anyway I had so much fun talking Tarot & LeNormand with you plus seeing the early edition of your Friar's Delight deck. Hope to see you in 2020!

anastasia wrote: ↑09 Sep 2019, 01:56 Hi Joan Marie!
So funny to come across this. Hope you'll be at NWTS 2020. So excited to say I'll be there ... and PRESENTING a class called "Jumping Timelines with Tarot". Anyway I had so much fun talking Tarot & LeNormand with you plus seeing the early edition of your Friar's Delight deck. Hope to see you in 2020!

Jumping Timelines with Tarot sounds very intriguing.
I'm not sure if I'll make it to the 2020 event, but I hope I can. I had a really good time last year.

BTW- I took your advice and changed the card-back on my lenny deck from that very early iteration. You were so right about that, it did look like a counter-top sample.

I must have missed all these wonderful compliments, what a pity!

I'd love to go to a tarot symposium or even meeting.

Nemia wrote: ↑10 May 2020, 12:32 I must have missed all these wonderful compliments, what a pity!

I'd love to go to a tarot symposium or even meeting.

I really would love to go to another. I think there is one in London that I'd like to check out. It really was so fun to connect with so many people whose names I know, whose work I've seen. Even if it's just a few words, it's so wonderful.

It’s such a shame that the pandemic canceled this year’s NWTS. I live in Portland and would love to go. Hopefully I’m still in the NW in October of next year!

Merrick wrote: ↑10 May 2020, 15:12 It’s such a shame that the pandemic canceled this year’s NWTS. I live in Portland and would love to go. Hopefully I’m still in the NW in October of next year!

It went on this year, just by the skin of its teeth though. It was just a few days later everything started shutting down but I'm sure a lot of people had to cancel last minute as things were already looking bad. But NWTS 2020 did happen, I'm pretty sure.

But there have been several subsequent events all over that have been cancelled.

Joan Marie wrote: ↑10 May 2020, 16:01

Merrick wrote: ↑10 May 2020, 15:12 It’s such a shame that the pandemic canceled this year’s NWTS. I live in Portland and would love to go. Hopefully I’m still in the NW in October of next year!

It went on this year, just by the skin of its teeth though. It was just a few days later everything started shutting down but I'm sure a lot of people had to cancel last minute as things were already looking bad. But NWTS 2020 did happen, I'm pretty sure.

But there have been several subsequent events all over that have been cancelled.

Ah, my bad, you are right. I just missed it!