A crafts magazine from O’Reilly?

Yeah.

Fought not one but two fires today, then tackled the crowds of self-absorption at the 14th street Trader Joe’s, then came home to a little housecleaning, and Leland’s not here and the last thing I really want to do right now is head into the studio. Which means, yes, that’s right, it’s exactly the time that I need to be in the studio the most. But first, a list.

1. Item: Mr. Wood is having a bleepin’ hard time with his eye right now. Go libate a bottle of scotch to his non-blindness. Or at least keep him in your thoughts.

2. My copy of the Fairytale Tarot arrived. Hoo–wow. That’s about all I can articulate at the moment, but I’ve added it to my stack of things to review for Endicott. Which I’d better start whittling down soon, as I’m sure Midori will be compiling the lists in early May. Other reviews a-comin’: Sonya Taffe’s two recent releases, OUTFOXING FEAR, and the Mythic Delirium anthology.

3. Speaking of reading, if you want something that reminds me a heck of a lot of PLATFORM, check out FIVE FLIGHTS UP. Feels like Ms. Schlesinger is a kindred spirit. Also makes me want to write — hrm, not more PLATFORM, because busking is hard work and just thinking about it exhausts me — about the faces of New York, faces and minds, bones and hearts. If you know what I mean.

4. Mini-project for two or three rainy days: systematically download every mp3 from folkden.com.

5. A couple of nights ago, I said to Leland, “give me something to dream on.” And he pulled out a couple of old Dover books with art by Heinrich Kley. Talk about a mind that’s delightfully unfettered. Most folks are lucky if they can tap into their shadow sides even once in a while. Some of it reminded me a bit of Molly Crabapple’s stuff (love it!).

6. I guess you know you’ve made it as a blogger when the spammers have found you. The spammers have found this place. But! No worries, thanks to Wordpress‘ spam protection. Comments shall stay on. I love Wordpress.

7. Role playing games aren’t my thing. I harbor no prejudice, mind; it’s the time suck factor that gets me. Ergo, I know nothing of that world, save for what my one lone hardcore gamer friend reports when she skips off to I-CON or whatever. So I can’t imagine that there are many gamers passing through. That said, has anyone here heard of Deliria? The divine Miss Sooj Tucker mentions it on a radio broadcast that’s on her latest live album and I daresay it’d be right up my alley.

I guess it’s Wednesday morning now, right? Sheesh, it’s well past 1 am.

I got home from the Reader’s Studio on Sunday afternoon and promptly crashed. Fell asleep, didn’t get up ’til 10 pm, wrote for a bit, went back to bed. Despite all my experience at things like conferences and shows and other fun events, I still haven’t quite learned how to parcel out my energy in such a way that I’m not dead by the last day, especially if I’m having a grand time.

The last day of the Studio was filled with a lot of laughter, networking, and reading practice. Highlights:

1. Lisa Finander, the Tarot acquisitions editor for Llewellyn, gave us all lots of information on Llewellyn’s current direction and details on the kinds of things that they’re looking for. It sounds like Llewellyn is growing a lot, and with that, maturing. I know I’ve got a Tarot book in me somewhere, but the pull of fiction is going to be pretty damn strong, at least until I get the ball rolling (not to mention the fact that I’m already working on one Llewellyn proposal that’s not Tarot, go figure). These days, I tend to view any writing project that’s not fiction as a distraction (freelance writing gigs excepted). So many projects, so little time!

Alas, there remains the problem of books for Reader’s Studio attendees, that is, the advanced market. We had a lengthy discussion about that. Lisa is looking into hijacking the Llewellyn bi-monthly mailing list and turning it into a way that our market can communicate more effectively with each other.

(Speaking of Llewellyn, the favorite latest release at the show had to be Tarot midwife Mary Greer’s 21 WAYS TO READ A TAROT CARD. I really like it so far — it reminds me of her classic, TAROT FOR YOURSELF.)

2. Did I mention Kim Arnold yet? Lemme tell ya, this lady is cool — and she’s clearly going places. Her Psychic Cafe venture is one of the better small business ideas for metaphysics types to come along in a long while. I got to spend a good deal of the weekend working with Kim and her friends from the UK. They’ve got a lot going on, including the UK Tarot Conference coming up later in the year.

3. Wald and Ruth Ann announced the presenters for next year’s Reader’s Studio. They are: Mary Greer, Tarot School alumnus and psychotherapist Elinor Greenberg (she plays host to Bob Place’s classes in the city; wonderful lady) and Marcia Masino. While all are fabulous, Marcia is a bit of a coup, to be honest. She authored a true old skool Tarot classic of a book, EASY TAROT GUIDE. The title is dorky and misleading — it’s a kickass book, will kick your ass, and is the book I used back in the day to learn the basics of the cards. It will be a trip and a half to see Marcia in person.

Wald and Ruth Ann took lots of photos (including a group photo that I clumsily walked in on, instead of, oh, I don’t know, situating myself in) that will surely be up on the Tarot School website shortly. Oh! And I can’t forget to mention their new Cafepress storefront, where you can check out the ridiculously cool birth card glyphs that they commissioned Bob to make. I need me one of them Hanged Man/Empress messenger bags.

I also handed out copies of my own PORTRAITS OF 22 KEYS to the presenters. And they liked it! They really liked it! Rachel complimented me on the Judgement story, which you can read at the link. Most of them asked me to sign it, too, which still kind of throws me.

The best part of Sunday for me was taking lunch in the lounge with Lon (holy alliteration, Batman) all to myself. In addition to his usual lessons (our meetings always involve him getting the pen out and drawing a diagram or three), he gave me all the uproarious details on his new book, snooping on Dan Brown, Old Testament revelations (pardon the pun), and just what it takes to book him as a guest speaker. And he bought my pizza. What a sweetheart.

Okay, that’s enough for one evening. Thanks for reading while I get all of this Tarot excitement out of my system!

And now, abed.

After nine plus hours of Tarot workshops, was I tuckered out? Why yes, very tuckered out. But some of us went out for snazzy Italian and then I came back to the room to crash (read: crochet) and now I can perhaps write a little more about it.

You might be wondering about the picture. I can’t explain it — even I wouldn’t have expected, from Wald and Ruth Ann, a goofy rubber goodie at every break. Earlier in the day I was talking to Johanna about Green-Wood, and we’d meandered back over to her seat, where I was writing my email down in her notebook. “Nice duck,” I said. “You have one just like it,” she answered. “I do?” Sure enough, it was waiting for me when I got back to my chair. Next break, it was the alien. No reason, just, hey, free alien.

One of the best parts of these conferences are the unexpected surprises in the form of kindred spirits. Shawn Nacol is a witty, brilliant madman who not only writes plays for an honest-to-gosh living (come on, how many people can say that), but also teaches the history of Western magic to high school students at St. Ann’s (back in my old neighborhood). If that wasn’t enough, they actually paid for his ticket. He told us that, and my jaw just dropped, in high “get! out!” fashion. After assuring me that it was true, he promptly dazzled me with his Qabalah-fueled-yet-down-to-earth reading. The guy must have a photographic memory, he’s so well-read. I’m hella jealous. Ah, but he’s also a charmer, so I can’t stay wound up for long. I hope to see him from time to time, here in the ‘hood.

Come to think of it, all of the readings I’ve recieved this weekend have been knock-me-down good. There’s a small gaggle of ladies from across the pond here (London and Kent, specifically), and all of them have that stereotypically spooky sixth sense — you know the one. Didn’t take long for them to get my number, I assure you, and the accuracy would be uncanny were I not so well-acquainted with the possibilities and the realities. What can I say? There’s no hiding in a room full of professional Tarot readers.

The second best thing about the conference, after the amazing people, are the new techniques presented by our guests of honor. Rachel, convinced that we need to “rescue Tarot from psychology”, presented us with a slew of spreads that were neither fortune-telling, nor occultist-concocted, nor therapy-based, with much success. She’s right, of course — the trend in our studies to pass everything through the Jungian strainer (deck’s full of archtypes, it comes with the territory) is not so much misguided as it is overdone. Readings need not be therapy sessions — it’s time for the balance to swing back the other way. She also made the point that reading for a living necessitates a certain amount of prognosticating. If you’re not familiar with the Tarot crowd, you may not believe this, but, that kind of thing really makes us writhe. We’re counsellors, you see (or some variant thereof); our work is about getting down in there and rooting around. We don’t like to sully ourselves with that predictive stuff, that’s for Miss Cleo. The thing is, there’s still a fine place for good old fashioned telling the future, and for brand new perspectives, too.

Also had the good pleasure of meeting my Llewellyn editor, Kate Brielmaier, for the first time. Woo!

There’s more, but it’s 1 in the morning. Needless to say, I’ll be sorry to see it end tomorrow…

rubber duck, alien, tarot

The inaugural session of the Reader’s Studio belonged to Robert Place, who explained and elaborated on his personal three-card reading style. With said technique, Bob has managed to do the impossible: provide a fresh, intelligent take on this useful but ultimately well-worn Tarot practice.

Three card readings are a classic, if you will. Everyone and their mom does three card readings, and with good reason: they’re easy, you can make them up on the spot, they’re succinct, and, when done right, can give you a boatload of information (in fact, if you’re Wald, you’ll argue that they can give you more, and more pertinent, info than, say, a ten card reading). The problem is, three card readings are blase, and can easily cross the line into “cop out”, if you’re not careful. But just when you think you’ve got them covered, along comes Bob to switch them up, bringing his artistic chops into the mix. With Bob’s technique, you will learn to read the structure of the images, before the symbolism. What do the pictures look like, compositionally? What are the figures doing? What does that tell you? Take your “meanings”, such as they are, and plop them on top of that. Don’t just read the cards, read the pictures on the cards. The dude on the card in the middle is looking at that thing on the card on the left; or maybe the dude in the middle gazes out at you, holding you accountable for everything, while the shapes flanking it fly off in opposite directions… what does it all mean?

That kind of thing.

Yeah, I love Bob.

More Bob goodness: I have here four prints, all of which will have to go in the writing room. They are:

1. A Bob-ified Rhiannon, complete with her three birds from the Underworld and her burning heart

2. Bob’s take on the Gwragedd Annwn, Welsh fair folk whose doors swung open to welcome (you know, in that fae sense, which is to say, quite sinisterly) humans once a year (on New Year’s morning)

3. and 4. The Wheel of Fortune (”Fate”, in this case) and Temperance from the vampire deck I mentioned in my last post. Bob tells me that one of the women featured on the latter card was modeled on Jane Morris.

Speaking of which, here’s a little something about said vampire deck:

The primary theme for the trumps in this deck is Bram Stoker’s DRACULA. Stoker’s biographer, Barbara Belford, points out that Stoker was aware of the Tarot and seems to have based many of the characters in DRACULA on Tarot trumps. Therefore it is a natural fit. However, Place also draws from the rich history of vampire lore and contemporary contributions added by modern cinema. Place sees the modern Vampire of pop culture as an ancient mythological figure who has covertly entered a culture that is consciously attempting to cut itself off from Myth.

Now, I ask you: how frickin’ cool is Bob?

Back in the day, before writing became the main focus of my non-work time (you know, when I’m not finding a husband or moving house), I studied Tarot. I studied Tarot a lot. Dare I say hardcore? Well, let me read for you sometime and you can decide.

In pursuit of these studies, I spent an awful lot of time with two wonderful friends, Wald and Ruth Ann of the Tarot School. And I attended events. Lots and lots of events, usually one or two a year, featuring some of the best Tarotists, writers and occultists around. I’ve met quite a few other hardcore folk, including the Ciceros, Diane Wilkes, Donald Michael Craig, Rachel Pollack, Robert Place, and, of course, Lon. Those last three are the guests of honor here, the first Tarot event I’ve attended since Wald & Ruth Ann’s wedding at the New York Tarot Festival in 2002: the Reader’s Studio.

My peoples! I’m swooning! No, really. I’ve missed these things, so much. It’s a little hermetically sealed (ha! I kill me!) antichamber of esoteric like minds all romping around for thirty-six hours straight. Cleanses the palate, clears the mind, plugs me in, you name it, and reminds me of how much there still is to learn after a decade of practice. I’ve barely begun.

Anyway, we just had the first session. Corrine Kenner, a lovely lady who recently wrote a book on Tarot journaling that I wish I’d written, sat in the back the entire time with her laptop out, typing away. I figured she was just taking notes like a madwoman, which I tend to do at these things, only I succumb to the feel of pen on paper, as writing very fast in longhand is one of my favorite things to do in this world. Alas, no, not quite. What was she doing? Blogging, of course. Check it out for the literal play-by-play; or read on for some of my favorite bits:

1. Bob Place got a contract from St. Martin’s for his vampire tarot, something he has been working on for some time now (I saw the early samples back in 2002; I think I might even have a print of one of the majors at home). Holy frickin’ smokes, people, if there is one person in the world who can do a vampire Tarot and do it right, it is the man who wrote this book.

Bob is also the only man who can do a Celtic tarot and do it right. Guess what else he has in the works. C’mon, guess.

2. “Tarot works because it’s perfect,” says Lon. “It evokes a perfect version of the truth.” But whether or not you can see it, well, that’s another matter entirely.

3. Rachel has an upcoming trip to Greece to study and experience the Eleusinian mysteries. Needless to say, we’re all insanely jealous. She also has two upcoming projects with those folks who do the Tarot of Prague (and Bohemian Cats tarot, and the Fairy Tale tarot, which I apparently missed, hello, it’s out now, hello), including a book of Tarot fairy tales.

Breaks are short and I need a sandwich, before three and a half full hours of Robert M. Place fun starting at 4:30. And she’s off!

It’s now officially Bee’s birthday. Huzzah!

Homage a-comin’, sometime tomorrow. Er, today.

I know, I know, I’m supposed to be reading all these cool writer blogs, right? Because every writer and the mom that gave birth to her has a blog these days. Well, expectations be damned, because, lemme tell ya a little secret: Moleskinerie is just about the only blog I read consistently, if I read anything consistently at all, which I don’t. I mean, I try to be a good soldier, I do, but let’s be honest.

Anyway, Moleskinerie gives up the goods with this craziness right here:

The Writer In The Garden

I have a total crush on the British Library.

(Memo to self: post this on the Endicott boards, which are getting more and more traffic all the time; must post about s00j too.)

Also by way of Moleskinerie comes Papertif, which just might spell the end of my disposable income as we know it. I mean, you have no idea just how much of a sucker I am for this kind of thing. Brilliant.

I should start a notebooks category (look to your left, if you’re reading this off the actual web page, which no one is).

In other news, I had a very vivid, horrifying dream that Leland was kidnapped by some crazy people who’d mistaken him for Dionysus (I know, I know, it’s an easy mistake, I could hardly be angry about it, except for the blood sacrifice). Warren Ellis was involved in some odd, marginal way that is now somewhat unclear. My knitting got left in the rain by the side of the road. I was flying through the air, but kept bumping into the sky’s ceiling. What does it all mean? (Don’t answer that, Dr. Freud.)

I have thoughts bubbling about the full Tarot immersion weekend that’s coming, right around the corner, but no time to get them down. Patience, grasshoppers.

Listen.