Massachusetts Tarot Society Meeting – 5/3/14 – Brigit Esselmont of Australia’s Biddy Tarot

NOTE! This SPECIAL MEETING of the Massachusetts Tarot Society will be held the Northampton Unitarian Church from 12:30 to 3:30 on May 3rd! Fee: $20
(220 Main St., Northampton, MA 01060)

Our theme will be going to the dark and reversed side of the Tarot to find inspiration and empowerment.

We’ll open with a taste of the Dark Goddess meditation designed for Readers Studio before welcoming Brigit to lead the group through her Readers Studio Study Group:

Brigit Esselmont

Do you think that reversed Tarot cards only bring doom and gloom to a Tarot reading? Think again! In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to interpret and work with reversed Tarot cards in a way that creates empowering Tarot readings for you and your clients.

I’ll expose the 3 myths of reading with reversals and I’ll show you how to turn the traditional reversed card meanings (which are often depressing and ‘negative’) on their head and create more empowering interpretations for your readings. We’ll also explore (and practice) a number of different reading techniques that use reversed cards to encourage transformation and change.

Whether you’re a reversal newbie or you’ve been reading with reversals for years, this workshop will get you to think outside of the square and will change the way you do readings.

PREREGISTER at Art of Change Tarot

Sunday, May 4th 1-5 PM: Building a Sustainable Tarot Business Mastermind Session

Brigit Esselmont

Join Brigit Esselmont (Founder of Biddy Tarot) and Carolyn Cushing (Founder of Art of Change Tarot) in this half-day group workshop where we will envision the Tarot practices / business of our dreams and share the latest online and offline strategies to help your business grow and flourish. Fee: $69

We will:

Explore strengths, weaknesses, and your unique offerings as a Tarot practitioner and small business owner.

Identify your ideal client type and ways to communicate with them.

Envision your Tarot practice as a sustaining part of your life.

Receive an overview of a sustainable business model, including product development, marketing, developing an engaged community, and the latest in on-line promotion and product delivery.

Identify one to three most important steps for moving your Tarot practice / business forward.

Receive worksheets and resources for on-going development of a Tarot practice / business that reflects who you truly are and builds on your strengths.

You’ll leave inspired!

PREREGISTER at Art of Change Tarot

Mass Tarot Society Meeting – 3/1/2014 – Facilitation and Response with Jill Scott

March 1st – Facilitation and Response Jill Scott presented a “Facilitation and Response” tarot technique to the group. The premise is that the Major Arcana can work as questions, spread positions or “facilitators”, and the minor cards can be used to respond, which provides comprehensive information to the reader. The presentation began by “personalizing” our Major Arcana and determining how they can best serve us as readers. This technique can be used by strictly intuitive readers as well as traditional readers, as long as they have a comfortable familiarity with their working deck. The meeting involved some group work, solitary and partner reading, and The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite was used as reference material.

Here’s a link to download the files for Jill’s presentation: Jill’s Scott’s Facilitation & Response

For directions on getting to the March meeting at the Lilly Library in Florence, Massachusetts, click here.

Mass Tarot Society Meeting – 2/1/14 – The Open Reading with George Barham

February 1st – The Open Reading:

George

We will explore the intuitive and interactive nature of this type of reading style with George Barham. This class is for beginners. The more advanced readers are welcome but will have to work hard to let go of established knowledge!

Please bring a Tarot deck with an illustrated minor arcana like the Peaceful Path or the Waite Rider Smith deck.

The meeting will be at the Lilly Library in Florence, Massachusetts, from 1 pm to 3 pm on Saturday, February 1st.

Live in Western Mass and interested in learning about Tarot?

Monthly meetings at the Lilly Library in Florence.  Find out more.  Bookmark this site and check soon for the details of our upcoming meetings.

 

Also, we recommend you join us on Facebook!

Mass Tarot Society Meeting – 11/17/13 – Lenormand with Donnaleigh (Part II)

Continued to explore The Lenormand, members tried readings and different layouts using The Lenormand deck.

If you’re interested in handouts for this one, contact Donnaleigh directly through her www.divinewhispers.net website.

If you want to see what the Lenormand is and what it looks like or how it works, you can visit Donnaleigh’s free Lenormand tutorial page at:
http://www.divinewhispers.net/lenormandlessons.htm

Mass Tarot Society Meeting – 10/20/13 – Lenormand with Donnaleigh

Donnaleigh’s fascination with The Lenormand and how it differs from tarot has led her to explore its history and current use.  She shared what she has learned thus far, along with some practical reading tips.  Jill Scott shared her newly published Lenormand deck, and some participants used that deck for the meeting.  If you’re interested in handouts for this one, contact Donnaleigh directly through her www.divinewhispers.net website.

If you want to see what the Lenormand is and what it looks like or how it works, you can visit Donnaleigh’s free Lenormand tutorial page at:
http://www.divinewhispers.net/lenormandlessons.htm

Mass Tarot Society Meeting – 8/18/2013 – More Gems from Reader’s Studio

This meeting of the MTS was held Sunday, August 18th from 1pm to 3pm in the Social Room of the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence at 220 Main Street in Northampton.  11 attended.

Paris Finley presented a sampling of what he picked up at Readers Studio 2013.

A theory of tarot — based on a conversation at the banquet table
(This includes the following)
–what makes a good reader?
–what can one do to improve?
–deck choice for life (how?)

Robert Place Workshop:
Ideas: elements as states , 5th element
Reading: Why is my path unfolding as it is?
Layout: a 4 card layout — start, share, struggle, sacrifice

Tarot for Spell Work (Hillary Perry)
–spinning (a way to record & reuse readings)
5 layouts (We’ll do one)

Creating One’s own Calling Card Using Collage

Calling Cards –  facilitator: Barbara St Jacques
Subject: Creating One’s own Calling Card Using Collage
(Collage: word origin, French.  A piece of art made by sticking paper or fabric onto a backing.)

During this meeting, we will be using magazine pictures, glue, and scissors to create one’s own “calling card”.  All materials will be provided; however, if you want to include your own magazines that you favor, which may have more personal choice of images, please feel free to bring them with you.  The calling cards will be collaged onto an 8″ x 5″ piece of mat board.  I will joyfull demonstrate the process and assist those who request help.

Rachel Pollack is coming to Western MA for a weekend of events

***  Due to illness and death, events for the weekend are POSTPONED.  We will have an open agenda Mass Tarot meeting on Saturday at the Elks Club from 1pm to 3pm. ****

On November 17^th and 18^th Rachel will be visiting Western Massachusetts and participating in 2 special events:  a Massachusetts Tarot Society Presentation and a Tarot Retreat with Carolyn Cushing

DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR THESE EVENTS IS NOVEMBER 12TH

Massachusetts Tarot Society Presentation on Saturday, 11/17

“How does the Tarot mean?” with Rachel Pollack.  Rachel will lead us through an exploration of the Tarot’s many meaning systems.  There will be wisdom and sharing and fun in our usual 1pm to 3pm meeting slot!  A reception will follow.

• Date and Time:  Saturday, November 17^th.  Session from 1pm to 3pm followed by a reception from 3pm to 4pm.
• Location: Elks Lodge at 17 Spring St. in Florence, MA
• Cost: $20.  Pre-registration and pre-payment are required.  We do not have infinite slots so register early.
• How to register:  Sending a check is preferred. Make it out to Carolyn Cushing and mail to 143 Main St., Easthampton, MA01027. Pay pal payment possible by sending fee to carolyn [at] artofchangetarot [dot] com.  [Payment Policy:  If you have to cancel before October 17^th, we can refund a check in full and a PayPal payment minus the fee.  After that date, you can check in with me about refund, but it might not be possible.]
• For more information / Questions:  Call Carolyn at 413-529-9759 or e-mail her at carolyn [at] artofchangetarot [dot] com.
• More about our presenter:  Rachel Pollack is considered one of the World’s foremost authorities on the modern interpretation of the Tarot. She is also a poet, an award-winning novelist, and a Tarot card and comic book artist. Her numerous Tarot publications include 78 Degrees of Wisdom (Thorsons, 1998), considered a modern classic and the Bible of Tarot reading; Tarot Wisdom (Llewellyn, 2008), a rich compendium of her 30 years of Tarot experience; and The Shining Tribe Tarot Deck (Llewellyn, 2001). Her ability to marry common sense, wide-ranging knowledge, and esoteric awareness have inspired many tens of thousands of readers worldwide to a deeper knowledge of the Tarot.

A Day in the Tarot with Rachel Pollack and Carolyn Cushing

“Speak the things that must be spoken.  Leave nothing out.”  The Speakers of the Shining Tribe

These words, woven from the poems of the Speakers of Stones and Fire in the Shining Tribe deck, define what we do as Tarot readers. We speak what we see in the cards, we tell the stories they reveal to us—stories of our (and querents’) lives, stories of imagination, stories of the Tarot’s wisdom and its deep traditions. Today we will explore how the cards reveal their stories and inspire our own. We will begin by examining the Tarot as shape shifters, exploring the many forms the cards can take, with such starting points as the Fool’s Journey, the Tree of Life (as in the famous ten points of Kabbalah, but as a living flowering tree as well), and Circles that guide us to integrate all parts of ourselves to step toward Wholeness. We will seek the life energy within these forms, the energy that enables us to speak and be heard.

We will each use the cards to discover our own path and intention for the day within these various possibilities. Using the cards we will also explore the secret history of the Emperor (part of a series Rachel is doing to discover the lives and hidden tales of the Major Arcana). We will seek out the Tarot’s mysteries and travel to its hidden worlds to ask the essential questions that “must be spoken.” “Who am I? What is my purpose?”

Come join us for a thrilling event.

• Date and Time:  Sunday, November 18 from 10am to 4:30pm
• Location:  Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, 127 Combs Road, Easthampton, MA (perhaps you’ll even have time to listen a little to the Sanctuary’s wonderful wild stories)
• Cost:  $95 also includes a lunch made from local ingredients (vegan and gluten free friendly).
• Facilitators:  Rachel Pollack and Carolyn Cushing
• To register:  Sending a check is preferred.  Make it out to Carolyn Cushing and mail to 143 Main St., Easthampton, MA01027.  Pay pal payment possible by sending fee to carolyn [at] artofchangetarot [dot] com.
• For more information / Questions:  Call Carolyn at 413-529-9759 or e-mail her at carolyn [at] artofchangetarot [dot] com.

More details at Art of Change Tarot.