Workshop Schedule

Friday, May 30
8:00 - 9:30 Registration, breakfast, coffee

9:30 - 10:30: Tarot and Lunar Cycles
Teresa Michelsen

In this workshop, we will explore ways of using tarot and lunar astrology together, to most effectively draw on the strengths of each tool. The Moon is a powerful force in both tarot and astrology, representing our emotional self, our dreams and unconscious motivations, and our connection with physical and emotional cycles. In this workshop we will discuss the cycle of the moon, its lunar phases, and astrological transits, and how to use these in connection with tarot readings to more effectively make use of these energies. The exercises provided in the handouts work with these energies at a variety of different levels, from the most basic phases of the moon to more advanced work with natal charts. No matter what your level of astrological or tarot experience, you will find ideas to work with for many years to come, as each lunar cycle provides an ever-changing and unique signature of energies.

10:30 - 11:00 Break

12:00 - 1:00 Lunch

1:00 - 2:00: Tarot and Fairy Tales
Isha Lerner
Isha Lerner, co-author of Inner Child Cards, will present an in-depth review of the best selling Inner Child Cards. Her talk will explore the mystical meaning of fairy tales and the Major Arcana as they relate to the journey of the Soul. She will analyze the feminine in fairy tales, delving into the meaning of such archetypal characters as the Wicked Step Mother, the Innocent Maiden/Orphan, and the Wicked Witch. Her talk will include twelve years of research, study, and lectures regarding the significance of cultivating fairy tale lore into our daily lives. She will outline significant patterns of transformation depicted within the structure of a fairy tale and how it's story line can represent the foundation of human evolution, freedom and individuation.

1:00 - 3:00: Tarot Noir: The Shadow Side of the Deck
Sandra Thomson

In the 1940s in Hollywood, film noir celebrated the power of a dark and corrupt world, where no one dared live, but where all were frequently and repeatedly tempted, or forced, to visit. Like film noir, the world of Tarot Noir is peopled with villains in dark doorways, lusty and treacherous femme fatales with drop-dead looks, and ominous goings-on. Every turn of a card, presents us with a shady and puzzling vision. Nothing on the surface can be trusted. What is underneath-the underworld in the language of mythology and film noir-is all that is important. This meeting of the Tarot Noir chapter of Shadows Anonymous will help us all consider — and admit to — our shadow possibilities via the Tarot deck and noir layouts.

3:00 - 3:30 Break

3:30 - 5:00 The Mystical Tarot
Christine Payne-Towler

The Trumps of Tarot have repeatedly been seen to represent the journey of the soul from mundanity through various adventures to illumination. A unique aspect of this depiction is that the Trumps seem flexible enough to represent the widely varied experience of seekers across multiple spiritual paths. This workshop will explore a range of mystical interpretations possible for the Tarot Trumps as seen through Arabic, Hebrew, Christian, Gnostic and Pagan lenses.

Saturday, May 31

8:00 - 9:00 Registration, breakfast, coffee

9:00 - 10:30: Tarot and Psychology
Art Rosengarten

This multimedia presentation explores the essential compatibility (and tension) between these two great vehicles of consciousness. Rather than “dueling enemies,” a more apt metaphor for this dynamic duo might be “fighting lovers.” We will show how Tarot is enhanced by the psychological perspective and how the field of Psychology becomes spiritual with the imaginal power of Tarot.

10:30 - 11:00 Break

11:00 - 12:00: Etteilla’s Hellenistic Allegories
Ron Decker

Jean-Baptiste Alliette (1738-91) was better known as Etteilla, the first cartomancer of note. He promoted many of the general ideas accepted among Tarotists today, and he designed the first Tarot expressly for divination. His trump cards are of a peculiar order and assortment. Why did he depart from tradition? Ron will explain the Hermetic mythology embodied in Etteilla's trumps. Special attention will be given to the Cardinal Virtues and their importance in ancient cultures.

12:00 - 1:00 Lunch

1:00 - 2:30: P.C. Smith, A.E. Waite, and the RWS Golden Dawn Tarot
Mary K. Greer

Based on a mysterious set of cipher manuscripts, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (founded in 1888) developed a set of correspondences to astrology, Hebrew letters, and the Tree of Life that is probably the best known and most used set in the English-speaking world. Yet A.E. Waite always said that he felt the true system would never be revealed. This workshop will explore the relationship between the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot and the Golden Dawn system of correpondences. Are they valid? Does the Golden Dawn system add anything to our understanding of this deck? What was Waite's real intention? Where did the images come from? Did Pamela Colman Smith or some other unknown person add anything new to the mix? And what makes this deck so popular?

2:30 - 3:00 Break

3:00 - 5:00: Tarot and the Artist (Panel Discussion)
Arnell Ando, Joanna Powell Colbert and Marie White

Where does an artist begin to create a Tarot deck? What is the artistic process, and how is it different for different artists? What is the inspiration for their decks? How and why do they choose specific symbols for a card? How do different art techniques affect the look and feel of a deck? What kinds of synchronicities between Tarot and Life happen during a deck’s creation? Tarot artists Arnell, Joanna and Marie will discuss these topics and more, including a comparison of cards from each of their decks.

Sunday, June 1

8:00 - 9:00 Registration, breakfast, coffee

9:00 - 10:30 Tarot: The Game of Cosmic Powers
Tom Tadfor Little

For centuries, the origins of the tarot have inspired much speculation, theorizing, and research. Today, there is general consensus on the “where” and “when” of the first tarot decks (Italy, 15th century), but many different answers to the “why” of the origin of the tarot. For what Purpose were the earliest cards created, and what guided the structure of the deck and the selection of subjects for the trump cards? One likely possibility is that the cards were created to play a game, but a very special kind of game, a profound game. The tarot may have been a Game of Cosmic Powers, intended to reflect a particular conception of the forces that shape human existence and their interrelationships. In this interactive session, we will explore the idea of the tarot as a recreation with profound spiritual implications, bridging the gulf between the “historical” and “metaphysical” perspectives on the origins of the tarot.

10:30 - 11:00 Break

11:00 - 12:00: Putting Tarot to Work:
Using Tarot as a Brainstorming Tool for Business
Mark McElroy
More and more companies depend on visual brainstorming as a means of generating fresh ideas and new direction. This hands-on session is packed with practical brainstorming techniques you can put to work today! Bring your favorite Tarot deck and master three sure-fire methods for planning action and generating solutions — including the remarkable “Twenty-One Answers in Ten Minutes” strategy featured in his upcoming book, Putting the Tarot to Work. In addition, get tips on how to market your Tarot-reading skills to eager corporate audiences!

12:00 - 1:00 Lunch

1:00 - 2:30: Understanding the Harris-Crowley Thoth Tarot
Lon Milo DuQuette

To authoritatively discuss the Harris-Crowley Thoth Tarot, one must not only be a Crowley expert, but also a Tarot expert. Lon Milo DuQuette is both. For over 30 years he has studied and practiced Crowley’s magical system, authoring ten critically acclaimed books on the subject. He is currently U.S. Deputy Grand Master of Crowley’s magical order, Ordo Templi Orientis. He is also a Certified Tarot Grand Master and creator of the Tarot of Ceremonial Magick — a deck that K. Frank Jensen calls “...a natural sequel to other genuine magick decks, like the Golden Dawn Tarot and Crowley’s Book of Thoth.” Join DuQuette, as he digs deeply into his new book, Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot (2003 Weiser Books), to reveal the magical secrets of one of the world’s most popular and misunderstood Tarot decks.

2:30 - 3:00 Break

3:00 - 4:30: Tarot for Personal Transformation
Katrina Wynne

Tarot cards offer us an opportunity to reflect upon our inner resources as well as outer opportunities and challenges. From a psycho-spiritual perspective, the art of transformation and change is an essential aspect of our development through life. In this workshop, we will explore techniques to reveal our transformative potential and integrate this new knowledge with personal experience. Hands-on participation is encouraged in this unique experience, so... bring your favorite Tarot deck!