Are you “curiouser and curiouser” about tarot? Then follow me down the Tarot rabbit hole each month in my new series. Whether you’re a long-time reader or you’ve never even seen a deck, I’m happy to share my tarot knowledge with you. I may not always be able to answer your questions, and ask you not to substitute my opinions for your own, but I’ll do my best to help. Let’s explore together, shall we?

What happened to the ATA?

For me at least, life got in the way. There was never a conscious decision to let it go fallow, it just happened. The past 18 months brought a lot of changes on a personal and a family level. I was working full-time as a hotel night auditor (a job I’ve had for thirteen years) and part-time Night Manager when a day shift opening finally came up that I couldn’t afford to pass up. I spent the first half of 2006 doing both jobs, working all night and half the day, averaging 55 – 60 hours a week. For six months I didn’t do anything but work and sleep, and blocked out more and more of the outside world to cope with the stress. They’ve hired and trained a new guy for nights, and I’ve finally gotten comfortable enough with my new routine to open up and reconnect.

What happened to the Quarterly?

It was a snowball effect, a lot of little things that spiraled out of control. It probably started back in March of 2005, when Valerie Sim stepped down as Editor of the ATA publications. I had already been helping her put Tarot Reflections together so I took that on, and my husband Rickey (our Membership Coordinator) agreed to do the Quarterly. The Quarterly in particular sounded a lot easier to do than it turned out to be. We thought it was a simple matter of people sending us articles and we would just need to put them together. But we didn’t have Valerie’s contacts or her persuasive abilities, and the articles didn’t materialize, so it got pushed further and further down the priority list. It’s taken a long time to admit we simply can’t handle it.

But things are finally looking up on that front! We’ve found a new editor, Stephanie Arwen Beck, and we’re working on getting a new issue together as soon as possible (Stephanie’s “Mirror, Mirror Spread” appeared in the last issue of Tarot Reflections.)

Why hasn’t anyone answered my phone calls or emails?

Again, it’s been a lot of little things. Every time Rickey got caught up another emergency came up that took top priority. Glitches with the FreeTarot and FreeReading Networks had to be fixed, his main ATA mailbox stopped working for awhile, our snail-mail service was forced to move. There were personal emergencies as well – hard drive crashes, flu and colds, school problems with our kids, even gas leaks and air conditioner breakdowns that are still getting fixed. Once the fires were put out he’d be so far behind (and his email box so buried in spam) that things got lost in the shuffle, so he had to tune everything out to get caught up again – and so the next batch fell behind and he was always catching up.

What can I do to help?

Write! Write about your favorite deck, your newest tarot book, a spread you’ve designed, how you find cards expressed in real life - anything and everything tarot-related. We’re always looking for contributions for our publications. They’re your publications too, and we simply can’t do it without all of you.

I still need help too. What about my needs?

If you've been trying to reach us and haven't gotten through, please give us another chance. Call the office (800-372-1524) or email Rickey for membership issues. If you've moved or changed email addresses, be sure to send Rickey your new address so he can update our records. If you've submitted a website for our Resources page or subscribed to one of our Yahoo groups, please resubmit. If you need help with the Networks, please let me know.

Please send your questions to RabbitHole@ata-tarot.com.