TABI Tarot MidWinter Conference

Excitement builds for the TABI Midwinter Tarot Conference: what a great line-up of speakers — and I’m not just saying that because I’m one of them! I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of different approaches to the cards and the theories behind them, as well as having a chance to talk about an overlooked…

Featured at TABI

Over at the TABI blog I’m featured in a series they’re calling ‘My Tarot Journey’ — all about how you got into tarot and where it’s taken you so far. You don’t have to join to read this one! Of course I’m going to encourage you to do so anyway because it’s a real bargain…

TABI Midwinter Conference

I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be talking about my translation The Art of Drawing Cards and The Tarot at the TABI Midwinter Conference 24-5 January. I’m just one of a dozen speakers that weekend so what a great opportunity for TABI members. What’s TABI? The Tarot Association of British and International members. While it…

Johanna Dumet: Fool for a Lifetime

Circling around all the things that went on in Berlin: so much! So many glories to experience. Art everywhere and have I gone on at length about the sheer wonder of a modern city with affordable, convenient 24/7 public transportation? Well, I will at the drop of a hat. Drop a hat and see! Johanna…

Irreverent Tarot 14: The Painted Caravan

This episode offers a flip through the rare mid-20th century tarot guide, The Painted Caravan by Basil Ivan Rákóczi (1908-1979). Although born in England, he was inspired by his mother Charlotte May Dobby’s Irish heritage and his father Ivan’s Hungarian history, including claiming his parents were married according to ‘Gypsy’ traditions. However, he grew up…

Irreverent Tarot 12: Leonora’s Priestess

OCCULTURE, LEONORA & MORE Episode 12 – Contemplating Leonora Carrington’s High Priestess card as I work on my presentation for Occulture this October in Berlin. I am very excited about that, of course, especially as it gives me even more excuses to delve into my fascination with Carrington, her art, and her magic. So much…

Irreverent Tarot 11: Etteilla’s Creation

ETTEILLA & CREATION The Grand #Etteilla, featuring his thematic desire to encode the creation story into the opening sequence of cards — and why his Fool and Magician are in such unexpected locations. Also a bit about the astrological associations he gives the cards. If you’re unfamiliar with the first professional cartomancer from the 18th…

Irreverent Tarot 10

IRREVERENT TAROT 10 – Etteilla and Gender Essentialism Pride Month has me thinking about the ways that gender is encoded in the tarot cards in so many different ways. Looking at the Grimaud Etteilla here in Dundee, rather than Lo Scarabeo’s in Hudson. Fascinating that the booklet retains some artefacts from the past and dispenses…

Irreverent #Tarot 9: Judith, Alice & Leonora

Episode Nine: how my mind flits from one thing to another down rabbit holes and here’s to the powers of miscommunication (and yet we made much of it, didn’t we, Stephanie!), Alice and Lewis — and Leonora — and Tenniel, but not the captain. Or the usual chaos from me. Oh, and Artemesia Gentilesci! And…

Irreverent #Tarot 8: The Fool

Episode 8: Mostly the Fool card. Some quick thoughts with a few different examples and why it seems to permeate life at present. The Fool steps into the abyss: foolish or hopeful? Is the Fool deranged or just using that as a disguise? The Jester v The Vagabond–or are they all just disguises? Almost everybody…