A History of Games Played with the Tarot Pack ... you might not have got this from anyone for Christmas this year ... and you might want it. There are two volumes in this comprehensive history by Michael Dummett and John McLeod of the family of games played with the Tarot pack. Yes ... that's right ... games played with the Tarot pack. These two books are "an indispensable reference work for all who are interested in the history of this game". You need to know more yes? Well, why not get A History of Games Played With the Tarot Pack: The Game of Triumphs, Vol. 1 as well as A History of Games Played With the Tarot Pack: The Game of Triumphs, Vol. 2.

How Tarot Cards Work: The folks at HowStuffWorks reveal all ... and actually there really is some excellent advice here ... such as their suggestions to follow when posing questions for a reading which include "keeping your options open, finding the best level of detail, focusing on yourself, staying neutral" and "staying positive". Sounds good to me. Read more ...

Death of a Reader: The Boston Globe recently reported that Ramona 'Rae' Schubert, who worked as a psychic and a tarot card reader for more than 40 years, died October 29 at Brockton Hospital. "She had a lot of people go to see her just through word of mouth, as people would say, 'I had my cards read, and you wouldn't believe what she said.'" Read more ...

Tarot Art: Laurie Amato, tarot card collector, says that her tarot cards, "are mini works of art." She has a collection of more than 300 tarot card decks from locations spanning the globe, including Japan, Russia, China, Australia and Italy. Read more ...

Dan Pelletier was outside on a smoke break when the first plane crashed into the twin towers on 9/11. When he consulted his cards before taking the job at the World Trade Center they told him he would come home from New York a changed man. He now co-owns a business that sells rare and collectible tarot decks. Read more ...

The world's tallest female comic, Kim Blacklock, who claims she is "the product of centuries of people having sex that weren't supposed to" is also a tarot card reader. Read more ...

Paul Quinn, professional intuitive, has a few things to say about Tarot in the movies that you might find interesting.

"They warned James Bond of foul play in 'Live and Let Die,' haunted the dreams of a priest in 'Exorcist III,' and foretold toothy canine encounters in 'The Wolf Man.' This summer they turn up as calling cards for a serial killer in Woody Allen’s 'Scoop,' and spell catastrophe for William H. Macy in 'Edmond.' Yes, the tarot, that bedeviling deck of cards continues its legacy ..."

Read more, yes ...

Tarot in Tasmania: Delaila, who teaches a Adult Education courses in tarot reading and practical magic, says "Magic is the art of using the natural forces found within and around us to bring about change and that's what I teach." Oh yeah ... I could use some of that. Read more ...

Card, Charms and Potions ... Oh My: Wanda Weegie lived with wolves, was raised by gypsies and can now be found at Crush, a trendy Portland Oregon wine bar, every Wednesday night, in a jeweled turban and fringed shawl, where she reads tarot cards, creates charms and concocts love potions. Wanda admits "If you drink more, I get much better, yes, my powers intensify." Sure, that makes sense and my reading this morning suggested I needed to be more trusting. Read more ...

Hurricane Season Predictions. A story in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel tells us that Deborah Graham, a Boca Raton psychic consultant and tarot reader who was asked about the upcoming hurricane season in Florida, sees a Category 2 hitting Palm Beach County late in the season. Read more ...

Fake Psychics? Huh? Really? Now, according to the Durango Herald, if this has been a problem for you and your neighborhood personal injury lawyer hasn't been able to help, you can at least apparently do something about your experience regarding Durango Colorado psychics by reporting it on line at a Yahoo group. I suspect this might be useful for areas besides Durango. Hmmmm ... maybe I could put a tarot reader rating site together ... yeah ... well not today though ... I've got other things to take care of first ... but definitely something to think about. Read more ...

Beatles Reading: This article, "Four of a Kind: The Tarot of the Beatles", in Quest magazine from almost six years ago which was in turn apparently based on work for a Beatles special on KGSR-FM radio, Austin, Texas, on November 17, 1995, Kevin Hendryx gives the type of in depth reading that many of us can only hope to achieve. He writes:

"The card chosen for Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) is number 17 in the sequence of the major arcana: the Star. More than just a serendipitous pun, this card represents hope, trust, and optimism. Its positive aspects include bright prospects, opportunity, and satisfaction. Anchored in the sky and cosmos, it is the first card to complement and complete the gifts of the Magician ... Ringo typified the ability of common persons to rise above their origins and achieve greatness. The reversed meanings of the Star, on the other hand, aptly sum up the failings of Ringo’s solo career, as Beatle scholars will recognize."

Good stuff this. Read the piece ...

Psychic Studio Franchise (?): Sonja Todorovich, who has been doing readings since she was 14 years old, has opened a fourth Psychic Studio ... the most recent in Grand Forks ND. The news release for this opening looks very similar to the release for the opening of her Fargo and Morehead locations in June of last year ... well why shouldn't it? The Grand Forks Studio is at 1905 S. Washington St., Suite A ; the Fargo Studio at 1621 S. University Drive, Suite 204; the Morehead Studio at 104 16th St. South and Todorovich's original Studio is somewhat mysteriously described as being "on the border of Texas and Louisiana".

Fool as Tool: I'm living on the wrong coast because "Strange Travel Suggestions" at The Marsh in Berkeley as described in the The Daily Planet sounds fun.

Travel writer Jeff Greenwald, primed to be the raconteur of stories from his books, improvised on the spot in answer to Strange Travel Suggestions, climbs the stage at The Marsh-Berkeley, and begins to explain his props: a gameshow-like wheel, the rim covered with odd symbols ... and a huge Tarot card, featuring the romanticized image of The Fool from the Rider Pack, carrying a bindle on a stick and proceeding trippingly over a cliff while dandling a rose, as a little dog prances by his side. "The Fool’s dressed as if he’s going to Burning Man, wearing Dr. Seuss boots," Greenwald quips, and then states that the esoteric card is the perfect image of the traveler beginning the trip ... the little dog, who some see as warning The Fool, being to Greenwald that impulse we all have that says "take me along!"

I wanna go ... but I guess I'll have to be content with reading the article ...or maybe I'll buy the CD ... and I guess I can plan to catch some of the other nonsense at The Marsh on my next trip west.

Marita Liulia, Finnish artist, has taken the Tarot and made it into a vehicle for contemporary art through the use of digital technology. Now the Finnish artist will stage an exhibition featuring her work at the National Gallery, Bangkok February 9 - March 5, 2006.

Marita Liulia Tarot is apparently "a combination of high quality art and design multimedia, entertainment and on-line game. A land of high living and technological standards, Finland is a nation where media art enjoys wide popularity; where new works ranging from film to video to computer graphics are constantly being produced. The theme of this exhibition by Marita Liulia, a leading figure in Finnish media art, is the tarot. Using a combination of photography and computer graphics, she transforms the familiar images of the tarot cards into ingenious color prints to create a tarot world of the 21st century. The exhibition will also feature multimedia, interactive components consisting of films and an interactive tarot card site on the Internet."

Tarot itself is "a playful communication system based on 78 symbolic cards and their interpretations. The cards present the main events of human life from birth to death. The cards are organized into Tables, each dealing with a specific issue. Tarot is a gentle and humorous tool to understand oneself and others. And Marita Liulia has clearly "brought the 600-year-old Tarot game to the present, to our styles, our visual world and naturally to our communication systems." Before packing your bags and heading for Bangkok perhaps you might want to learn more ...

Avalon Moon: An "enchanted emporium" on Main Street in Delhi NY ... the "northeast's favorite witch shop". Hmmmm ... maybe it is ... and could they have picked a better name? Nope ... I don't think so. I will have to ask my daughter if she's visited here during any of her summers in upstate NY. And even if she hasn't I'll have to make sure I do "stop in for a spell" next time I'm in the area ... maybe as soon as next week. In the mean time you might want to read recent article ... or visit web site ... yes, it looks that good that I am even providing a link.

Tarot as a tool for self-examination and spiritual development is a basic premise of classes being offered by Cindy McMullin at Spiritual Freedom in Memphis TN that just got underway this week. In the class, students will learn the origins of the tarot, the various suits of cards, the meaning of common symbols, a few tarot spreads or layouts, and how to mentally prepare for a reading. Learn more ...

Beverly Lawrence - a teacher, reader, healer and process coach - says her primary goal in developing her psychic abilities is to heal herself. Beverly reads at the Dragon's Lair in Ukiah CA. Learn more ...

Just for fun I did a quick search for the most expensive tarot item listed at the AddAll antiquarian book search service. Hey ... it's The Tarot of the Orishas/Boxed Set of Tarot Card Deck With Book in English and Spanish by Zolrak & Durkon ... a Santeria card based divination system from 1995 at $598.50. This is followed by The Symbolism of the Tarot Philosophy : Philosophy of Occultism in Pictures and Numbers with pen-pictures of the Twenty-Two Tarot Cards translated by A.L. Pogossky from P. D. Ouspensky from 1913 at $550. Must remember to put these on next year's Christmas list.

"Eight of Swords" by David Skibbins from St. Martin’s Press should be on your list of books to read this winter. Apparently there's a tarot card reader on the streets of Berkeley, California hiding his real identity as a former student activist on the run for more than 30 years. And that's just the beginning of the guy's problems. Very promising debut ... I'm hoping there's more to follow when the activist resurfaces with a new identify ... oops ... did I give too much away there?

Et In Arcadia Ego, Rennes-le-Chateau, The Da Vinci Code and Tees Valley. Huh? What's this all about? Two bold entrepreneurs, Les and Harald, have opened what they believe is the first tarot cafe bar in Skinnergate in the town centre of Darlington in the north east of England. Worth the trip? Don't know if I'll be in the area any time soon but maybe you will and should read more ...

A Psychic Fair is held monthly inside the Maxon Fellowship Center at Camp Chesterfield. The camp is a 115-year-old campus dedicated to spiritual activities and home of the Indiana Association of Spiritualists. Read more ...

Higher property taxes, big hurricane in the fall and the smell of incense in the air ... oh my. Glenda Kennedy reads the cards for Broward County. Want to know more about Kennedy's insights for next year ... including something about that western that's going to be filmed in Fort Lauderdale? Read more ...