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2019 Readers Studio Wrapup

I’m at a write-in at a West Massachusetts library attempting to put all the things we did this weekend into words. These write ups seem hard to process, especially when it feels like the event isn’t over. I won’t really feel reintegrated into “normal” reality until May 6, when I board a plane back home to Portland, OR.

Official poster for Readers Studio 2019. Art by Callie French.

Another successful Readers Studio has come and gone and I sit in the liminal space which comes with having a most wonderful time. This year’s conference was transformational for me on so many levels. 

I reconnected to my tribe on a deeper level. I opened myself up to many individuals and went very deep. Told them about the various changes in my life, why I left Facebook (and may return with limiting plugins), and where I want to go next in my work. I had a wonderful talk with someone I want to continue chatting with on the conference off-seasons. My best friend and I have grown closer due to some of our discussions. I even connected to a new member of our Readers Studio family.  I feel a renewed sense of belonging.

The material presented in both Divination Day (Thursday’s pre-studio conference) and in the Readers Studio classes gave me information which I will be putting into my practice immediately. I feel like I have leveled up with some skills, and can grow my practice in ways I didn’t think about.

A collage of all the instructors from the classes I took. This includes Divination Day, Readers Studio proper, a study group, and an incubator.
A collage of all the instructors from the classes I took. This includes Divination Day, Readers Studio proper, a study group, and an incubator.

Readers Studio classes tend to lie between giving new techniques or having an experience. I felt this year brought a lovely mix of both. Ethony Dawn shared her 13 divination muses with us. A wonderful system, which I will bring to my practice immediately. George Koury showed us just how deep a 3-card reading could be with his “Peter Pan” spread. And Sasha Graham brought us deep into the fertile ground with magic and transformation drawn from a single card’s imagery. Really powerful stuff. Their experiences and knowledge transformed me to my core and I feel ready to tackle on the new challenges and changes life brings.

My RS 2019 loot. Four books, three crystals, and a lovely purification spray.

I didn’t plan on buying goodies from the vendors this year. However, the stones have been calling me and I purchased a labradorite stone and a selenite wand, both to integrate in my tarot travels. I bought Paula Scardamalia’s wonderful Fiction for Tarot Writers, and got it signed. I received a copy of Ethony’s Your Tarot Court, which is out this month! She honored me by using examples from the Triple Goddess Tarot. Liz Worth, handed me a copy of her latest book, The Power of Tarot, which covers topics we normally don’t think about in our practices. Last, and definitely not least, Lisa Freinkel Tishman gifted me with a copy of her Mindful Tarot, a book I’ve been chomping at the bit to get. So, for once I will be leaving with more printed books than ever. I look forward to spending time with all my new treasures and seeing what information they offer me. Oh, and I also won a wonderful raffle prize: a Purifying Spray from crones and stones. It’s been a helpful companion as I reintegrate.

As I stated above, I’m not back in my “reality” yet. I’m hanging with my friend Carolyn Cushing, who has opened up her house, her town, and her practice for me this week. We’re doing a poetry oracle event, I’ll be teaching Pop Culture Tarot with the Mass. Tarot group on Saturday, and then we cohost a tarot and writing retreat on Sunday. I look forward to the experiences this week brings to me.