Author: innowen

Woke up a bit later than yesterday, my muscles thanked me for that. Started off the day unboxing the BATSchwag that Llewellyn and US Games, Inc. send out to attendees (thanks companies for the neat stuff). Attendees received a Mibramig Magical Tarot deck and Intuitive Tarot workbook. Soon after, I was called into the main room to help out with orders and whatnot.

That’s where I stayed most of all day. I manned both the Tarot Media Company booth and the Millard Fillmore Memorial Spiritualist Temple Garage Sale items. Drew voluntold me for the lunchtime sherpa rush (seconds after I mentioned to RoseRed about not wanting to do it, hahaha karma!) and I got some good exercise in during that period of time.

In the afternoon, I was able to slip away for one class. This was Anastasia Haysler’s Tarot by Numbers. Now I have known Anastasia for years now but have NEVER been able to attend a class taught by her. She has a great energy and passion for Tarot and numbers. While much of class revolved around using a number system to “read the cards,” she also included information regarding the Pythagorean Theory and how that can relate back to the cards. Also, the Fibonacci sequence. It was a good mental exercise and I now have ways to get my nerd and geek friends into Tarot.

The symposium concluded with a round of giving away fabulous prizes and alas, I did not win anything. We also tore down and packed BATS back into the bags that the conference lives in the rest of the year. Usually at this point I would join my friends once more in the lobby for drinks and restoratives but a good friend of mine arrived at this time to take me to see NIN at the Shoreline.

By midnight, I arrived home, safely to my “home away from home” feeling sore, happy, satisfied and tired. One more BATS in the can and I look forward to my next Tarot adventure in October: Theresa Reed’s Soulful Proprietor Retreat!

Up at 7am feeling refreshed for minion duty. Spent most of the morning doing registration, running around, and orders for Tarot Media Company. My card of the day is “Page of Cups” and upon reflection we (RoseRed and Drew) have decided that I am to help others as well as be a fantasy ideal for others. I tend to like the middle path where I can be two different things depending on how people need me.

After helping out in the main hall, i got just in time to get a seat at Bill Tarot’s Dynamic Spreads class. Bill’s been an awesome Tarot friend over the years and when he came out with the Dynamic Spreads deck I KNEW I needed one and wanted to attend this presentation. I love that it’s an active and passive method that works with any deck. He did a great job introducing everyone to his product and then gave us a lot of play time with his baby in reading for others. My group ended the session with a really cool reading on Beyonce and JayZ.

Next session up was Rana George’s Lenormand: between destiny, fate and fortunetelling class. While I am still a baby beginner at the cards, I loved her energy and how the things she presented could also relate to tarot and its uses. We learned to do a reading and then to follow up a smaller 3-card spread with a “How can I change this outcome or make this a possible future?” question. My friend Sue and I exchanged readings and I was pleasantly happy to know that my answers were more right than wrong (Thank you Carrie!).

I sherpaed people up to the hospitality room for lunch and attended to many minion duties during the afternoon. I stayed in the main hall for most of the time to listen to the presentations going on there in. My favorite afternoon listenings were from Ellen Lorenzi-Prince and Nancy Antenucci’s Bats, Tarot, and the Dark Goddess class which featured interactive class with the Dark Goddess Tarot. Sometimes readers forget that movement can help provide insight into card meanings and readings and I am glad these two ladies are on the forefront of innovation.

We had a small break where we went back to our rooms to dawn our finery for the evening’s “BATS in the Belfry” mixer. RoseRed allowed me to borrow a corset (first time EVER wearing) and I wore my “glow butt” bustle. We had tons of fun socializing and chatting with the lovely attendees.

Also… THIS happened:
and no, they are NOT mine.

We moved our small group to the bar where we grabbed some food and then came back to our room where we had intense discussions about writing, the art of editing, and publishing. (If you are reading this… YOU KNOW WHO… I hope you know I believe in you.)

Wrapping this report up so I can get some rest for tomorrow’s festivities. Thanks for reading and I hope everyone attending SFBATS is having a great time and those who aren’t able to attend know we’ve missed you. We bring stories!

In just a few hours, I will depart with RoseRed and Drew. We’re hitting the road and driving down to the DoubleTree Hotel where SFBATS is going on. Tonight we’ll chat with fellow attendees, catch up on what’s cool and new over the past year and have lots of laughs. Today’s draw is the King of Swords. We’re all bringing our A-game when it comes to thirst for knowledge and what we know.

As we gather around the tables tonight, we’ll engage head on in the best of thinking, sharing, and getting the Tarot hive mind going. I’m looking forward to reuniting with my Tarot tribe and getting things started! The symposium starts tomorrow and while pre-registration has closed, you can show up at the event and get a weekend or a day pass. If you’re in the bay area… come join in on the fun! If you can’t join, don’t worry… I’ll post recaps tomorrow and Sunday so you can join in on the fun. (I’ll also be tweeting with the hashtag #SFBATS).