the tarot home of jaymi elford: readings, thoughts, and more
I was honored today by Theresa Reed, aka The Tarot Lady, who posted the interview she did with me. I see that it has boosted the views to my site. Thank you to everyone who has stopped by and peeked around. I have lots of new posts coming up and also new events.
Hope you’ve enjoyed my little corner of the world!
Disclaimer: I received an eARC from netgalley in exchange for a review.
Sasha Graham’s 365 Tarot Spreads is an interesting study in creating tarot spreads. She wrote the book to fill the gap that appeared on bookshelves, noticing that there was no “daily tarot spread” book out there. Each spread in this book, then, was created by her (or some other notable tarot alums) for practitioners to use on a daily basis. Many of the spreads were created based on: historical information, pagan or astrological date info, or literary and pop cultural reference.
What I liked: This book should be a quick read. Graham includes a wide variety of spreads and topics to fit any request. Readers could use it as a tarot-a-day study guide or just flip through the pages until a spread they need pops up. As one who loves designing spreads for her own uses, I looked at this book as a way to see the wide variety of spreads that a single person (in this case, Sasha) could create. It’s a highly creative volume of spreads.
What I didn’t like: This book took me forever to read. The layout includes so much side-bar information that it’s a bit overwhelming and cluttered. After the book came out and I purchased the epub file, I found the file horribly designed. The spread layout images were tiny and the formatters attempted to design to the print layout, rather than to the device. Ugh. It really made reading the book on a device harder than it should have been.
Bottom Line: Love tarot spreads? Then add 365 Tarot Spreads to your collection. I’ve flagged many of the spreads that I’m sure I’ll look back to over and over again for my own use. I also recommend that you buy the print version of the book (yes, it’s huge and heavy) and skip the eBook due to the layout issues. Other than that… it’s a great resource for any tarot library.
In about 12 hours I’ll be on a plane heading from Portland, OR to Milwaukee, WI for my Soulful Proprietor Retreat. Spent most of today adding the final touches of packing, and getting the house clean (I like to come home to a clean house). It’s part of my pre-anxiety flight and trip planning. I love trips but I don’t like the anxiety it builds in me. I always feel like I may be left behind, even when people (like Theresa) have told me over and over again that I’ve been taken care of.
So, in preparation for the trip, I’ve gone to my tarot deck to answer the following questions:
1. What can I do to minimize the trip anxiety?
2. What should I focus on at the retreat?
3. What will the retreat give back to me?
And these are the three cards I pulled:
1. What can I do to minimize the trip anxiety?
The Five of Pentacles. Ah, this card and I are close friends… usually it refers to my depression and how I normally feel. However, it reminds me to seek inner wisdom, to connect to my center and to my goddess and the spirituality I feel. This retreat is a combination between play, work, and relaxation. It’s going to help me move forward and blend the three of my life’s passions together to help me give back to those who need help.
2. What should I focus on at the retreat?
Nine of Swords. The first thing that strikes me about this card is to clear the clutter, push through my fears and know that I’m here to expose myself to new business practices that can really help me. Stop being afraid and just take the plunge.
3. What will the retreat give back to me?
Five of Wands. Normally, this card relates to the chaos and confusion that goes on when I have too many new ideas I’m also looking forward to the shake up in both my spiritual world and business life. However, I get a sense of playfulness when I see this card for this question. I’m going to be immersing myself with 24 wonderful women who also have a passion for what they do. I get to learn for each and every one of these ladies and share with them my thoughts. This retreat will energize me and hopefully, flood my head with new techniques, ideas, and a crew of ladies I can trust and go to for help and advice in the future.
More tomorrow when after I landed in Wisconsin, enjoy a hot chocolate, and get settled into the Retreat Center.
I’m going places this October. I have two special events going on. The first is for me and for my business and the second one is where I get to read for you!
This weekend I’ll be flying to the midwest for Theresa Reed’s Soulful Proprietor Retreat in Racine, WI. While there, I’ll be treated to a wonderful getaway filled with other like-minded soulful business owners who are trying to take what they do to the next level. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting some new peeps to call upon. I’ll also do my best to blog about my adventures at the retreat center.
Then next weekend, I’ll be putting the knowledge I learned there to good use at the October OWOW Psychic Faire being hosted by If the Broom Fits. Check the banner below for more info:
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!