Portland BMSE ''notes"

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 13 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Umbrae	13 May 2003
So there I was at the Portland ‘Body Mind Spirit Exposition’. Jeanette, from Tarot Garden, is a truly wonderful, genuine person. She did bring decks to make a reader or a collector salivate – nothing standard or ordinary. Getting to meet Aeclectic members was the main highlight…in all honesty, it was the best part of the show… Did a few readings…Some were good – I was ‘in the zone’… …and then… I did this one reading for an Aeclectic member… I did not get a ‘blank spot’…I got a void – The beginning of the spread made sense. The end of the spread made – kind of some sense…and the middle… No continuity, no relation…just some cards… Perhaps it was the worst reading I’ve done in years…the brain shut down – the psychic muscle clenched up tight… So I read ‘around it’. And came back to it and talked my way though it. It was that those cards, in that placement, had no bearing or relation to the rest of the spread. …and they formed ‘a hole’ – a void. It happens. Afterwards, the Sitter said there was some ‘useful’ information…but I want to know how it all ‘shakes out’. I did a reading for the friend of another AT member, who had already done a reading for his friend. I was told nothing of the prior reading. They sat there as I did the reading…afterwards, the friend was a tad amazed as both readings ‘said’ the same thing, and had completely different cards. Folks wandered by and stared at decks – suddenly realizing that there was more out there than the standard WCS and Thoths… It was three long days. Other readers said that the Portland Show used to be great – but the last two years it’s been nothing. The state of Oregon though, has 8% unemployment…one of the worst in the country. Other readers avoided us for some reason – and I’m not sure why. Both Jeanette and I discussed marketing ideas for future events…who knows…if things work out…we could visit your town…

MeeWah	14 May 2003
Umbrae: Thanks for the news--I enjoyed this very much! I realize it would be quite a trek, but come to the East Coast! Specifically, Virginia Beach :) Or Norfolk, Virginia.

Alex	14 May 2003
Mee Wah, Great choice, but never in Summer... Last year my son and I run 6 hours at night back and forth to find a room mid-Aug in VA Beach! Alex. Quote: Originally posted by MeeWah Virginia Beach :)

firemaiden	14 May 2003
Hey Boy, you best get that show on the ROAD!!!!!!!!!!

Alissa	14 May 2003
I'd love to hear more about how you appraoched this one in your process of reading. My first instinct, once the clench sets in, is a good round of prayer. I pray like HELL when I'm scared I'm gonna screw something up -- be that onstage, doing henna, or in a reading. (Oh puhlease help me Lakshmi/Ganesha/etc). What was your base instinctual response when the void appeared? Talking. It sounds like you talked your way through it nicely, as you described. The talking sometimes works for me, as it both fills the empty space between me and the reader, and helps me to focus inwardly at the same time. So, do you jump ahead to the end, where the thread seemed to be able to be picked back up? Or plow through with words words words until you reach the reading's final card, the finish line? Do you tell your sitter that you're talking through it, so they know you're talking "word soup" for a while to get more focussed on the matter at hand? Or do you prefer to leave them with the impression that you have no doubts, and that this is just how you read?

celeste	14 May 2003
I've had that problem too-where a card or two just doesn't make sense to me or to the recipient of the reading. I think and think about it later,trying to fit in the card meanings to the rest of the reading. Its baffling.

rota	14 May 2003
I went to the psychic fair The birds and the beasts were there Also Jeannette and Umbrae, who (not surprisingly) turned out to be very nice people. It's a constant source of pleasant amazement to me to find out that people involved in tarot and runes are intelligent and thoughtful folk.

The Portland BMSE ''notes" thread was originally posted on 13 May 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.