Shuffle | Corrine Kenner's Tarot Blog

Drama Free Tarot: Tarot for Writers

The amazing Stacey posted a shout-out for Tarot for Writers today! She’s a fascinating person to follow – she’s the  mother of five (yes, five) young girls with groovy names, and she writes ghost stories.

Drama Free Tarot: Tarot for Writers

When I'm not tripping the tarot cards fantastic, you can find me buried under books or writing them. I'm lucky enough to have found Tarot for Writers to help with some sticky plotlines. November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNo for short) and this method of using the cards to help with plot, character development and challenges will be a great help!

Join me at my writing blog, Flibbity Gibbet, to track my progress or better yet, join me!

The Rabbit Tarot- Giveaway

This deck looks adorable – and the artist is having a giveaway!

Nakisha is Blue Dog Rose: The Rabbit Tarot- Giveaway

Scherenschnitte with Tarot | Cat ' N Owl

This looks like a great tarot art project! My friend Jen is just so creative in so many ways.

Also, this post is a test of Windows Live Writer, the blogging software that came with my new laptop. I haven’t been blogging much lately, because it’s so much easier to post quick notes to Facebook.

Scherenschnitte with Tarot | Cat 'N Owl

Yoga Poseur

I started taking yoga classes last week, and already I've mastered tree pose, downward facing dog, cat and cow, warrior, triangle, and ... liar's pose. Yes, I'm totally lying. I fall a lot, I wobble, and I don't flow from position to position. Instead, I do my own version of yoga, which I like to call "shuffle and plunk." So far the only pose I've actually done right is the corpse pose, flat on my back -- and during this morning's class, I even felt shifty and off-balance doing that one, because I couldn't get my butt to flatten out evenly underneath me. Over the years, I've tried to find an exercise and fitness routine I like. Swimming is okay, but it's limited to just a few locations. (If I had a pool in my living room, I'd swim all the time.) Walking is boring. Running just hurts. I actually like going up and down stairs, but I live in a one-level house -- so I've been marching up and down a hillside flight of steps in the park a lot lately. I realized this summer, though, that I really needed to find some sort of routine I can maintain long-term. I went through a couple of mid-level traumas -- a court case and a family illness -- and I reacted by packing on the pounds. In fact, I gained 20 pounds in just a few weeks. I wish that extra weight was in my backside, so I could say that my problems are all behind me, but it's all front and center, in my stomach. And if you've ever seen me in person, you know that an additional 20 pounds is the last thing I needed to add to my already ample figure. At around the same time, though, a yoga studio opened a mile from my house. I took it as a sign. It's hard to pretend there's nothing I can do about my health and weight when there's a crew of yoga teachers practically breathing down my neck. So I signed up, and I've committed (to myself) to go regularly until Christmas, at least. The classes I've taken so far have all been vinyasa yoga, a streamlined, flowing yoga in which we're supposed to move from one pose to another as we inhale or exhale. It's very physical; the instructor I signed up with is in his early 20s, and he's slim and muscular. It's an open-level class, so he told me I could come, but it's not a beginner's class, so he doesn't slow down much to explain the poses or make adjustments. Really, I just keep up the best I can. Next week I'll get into the groove with an actual beginner's class. I'm hoping to get help with some of the side stretches and twisting bends; not surprisingly, my new stomach gets in the way of the vinyasa moves I've tried in class so far. I also stopped by amazon.com this morning and ordered a book called Megayoga, which illustrates adjustments and modifications for bodies like mine. In the meantime, I think I'll work on perfecting my corpse pose some more. I'm pretty sure that with just a little practice, I'll have it down cold.

The Freedom to Foretell the Future

Is fortunetelling a first-amendment right? Several courts have ruled that it is -- and another case is underway in Maryland. Feel free to leave your insights and observations in the comments. Check out the poll that runs with this story, too: two out of three respondents think fortunetelling should be legal!

Man Challenges Ban On Fortunetelling Self-Described Gypsy Who Wants To Open Shop Says Law Is Biased By Rick Rojas Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, August 17, 2009 Nick Nefedro didn't need to have his palm read or look to Tarot cards to know that his plan to work as a fortuneteller in Bethesda would fail. His fate was already written: Montgomery County says it is illegal to make money from forecasting the future. But Nefedro, who says he is a Gypsy, is determined to change that. He has enlisted the American Civil Liberties Union in his year-long fight to overturn the law that calls his livelihood fraudulent. He argues that fortunetelling is part of his heritage and that prohibiting him from working as a fortuneteller amounts to discrimination. "I really want my business here, and I feel like they don't have the right to discriminate against me," Nefedro, 40, said. He said the law is nothing more than persecution of Gypsies, who have long been stigmatized as nomadic thieves and con artists. "Gypsies do exist, and they are not criminals," he said, adding that fortunetelling is "something we've been doing for thousands of years." The term "Gypsy" dates to the 16th century and has been used to describe a European ethnic group, also called the Romany, thought to have originated in India. They were nomadic and often persecuted as troublemaking vagabonds. Some descendants find the term and the stereotypes associated with it offensive. Like his father, who had been a fortuneteller in the District in the 1980s, Nefedro turned the practice into a business. With family members, he has owned and operated a half-dozen fortunetelling businesses in the Los Angeles area and in Key West, Fla. But he wanted to move closer to home. Born in the District, he spent much of his youth with friends and family in Bethesda. Nefedro found a location to rent about two years ago and applied for a business license. He was denied. In May 2008, he filed a lawsuit, which he lost. Now, with the ACLU on board, he wants to continue the fight. Nefedro's lawsuit is among a spate of cases nationwide challenging laws enacted last century to keep fortunetellers out of business. In Livingston Parish, La., a ban on soothsaying was found to be unconstitutional in 2008 after a Wiccan minister argued that his passing along messages is the same as a Christian minister purporting to proclaim God's word. A similar ban in New Iberia, La., and one in Casper, Wyo., have also been overturned in recent years. Ajmel Quereshi, an attorney with the ACLU of Maryland, said it is a legal trend that bodes well for Nefedro. Laws against fraud are on the books, and if a fortuneteller breaks the law, Quereshi said, the county can prosecute under the existing guidelines. Otherwise, the ban becomes a tool to inhibit Nefedro's First Amendment rights to free expression and to practice his religion, Quereshi said. Montgomery officials see it differently. "I don't think it's strange for us to have laws that protect against fraud," said Clifford Royalty, zoning division chief in the Montgomery County attorney's office, adding that "religion has nothing to do with it. He's not made that allegation in the lawsuit." "The practice is fraudulent," Royalty said, "because no one can forecast the future." Nefedro insists that he can. "It's not like you choose it," Nefedro said. "You're born with it." He said he noticed at a young age that he saw things that no one else could see. "Some people just see a palm, or see the cards," Nefedro said. "I see a sign in it." Now that his attempt to overturn the law and start a fortunetelling business in Bethesda has started a chapter with an uncertain conclusion, knowing his own fortune would be quite valuable. Unfortunately, he says, fortunetelling doesn't work that way: He can't read his fortune. But his attorney said he has a pretty good idea. "I rate it fairly well," Edward Amourgis said of his client's chance in court. "I wouldn't call that a psychic reading. I just kind of know it, and I wasn't fined for saying it."

Sabrina Luna, author and tarot reader

Author Sabrina Luna is also a professional tarot card reader. There's an interview with her on examiner.com. Here's an excerpt:

N.B: I understand that besides being a best selling author you are also a professional psychic reader and tarot reader. Do you believe that tarot reading helps you with writing your characters? If so how?

Sabrina Luna: Definitely! The major cards of the Tarot deck are based on archetypes, which are the building blocks of storytelling. The Tarot helps give me ideas on how to develop the basis of my characters, and then creativity kicks in and helps to flesh out them out.

You can read the whole interview at http://wp.me/s6gD8-luna.

What to expect at MATS next weekend

Here's a copy of the email I just sent to everyone who's registered for MATS so far. Does it make you want to be part of the fun? It's not too late to register!

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The Minnesota Area Tarot Symposium is just a week away! We’d like to share a few notes with you so you can know what to expect. HOTEL NOTES

• The Minnesota Area Tarot Symposium will be held next weekend — July 24-26, 2009 — at the Best Western/Dakota Ridge Hotel, at 3450 Washington Drive in Eagan, Minnesota. You can find more information about the hotel here: http://minnesotatarot.wordpress.com/location/
• The hotel is relatively small, and it specializes in hosting business travelers during the week. Weekends aren't usually busy at the Dakota Ridge, but next weekend they happen to have guests for two weddings staying there. Chad, the hotel's event manager, said the wedding parties were actually excited to hear that tarot readers would be in residence. Some of them would even like to come down to our conference for readings when we're on break!
• The hotel has released its reserved block of rooms for our event, but Chad said they’ll still honor the $78 room rate if you tell them you’re with the tarot conference. We’re encouraging participants to stay at the hotel, so we can stay up late and talk tarot well into the night! For reservations, call (651) 452-0100.
• Almost everyone who’s coming is local, so most of us will have cars. If you’re planning to bus to the symposium, the Eagan transit center is about a block from the hotel. The hotel also has a free shuttle to the airport and the Mall of America, which also has a light-rail station. If you’d like to take the shuttle, please call the hotel at (651) 452-0100 to make arrangements.

FRIDAY NOTES

• We’ll kick the weekend off with a pizza party on Friday night. Pizza and soft drinks are included in the party admission fee; if you’d like to drink something a little harder, you can bring your own beer or wine. There’s also a bar at Al Baker’s restaurant next door.
• If you didn’t register for the Friday-night party when you registered for the conference, it’s not too late! You can still go to our website at http://minnesotatarot.wordpress.com/registration/ to sign up.
• After the pizza party, we’ll keep the fun rolling with a ‘midnight’ tarot puppet show. Of course, we’re Minnesotans, so we’re defining ‘midnight’ pretty loosely. We’ll actually start the show at 10:30. If you’re staying at the hotel, the show is free. If not, admission is $5, payable at the door.

SATURDAY NOTES

• The hotel provides a complimentary continental breakfast for hotel guests. We’ll also have coffee near our conference registration table on Saturday morning.
• Conference registration, check-in, and all of our workshops will be held in the conference center on the lower level of the hotel.
• When you check in for the conference, you’ll get a valuable surprise gift from Llewellyn Worldwide, which publishes of some of the world’s best tarot decks and books. Hats off to everyone at Llewellyn for their generosity!
• During the workshops on Saturday, feel free to dress comfortably. Jeans and casual shirts are fine, but you're also welcome to wear a fancy tarot-reading ensemble. You might want to have a sweater, too, in case the hotel’s air conditioning makes the room feel cool.
• On Saturday, we’ll take a break for lunch. Technically, lunch is on your own, but most of us will probably go together to one of the restaurants near the hotel. Don’t be shy; if you’re coming to the symposium by yourself, just find a friendly group and join in their lunch excursion! You’re welcome to have lunch with anyone on the planning committee, too.
• Bring cash or checks for the vendors and professional psychic readers. A few of them will accept credit cards, but not all.
• Bring your favorite tarot deck to use during the symposium.
• If you have extra tarot decks or books that you don't want anymore, bring them to give away or trade with other attendees. We’ll set up a trading post in the corner of the conference room.
• If you can, bring a pair of scissors from home for Barbara Moore’s workshop on life mapping.
• We’re going to dress up for the banquet on Saturday night. Come as your favorite tarot card or tarot character, and you could win a prize. If you don’t want to wear a costume, please bring something sophisticated to wear, such as a dress or a suit.
• Saturday’s banquet will also feature a freestyle “Tarot Talent Show.” Sing a song or tell a joke, and you could win a prize for your performance.
• The banquet is at Al Baker’s restaurant, right next door to the hotel. We’ve got the party room reserved, and you’ll be able to choose from three entrées: prime rib, baked salmon, or a vegetable stir-fry that can be prepared with or without chicken. They're all good; we've done our research on this one. The restaurant doesn’t need to know which entrée you want until the banquet starts.
• If you didn’t register for the banquet, it’s not too late. You can still go to our website at http://minnesotatarot.wordpress.com/registration/ to buy your ticket.

FINAL NOTES

• We’re expecting about 45 people, but we still have space for a few more — so last-minute registrations are still being accepted. Tell a friend!
• We’re really looking forward to seeing you next weekend. If you have any questions before then, don’t hesitate to contact us.

See you soon! Your MATS Organizing Committee:

• Corrine Kenner 
• Barbara Moore 
• Melani Weber 
• Nancy Antenucci 

PS: You can find a copy of our conference schedule online at http://minnesotatarot.wordpress.com/schedule/.

Age Progression

Forty-two years passed between the photo on the left and the one on the right. I think I look about the same. Back in 1967, I was just waiting for someone to put tarot cards in my hands!

News Release: Searching for the Ghosts of Devils Lake

For release: July 2, 2009 Contact: Corrine Kenner Website: www.ghostsofdevilslake.com Email: ghosts@ghostsofdevilslake.com Phone: 701-540-5405 Is your house haunted? Do spirits share space in your store or office building? Are there any ghostly goings-on in your fields or on your farm? If so, there’s an author looking for you — and your terrifying tale could be included in a book about the haunted hollows of Devils Lake. Corrine Kenner, an award-winning author who was raised on a farm near Devils Lake, is compiling a collection of ghost stories from the Lake Region. “Like most people in the area, I grew up hearing stories about the Dakotah men who died in battle on Devils Lake, and the ghostly sightings of the steamboat Minnie H,” she said. “Devils Lake has more than its share of ghost stories — but almost no one beyond North Dakota’s borders has heard them. That’s one reason I’m really excited about this book. It’s going to put Devils Lake on the map for readers across the country and around the world.” Kenner is hoping to uncover a wide range of new stories, too. “I’m really interested in stories about very old ghosts,” she said, “from the days when Devils Lake was a pioneer town. I’m also interested in legends from the Spirit Lake Nation — like the descriptions of wood and water spirits, and the ‘little people’ you can only see out of the corner of your eye.” Kenner’s search for ghost stories isn’t confined to city or tribal limits. “I’m interested in any paranormal events in a 50- or 60-mile radius,” she said. “I’m looking for spooky stories of supernatural phenomena, and sights and sounds that can’t be explained. This book will have a definite ‘X-Files’ and ‘Twilight Zone’ feel.” If you have a supernatural story to share, you can call Kenner at (701) 540-5405, or email her at ghosts@ghostsofdevilslake.com. You can also contact her through the Ghosts of Devils Lake website at www.ghostsofdevilslake.com. Kenner currently plans to include the stories of:

• Lillian Wineman, the eccentric pioneer woman who stayed with her belongings — even after she died, and her furnishings were moved into a local history museum
• The untimely deaths of two young brothers, found hanged on their homestead after they picked a drunken fight with the wrong crowd
• Ghostly sightings of the Minnie H steamboat and her captain, Edward Heerman, who patrolled the shores of Devils Lake at the turn of the last century
• The lost graveyard of doomed Jewish settlers, who tried to establish their own farming community during the late 1800s
• A mysterious “stairway to hell” discovered in a farmer’s field
• The ghostly shadows and cries of Dakotah warriors, drowned by the angry spirits of the lake during a terrible battle
• And a Loch Ness-style monster who lives in the deepest center of the lake

Kenner is the award-winning author of ten books and the editor of several anthologies. Her books have been translated into several languages and distributed around the world. The Ghosts of Devils Lake will be released by Llewellyn Worldwide, a global publisher based in Woodbury, Minnesota.

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This Week ' s Tarot Meetups

At tonight's Twin Cities Tarot Meetup in Minneapolis, we'll revisit the "Three Card Draw" -- Mary K. Greer's innovative technique for combining the symbols and significance of three separate cards into a single image. (That's my version of Temperance, Judgment, and the Four of Pentacles, above.) When we last played with this exercise a couple of years ago, we all had a ridiculous amount of fun! We meet at the Eye of Horus bookstore on Lyndale Avenue. Bring colored pencils, crayons, or markers, if you have them. The Tarot for Writers group meets online each Saturday. This week, we're going to play with images from a unique tarot deck -- the Tarot of the New Vision, which shows old, familiar tarot scenes from an entirely new perspective. You can stand behind the Fool, and see what he sees. Ride behind the Charioteer, and find out who's following him. Peek behind the High Priestess's curtain, and peer through the clouds in the Seven of Cups. If you've been meaning to try your hand at creative writing with the cards, please join us! Of course, excitement continues to grow for the Minnesota Area Tarot Symposium next month. You can find all the details here.