When I went to SF BATS (San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium) last year, the energy was somewhat frenetic. This year, there was a calmer feeling. Or maybe that was just me because this year I was not presenting and could simply relax and immerse myself in lots of tarot goodness.
Thalassa begins the opening remarks for SF BATS 2012.
Hostess with the mostest Thalassa welcomed the crowd warmly and then started the event off with opening remarks and announcements. One of the biggest surprises was hearing that BATS would be moving next year to San Jose! The new location will be more budget friendly than the current location and I’m sure a lot of my fellow tarot peeps were happy to hear that.
And then it was class time! At the BATS conference, there are three to four classes running concurrently – so you have to pick and choose which one is the most interesting to you. This was hard for me because there were so many good classes to choose from! The first one that I attended was “Courtly Love – Partnership Choices and the Court Cards” with Gina Thies. In this interactive class, Gina shared some unique insights into how people behaved in relationships and how to apply the court cards. We learned some interesting spreads to work with her concepts. I was quickly able to see myself as the Queen of Pentacles and my husband as the King of Wands based on her method.
Gina Thies lectures on tarot and relationships.
Next I was off to sit in on Diane Wilkes lecture on “Tarot/Astrological Passages”. I have an astrology background so I was quite comfortable with the material. Astrology can be very confusing but Diane had a way of explaining it without overwhelming her audience. We then learned a way to use tarot with planetary transits – and this was very cool! I plan on experimenting with this when I get back home!
Diane Wilkes explains tarot and astrology transits.
The third class I chose was a very intriguing one with Major Tom Schick – he showed 20 examples of the Hanged Man, the Devil and 2 of Pentacles from antique tarot decks and discussed the similarities and differences in each card. Most of these decks were ones I had never seen before – it was a tarot feast for the eyes!
Major Tom Schick shares some vintage tarot images.
Then it was time for some tarot history with Mary Greer. Mary shared some amazing photos of old decks, art depicting card playing and tarot reading, tarot in churches and more. It was a very content rich class – my brain was buzzing afterwards! History is not my strong suit so this was a great class for me to take. I learned a lot in a short period.
Mary Greer schools a packed room on tarot history.
Rather than stick around for the 5th class of the day, I had to take a break and get some air. I was feeling tired and needed to rejuvenate myself. I went for a walk and came back later for the mixer. Although I hated to miss a class, I know that when I’m feeling ungrounded, I need to take care of me first.
I came back to the party and had a great time hanging with my tarot friends. One of the highlights of the conferences are the friends you make – and no matter if this is your first time or 21st time, you’ll be guaranteed to have fun meeting and greeting.
So now I am back at my hotel and getting ready to call it a night. I have another day of tarot filled activities awaiting me – and I couldn’t be happier!
Blessings!
Theresa
© Theresa Reed | The Tarot Lady 2012
I’m Theresa Reed (aka, The Tarot Lady). I’ve been a full-time tarot reader for 30+ years — which, in my industry, makes me pretty badass.
I’m definitely not your average Tarot expert — I drop the F-bomb, I quote rappers, and I’m obsessed with pop culture + reality TV. Folks come to me for straight-talk + tough-love — without the woo-woo fluff. 
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