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| Ginny's Tarot bag. |
It’s always wonderful when a teacher inspires her students enough to take the next step.
Our monthly Tarot classes last year at Lake House Health & Learning Center have been a joy to teach, with receptive students coming from Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee to learn how the symbolic images of the Tarot are an amazing tool for personal growth.
Virginia Nuorala, a craftswoman and needle worker, came in one day with pretty purple drawstring bags to hold the deck of cards. She keeps alert for interesting fabrics for her distinct bags which she custom embroiders your name or other pertinent words or phrases. Since then she’s fashioned roll-up Tarot mats which have placement blocks for a simple card layout; a third idea was birthed when she designed and made mats for work with the pendulum, which many people have found another helpful tool to discern subconscious wishes.
You can find her products at the Anything’s Possible shop at 237 Main St., Racine, where I’ll be doing a program on “Introduction To Tarot: How to Navigate 2012” from 5 to 7 p.m. See more details here.
My regular Tarot class, Tarot For Self Discovery, begins on Jan. 14 and continues the second Saturday morning of each month at Lake House Health & Learning Center. Details are here.
Tracy Bernhardt, another class member, had fun recently when she made a batch of Tarot cookies for a women-only Tarot party at a friend’s home. Tracy, who is a talented soap maker and craftswoman at Labyrinth Herbals who writes an occasional craft column for the Caledonia Patch, ordered edible printed wafer papers from an artist on Etsy and put them on frosted sugar cookies.
My regular Tarot class, Tarot For Self Discovery, begins on Jan. 14 and continues the second Saturday morning of each month at Lake House Health & Learning Center. Details are here.
Tracy Bernhardt, another class member, had fun recently when she made a batch of Tarot cookies for a women-only Tarot party at a friend’s home. Tracy, who is a talented soap maker and craftswoman at Labyrinth Herbals who writes an occasional craft column for the Caledonia Patch, ordered edible printed wafer papers from an artist on Etsy and put them on frosted sugar cookies.
Tracy happened across the artist’s work about two months ago, first seeing sugared replications of the Old Maid game cards, which made her think of Tarot cards. “I asked her if she'd make me some Tarot wafer papers and she did,” says Tracy. “It was a special order, but I think she liked how they turned out and is planning to list them in her Etsy store.”
At the party, a friend brought the deck that with images similar to the sugar wafer pictures. Everyone drew a card and then ate the corresponding cookie.
Classes bring from six to 12 people from all walks of life to learn about the Tarot. It is not about fortune telling. Instead, we look at the images in the cards and ponder how they apply to our lives, wishes and goals – and we always have the responsibility to make our own choices. Participants have explored every topic imaginable – relationships, parenting, career change, weight loss and more. I refer my students to many Tarot books and sites depending on their interest with art, history, symbolic interpretations or psychology. One book that I frequently recommend is The Tarot: Methods, Mastery and More by Cynthia Giles.
One thing is for sure – Tarot is a great way to stimulate creativity! And that's what it's all about.
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| Tracy's Tarot cookies. |
