The Tarot Room – Georgianna

About 22 years or so ago, when I first opened The Tarot Room, I was looking for ways to advertise. The goal was to try something that wasn’t too expensive, and also not too weird. Ads for Tarot and Psychic readings can be both shady and cringe inducing (though I’m often fond of the graphics and really really want a neon Tarot Reader sign for my window).

But anyway … I decided on bookmarks. Not sure why, other than that I read a lot and always need one myself. They were also fairly cheap. I drew the picture for it myself (a stylized Empress in the RWS vein), and think I spent about $200 to print up 1000 or 2000 copies, I don’t remember exactly. There were a lot. But I liked them, and still had hope.

My next step was to get them distributed around the city. I hired a local postering company to get them into various cafes and bars around town, especially in my neighbourhood. Then I waited.

You’ve probably guessed already … my bookmark idea did not achieve its goals. I got zero business. In fact, I got only one call for all my effort and expense. It was in the middle of the night by some drunk guy (or at least he sounded drunk), asking me if I looked like the woman on the bookmark. I told him that I did not.

There’s no moral to this story, except that maybe bookmarks in bars and cafes are not good advertising tools for Tarot readers, or at least not for me. I’m telling this sad (or is it pathetic) story only because I just came across a dusty box filled with bookmarks … hundreds of them. Anybody want one?

Just thought I’d take a moment to plug my friend Andrew McGregor’s metaphysical shop – The Hermit’s Lamp. They’re celebrating their first year at their present location on Bloor Street West, and I was able to get over there for the party last weekend.

The store looks great, as does its proprietor. There’s a lot there at the store – crystals, candles, jewellery, books, oils, artwork, Tarot decks …the longer you browse, the more interesting things you’ll find. (That’s true for the website too … they have Tarot running shoes! – which of course, I want.)

I can get carried away in stores like this (also in stationary and hardware stores) so I tried to set a limit on what I could buy before I got there. I gave myself permission to buy one Tarot deck … and maybe, maybe one other thing.

As it turned out I got myself The Orisha Tarot (created by McGregor himself), and an adorable Tarot bag from the Unemployed Philosophers Guild. I also got a little gift for someone else, so I didn’t count that in my ‘no purchase over two items’ rule. Had I stayed any longer though, it’s likely I would have broken my pledge.

Anyway, if you’re in the Toronto area and looking for some magic, you can visit The Hermit’s Lamp in person at 1209 Bloor Street West, just west of Dufferin on the south side.

And for those not in Toronto … you can always visit online —> The Hermit’s Lamp

Not that I should be sending any of my Tarot Room readers away … but I thought you might be interested in a new blog by another Tarot reader named Thomas Ross. He’s put together a new blog called Tarot Gazette. It’s split into two sides … on the left, Ross teaches about Tarot cards. On the right, he lists 60 interesting Tarot blogs (other than his own) that people might want to visit..

You might have guessed . . . yes, The Tarot Room is one of those blogs. Of course that makes me a little sweet on Tarot Gazette … but I’ve got to say the Tarot Room is in very good company over there. I don’t know all the readers of the blogs listed, but I know a lot of them, and the ones I know are very good and well worth visiting at their own sites.

Anyway, I thought I’d let you know. Take a look at Tarot Gazette to learn a little more about the cards, and to maybe spend some time clicking around some other Tarot blogs. Come back to visit me, of course, but enjoy your travels.

If you happen to like fancy Italian handbags, fortune telling imagery, and cats, today’s post is for you.

A cat friend of mine (you may remember him from an earlier post, Cat Reading) was staying with me last week.

When his driver came by to pick him up, she brought with her the most marvellous fortune-telling cat handbag from Milan you’ve ever seen (though it’s likely to have originated in London … but either way).

Just look at these pictures …

Crystal balls and flowers, potions, and magic books, fortune-telling cats in turbans behind beaded doors …

And on the back of the bag it says “Never let fear decide your fate.”

Good advice, especially from a cat … I think.

In any case, this bag by Vendula London Is fantastic. Wish I had one.

A great tip for getting to really know your Tarot cards, whatever deck you use, is to draw them. This is true whether you’re good at drawing or not (however that might be determined). The learning happens either way. It’s about looking at the cards really carefully, not about making fine art.

I’ve been reminded of this lesson lately while redrawing the Cards of the Day for The Tarot Room, as well as while drawing on my newest wooden Tarot box. As is the case whenever I draw images from my decks, I’ve noticed things I had forgotten, or maybe had never noticed in the first place.

It could be a colour that jumps out – like the gray sky in the RWS Ace of Wands, or the fish-scaled shoes worn by the King of Cups. It might be a symbol, like the butterflies on the Queen of Swords’ crown, or the water flowing behind the High Priestess, the Empress, and the Emperor. It could be anything.

There are so many things to notice … and if you’re a practiced reader, you’ve probably considered most, if not all of the symbols, and colours, and key words from your favourite decks. But at least for me, getting ‘beginners’ eyes’ again as I try to etch the card pictures onto a page, always reignites my enthusiasm for the deck I’m drawing, and teaches me something new.

And for beginners … drawing your cards is a fantastic exercise to use to get to know your deck. The whole trick is that it forces you to look. And at least for me, Tarot reading at its core is about reading the stories in the pictures on the cards. The more you carefully look at those pictures, the richer your stories can be.

Give it a try. And if drawing all 78 cards in a deck is too daunting, try just drawing the cards you pull in a reading. Or just one card from a card of the day … or whatever might work for you. But try it. It’s fun.

Following up on yesterday’s post, here’s a pic of my feline friend, Tangelo doing a reading with the Phantasmagoric Theater Tarot. He had some great insights.

I know I’ve talked about this topic in the past (and was soundly ridiculed by some), but I feel like talking about it again … ’cause, it’s my blog, and I can do what I want … no, really because I think it’s fun and maybe you want to try it too.

What’s this controversial topic you ask (well no one’s asking, and it’s not controversial, more just silly) … it’s Nail Painting by Tarot … or Magic Mani/Pedis. If you like Tarot, nail polish, and magic, this might be for you …

The basic idea is to paint your nails using colours from the Tarot.

It’s really simple … from a deck you like, choose a card whose energy you’d like to engage and/or embody. Take a look at the colours in the card and pick one that you think expresses the vibe you’re looking for most. Find nail polish in that colour or something close. Paint it on.

From a like-attrracts-like magical perspective, you’re bringing that energy to yourself. If you don’t believe in that sort of thing, you can just treat it as a reminder to try acting with that energy whenever you notice your nails.

If that process seems like too much trouble … just in your mind (no need for a deck) think of the traditional colour connected to the card whose energy you’re seeking and choose that one.

Or, if the traditional colour doesn’t speak to you, use the colour you associate with the spirit you’re looking for.

I know all this is kind of kookie, but I still like doing it. Lately, I’ve been wearing bright Sun Yellow on my fingers and an Empress Green on my toes … sunshine and creative growth … and pretty nails too.

For extra fun, choose different colours for each nail – make it like a little reading on your fingers and toes. Or how about using those little nail stickers … surely there are some that have tarot-ish symbols, ex. moons, stars, suns, wine glasses (for the suit of cups, of course), dice (wheel of fortune) … etc.

Try it out! Who doesn’t want to be both magic and gorgeous?

It’s been a few years, but I’m back on Instagram. I never actually left, I’d just stop posting. But now I’m back and doing an ongoing series called Tarot Sightings – Toronto.

It’s pretty well a Tarot Card of the Day type thing, but instead of pulling a card from a deck (like I do for the Cards of the Day on this blog), the cards described come from Tarot symbol sightings I make on my wanderings around Toronto.

While walking around the city, I keep my eyes open for Tarot symbols, or card archetypes. I’ve been doing this for years with graffiti, but for this project I’m watching for Tarot motifs in anything I might see. It could be tomato plants on a rooftop, gas meters on a house wall, or some graffiti image that brings Tarot to mind.

Using a graffiti image as an example … my post from 6/2/24 shows a picture of a woman holding a cup. That image is on an electrical box at an intersection. In the post I declared the woman a Princess of Cups at a Crossroad with the Tarot message that “things might be changing, with new places, new friends … but as busy as it gets, remember to take care of yourself. Stay kind, curious, and hydrated’

The point was to put the Tarot character into a context for that day’s message. You do the same thing in an actual Tarot reading where there’s not only the traditional definition of the card to consider, but also its context within a spread, and/or through what question had been asked of it.

In Tarot Sightings, I’m also thinking about the traditional definition, how it’s expressed, and where it’s located.

By putting these ideas together in a quick sentence or two (or three), the day’s card, or tarot archetype’s message becomes specific to that day, locale, weather, or whatever. It’s like using a constantly evolving deck to offer a Tarot message from various perspectives around the city.

Anyway … this post has tuned out to be much longer than I had envisioned. I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m back posting on Instagram and what Tarot Sightings Toronto is meant to be.

If you’d like to see for yourself, visit me on Instagram at: @thetarotroom

When we can, let’s help each other out …

May the Star Shine Happiness on you all year …