BATS 2009 – 100 years of the Waite/Smith Tarot deck

Where do I begin? The Bay Area Tarot Symposium has been in existence for close to 20 years, mostly as a one-day event. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Waite/Smith Tarot deck, a second day was added, making this an exciting two-day gathering with an abundance of presentations, products, and fun.

Katrina Wynne & Mary Greer

Key speakers included:
• Mary Greer speaking on “Waite and the Secret Tradition”
• Rachel Pollack exploring “The Hanged Man – Traitor or Hero?”
• Holly Voley’s amazing visual history of 100 years of the Waite/Smith deck, offering us a hands-on opportunity to view many of the first decks printed.
• Melinda Parsons’ revealing expose’ of the Waite deck artist, Pamela Colman Smith, with her contemporary inspirations for imagery.

RWS Panel - Cynthia Giles, Rachel Pollack, Mary Greer, Melinda Parsons, Holly Voley

There were more presentations then I could attend, many four at a time, but I was able to divide my interests by exchanging notes with my Tarot buddy, Jaymi, and audio recording some of the talks. There was truly something for everyone with Tarot art, projects and art therapy, various innovative layouts, special topics on historical figures in Tarot, exciting new decks, such as The Fifth Tarot, and an abundance of Tarot art, books, decks, and accessories.

Thalassa and the Daughters of Divination were hosts extraordinaire, often in costume to help us get into the groove of the early 1900s. It was a time to get reacquainted with old Tarot friends and to make wonderful new friends from all over the US.

Katrina's BATS 09 booth

At my booth, I had the pleasure of introducing the magnificent work of Dai Leon’s “Origins of the Tarot” to many, selling out within a few hours. This was the first public display of my Tarot History poster outside the New Renaissance Bookshop in Portland, Oregon.

Tarot events such as BATS of San Francisco and the READER’S STUDIO of New York City are inspiring gatherings, a reunion of our Tarot tribe.