GCAB hosts tarot reading as part of Halloween events lineup
Photo courtesy of Comic Editor Maddy Brunn
Tarot cards come in many different types of decks and oftentimes tarot card readers will have multiple decks in use at the same time.
On Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, the Geneseo Campus Activities Board (GCAB) held a tarot card reading event in the Kinetic Gallery inside the MacVittie College Union. The board brought Gina, a local tarot reader, to campus, who had been practicing the art for over 40 years. The event was quite the hot commodity, with a lineup quickly forming for her that resulted in a waitlist structure where interested students left their names and phone numbers. Around 10 minutes before their reading, one of the GCAB members tabling the event would reach out to the next student to let them know their time slot was arriving.
The event went from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, and board members remarked that this rendition of the event, the second time this event has been run, turned out to be just as successful as the first. The excitement for this event by campus students was easy to see as people flocked in and out of the Gallery doors to try and make a slot. The event was so successful that it ended up running a little over. Even with that, there was, unfortunately, not enough time to get everybody interested.
When I went in for my reading, the room was kept very dark and softly lit. It was certainly impressive to see how the GCAB team turned what is so often a very starkly bright and almost clinical space into an intimate and subdued one. Though the decoration was sparse, Gina’s energy was welcoming, casual, and kind. She gave students options for three different kinds of readings to help her focus the spiritual energy and checked to see what working familiarity a student might have with tarot.
I could just tell by how easy and friendly her rapport was that she had been doing this for a while, and she was just so eager to learn about who was at her table and share things about herself. She walked me through the process of anything I had to do on my end and what she was doing in a way that made it so easy to understand, and my five minutes with her seemed to fly by.
While leaving, she was very cordial, and I could hear her giving that same warm and welcoming energy to the next person who came to her table. Overall, it was a very inviting atmosphere that allowed for something that can feel quite personal at times—a tarot reading—to feel a little less vulnerable, as she was willing to share about herself as well.
During this time, I also had the lucky opportunity to pull aside and speak with GCAB's Social Media Coordinator, senior communication major Baylee Carlson, about the board's decision to continue this event and the other events that GCAB offers for this week. She remarks how GCAB “…also has two other events this week. We have tote bag painting, ‘booquet’ making, and then we have cookie decorating, as well. We think it will be really fun, and we are excited!”
She remarks how GCAB events are nice because the board is composed of all students. It makes it easier to register what the student body is interested in seeing, what events might be refreshing or exciting, which might not have worked, and which might even be worthy of a sequel. With that, I would encourage you all to follow GCAB on Instagram (geneseocab) to keep up to date with the rest of the board’s events for this week and beyond!