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Hi, Folks! Mark here.

Back when I created TheTarotChannel.com (inspired by rapid-fire, Apple-flavored blogs I love like The Unofficial Apple Weblog) I wanted to create something entirely new for the Tarot community: a place where people could slurp up Tarot-related news and information by drinking directly from the Internet fire hose.

I was also writing about Tarot full-time. And I was self-employed. And not very good at being self-employed, as I'm a bit lazy by nature, and tend to go down rabbit holes more often than I care to admit.

* * * * *

I launched the site with our first real post on 1/6/07 -- two years ago! Since then, a lot has changed. I now have a great job with a company I can't name here (their policy, not mine), which, though demanding, is a heck of a lot of fun. How many people are really excited about what they're doing for a living these days? Heck ... how many people are lucky enough to making a reliable living these days? For me, both of these things are true. I'm blessed.

In addition, in late 2007, I accepted a contract to write what amounted to one Tarot article a day virtually every day for more more than a year ... which had the unfortunate side-effect of eliminating any and all desire I have to write short articles about Tarot (including articles on Tarot basics, spreads, correspondences, elemental dignities -- you name it) forever, world without end, Amen. 

So, with a new job and an aggressive writing assignment to boot, I found myself without any time or energy for personal projects of any kind. But TheTarotChannel.com continued to sail along, very nicely, thanks to contributions from so many wonderful folks: most notably Janet Boyer (a real trooper, and now, with the Back in Time Tarot book on the shelves, an author in her own right), Gayla Uslu, Teresa Michelsen (whoo hoo!), Brian Stevenson, Ginny Hunt, Francine Blackwell, Eva Yaa Asantewaa (so cool, you are, my dear), and the wonderful Barbara Moore, whom I adore.

I owe these folks a tremendous debt of gratitude, and I want to say right here, right now, that they're the ones who have kept TheTarotChannel.com from becoming just another Tarot-flavored ghost ship, drifting across the Internet's dark, misty waters, for the bulk of the past year.

* * * * *

With a new year comes new energy, and new goals, and new opportunities. 

For me, though, not many of those goals have much to do with Tarot. 

That's not sour grapes, or bitterness, or attitude you're hearing ... it's just practicality. There are only so many days, and so many hours in 'em ... and it's crazy to spend a minute of the limited time alloted to us on this Earth doing anything other than what we absolutely, totally love to do.

So for me, for now, writing Tarot books and creating Tarot decks is just out of the question. There may be something else I'll have to contribute, later ... but at this point, I'm not sure what form it will take or when it will appear. 

I do know that it won't be a conventional (or commercially published) book or a conventional (or commercially published) deck, though -- so if you've already got a copy of everything I've published through Llewellyn and/or Lo Scarabeo, then you've got a complete collection of Mark McElroy's Tarot-related works on the shelf right now, today. (And my undying gratitude, to boot!)

I've known this to be the case for several months now, but it feels good to finally say it out loud: to own the fact that my energy and attention are turning to other pursuits. In doing so, I'm not casting aspersions on my previous work ... or saying anything about the nature or value of Tarot ... or doing anything at all to anyone at all, really. I'm just loving my own reality.

What does this mean for TheTarotChannel.com? Well, it's not going anywhere. It'll be right here, online, for as long as MadeByMark.com is online, and that is likely to be for a long time to come, I hope. The existing articles won't go away. The existing editors will still be free to post, if they like. You'll still be free to comment. 

In other words: business as usually, really, since I've been an absentee landlord for a year anyway. But for me, it's important to own that absence, since doing so is part of closing one chapter of my life and starting another. 

* * * * *

To everyone who cared enough to write one word or share one opinion about my work with Tarot -- positive, negative, or neutral -- I'd like to say thanks. I appreciate every one of you who bought, borrowed, read, worked with, explored, embraced, tinkered with, blogged about, reviewed, and told others about my work. I appreciate every single one of you who met me, shared your story with me, took classes with me, and made my life brighter by allowing me to share a little of yours. 

To the good friends I've made in the Tarot community -- some who are still working closely with the cards, and some who are not -- thanks. A shift in my personal time and professional attention does not in any way equate to a shift in my heart's affections. I look forward to following you and your work and being your biggest cheerleader -- and a better friend -- for ages to come.

And to you, dear reader and fellow Tarot enthusiast: thanks for your passion, your interest, and your willingness to work with a tool without having to know everything about where it came from or what it can do. Thanks for letting me play a small part in your adventure. 

* * * * *

Which leads me to my last bit of business.

While I currently have zero interest in penning another non-fiction Tarot book or scripting another Tarot deck, I do think I have some things to say that are:

a) Tarot-related, and 

b) worth hearing.

Ironically, stepping out of the role of Tarot author or Tarot deck designer actually frees me up to say some of the things I've wanted to say for a long time ... but that I didn't say, because authors, deck designers, and workshop leaders have to think in terms of how what they will say will impact book, deck, and workshop ticket sales. 

In fact, I think there are some things that *should* be said ... specifically with regard to:

- why mass-market publishers of niche-market content (like Tarot decks and books) should likely be considered living fossils anyway ... and be seen as mostly irrelevant to Tarot's future. 

- the business of reviewing Tarot decks ... what makes for a useful review ... and why certain kinds of reviews no longer matter to anyone but the people writing them.

- certain cyclical scams that arise, again and again, as certain folks seek ways to make money off certain other folks who are too young or too inexperienced to recognize these scams for what they are.

- how Tarot may well be more important as a repository of myth and culture and art history and symbolism than it ever was as an esoteric tool.

- getting past the assumptions that confine what Tarot is and what it can do and how it works to uncover something new, unique, fresh, personal, alive, and worth exploring.

When I write about these and other Tarot-related topics, I'll write about 'em here. In fact, posting that kind of thing is likely, for me, part of the process of rediscovering whatever it is I want to explore with the cards.

But that won't be on any kind of schedule, I'm afraid. For me, for the foreseeable future, Tarot-related work is going to have to be something to be done out of desire, not obligation.

And that, friends, is going to feel very good indeed. :-)

So, as far as Tarot goes, here I am ... back to Zero ...

... which, as you all know, is fertile ground for adventure.

With much love,

Mark

Comments

[pangolin]

Wishing you all the best, Mark! The Bright Idea Deck is one I would never consider parting with. Yesterday I was flipping through my copy of The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Tarot; even though I'm no longer a beginner, I still found inspiration inside for getting acquainted with my latest deck. I've learned a lot from your books and articles over the years, and you made that learning fun. Best of luck in your new ventures.

[Mark]

How nice! Thanks for letting me know about your love for the Bright Idea Deck ... and for the kind words about the ABGT.

I'm really glad the books and articles have been helpful for you! Creating something useful was always my goal when writing about Tarot.

Thanks again!

[Janet Boyer]

Thanks for all you've done for the Tarot community, Mark!

I can't wait to read more of your essays and thoughts here at The Tarot Channel.

Blessings to you on this new stage of your life!

Janet

[R.K. Foster]

Mark,

Your list of related topics at the end of this honest and meaningful post are ones that I've wished many people in the Tarot "industry" would address. I look forward to hearing from you and your take on them. Thanks also on your many books and decks over the years.