On Sunday, April 12 at 2:00 pm, Brattleboro Area Hospice will host a staged reading of the end of life drama “Vesta” at the River Garden in downtown Brattleboro. Tea, cake and discussion will follow. The event is offered free and open to the public.

Vesta is a 90-minute, seven-character play about the final five years of the title character’s life. Vesta offers a warm and often humorous exploration of a family’s struggle with a variety of end-of-life issues as they come to terms with the illness and death of Vesta Pierson, their matriarch.

The reimagining and reinterpreting of an ancient oracle takes termerity, time, and energy. Yet it is a task that two local women have undertaken. A new and completely original Tarot deck called The Wayfarer Tarot is the project they have teamed up to create.

Stacy Salpietro-Babb, a Tarot reader and teacher, and Margaret Shipman, an artist and illustrator have a combined vision for a Tarot deck that is relevant to a modern audience. “The traditional deck that is often used, and which most modern interpretations draw from, is geared toward people in the early 1900’s.” says Salpietro-Babb, a Tarot professional with over 20 years of experience, “It used common religious symbolism that was easily understood by people one hundred years ago, but today … not so much. I have to spend a lot of my time during readings explaining what the imagery means and how the meanings relate to the person who I am reading for.”