Queering the Tarot

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I feel like the author takes her own experiences and generalizes them out to being "2SLGBTQ+ experiences" in general. There are a lot of "we..." statements in the book that, to me, don't reflect intersectionality and presume a very particular reader. For example, phrases like "in our society...” are utilized frequently and demonstrate a clear presumption that the reader is American. I felt like the whole book presumed an American reader in their 20s or 30s who lives in a bigger city – a rather narrow focus audience. The more we work with Tarot, the more we realize that binaries don't exist and everything is fluid-gender, meaning, even time. We come to realize that we're all creatures made of earth and air, fire and water, all four elements bound together by the fifth element: spirit. Fifth Spirit Tarot goes beyond the gender binary, queering the archetypes with 78 beautifully illustrated and hand-lettered cards by queer and non-binary tarot reader, teacher, and writer Charlie Claire Burgess. When examining specifically-gendered cards like The Emperor/Empress, Magician/High Priestess, and kings and queens of the court cards, Snow’s approach is to examine the experience over the portrayed gender to get at its truth. The Empress represents anyone, regardless of gender, who is nurturing, artistic, in tune with nature, for example.

The big problem with it, however, is that it assumes a pretty specific queer experience - a lot of it reads like some mixed assumption that we’re wonderful activists or some sort of artistic bohemians, when a lot of us work normal, boring industry jobs and have hobbies like computer programming or reading occult books. It feels like it assumes that queer means deeply involved in the American queer community, but not all queer people are or want to be.

A re-release of the iconic 2020 Christmas episode. We delve into the chaotic gay Christmas classic with my darling sister Emily, scholar of all things Whoville. Christine Baranski if you're out there... I love you. I think the author means well and is clearly writing from their own experience. The book makes it clear that intersectionality is crucial when it comes to reading for others in the queer community (it is) and does a decent enough job trying to deconstruct the influence of white supremacy and capitalism within the tarot system. I'm a queer and trans tarot reader who has been doing this a long time, and I really wanted to like this book more. Unfortunately there were simply too many interpretations of the cards that were offered as absolutes. "This is a bad card" or "This is a great card" are statements that simply can't apply to the practice when we look at tarot beyond a surface level. As a writer, tarot is also one of Cassandra’s focuses, and she authored the newly released Queering the Tarot book from Weiser/Red Wheel Publishing. Cassandra’s tarot writing has been seen at Little Red Tarot, The Column, Take Your Pills and Northern Lights Witch among others. Let's get this out of the way now: unless this is the first tarot book you've ever read, you may have differing interpretations of certain cards than Snow does. But, of course, this is absolutely true of every tarot book you will ever read. KEEP READING ANYWAY.

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OK. If you are a person who is cisgender and heterosexual, and you read tarot, especially if you read for other people sometimes, here's what I need you to do: Of course, this is also a fantastic book for tarot readers who are themselves LGBTQQIP2SAA, especially newer readers who are struggling to connect with the cis- and heteronormativity of mainstream interpretations. Snow takes the cards' conventional meanings and their own experiences and shows us that this magical tool absolutely is "for us."

I think I'd be much less bothered if the author had said the book was more about their own experiences with tarot/being queer, rather than a book of "how to queer the tarot" for everyone in general. Like if they said this is a book of how they queer their tarot--I'd be more okay with it. But instead, it's marketed/written as how we should queer our tarot based on their experiences/rules. It read very much in a "my way or the highway," which is ironic, given how exclusive and at times, bigoted the author seemed to be. All of which is really off-putting. If you couldn't tell by this point in my review, haha. this book is so great! so much good information for tarot readers of all levels, with really deep and thoughtful alternate/expanded readings for queer querents. highly recommend regardless of how a reader identifies, as it's just good to have multiple perspectives on the cards. Join me and Amelia for a cosy Christmas Eve sleepover where we discuss our favourite festive traditions and read a letter I wrote to my first boyfriend when I was 16 and didn’t know bisexuality existed.

I am struggling with this review. I think the subject matter is extremely important. I applaud the author for so much love, devotion and research. While the Tarot is called a divination tool, or a way to see predictions about the future, today many use the cards as essentially a mirror. (Using the Tarot for divination is frowned upon by some occultists, including Waite himself.) If you’re in a relationship that’s obviously doomed, the cards will call you out. This is rarely news, but rather a means for self-reflection. The cards, in particular, the Major Arcana, use archetypes to help us find clarity. Once you begin to understand the many interpretations of the cards, you can ask for guidance on anything from gender to a failing friendship. Why does the Tarot need queering? Why is tarot so popular? A huge part of the draw (get it?) is the beauty of the cards themselves: 78 little stories, each with multiple layers of meaning, that reveal stories about your life. If you’ve ever performed a reading or had someone read for you, you’re probably familiar with that eerie moment when the cards seem to know exactly what your problem is—and, like a gruff but loving aunt, they call you out on it!

Tarot is best used as a tool for self-discovery, healing, growth, empowerment and liberation. Tarot archetypes provide the reader with a window into present circumstances and future potential. But what if that window only opened up on a world that was white, European and heterosexual? I'm sorry, what?? This was rather jarring to read, and completely alienates, I'd assume, a good chunk of the audience pretty early on in the book. What of the ace community? What of those with sexual trauma? This felt really random and out of place here.

Episode 133: Queering the Tarot with Cassandra Snow

Queering something, then, means taking what our society has given us and finding our own way, outside of that society’s limits. They put us in a box, and we still find ways to create and prosper and make it the most well-decorated box you’ll see. Queering erases the narrowness and small-mindedness of normal. It embraces the beauty, the mystery, and the vastness of our differences. It welcomes everyone who needs a safer space, and it takes responsibility for helping those people heal. Cassandra Snow, Queering the Tarot Cassandra Snow is a professional tarot card reader who teaches Queering the Tarot and Tarot for Beginners classes and coaches new and intermediate readers. She also runs Gadfly Theatre Productions, a queer and feminist theater company. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our conversation also included discussing interpretations for marginalized folk, gender, pronouns, advice for straight tarot readers who read for an LGBTQQIP2SA+ client, and more. Cassandra is a bright light blazing trails in tarot. You are going to learn a lot in this episode and I think her book belongs on every tarot reader’s shelf!