Queering the Tarot

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The Emperor card was also wildly sexist. I know the author tries (or says they try) not to associate the cards with their gender, but there seems to be a personal bias against the stereotypical masc-associated traits with this card. (Really, any masc card.) Saying it's all about control and forcing people into submission feels like a huge loss to the meaning of the card, and is contrasted wildly against the almost purely positive portrayal of the Empress. I don't feel like the author did a good enough job here overcoming their own personal issues with this card and genuinely giving it a queer perspective. 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. I also really don't love how often the author fixated on queer trauma as opposed to queer joy. Snow assumes (or rather, projects, that the queer of experience is one of adversity first and joy later). For example, here is the description of the Ace of Swords: the Wands usually refer to the aspect of our life in which we are most passionate about. The Wands represent ambition, passion, and lend well to queer readings, as queer folks often experience a passionate relationship with their queer identity. Wands traditionally are likened to penises, so in your readings, be careful not to assume the presence of a penis indicates a person who identifies as male.

The High Priestess is all about feeling our truth, and there are few, if any, things more awakening than sex. Cassandra has been reading tarot for over about 14 years and has “gone pro” for about 9 years. You can find out more at www.cassandra-snow.com or support their work and get exclusive content at patreon.com/cassandrasnow. 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. When we choose to queer tarot, to insist on the queerness inherent in tarot as a tool, we find ourselves in the cards. Queerness and the Cards TW: Biphobia, whorephobia, discussion of sex work and sugar babies, drugs, sex, suicide mention, outing, queerbait culture, harassment in clubs/bars.Yes other books already do a section per card but this book I felt needed to BECAUSE it is meant for Queer audiences. We want to see how each card can be Queer on its own and then put it all together ourselves. By pairing them and putting them in threes it waters down how much Queer interpretation you can get out of each card. It's telling us a Queer story that may not fit with our Queer lives. I think going card by card would have done that better and be more fleshed out than what we are given. How do we bring the practice of queering the tarot into our everyday practice? Begin by questioning what you think you know about tarot. Let it guide you towards more complex meanings. Stop trying to nail everything down.

Also, for a book about rejecting gender norms, there is a lot of discomfort around masculine energy. To explain the issue in a microcosm, Snow describes the Empress card as representative of mothering energy but encourages us to think of a mother as something beyond gender. A mother can be found in men, and doesn't necessarily have to include womanhood- but in the very same section condemns the Emperor card as a card that "bullies you into submission." This book is well-written and comprehensive. The advice it gives is potentially useful; I probably won’t follow all or even most of it, but it’s also a good introduction to viewing the Tarot differently in general. It’s not overly prescriptive. Why can't the Six of Wands just represent confidence? The desire to shine? Why bring up the trauma of adversity over and over and over again? 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. Even with, the Six of Wands (which is one of the rare tarot cards that tends towards a very positive polarity), the author has this to say:Any resources for breaking cis-heteronormative tarot views and interpretations. I’m a gay male and sometimes it like 😑how tf this relate to me.

But not all queers are living in their shadow all of the time. We need to amplify queer joy as much as anything else. The story of Pope Joan was retold as fact for centuries, but today many believe she never existed. Yet she exists within tarot. Our retelling of her archetype makes her real. Queering Tarot https://thebookishtype.co.uk/products/queering-the-tarot-by-cassandra-snow?variant=32020379631701¤cy=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2021-08-07&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaignI’m Theresa Reed (aka, The Tarot Lady). I’ve been a full-time tarot reader for 30+ years — which, in my industry, makes me pretty badass.