Queering the Tarot

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Firstly, tarot cards without context are rarely positive or negative. We apply and project those meanings on to them during the course of a reading. This author loves to label cards as inherently positive or negative which truly limits the multi-dimensionality of all these rich cards.

I’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. Queering the tarot is one part believing the impossible, one part feminist storytelling. It makes space for people isolated from spirituality by Christian supremacy to reconnect. 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_campaign 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.

If the four suits represent the four elements Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, the Major Arcana is the Spirit. When one of these cards shows up in a reading, they typically reference a life lesson or journey. For instance, the first card, the Fool represents new beginnings and a fresh perspective of someone without cynicism. It may appear before you embark on a freelance project you’re extremely passionate about and determined to make work. It signifies major, often risky new beginnings that are in line with what our soul wants. As it’s the first card, the entire sequence of the Major Arcana is often referred to as the Fool’s journey. Snow queers the Fool by pointing out how often queer folks start over, such as coming out, finding queer family, supportive relationships, and so on. These queer experiences may not first come to mind when considering the Fool, but upon reflection make perfect sense. From the Fool to the World, a card of completeness and the final card of the Major Arcana, Snow offers a fresh queer perspective. The Minor Arcana The most common keywords for the Six [of Wands] are progress, victory, and triumph. When I hear the words victory and triumph though, I don't just thin of the success or win that comes with them. These words bring battle, rough terrain, and hard-fought success to my mind. In Queering the Tarot, Cassandra Snow opens up the world of tarot and makes it inclusive for the LGBTQ community and other marginalized folk. I think this may be one of the most important tarot books out today. It gives much needed representation and respect to a whole slice of the population that has been left out due to tarot’s tendency to focus on white, cisgender, heteronormative. Queering the Tarot is a wonderful book who’s time has come. It belongs on every serious tarot reader’s shelf." —Theresa Reed, author of The Tarot Coloring Book and co-author of Tarot For Troubled Times

I still start this off by saying I was biased before reading this book. I had heard enough bad things about it that I had zero interest in it. But when enough people told me it was a valuable read despite those bad things, I decided to give it a shot. (Spoilers: it's awful.) On the positive side, so many tarot books are cisheteronormative and this one gives a basic fill-in-the-gaps for beginner tarot readers or readers who want to learn how to provide non-cisheteronormative tarot readings. For example, the Ace of Wands can be viewed as a phallic symbol (not my style of interpretation, but it is for some) and the author makes a point to explain that a phallic symbol is not necessarily a sign of a man/masculinity. Not all people with penises are men, and many men don’t have penises. This can be helpful for readers who are new to trans-inclusivity. All in all, I'm glad I read this and can put the author's knowledge and teachings to use in my own readings, but I do think that this book is just a fun addition to your tarot collection and not necessarily a must read book!Pope Joan, an apocryphal medieval religious leader, is one example. Some say it's Pope Joan on the High Priestess. Others say that Pope Joan wasn’t real. Swords correspond with the element Air. “The swords do not always bring us what we want, but they do get us what we need,” writes Snow. Swords correspond with mental clarity, intellect, and reason. The Swords relate to mental health, and in readings, it is important to remember the unique challenges queer people face in receiving mental health treatment. While I empathize people saying that despite not liking the book, they still think it's important, I question how important it can be if it's done so poorly. For a book that markets itself about being inclusionary and about the queer community as a whole, to write a book where the focus is almost entirely about your own personal views/experiences, and how we should change our style to fit those specific views/experiences, that feels...well, exclusionary. And kind of bigoted, tbh. I can appreciate the idea of this book, but I cannot find myself recommending it. I've found more queer readings and understanding of tarot in non-queer focused books. This one felt often close-minded, ignorant, or extremely biased. (And the Swords section was just...I have no words. We are not therapists, and to associate swords with mental illness is insane to me.) also this book: talks exclusively in allosexual terms, ignores the idea that you might be sex repulsed or sex neutral

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. Queering tarot asks us to do more than reimagine, it requires us to create new meanings for the cards. To live radically with the 78 cards, we must first find what is radical within their archetypes. In Queering The Tarot, Cassandra Snow deconstructs the meanings of the 78 cards explaining the ways in which each card might be interpreted against the norm. Queering The Tarot explores themes of sexuality, coming out, gender and gender-queering, sources of oppression and empowerment and many other topics especially familiar to not-straight folks. Cassandra's identity-based approach speaks directly to those whose identity is either up in the air or consuming the forefront of their consciousness. It also, speaks to those struggling with mental illness or the effects of trauma, all seekers looking for personal affirmation that who they are is okay.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. Cassandra Snow’s long-running and much-loved series on the Little Red Tarot community blog has been published in book form! Also.Also.Also: An Estimated 105,000 Trans Youth Live in States That Have Banned Gender-Affirming Care I wish the card interpretations felt more three-dimensional. Rather than discussing how archetypal symbols can relate to common queer experiences, it felt more like defining the cards as a sign of a particular common queer experience. To me, there’s a major difference between a symbol and a sign. A sign directs our attention toward something very specific that requires no further interpretation. Symbols involve in-depth interpretations that are semi-universal, or threaded through various associations and schemas.

When we allow a loosening of meaning, truth can shine through. Personal transformation can then enter. Queers know well that there is more than one way to tell the truth. Living the Tarot 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: While I know the author originally wrote all these as blog posts and just compiled them together, I wish they put more effort into editing. It really does seem slapped together as "good enough". There isn't really flow from one card to the next, and there is an insane amount of repetition. Issues I've not seen in other tarot books I've read. It makes the quality of this book feel more amateur. I love the non-heteronormative, non-gender-binary interpretations Snow offers in this book. While many interpretations obviously stem from the author's personal experiences, I think that level of personalization is a strength. They also do an admirable job of providing potential interpretations from identities/experiences they don't share without claiming to speak for those voices. The book has great, often critical advice for both personal readings and doing readings for others.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.