Tarot cards spread out on a red velvet tablecloth.

2SLGBTQIA+ people have always been part of tarot

Part of what makes Queerness magical is that we (re)claim ourselves- our identities, our uniqueness, what is meaningful to us, and how we interact with each other, the world around us, and also our spirituality. Messaging through the guise of religion has painted “otherness” as bad, wrong, “evil,” even “ungodly.” Practicing Tarot, like Queerness itself, can be a (re)claiming of our powerfulness, and our connection to all that is beyond what is immediately visible to us.

Whether you connect with Tarot as a spiritual practice, or a fun party trick, Tarot is for you!

Contemporary Tarot discourse is full of 2SLGBTQIA+ representation! Here are a few examples of Queer people who have contributed to the Tarot lexicon, including: Pamela Coleman Smith, illustrator of the “Smith Rider Waite '' deck, a bi-racial person who is widely believed to have been a lesbian. A titan of a Tarot scholar, writer, and trans activist Rachel Pollack was also a comic writer who created the first mainstream trans superhero,Coagula! Pollack, dubbed “the greatest living authority on the Tarot '' died in 2023. Trans witch Ylva Mara Radziszewski AKA Bimbo Yaga is an oracle deck co-author. Nonbinary artist, psychotherapist Edgar Fabián Frías is a brujx who also contributed to a tarot deck. And, among so many other, incredible 2 LGBTQIA+ wise ones is my (Queer and nonbinary!) Tarot teacher Lindsay Mack.

The Emperor from the Modern Witch Tarot created by Lisa Sterle

Queering the Tarot

In Queer Tarot: A Brief Story of Meaning and Healing, Pedro J. Rolón states that “both the political, social, and ethical practice of queerness as well as the art of Tarot require us to renounce the normative.” We can reject outdated components, like gender binaries, or the “knight in shining armour” who is coming to “save” the maiden, that have been projected onto Tarot practice. Lindsay Mack says that if an interpretation of a card is not for everyone, it is for no one. A great example is the Lovers card, which, in the Smith Rider Waite deck, features a masc and femme pair of people. This card’s meaning has so often been (mis?) interpreted as being about a romantic connection… but what if you’re Aro? Does that mean you have to pull the card out of the deck? NO! Lovers is actually about radically accepting and loving the most “unlovable” parts of ourselves. While the deck depicts seemingly binary energies (Emperor, Empress; King, Queen), cards like these can be interpreted in different ways, such as holding, embodying, being; and, teaching, modeling, doing.

The Lovers from The Queer Tarot, created by Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham

Tarot for grounding, for tough times, for clarity when life’s feeling no-thank you

We can treat the tarot deck as a physical object to ground and calm us when feeling overwhelmed. Hold the box itself, the stack of cards, maybe even enjoy the sounds and sensation of shuffling the cards. Like many things in life, the more we engage with something, the more we create the potential to imbue that item with meaning, and energy. I think of my decks as my friends! Sometimes, I don’t even need to open the deck, but knowing it’s with me or nearby feels comforting- it is a touchstone.

The cards themselves, and their teaching or “medicine” as some of us readers may say, can bring comfort, or understanding. With a little help from a “good” reflection prompt, we can get support from Tarot to organize our thoughts and feelings, create meaning, and receive guidance. What does it mean to have a “good” reflection prompt? The more clear and concise the question is, the more specific the response might be, and the more easily it will be to interpret that response. “Will I be okay?” is harder to interpret from a card than “what do I need to feel okay?” Better still, “what do I need to access or engage with to feel emotionally safe and grounded in this moment?” Recognizing that when we are in the depths of feeling overwhelmed, it can be hard to think through to craft a very specific response, remember that maybe it doesn’t actually matter! The cards you need at that moment will come to you. You can ask “what do I need?” or you can just start pulling cards!

Some people may think that they have to come to the deck when they are in a specific (ie: calm, regulated, meditative, etc.) state. We can take a page from the book of Queer and remember that we (Divinely) are perfect as we are every moment of the day, so come to Tarot whenever you need it because it is for you!