Hi! I was just wondering… is it a common thing for one’s tarot cards to have their own pronouns? Like… how do I explain this… I was bonding with my cards today, and it felt like my Magician Card was saying xe uses xe/xem/xir pronouns??? (Note that the art on my cards is very gendered and not very inclusive.) I was just wondering if anyone else had this experience???
This I have not personally encountered, but it doesn’t seem a far leap away from decks having their own personality (which I have encountered). That sounds like a very lively deck with lively cards! :D
How ya doing, Traveler? To my trans, nonbinary, and otherwise gender non-conforming siblings, I'm sure these past few days have been a lot for you. Another burden in a world already rife with traps & pitfalls. I wanted to do a brief reading in honor of that weight (sometimes it feels more like emptiness, doesn't it?) & see if the deck had any comfort to offer. ▪ THE FOOL 🦋 Oh, Travelers, how we've been here time & time again. Standing at this precipice, I think many of us feel not only our grief & fear, but that of those around us (our peers) & before us (our ancestors). We may be wondering what the point of resisting is if there seems no immediate to end cycle of sociopolitical progress & regress. The truth is, there might not be an end to the cycle - our history/fate may simply be a balancing act of opposing forces ad nauseum. Honestly, I hope this isn't the case, but I don't think our battle would be cheapened any by that reality. Our lives are always worth fighting for. The lives of our successors are always worth fighting for. Channel that FOOL energy, that headlong rush to meet your challenge. We are at the tip of a turning point with the Sun shining brightly at our backs, ushering us forward to take up our walking stick, sword, shield... Whatever we may choose to carry with us. Do not be disheartened before we even get going. 🖤 ▪ Deck: Tarot of Pagan Cats ▪ If you're interested in scheduling a more detailed & personally tailored tarot reading, please visit my Etsy store. I specialize in offering readings for LGBTQ+ folks who don't feel represented by popular spirituality. I also offer #pwyc (pay-what-you-can) readings for those who can't afford my prices; DM me. And, of course, if you'd simply like to send me an offering in turn for mine, I accept tips thru ko-fi. Links can be found in my bio! ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ #queertarot #transtarot #queerwitch #transwitch #gaywitch #nonbinarywitch #tarotreader #tarotofpagancats #transmasc #nonbinary #queer #lgbtq #genderqueer #wewillnotbeerased #transpeoplewillnotbeerased #wontbeerased (at Ypsilanti, Michigan) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpUtxfjA2Qi/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1125lv9hruyp4
Hey! Do you have any recommendations for a first tarot deck? I have been looking for one probably for more time than I should but I found SO many decks that I feel attracted to and in a such a big price range that I don't now what to buy anymore (I don't want to buy a super cheap one with bad quality but I can't spend $60 in a deck right now). I hope this makes sense. Thanks for your help and for your blog!
Hello!
My recommendations for a first deck tend to be a generic, “Go with what you feel called to get” ... which doesn’t help you necessarily if you’re struggling to decide between several decks!
I will say that price isn’t always an indication of quality. There are some really well-made $20 decks and really crappy made $60 decks.
For gender-inclusive decks (which is what this blog is all about), I don’t know that many that are mass-market. I’m actually blanking on any mass-market decks that showcase different genders and acknowledge that “Kings” don’t have to be men and “Queens” don’t have to be women, for example. I know plenty of indie decks, but if you’re worried about price-point that can be tricky.
I’m going to post this in the tarot tags in hopes that others can recommend to you their favorite decks, or maybe the decks they started with?
At any rate, I hope you find your first deck and you have an amazing connection with it!
hey im a nb witch & diviner and i was wondering how tarot has a history of cissexism? im still learning and i havent heard of this before
Hey Anon! Thank you for your ask :)
Tarot has a history of cissexism in that most books and meanings of the cards rely on the dichotomy of “female” and “male”, or “masculine” and “feminine” energy. As someone who is nonbinary as well, these associations make me very uncomfortable.
In particular, the court cards - specifically the King and Queen - tend to be very gendered. These come from primarily older books and older material, but newer books will sometimes incorporate these gender roles by insisting the King must be masculine or must be a man, while the Queen must be feminine or must be a woman.
There may be more history, but that’s what’s popping into my head at the moment. I welcome anyone to add onto this post in other ways Tarot has a history of cissexism.
hey! I'm a trans artist and I've illustrated a full tarot deck - it's for sale rn but I'd also love to offer the digital PDF to any trans people who can't afford it; I'd just ask that they message me on my witchcraft blog, awitchyqueer. I'm also always available to talk tarot with other trans people~
Oh my gosh that’s amazing! This deck I assume?
If so, your deck looks really awesome and I’m of course eager to support trans tarot readers ;)
I'm looking for a queer tarot deck - hopefully something with the lovers card not being really cis heteronotmative, you know? Do you have any recommendations?
Oh I do know! And I’m so glad you asked because I’ve been meaning to point out some awesome queer decks on this blog!
(Before I begin: No animal decks or otherwise people-less decks are going to get mentioned because lack of people does not equate “queer friendly.”)
This gets long so it’s under a cut, but if you know of any other queer decks not mentioned (or any warnings about queer decks that you feel should be shared), please message me or reblog this post!
TW: Nudity under cut
Let’s get into it, starting with decks I own:
Tarot of the Silicon Dawn by Egypt Urnash
This deck’s Lovers features three people, whom Urnash never distinguishes the gender of. Urnash herself is a trans woman in a polyamorus relationship (at least at the time of writing the booklet for the deck!) Is it any surprise the Lovers would have more than two people?
The deck itself tends to have a lot of sexual undertones, that are explicitly stated in the deck’s booklet. For this reason, I would not recommend the deck for anyone who is sexually repulsed or made uncomfortable by nudity. There is one card in particular that is very, very sexual, which is 8½: Maya [click here to see an image of it, but remember it’s very NSFW!] The other cards display nudity, but for the most part it’s not necessarily sexual, if that makes sense.
Unfortunately, the Court cards are still called Queen and King, with Chevalier and Prince/Princess depending on the suit. Also the Pentacles and Wands have their elements switched, so Pentacles are Fire and Wands are Earth.
Also this deck is very small. A little longer than playing cards perhaps? So if that’s something you want, or don’t want, keep that in mind.
Modern Spellcaster’s Tarot by Melanie Marquis and Scott Murphy
This deck is significantly not really meant to be “queer” but it has a lot of LGBTAQ themes. Aside from The Lovers being hooded figures that disguise any obvious gender, the Four of Wands has two feminine people getting married and Two of Cups has two masculine people sharing a cup together. But it still has Queen/King/Knight/Page titles.
There isn’t any avert sexual themes in the deck, which could be useful if someone is sex repulsed.
My biggest problem with the deck is that it’s very NeoPagan and NeoWiccan in its symbolism… Lots of the Triple Goddess Moon symbolism throughout the deck. I don’t recall if the book itself was sprouting stuff about “masculine” or “feminine” energy, which is nice (and happens so much that I usually just filter it out when I read any tarot book.) Also, the book that comes with it is very dogmatic about how to handle a tarot deck – which I tend to disregard.
But a fairly nice deck with some diversity!
The Numinous Tarot by Noel Arthur Heimpel
… Okay I don’t technically own this deck yet, but I did participate in the Kickstarter and will get a deck when it comes out in February 2018! This is seriously probably my favorite deck I’m going to list, just because I love the imagery.
This deck was explicitly made queer. Heimpel is a genderfluid artist who wanted to represent a variety of people and genders, and I think they did just that! Seriously this deck is breathtaking and you can still preorder it even though the kickstarter ended.
The Court cards have been renamed to Mystic, Creator, Explorer, and Dreamer. Some of the gendered Major cards have also be renamed, like High Priestess is now The Diviner. It’s all very rad.
And suits have been changed! Which is kinda cool I think?
Anyway I am so excited to own this deck!
Now onto decks I don’t own, but I heard good things about:
Slow Holler Tarot by Various People (screencap of the deck from this video)
This deck is known for being Southern Queer Wonderfulness. I don’t personally yet own it, but I plan to someday get it because it’s very beautiful artwork at the very least.
Gendered cards and then some have been renamed too, which is fantastic in my opinion. Suits are also renamed to various things, like Swords being now Knives and whatnot.
Next World Tarot by Cristy C. Road
This Lovers card is pretty gorgeous, not gonna lie…
Anyway, I don’t own this deck nor have I preordered it, but it looks pretty awesome. Taken from the pre-order page: “Featuring body outlaws, endangered cultures, and anti-colonial belief systems, THE NEXT WORLD TAROT envisions a world where justice relies on respect and revolutionary love.”
It’s pretty revolutionary in that regard, and the art is fantastic. I don’t know much about it beyond that. It seems like the gendered names of cards are still there, which is meh but not the worse thing since the deck displays a lot of different body types and genders nonetheless.
That’s about all the ones I know. I’ll update this list if I find any others!
Hello! I’m Allec, and I created Trans Tarot to collect resources about tarot for trans people*. I myself am a genderqueer diviner and use they/them pronouns. To learn more about the blog and myself, visit the “About Trans Tarot” page.
Right now this blog is pretty bare... but I plan to scavenge around to find resources, and eventually will also be writing up resources for things I cannot find. I want to have resources for both trans gender readers, obviously, but I also want to find and create resources for cis gender readers to learn how to be inclusive to trans gender people in their readings.
Moreover, I’m currently on the look out for ANY tarot resource, so if you know of any tarot resource please let me know!
You can interact with the blog the following ways:
Any questions? Comments? Thoughts? Feel free to send this blog an ask.
Anything to submit as a resource? Longer comment or thoughts? Go here.
Wanna write something for the blog on your blog/ I track the tag #transtarot !
At any rate, I hope this blog will grow to be a wonderful resource to both trans and cis tarot readers.
Sincerely,
Allec
* - I include nonbinary people in the “trans” umbrella, though not every nonbinary person identifies as trans gender. Nonbinary people who don’t identify as trans are also welcomed on this blog.
