Tarot has a complicated history rooted in a lot of weird, cool, and yikes.
Traditional interpretations enforce a rigid Eurocentric imperialism + patriarchal gender binary that can be hard to shake even in contemporary decks. Despite an ever-growing number of decks to choose from, it can still be a struggle to find representation in tarot from your local witchy shop.
At the same time, tarot is queer and punk as fuck. It’s a place of empowerment for many marginalized folks who have carved out spaces for their own comfort in the cards. Even with old school traditional decks, there’s much gender fuckery, subversiveness, and queer interpretation to be found.
For me, there are stories and lessons from classic Smith-Rider-Waite tarot that I personally find worth holding onto, like how Strength is a woman gently holding a lion. Their relationship is based on mutual trust, not force or control. That’s worth keeping.
I combine these traditional gems with inclusive, contemporary decks + most importantly, community. I like to do readings in public at art shows to connect with people from all walks of life over the cards. My style is casual, hopeful, and focused on helping others find personal empowerment in tarot — and that’s why I made these zines to share with all of you.
Tarot is a practice that values intuition — listening to your inner voice, seeing your inner world, connecting with your inner knowing. It celebrates change, it’s not afraid of deaths and rebirths, and it reminds me that hope always comes after catastrophe. What’s queerer than that?
We designed these zines concurrently in order to fit as much handy information about tarot onto two sheets of printer paper as possible. They’re intended to help anyone interested in tarot learn about the practice and get started reading for themselves quickly.
For folks already versed in tarot, we hope these little zines may help take some of the burden off of you in clearing up misconceptions others may have about your practice. “Pocket Tarot” also serves as a quick refresher while interpreting the cards.
In “Pocket Tarot,” King and Queen card meanings for each suit are combined in subversion of the typical gendered and hierarchical interpretations. We typically see both King and Queen cards as culminations of what a suit stands for — positives and negatives.