Radical Tarot: Queer the Cards, Liberate Your Practice, and Create the Future

by Charlie Claire Burgess

A dynamic re-envisioning of the tarot, including tarot card imagery, that describes how the tarot is queer, that the archetypes are alive, and that tarot doesn’t tell the future; it creates it.

Radical Tarot meets the tarot in a space of evolution, deconstruction, and creation, using the historical and common meanings of the cards as a launchpad for digging into limiting beliefs and societal conditioning and unlocking the personal truths beneath.

The Fool’s Journey is re-envisioned as a journey to non-binary thinking, the gender essentialism is ousted from the Major Arcana and the Court Cards—and all the cards—are reframed through a non-hierarchical, anti-capitalist, and intersectional lens. The archetypes are re-imagined in modern, progressive, and queered contexts. For


Radical Tarot also touches on Charlie’s personal story of how tarot helped them embrace their queerness, leave their marriage, and radically change their life. It speaks to their queer awakening and how tarot became, for them, a tool for social justice and conscious awareness of the world around them. Their words and experience will help anyone who wishes to be closer to their own authentic selves.

Genres: Tarot, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Witchcraft, Divination, Queer, LGBT

288 pages, Paperback

Published September 26, 2023

Reviews

[Alexa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent supplementary tarot resource, not unfriendly to a mostly-secular reader. I really appreciate the way Burgess contextualizes the history of tarot, facing its problematic aspects (mainly a lot of shoddy cultural appropriation) without discounting tarot practice as a whole. And of course I loved everything about queering tarot. I'll definitely be coming back to this one again and again.

[Rowan's Bookshelf (Carleigh) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! Easy to read, yet well researched and you can tell a lot of thought went into each interpretation. I thought some of the interpretations of the cards were a bit repetitive. Each traditionally "negative" card boiled down "capitalism and oppression is what's keeping you down - which is valid, but, I think sometimes the Emperor can just be the Emperor. I loved seeing the history of interpretations and why the imagery used is used. I like how it broke down each aspect of the card and turned it into something that could be very meaningful. Definitely recommend.

[Abigail Gable · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is AMAZING. Dives deep and takes a radical approach to Tarot. Very beginner friendly, but also opens you to ask more questions of yourself and the why. Highly recommend to anyone new or experienced with Tarot.

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 5 out of 5]

RTC soon!

[Nicole Bergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent way to view the tarot through a more inclusive lens. A fun and accessible read.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It is the same as the vast majority of Tarot books, walking through each of the Major Arcana cards, then the Minor Arcana grouped by suit. It has a separate section for court cards. I liked it because the perspective or "take" on each card was different enough from what I've read before to maintain my interest while still "making sense" to me. I buy that the interpretations follow from traditional/historical interpretations or can be induced without too many contortions from the images. I particularly like the extensive historical background information and context provided, especially in the Major Arcana section. The theme of "Radical" Tarot is maintained well throughout the book. I read most of this while reading my personal deck guidebook, Tarot for Light Seers: A Journey Through the Symbols, Messages, & Secrets of the Cards in parallel, and I think Radical Tarot works well with the Light Seers deck, generally supporting what is emphasized from RWS and occasionally providing a bit of an antidote when Light Seers edges a bit too far into positivity at all costs even for me.

[Ashton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am someone who works with tarot cards and has a high level of interest in queer theory so initially I was excited about a book aimed at queering the tarot. Unfortunately I found myself angry with the author by the end of the first chapter and stopped listening. There is a lot of buzzwordy social justice theory jargin thrown around in shallow ways. The author does the frusterating thing of throwing around the word intersectionality to signal they “get it” but then uses the concept incorrectly consistently to the point where it seems to be only about saying the word rather than communicating anything with an intersectional analysis (Intersectionality speaks to how the experience and operations of oppression changes and works differently at the intersection of oppressed identities. The author uses it just to talk about overlapping identity’s in vague and performative ways usually with no relationship to deconstructing and examining how oppression is working).

More than the unthoughtful use of activist language how the author centers free will over deterministic views and misunderstands both platonic forms and Jungian archetypes makes me so angry. Adding to these ideas would be one thing but misrepresenting/misunderstanding them to then present your own take is so frustrating. They keep saying “The tarot is all made up”. Its a problem if you are someone who see the tarot as tapping into deeper archetypes. I don’t really see it as coming into existence out of nothing we don’t exist in a vacuum and social construction is not the same as “completely made up”.

There’s a push in the intro to give pseudoscientific rationales for how the tarot works. Thats also annoying and is a part of how colonizer logics get baked into ideas about the sciences and spirituality that the author clearly does not have an understanding of.

Ultimately its mostly the black and white views of deterministic lenses versus free will that makes me most angry. The author seems unaware of how frames of choice can be used in harmful ways and that deterministic lens versus lens of free will do not automatically map to the views or values the author insists to be the case. There is a sequence in the first chapter that frames deterministic lens as attached to black and white logic of oppressors and uncritically posits free will as being more related to agency or open ended thinking. This is quite ahistorical to a history of colonization and its relationship to spirituality and filled with frankly unnuanced conclusions. The reductionist ideas about determinism or fate is steeped in concepts the author has clearly yet to unpack or become more knowledgable about. The way the author tries to map this onto power is lacking insight and depth about both Tarot and power.

[T. C. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, look—as an experienced, professional tarot reader who has been studying tarot for many decades (and who also happens to be queer), I can affirm that there are now nearly a bazillion tarot books, introductory tarot-reading technique books, and tarot card interpretation reference books out there to choose from....but there are very few of them that will point you in the right direction towards becoming a valuable and exquisite reader. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE BOOKS THAT WILL SET YOU ON THE RIGHT TRACK. This author has got the goods. They're not gonna try to entice you with a lot of woo-woo shit. They have produced a true "tell it like it really is" tarot resource—explaining what tarot can do (be an amazing tool for reflection, exploration, and self-knowledge)...and what it can't do (predict an absolute, definitive future). This author is here to help you dig into the crevices and corners of your mind and encourage you to balance your intuition and your logic to their fullest potential. They expertly provide modernized and contemporary interpretations of universal themes in the tarot deck. Their writing is thought-provoking and radical in the best of ways.

This book is designed for and especially helpful for the queer community (although not exclusionary to the heteronormative reader). This is revolutionary because the traditional tarot is full of binary themes and polarities that often favor heteronormative paradigms. However, lots of LGBTQ+ people are drawn to the tarot because of its "outsider" and taboo perception -yet- universally human accessibility. Furthermore, LGBTQ+ people often are society's best creatives (primarily because of their social suppression, endured hardships, and outsider status) which tends to makes queer individuals more intuitive, faster at observation, and excellent creative readers. While the book is an excellent companion to the author's complimentary Fifth Spirit Tarot deck (which I can also recommend, and the imagery of which is Rider-Waite-Smith inspired), this book—Radical Tarot—can absolutely be an invaluable reference tarot companion book regardless of what independent tarot deck you might choose to use or prefer to use.

People ask me for suggestions on introductory tarot books all the time. I am ecstatic to be able to add this volume to my short list of best resources.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful read for both beginners and intermediates.

As with many other books on tarot, Charlie goes through the deck card by card to explore their meanings, giving beginners a good handle on each card.

For those of us more experienced with tarot, this is a really useful tool to expand upon traditional meanings and recontextualise them in a modern setting. Charlie not only explores what the traditional meanings are and where they come from, but also the pitfalls of viewing the cards in this way. They then provide us with a more open, radical, and community focused way of interpreting each card.

I found the exploration of the suit of pentacles most useful, having realised that I tend to view them from a very capitalist-heavy POV, with wealth, property and finance taking the forefront. This book helped me to reframe them in a way that values not only growth and accumulation, but also deconstruction, change and transition. All things are seasonal, and we must be willing to sacrifice those things we have outgrown in order to flourish into something more sustainable and beautiful. A sentiment that feels very apt at this particular time.

[Celine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audiobook read by the author.

I would highly recommend this to anyone starting with Tarot or wanting to refresh your practice.

Charlie Claire covers the major and minor arcana in such a holistic way. From traditional interpretation to contemporary. Touching on the imagery in the Rider Waite version to current creators take. Often with an angle on how to move away from binary, gender related views which can be tied to the traditional perception of the card and also covering so much more though. They artfully weave in their own experience with tarot and life in a way which makes it approachable without dictating or setting a premise of having us share that exact experience.

This is one of those books I see myself re-reading/listening to once a year and which I believe will elevate my tarot practice much more than any other tarot book has to date.

Thank you Charlie Claire for creating and sharing this with us!

[Chase Coe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was soooooo fantastic to read!

Not only is the book easy to read and incredibly thought-provoking, but it is sooo well- and thoroughly-researched.

Charlie did an incredible job of calling out the more problematic tendencies of tarot while still promoting the positives of it. They also did such a great job explaining tarot and the cards in an entertaining and highly educational way. With real life examples, this book is crucial at the (almost) very start of my tarot journey.

Loved this so much.

[Rose Grabowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Radical Tarot was a beautifully updated study of the tarot. The explanations of the cards feel fresh, contemporary and inclusive. It offers the history of classic interpretations as well as a fresh update. The book also followed the author's unique journey. Highly recommended for everyone's tarot reference library.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best tarot book I’ve come across, and it’s helped me develop a tarot practice that is meaningful to me. Occasionally their interpretations don’t resonate or feel a little too heavy handed, but it’s given me a great jumping off point that is much more relatable, grounded, thoughtful, and anchored in a queer, social justice oriented perspective than other books I’ve found.

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most important contemporary book written on the tarot. It beautifully defines the generational shift towards radical collective care and powerfully expands the meaning of the tarot. Burgess has written the tarot of the future.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable and down-to-earth exploration of the tarot from a queer, justice seeking-perspective. This is a fresh, modern treatment of tarot as a tool for self-reflection, discernment and growth.

[Louise Smith-Erb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really sweet book! Got a little wordy and totally relied on social justice buzzwords and concepts in what sometimes felt a little over-the-top, but the empowering and practical attitude made it totally worth it. None of these specific tarot rules business thank goodness.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Adrien for introducing me to this book. It's a wonderful beginner's guide and I especially appreciated the history of the cards woven in with queer reflections on their potential.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick impressions: This is a book that provides much food for thought, and it will likely change the way you read cards in an open and positive way.

(Detailed review with additional reading notes available on my blog.)

[Y Sh A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come for the tarot, stay for the intersectional feminism

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remains a fav!

[Philomena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very illuminating read and valuable interpretation for all queer practitioners!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Breanna Metcalf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal take on queering the tarot. Original perspectives steeped in historical patterns. Highly highly recommend it to any tarot reader.

[E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is meticulously researched to give us a good history of the basis of each card and the political movements past and present that have influenced the tarot and us. It challenges us to honor ourselves but also challenge our conditioning when it affects our intuition. I may have more to add to this review. Just as insightful as Queering the Tarot

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I refer to this anti-capitalist interpretation book daily. I love how the author gives a traditional interpretation to contrast with in their queer/radical interpretation, with history of the card/meaning tied in. Love this work so much.