Maenad Tarot – tarot, pop culture, and big queer feelings

Minor Arcana: The Journey of Wands

When studying tarot, we often learn about the Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana, in which the cards form a story. The cards of the Minor Arcana form stories too, and seeing how each card builds on the last can help us understand the cyclical nature of the suits. In this four part series (find Cups, Swords, and Pentacles here), I’ll share the journey of each suit as I have told it to myself. These narratives are heavily based on the Rider Waite Smith imagery. Other decks may tell different stories! Today we examine the suit of Wands, associated with Fire, willpower, passion, creativity, and energy.

The Lonesome World Tarot Deck Review

The Lonesome World Tarot by Jessi Knight drew me in right away with its simple, yet powerful artwork. The visual style gives off a bit of a groovy 70s vibe, in the best way. On the Kickstarter page, Knight reflects on creating the deck from a place of solitude, which led to the crucial question: “What do you find within yourself when nobody else is around?” Without any people, animals, or humanoid figures, the deck gives one the feeling of being able to step into the world of the deck as a protagonist, or, alternatively, of wandering through a strange landscape and encountering powerful symbolic forces.

Now Live: Book a Reading with Maenad Tarot!

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I am now offering readings at Maenad Tarot! Tarot has been such a wonderful gift in my own life, and I’m beyond excited to be able to share that gift with others. Read on to hear a little bit about my style as a reader and a description of my current offerings.

Minor Arcana: The Journey of Pentacles

When studying tarot, we often learn about the Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana, in which the cards form a story. The cards of the Minor Arcana form stories too, and seeing how each card builds on the last can help us understand the cyclical nature of the suits. In this four part series (find Cups, Swords, and Wands here), I’ll share the journey of each suit as I have told it to myself. These narratives are heavily based on the Rider Waite Smith imagery. Other decks may tell different stories! Today we examine the suit of Pentacles, associated with Earth, the physical realm, work, the body, and material resources.

Deck Review: The Pathfinder Oracle

I adore Andrew Swartz’s artwork, and I own all of the Skullgarden decks. The Earthbound Oracle was my first oracle deck, I’ve been slowly learning Lenormand using the Seeker’s Lenormand, and when I backed the Pathfinder Oracle Kickstarter, I chose the tier that came with a copy of the Wooden Tarot. The collection is complete (unless Swartz makes another deck, which I would immediately buy)! With the Pathfinder Oracle, Swartz has created a truly unique deck.

The Ten of Cups and Found Family in Shoplifters

In our efforts to “queer the tarot,” we might find the Rider Waite Smith imagery for the Ten of Cups overly heteronormative at first glance. A surface reading of the image might suggest that the pinnacle of emotional fulfillment is a life of heterosexual monogamy and 2.5 children. However, appearances can be deceiving. Hirokazu Kore-eda’s beautiful 2018 film Shoplifters (the original title translates to Shoplifting Family) showcases a family with a deep Ten of Cups bond. Despite their surface resemblance to a nuclear family, their bond might not have anything to do with biological family at all.

Tarot Jukebox: folklore by Taylor Swift

These days, new art feels even more like a blessing than usual, and Taylor Swift’s surprise album folklore was a gift when we needed it most. A couple days after it came out, my partner and I went for a Sunday afternoon drive through the local regional park. We drove slowly on the winding roads through the forest, windows down, listening to folklore for the first time, falling in love with it.

Tarot Jukebox: Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan

When I was about 12, my family subscribed to a CD catalog, and I got to choose three CDs for our first shipment. Any three I wanted! My first three CDs were, inexplicably, the following: Aquarium by Aqua, The Globe Sessions by Sheryl Crow, and Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan.

These CDs were my treasures. I played them over and over again on the boombox in my room, sitting on the floor, just listening. For some reason, I never got much into McLachlan’s earlier or later albums, but Surfacing hit me at just the right time. I remember thinking “Angel” was too cheesy, and worrying about whether “Adia” was kind of gay, if Sarah McLachlan was kind of gay, if it was gay to like her, or if people would think it was gay to like her (verdict: maybe!). But I loved that album. I recently thought of Surfacing and gave it a listen, to find that I still love it. I remembered every line, every note. And 20-odd years makes a difference – there are parts of this album that hit me harder at 33 than they did at 12. Below, I’ve matched up each song on Surfacing with tarot cards. Give it a listen. It holds up.

Angels to Others: Tarot and Hellraiser

In honor of Halloween, I’m using the tarot to take a look at Hellraiser, written and directed by Clive Barker, with a terrific score by Christopher Young. The following will focus on the original Hellraiser film from 1987, with gestures towards the 1988 sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, and Clive Barker’s novella, The Hellbound Heart. Spoilers for the first two films and the novella below!

Majestic Earth Tarot Review

I recently got my copy of J.D. Hildegard Hinkel’s new deck, the Majestic Earth Tarot: Storm and Wonder. I’d been eagerly awaiting this deck since I backed the Kickstarter, and I’m already loving it. As in Hinkel’s out-of-print Tarot of Delphi (which, side note, I want so bad), the Majestic Earth Tarot uses pre-existing art pieces to illustrate the deck. Hinkel uses late 18th century to early 20th century landscape paintings here, to wonderful effect. Human figures, when they appear at all, are small parts of the larger world they inhabit. The deck showcases both a deep understanding of the tarot and a thorough knowledge of this art period. Hinkel has chosen art that is stunning both in itself and in its ability to evoke the meaning of the cards.