***Apologies for the weird video quality! I got a new camera and am apparently still very much learning how to work it. Normally I would refilm the video, but as this was already my second go at this review, I just couldn't bring myself to do it a third time! This is purely a talking video, though, and I do not show any images or anything, so you can totally listen without watching if the image bothers you. Apologies again, and I will do my best to keep making better videos for you in the future!***
Thank you Katey! Last summer when I was just getting restarted on my tarot journey, I borrowed this book from the library because it was getting so much positive hype. I'm really glad that there are people who see themselves in it and that there are people for whom it opens up growth and liberation. But I didn't finish it. As you note, Snow holds out the book as being for everyone, but as a 60-year-old cis gay man, I did not feel included, and there were points where I felt actively excluded. (Not every book is for everyone! But don't claim it is if it isn't.) My notes from the time mention my feeling that the book is shaped by a particular woundedness (it is personal, and we all have wounds, so that's not a bad thing), which means some of the generalizations go astray. And I noted specific problems, like on page 16, apparently the men who are nurturing are the feminized ones. Isn't that the binary bullshit Snow is trying to deconstruct? I won't rant further. I appreciate your honesty instead of ignoring the book or glossing over the problems you found.
"Not every book is for everyone! But don't claim it is if it isn't." YES! This! And yes, I did find the way she tackled gender in the book... well, I was surprised, I guess! I really thought that a book about *queering* the tarot would totally break down the gender binary and yet there were several instances were she held quite firmly to them. The card that really lost me was the Wheel of Fortune! Of all the cards to gender in the deck, I did not understand! So yes, that was another element that did not live up to my expectations, I'm afraid. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here, I appreciate hearing your perspective!
I find it really infuriating when people use medical terms in a very casual way and they don't seem to understand those terms properly. Eg 'I'm so ocd about this'.
Absolutely, I totally agree! I don't think that is quite the same as what the author did here, but I definitely think being more conscious of how we use clinical terms is just really important in all cases!
OMG Katey, thank you, thank you, thank you, for your honest (and respectful) review. I agree with you 100% on the inappropriate use of clinical terms and diagnoses. I was going to buy this book for my daughter. All the reviews I read and heard were all so positive. My daughter would have definitely reacted the way you just did. Thanks to you, I will be able to share your review with her and then she can decide for herself whether she wants to read it. Much love and blessings to you! xoxo
I appreciate the honest review. I checked her website, and don't see any degrees listed. Very dangerous indeed that she's presuming to diagnose people's mental states. I'd like to know what her basis is for that. If she wanted to give advice on theater, I'd be more inclined to trust her. From what you read out, it sounds like the book is very specifically about her own life. It seems it's become far too easy to get these pop books on Tarot published these days. I wonder that the publisher let it go, but it seems they don't much care what they put out anymore.
I do feel disappointed that perhaps Cassandra was not given the proper support in editing and preparing her book for publishing. It does seem to be a common trend with many of the books I've read lately from online creators. :(
I love an honest review. I struggling not to do happy path videos and I usually don’t post videos when I feel like I’m being critical but I think that’s a failure on my part because I let too much go hoping people will like me.
I have the book on my shelf but haven't read it yet. As soon as you mentioned page 100 I paused the video and read the page - the problem jumped out immediately. It does sound like the author is encouraging tarot readers to diagnose people based on the cards! That's the kind of mistake that never should have got past an editor. The same is true of the other mistakes you point out. They are all obvious problems. It makes me hope the publisher will commission a second edition. The book could become a hundred percent better if these things were fixed.
I didn't interpret it specifically as an encouragement to diagnose, but it still crossed a line for me! And I can definitely see how it could be interpreted that way, especially by people who are less informed on the topic, which I suppose is part of what makes it potentially very harmful! And yes please to a second edition! I would totally support that!!
Best video opening comments ever 👏👏👏 Also, YES, also bi/pan in 19yr mono relationship w cis/het man and COMPLETELY feel the ‘I’m not queer enough’! Thank you ! Also, it’s so refreshing to hear such a balanced and honest review. WTF on the 2&3 of swords!?! Anger justified I think, plus these are way too specific definitions...?
Great review! Really on point and well rounded. As a tarot reader, someone who had Major Depressive Disorder for most of my life and a mental health counselor, before you even said your critique but were just reading the paragraph I was immediately thrown by it...I was thinking why is she trying to diagnosis people with these two cards? Does she have some kind of mental health licensing? And even if she does, does she think everyone has that capability? It's a bit discouraging and it almost seems like filler just to take up space but unfortunately not everyone will see it that way. I'm glad you brought that up and talked about it..it's a very important discussion to have. Thank you ✨🙏✨
Yes, it just felt so out of place and unnecessary! I was honestly quite dumbfounded as to why the author considered it appropriate, and then why it wasn't challenged in the process of editing and publishing this book. :(
@@KateyFlowers Weiser Books is a smaller alternative publishing company that publishes a lot of books on metaphysics, craft, tarot, etc and some other book categories as well. I looked over the website...as far as I could see they only have two books geared towards LGBTQ+...Queering the Tarot and Queering Your Craft, both by the same author. So it's possible she had more free rein in what she wrote due to her 'expertise'.
Loved this review - very interesting and, yes, balanced. I would like to say that I don't agree that depression and anxiety "aren't diagnoses" - yes, there are the 'normal' levels of both that nearly everyone will experience at some point, but there is also a point where they are so severe, limiting, chronic, etc that they *are* clinical conditions, requiring proper assessment, diagnosis and treatment. This felt a little like suggesting that anxiety and depression aren't 'real' mental illnesses, when they very much can be.
That’s not at all what I meant. I meant it in the very technical sense that if depression is clinical, a person will receive a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, for example. ‘Depression’ is not the name of any diagnosis. Same with anxiety, which can be diagnosed as Generalised Anxiety Disorder or something else. But ‘anxiety’ itself is not necessarily pathological. And it is the pathology that I don’t think is appropriate in a tarot book.
@@KateyFlowers Ah, thank you for explaining! I did think it seemed strange given your obvious sensitivity and thoughtfulness on the subject, and I clearly misunderstood, so I apologise!
❤️❤️❤️! I so appreciate your review. I feel compelled to review this one too -- the first time of any of our book club reads! -- but am working up the energy; it'll be a hard review to do I think. I so appreciate your review and everything you've shared. I will link to yours -- your words on clinical terms, diagnoses, and lack of understanding with regard to mental health here are crucial. Thank you.
I am very much looking forward to your review (if and when you get around to it!) and I know you'll cover some of the other things we spoke about much more eloquently than I could! I really wanted to use the authority my lived experience to add weight to that conversation in particular, but I know there's so much more to be said about this book. Thank you so much for all of your contributions, as always. I very much appreciate your input and thoughts so much and I really feel like you're helping me become a better reader. 💕
Loved the review! I’m in the process of getting diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety and like you said, some cards speak to some of my symptoms, but that has been a process of self reflection that I would not impose on others, even after treatment. I like Cassandra and her work has helped me see tarot from a different perspective but I totally agree with your criticism, we need to be more aware of the implications of using tarot to diagnose/treat/interpret mental illness. As for the USA-centric writing... it does alienate a bit readers like me, but so many books and shows do the same and at this point I sort of gloss over and jumó to the next part :)
I'm glad to hear you have found value in Cassandra's work, I know a lot of people have and I think it's amazing. As for the USA-centric writing being an all too common thing - you are right! It is something I see a lot in books and it bothers me to varying degrees depending on the book. I think it bothered me in particular here because she declares this book to be for everyone and yet the experiences and examples provided are often very specific to her and her location. I suppose if she hadn't made that 'promise' in the beginning I might've had an easier time excusing it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts :)
EXCELLENT review and some very important points to consider about the author’s perspective and that of the LGBTQ+ community. I agree with you about the use of clinical language and the relatively flippant way that a sensitive mental health topic was addressed. ❤️🙏
Katey, you are always deep and worth watching. I love listening to your perspectives. That was brave, honest, and thoughtfully presented. I have the same issues when a book flippantly mentions domestic violence, acts like it is the gold plated truth on the topic in two sentences, and creates a smug/mocking them/us separation like they are so much superior to someone who would be a survivor such an experience - as if it was their excellence that caused them to never experience it. (I also hate books on divorce, single parenting, the family court, or abortion that never mentions for a single sentence DV or sexual assault in 300 pages - also those books that don't mention the male or queer experience of both DV and sexual assault, etc.) I'm feeling you
Hi Katey, You talk a bit about the lack of diversity and authentic representation within the Tarot (and presumably larger pagan community). Could you talk more about the community that does exist. How does one find it in a path that is often so binary in terms of the divide between those who advocate for or practice a solitary somewhat self-defined practice like Laura Tempest Zakroff in her book Weave the Liminal, the Radical Faeries, etc. versus more structured initiation-based traditions like we see in Gardinerian Wicca, for example. It can seem like the bar is rather high in terms of finding community for those who are more inclined to create their own solitary path but who don't want solitary to mean lonely. Thoughts? (perhaps this is a topic for its own video more than a reply here)
Hi Remy, thanks so much for your comment. I'm not sure I really have the answers for you as I am very solitary when it comes to my practice so I have not sought out a queer-friendly group or tradition. The only thing that comes to mind is Reclaiming which, as far as I understand, is an eco-feminist witchcraft tradition and involves group activity and is very progressive and inclusive from what I have heard. Otherwise, I have just tried to make connections with like minded people here online, kind of developing my own micro community through personal interactions. I'm not quite sure if that's what you mean, and I'm also not sure I'm entirely satisfied with where I'm at with all of this myself!
Thank you for this review. I'm an ally, being a hetero cis-female. I am disabled and fat. I just recently got the Fat Folks Tarot, a Queer/BIPOC/Fat centered Tarot deck. The deck doesn't come with a guidebook. I wanted to include some Queer centered resources in my upcoming deck spotlight video and I came upon the Queering the Tarot book. I was excited to find such a resource available that I could share, as there very few available.for Tarot. But now I'm concerned with sharing it. I have quite a few friends who deal with mental health issues so I do my best to be an ally for them as well. Not sure if I'm going to recommend the book. I'm considering talking about the book and briefly highlighting the concerns you mention and sharing your video as well. Hopefully that can help people make a more informed choice about whether or not they want to use this book. I do agree with you that using clinical language in this setting is absolutely inappropriate. Thank you for doing this review. I'd hate to recommend something that might ultimately harm someone.
Thanks for this review, Katey. It’s refreshing to see an honest review including things you did not like about the book and your concerns about potential dangers.
Hi Katey. Just looked up again the 2 of Clouds in the Osho Zen deck. At that stage it was a great mistake to label it with the only clinical title in the whole deck when they could easily have chosen a more Zen-like word such as even "Duality". Thus hearing your valid comments about the 2 and 3 of swords in the book Queering the Tarot, I understood the lack of perception and sensitivity. A writer who has suffered from epilepsy would refer to a happening in her condition as a "seizure". So then we can realise how little people actually do know about many things when they flippantly insensitively refer to a condition without ever having any knowledge of it. I remember when starting with writing, my editor gave me a list of things that a writer should not do. One of which was to understand my audience! I will try and find the article and forward it to you as a reference in case you wanted to go further with this drive to correct long-time inaccuracies. Blessings.
Thank you Katey - you so eloquently broke down the positive and problematic elements of the book and especially the nuances of the ethical implications of some of the author's choices here. Really appreciate your opinion on this. 🙏 xx
This was excellent Katey! 💚 Your perspective and thoughts on this one were extremely helpful for those considering this book (myself included). I'd been on the fence for a bit and heard some remarks that made me a little wary. Still, as a gay man, I did feel a bit obligated to see what it was all about. Your honest and informative analysis helped me in my decision; I would most definitely take issue with assumption that the author's personal experience is universal, likewise the way it seems to be so rooted in one place and time feels a little limiting, and I am very thankful for your words regarding the inappropriate misuse of the clinical language. Your book reviews are always spot on and so poignant, thank you for this! ☺️💖
In defense of the author of the book, the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. Presidential Election in 2016 was so deeply traumatic to (sane, normal) Americans that we naturally assume the rest of the world was as severely traumatized.
Wonderful video ! I wish to be part of your book club. I am such a slow reader. I have ADHD and I am unmedicated. It would be embarrassing to show up in your group without having read the book :( It sux. Thank you for such a good and lively delivery on the info you gave us. ❤️ Isabel
Hey Isabel -- I'm sure Katey will reply to you, but I'm in the book club and truly, all reading speeds are welcome. There's lots of conversations to participate in that aren't just about the books, plus we learn the 'book of the month' a full month ahead so there's plenty of time to start early. We pop in and out of the chat when we have something to say about the book and there is no set speed -- we each read at our own pace, no pressure. Plus most of us don't necessarily read every single book, and show up to live chats anyway even if we haven't read it! 😊
Hey Isabel! Yes, I totally agree with what Laura has said here. There's never any pressure with the bookclub for if or how much you participate. There'e a couple of people who don't always read the assigned book but still pop in from time to time to chat about the topics raised. I totally understand if a bookclub just isn't for you, in which case you are more than welcome to hangout in other areas of the Discord and chat, but if you would really like to participate you're certainly encouraged, and if there's anything I can do to help make it a little more accessible for you then please do let me know!
Wow. I am a licensed mental health professional, so I am called upon to diagnose people frequently, and even I won't go that deep without sending my clients to a psychiatrist for further evaluation. And even then I have to keep in mind that many "official" diagnostic tools are flawed and subjective. Also re: The Hierophant, OMG me too! I had the most visceral negative reaction to this card when I was first learning the Tarot. I remember when I was journaling about the cards based on visual impressions I wrote something along the lines of "Look at this smug bastard deciding what's important for people to know!"
Hello Katey, I totally agree with you about the clinical terms being used in the book. I feel the author could have used different examples. I am a former therapist and I am careful to stay away from clinical terms in readings. Thanks for sharing.🏳️🌈💜🔮
Excellent review - thank you. I think the author's partiality of viewpoint is probably something we're going to be stuck with in anything that's about queering [this, that or the other], short of one of the great names in queer studies turning their intellectual towards the tarot. That, I could live with. But I was horrified at your "deal breaker" - no way should the author be using clinical language that way, and I think you're completely right to highlight it. Makes me think there's a lot of work still to do on queering the Tarot.
YES FUCK JK ROWLING so so so UPSET. I haven't read this book because somehow, intuitively, I didn't feel like it'd be for me, so thanks for doing this review and sharing. The generalization of bipolar symptoms in just two tarot cards is pretty awful, honestly. You're completely RIGHT in your discussion/criticism here.
I bought the book in January, I have read it. It left a really bad taste in my mouth, it is so presumptuous. I'm Human, POC, Queer, with a clinical mental illness, learning tarot and this book was not it. At all. Her experience is her experience, not mine and she doesn't speak for me, but damn she was really trying to cram it down my throat. I bought it. Didn't return it. Will donate it. Boom.
As mentioned just now in my previous message, if you wanted to take things further here is an interesting app: • Alex.js: Catch insensitive, inconsiderate writing. Whether your own or someone else’s writing, Alex helps you find gender favoring, polarizing, race related, religion inconsiderate, or another unequal phrasing.
So problematic… omigod. It is disempowering to the querent by assuming if they draw those specific cards they’re experiencing a manic episode…. Diagnosing someone like that… That’s so frustrating. As a part of the queer community, just because something is written by someone whose a part of our community doesn’t mean it can’t be problematic. We can’t stand behind everything produced by our community ❤️
Thanks for the great review. As a homosexual man with PTSD, bipolar type 2, and generalized anxiety disorder, I will not be purchasing this book. I appreciate the heads-up on its problematic issues. 🙏🙏🙏
Could you please recommend a better alternative? From the little I've researched others point at queer decks' guidebooks but I haven't found any differentiations to the "queer experience " :/ And I really want something healthier than what this book has offered
Try the book Radical Tarot - I haven't read it, but one of my pals is reading and enjoying it. For queer decks and guidebook, Laura of aquamarine18 has videos of tons of queer decks, if any of those appeal to you
How would you say that we increase representation of LGBTQ in Tarot? I am a gay reader (Sunchilde Tarot on RUclips, quick plug ruclips.net/channel/UC_QaaR1_T6V1e80fBRymLnAabout), and without trying to sound like a rapper, I represent. I think it (obviously) frames the manner in which I read the cards, (I can be painfully non-gender specific at times), but I am unsure as to how we could increase any representation other than by having gay readers practicing, and my understanding is that there are no shortage of us. Maybe the hetero reading community could be less gender specific at times, and more energy-specific; but we all have own own filters, as you noted with regards to the book and the author's Americocentric western perspective. After all, if we are all speaking our personal truth, surely our own personal filters would either be a part of that or colour what we are saying? How would you define greater representation?
Like I mentioned in the video, I think representation and diversity is important in all aspects of tarot, so that's things like more queer imagery in more decks, more queer deck creators and tarot authors supported by the publishing industry, more conversations about how we can challenge the heteronormativity in the cards, etc, etc. I think this tarot community here on RUclips is pretty inclusive in supporting queer content creators (more accepting of sexualities, less so with diverse gender identities), but the larger tarot world and publishers I think are still quite traditional in a lot of ways. Which is particularly evident in the queer decks that have not found success through traditional publishing routes and have had to opt for Kickstarter. There's lot of room for improvement in lots of areas!
I like that word play: "Queering the Tarot" / "Querying the Tarot". BTW, in celebration of LGBQT pride month, anyone who may be interested should check out St. Jinx's tarot deck - the DIVINE MASCULINE XXX edition.
***Apologies for the weird video quality! I got a new camera and am apparently still very much learning how to work it. Normally I would refilm the video, but as this was already my second go at this review, I just couldn't bring myself to do it a third time! This is purely a talking video, though, and I do not show any images or anything, so you can totally listen without watching if the image bothers you. Apologies again, and I will do my best to keep making better videos for you in the future!***
Ha I didn’t notice anything!
Thank you Katey! Last summer when I was just getting restarted on my tarot journey, I borrowed this book from the library because it was getting so much positive hype. I'm really glad that there are people who see themselves in it and that there are people for whom it opens up growth and liberation. But I didn't finish it. As you note, Snow holds out the book as being for everyone, but as a 60-year-old cis gay man, I did not feel included, and there were points where I felt actively excluded. (Not every book is for everyone! But don't claim it is if it isn't.) My notes from the time mention my feeling that the book is shaped by a particular woundedness (it is personal, and we all have wounds, so that's not a bad thing), which means some of the generalizations go astray. And I noted specific problems, like on page 16, apparently the men who are nurturing are the feminized ones. Isn't that the binary bullshit Snow is trying to deconstruct? I won't rant further. I appreciate your honesty instead of ignoring the book or glossing over the problems you found.
"Not every book is for everyone! But don't claim it is if it isn't." YES! This!
And yes, I did find the way she tackled gender in the book... well, I was surprised, I guess! I really thought that a book about *queering* the tarot would totally break down the gender binary and yet there were several instances were she held quite firmly to them. The card that really lost me was the Wheel of Fortune! Of all the cards to gender in the deck, I did not understand! So yes, that was another element that did not live up to my expectations, I'm afraid. Thank you for sharing your thoughts here, I appreciate hearing your perspective!
I find it really infuriating when people use medical terms in a very casual way and they don't seem to understand those terms properly. Eg 'I'm so ocd about this'.
Agreed! Both in terms of diagnosing others and diagnosing themselves. I feel like it's trivializing a very serious and difficult issue.
Absolutely, I totally agree! I don't think that is quite the same as what the author did here, but I definitely think being more conscious of how we use clinical terms is just really important in all cases!
OMG Katey, thank you, thank you, thank you, for your honest (and respectful) review. I agree with you 100% on the inappropriate use of clinical terms and diagnoses. I was going to buy this book for my daughter. All the reviews I read and heard were all so positive. My daughter would have definitely reacted the way you just did. Thanks to you, I will be able to share your review with her and then she can decide for herself whether she wants to read it. Much love and blessings to you! xoxo
Thanks so much, Mary-Grace. Say hi to your daughter for me! :)
I appreciate the honest review. I checked her website, and don't see any degrees listed. Very dangerous indeed that she's presuming to diagnose people's mental states. I'd like to know what her basis is for that. If she wanted to give advice on theater, I'd be more inclined to trust her. From what you read out, it sounds like the book is very specifically about her own life. It seems it's become far too easy to get these pop books on Tarot published these days. I wonder that the publisher let it go, but it seems they don't much care what they put out anymore.
I do feel disappointed that perhaps Cassandra was not given the proper support in editing and preparing her book for publishing. It does seem to be a common trend with many of the books I've read lately from online creators. :(
I love an honest review. I struggling not to do happy path videos and I usually don’t post videos when I feel like I’m being critical but I think that’s a failure on my part because I let too much go hoping people will like me.
I have the book on my shelf but haven't read it yet. As soon as you mentioned page 100 I paused the video and read the page - the problem jumped out immediately. It does sound like the author is encouraging tarot readers to diagnose people based on the cards!
That's the kind of mistake that never should have got past an editor. The same is true of the other mistakes you point out. They are all obvious problems.
It makes me hope the publisher will commission a second edition. The book could become a hundred percent better if these things were fixed.
I didn't interpret it specifically as an encouragement to diagnose, but it still crossed a line for me! And I can definitely see how it could be interpreted that way, especially by people who are less informed on the topic, which I suppose is part of what makes it potentially very harmful! And yes please to a second edition! I would totally support that!!
Best video opening comments ever 👏👏👏 Also, YES, also bi/pan in 19yr mono relationship w cis/het man and COMPLETELY feel the ‘I’m not queer enough’! Thank you ! Also, it’s so refreshing to hear such a balanced and honest review. WTF on the 2&3 of swords!?! Anger justified I think, plus these are way too specific definitions...?
💕
Great review! Really on point and well rounded. As a tarot reader, someone who had Major Depressive Disorder for most of my life and a mental health counselor, before you even said your critique but were just reading the paragraph I was immediately thrown by it...I was thinking why is she trying to diagnosis people with these two cards? Does she have some kind of mental health licensing? And even if she does, does she think everyone has that capability? It's a bit discouraging and it almost seems like filler just to take up space but unfortunately not everyone will see it that way. I'm glad you brought that up and talked about it..it's a very important discussion to have. Thank you ✨🙏✨
Yes, it just felt so out of place and unnecessary! I was honestly quite dumbfounded as to why the author considered it appropriate, and then why it wasn't challenged in the process of editing and publishing this book. :(
@@KateyFlowers Weiser Books is a smaller alternative publishing company that publishes a lot of books on metaphysics, craft, tarot, etc and some other book categories as well. I looked over the website...as far as I could see they only have two books geared towards LGBTQ+...Queering the Tarot and Queering Your Craft, both by the same author. So it's possible she had more free rein in what she wrote due to her 'expertise'.
I suppose that would mean they might also have fewer resources to enable a thorough editing process. :(
@@KateyFlowers Very possible. And quite unfortunate.
Loved this review - very interesting and, yes, balanced. I would like to say that I don't agree that depression and anxiety "aren't diagnoses" - yes, there are the 'normal' levels of both that nearly everyone will experience at some point, but there is also a point where they are so severe, limiting, chronic, etc that they *are* clinical conditions, requiring proper assessment, diagnosis and treatment. This felt a little like suggesting that anxiety and depression aren't 'real' mental illnesses, when they very much can be.
That’s not at all what I meant. I meant it in the very technical sense that if depression is clinical, a person will receive a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder, for example. ‘Depression’ is not the name of any diagnosis. Same with anxiety, which can be diagnosed as Generalised Anxiety Disorder or something else. But ‘anxiety’ itself is not necessarily pathological. And it is the pathology that I don’t think is appropriate in a tarot book.
@@KateyFlowers Ah, thank you for explaining! I did think it seemed strange given your obvious sensitivity and thoughtfulness on the subject, and I clearly misunderstood, so I apologise!
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify :)
❤️❤️❤️! I so appreciate your review. I feel compelled to review this one too -- the first time of any of our book club reads! -- but am working up the energy; it'll be a hard review to do I think. I so appreciate your review and everything you've shared. I will link to yours -- your words on clinical terms, diagnoses, and lack of understanding with regard to mental health here are crucial. Thank you.
I am very much looking forward to your review (if and when you get around to it!) and I know you'll cover some of the other things we spoke about much more eloquently than I could! I really wanted to use the authority my lived experience to add weight to that conversation in particular, but I know there's so much more to be said about this book. Thank you so much for all of your contributions, as always. I very much appreciate your input and thoughts so much and I really feel like you're helping me become a better reader. 💕
Loved the review! I’m in the process of getting diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety and like you said, some cards speak to some of my symptoms, but that has been a process of self reflection that I would not impose on others, even after treatment. I like Cassandra and her work has helped me see tarot from a different perspective but I totally agree with your criticism, we need to be more aware of the implications of using tarot to diagnose/treat/interpret mental illness. As for the USA-centric writing... it does alienate a bit readers like me, but so many books and shows do the same and at this point I sort of gloss over and jumó to the next part :)
I'm glad to hear you have found value in Cassandra's work, I know a lot of people have and I think it's amazing. As for the USA-centric writing being an all too common thing - you are right! It is something I see a lot in books and it bothers me to varying degrees depending on the book. I think it bothered me in particular here because she declares this book to be for everyone and yet the experiences and examples provided are often very specific to her and her location. I suppose if she hadn't made that 'promise' in the beginning I might've had an easier time excusing it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts :)
EXCELLENT review and some very important points to consider about the author’s perspective and that of the LGBTQ+ community. I agree with you about the use of clinical language and the relatively flippant way that a sensitive mental health topic was addressed. ❤️🙏
Thank you so much, I appreciate that.
Katey, you are always deep and worth watching. I love listening to your perspectives. That was brave, honest, and thoughtfully presented. I have the same issues when a book flippantly mentions domestic violence, acts like it is the gold plated truth on the topic in two sentences, and creates a smug/mocking them/us separation like they are so much superior to someone who would be a survivor such an experience - as if it was their excellence that caused them to never experience it. (I also hate books on divorce, single parenting, the family court, or abortion that never mentions for a single sentence DV or sexual assault in 300 pages - also those books that don't mention the male or queer experience of both DV and sexual assault, etc.) I'm feeling you
Thank you.
Hi Katey, You talk a bit about the lack of diversity and authentic representation within the Tarot (and presumably larger pagan community). Could you talk more about the community that does exist. How does one find it in a path that is often so binary in terms of the divide between those who advocate for or practice a solitary somewhat self-defined practice like Laura Tempest Zakroff in her book Weave the Liminal, the Radical Faeries, etc. versus more structured initiation-based traditions like we see in Gardinerian Wicca, for example. It can seem like the bar is rather high in terms of finding community for those who are more inclined to create their own solitary path but who don't want solitary to mean lonely. Thoughts? (perhaps this is a topic for its own video more than a reply here)
Hi Remy, thanks so much for your comment. I'm not sure I really have the answers for you as I am very solitary when it comes to my practice so I have not sought out a queer-friendly group or tradition. The only thing that comes to mind is Reclaiming which, as far as I understand, is an eco-feminist witchcraft tradition and involves group activity and is very progressive and inclusive from what I have heard. Otherwise, I have just tried to make connections with like minded people here online, kind of developing my own micro community through personal interactions. I'm not quite sure if that's what you mean, and I'm also not sure I'm entirely satisfied with where I'm at with all of this myself!
Thank you for this review. I'm an ally, being a hetero cis-female. I am disabled and fat. I just recently got the Fat Folks Tarot, a Queer/BIPOC/Fat centered Tarot deck. The deck doesn't come with a guidebook. I wanted to include some Queer centered resources in my upcoming deck spotlight video and I came upon the Queering the Tarot book. I was excited to find such a resource available that I could share, as there very few available.for Tarot. But now I'm concerned with sharing it. I have quite a few friends who deal with mental health issues so I do my best to be an ally for them as well. Not sure if I'm going to recommend the book. I'm considering talking about the book and briefly highlighting the concerns you mention and sharing your video as well. Hopefully that can help people make a more informed choice about whether or not they want to use this book. I do agree with you that using clinical language in this setting is absolutely inappropriate. Thank you for doing this review. I'd hate to recommend something that might ultimately harm someone.
Thanks for this review, Katey. It’s refreshing to see an honest review including things you did not like about the book and your concerns about potential dangers.
Thank you!
This book was recommended to me, but after your review I'm hesitant. Can you recommend any books that are similar, but better written?
Hi Katey. Just looked up again the 2 of Clouds in the Osho Zen deck. At that stage it was a great mistake to label it with the only clinical title in the whole deck when they could easily have chosen a more Zen-like word such as even "Duality". Thus hearing your valid comments about the 2 and 3 of swords in the book Queering the Tarot, I understood the lack of perception and sensitivity. A writer who has suffered from epilepsy would refer to a happening in her condition as a "seizure". So then we can realise how little people actually do know about many things when they flippantly insensitively refer to a condition without ever having any knowledge of it. I remember when starting with writing, my editor gave me a list of things that a writer should not do. One of which was to understand my audience! I will try and find the article and forward it to you as a reference in case you wanted to go further with this drive to correct long-time inaccuracies. Blessings.
Your reviews are always articulate and balanced. Including this one.
Thank you, Lorraine!
Thank you Katey - you so eloquently broke down the positive and problematic elements of the book and especially the nuances of the ethical implications of some of the author's choices here. Really appreciate your opinion on this. 🙏 xx
Thank you, Emily :)
This was excellent Katey! 💚 Your perspective and thoughts on this one were extremely helpful for those considering this book (myself included). I'd been on the fence for a bit and heard some remarks that made me a little wary. Still, as a gay man, I did feel a bit obligated to see what it was all about. Your honest and informative analysis helped me in my decision; I would most definitely take issue with assumption that the author's personal experience is universal, likewise the way it seems to be so rooted in one place and time feels a little limiting, and I am very thankful for your words regarding the inappropriate misuse of the clinical language. Your book reviews are always spot on and so poignant, thank you for this! ☺️💖
Thanks so much, James!
In defense of the author of the book, the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. Presidential Election in 2016 was so deeply traumatic to (sane, normal) Americans that we naturally assume the rest of the world was as severely traumatized.
Great video. I think you did a wonderful job articulating the issues we talked about in the Blossom Bookclub.
Thanks so much, Corvin :)
Thank you so much for this review!
Wonderful video ! I wish to be part of your book club. I am such a slow reader. I have ADHD and I am unmedicated. It would be embarrassing to show up in your group without having read the book :(
It sux.
Thank you for such a good and lively delivery on the info you gave us.
❤️ Isabel
Hey Isabel -- I'm sure Katey will reply to you, but I'm in the book club and truly, all reading speeds are welcome. There's lots of conversations to participate in that aren't just about the books, plus we learn the 'book of the month' a full month ahead so there's plenty of time to start early. We pop in and out of the chat when we have something to say about the book and there is no set speed -- we each read at our own pace, no pressure. Plus most of us don't necessarily read every single book, and show up to live chats anyway even if we haven't read it! 😊
Hey Isabel! Yes, I totally agree with what Laura has said here. There's never any pressure with the bookclub for if or how much you participate. There'e a couple of people who don't always read the assigned book but still pop in from time to time to chat about the topics raised. I totally understand if a bookclub just isn't for you, in which case you are more than welcome to hangout in other areas of the Discord and chat, but if you would really like to participate you're certainly encouraged, and if there's anything I can do to help make it a little more accessible for you then please do let me know!
Wow. I am a licensed mental health professional, so I am called upon to diagnose people frequently, and even I won't go that deep without sending my clients to a psychiatrist for further evaluation. And even then I have to keep in mind that many "official" diagnostic tools are flawed and subjective.
Also re: The Hierophant, OMG me too! I had the most visceral negative reaction to this card when I was first learning the Tarot. I remember when I was journaling about the cards based on visual impressions I wrote something along the lines of "Look at this smug bastard deciding what's important for people to know!"
Thank you for the time you put into your videos, I appreciate your view. Well said.
Thanks so much, Brenda, I appreciate that!
Bravo Katey!
Hello Katey,
I totally agree with you about the clinical terms being used in the book. I feel the author could have used different examples. I am a former therapist and I am careful to stay away from clinical terms in readings. Thanks for sharing.🏳️🌈💜🔮
Excellent review - thank you. I think the author's partiality of viewpoint is probably something we're going to be stuck with in anything that's about queering [this, that or the other], short of one of the great names in queer studies turning their intellectual towards the tarot. That, I could live with. But I was horrified at your "deal breaker" - no way should the author be using clinical language that way, and I think you're completely right to highlight it. Makes me think there's a lot of work still to do on queering the Tarot.
Your intro was absolute fire.
Great review. Honest as always. Please continue, I learn so much from you :)
Thank you! Will do!
Fantastic review! Well done!
Excellent review, thank you! 💖
Thank you :) x
YES FUCK JK ROWLING so so so UPSET. I haven't read this book because somehow, intuitively, I didn't feel like it'd be for me, so thanks for doing this review and sharing. The generalization of bipolar symptoms in just two tarot cards is pretty awful, honestly. You're completely RIGHT in your discussion/criticism here.
I know! Can someone just take JKR's Twitter away already!
Well said, thank you, very honest 🙏💙
Great review!
Thanks!
I bought the book in January, I have read it. It left a really bad taste in my mouth, it is so presumptuous. I'm Human, POC, Queer, with a clinical mental illness, learning tarot and this book was not it. At all. Her experience is her experience, not mine and she doesn't speak for me, but damn she was really trying to cram it down my throat. I bought it. Didn't return it. Will donate it. Boom.
#1 you are so stinking cute
Thanks so much, Halie :) x
Great stuff, thank you!
As mentioned just now in my previous message, if you wanted to take things further here is an interesting app: • Alex.js: Catch insensitive, inconsiderate writing. Whether your own or someone else’s writing, Alex helps you find gender favoring, polarizing, race related, religion inconsiderate, or another unequal phrasing.
So problematic… omigod. It is disempowering to the querent by assuming if they draw those specific cards they’re experiencing a manic episode…. Diagnosing someone like that… That’s so frustrating. As a part of the queer community, just because something is written by someone whose a part of our community doesn’t mean it can’t be problematic. We can’t stand behind everything produced by our community ❤️
Thanks for the great review. As a homosexual man with PTSD, bipolar type 2, and generalized anxiety disorder, I will not be purchasing this book. I appreciate the heads-up on its problematic issues.
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Thanks for bringing this to light. I'm also bipolar, and won't be purchasing this now.
Could you please recommend a better alternative? From the little I've researched others point at queer decks' guidebooks but I haven't found any differentiations to the "queer experience " :/ And I really want something healthier than what this book has offered
Try the book Radical Tarot - I haven't read it, but one of my pals is reading and enjoying it. For queer decks and guidebook, Laura of aquamarine18 has videos of tons of queer decks, if any of those appeal to you
@tangytarot I am! Almost finished it!
How would you say that we increase representation of LGBTQ in Tarot? I am a gay reader (Sunchilde Tarot on RUclips, quick plug ruclips.net/channel/UC_QaaR1_T6V1e80fBRymLnAabout), and without trying to sound like a rapper, I represent. I think it (obviously) frames the manner in which I read the cards, (I can be painfully non-gender specific at times), but I am unsure as to how we could increase any representation other than by having gay readers practicing, and my understanding is that there are no shortage of us. Maybe the hetero reading community could be less gender specific at times, and more energy-specific; but we all have own own filters, as you noted with regards to the book and the author's Americocentric western perspective. After all, if we are all speaking our personal truth, surely our own personal filters would either be a part of that or colour what we are saying? How would you define greater representation?
Like I mentioned in the video, I think representation and diversity is important in all aspects of tarot, so that's things like more queer imagery in more decks, more queer deck creators and tarot authors supported by the publishing industry, more conversations about how we can challenge the heteronormativity in the cards, etc, etc. I think this tarot community here on RUclips is pretty inclusive in supporting queer content creators (more accepting of sexualities, less so with diverse gender identities), but the larger tarot world and publishers I think are still quite traditional in a lot of ways. Which is particularly evident in the queer decks that have not found success through traditional publishing routes and have had to opt for Kickstarter. There's lot of room for improvement in lots of areas!
Wow that intro though! So bougie!
I like that word play: "Queering the Tarot" / "Querying the Tarot".
BTW, in celebration of LGBQT pride month, anyone who may be interested should check out St. Jinx's tarot deck - the DIVINE MASCULINE XXX edition.
You are a goddess