Kaostic Tarot 019
we are everywhere…
Hello Darlings,
Oh feelings... sudden intense sharing.
When it came to Pride in years past, I’ve always acted the part of an ally more than anything. And I think a lot of folks probably think of me as an ally. And you know what, that’s fine. It doesn’t matter what people think of me. But it’s not the truth.
So while I’m sharing The Queer Tarot with you during Pride Month, let me tell you what I’ve known since I was far too young: I’m not attracted to people based on their gender. It was a weird thing to know as a kid while also absorbing from society that it was the “wrong” way to be. Too straight to be gay. Too gay to be straight.
Of all the complicated labels I’ve put on myself over the years, bisexual was by far the easiest to know and one of the hardest to feel like people understand. Now as a bi woman in a committed relationship with a straight man, my queerness is more obfuscatable than ever. But it’s not something I want to hide. Being in love with a straight boy doesn’t make me any less queer. It’s taken a lot of years for me to know it.
Don’t wreck yourself with loathing or doubt. You are valid. You are loved.
The Spread…
This week the deck is the whole story.
The Context…
This deck came home to me from a ShopGoodwill auction in March. Five tarot decks in one lot — Queer Tarot, Jungian Tarot, The Raven’s Prophecy Tarot, Medicine Woman Tarot, and a Gothic horror tarot deck I still haven’t identified.
The Queer Tarot was the reason I bid on the lot. I had to have it.
It arrived in excellent condition. Complete deck, intact guidebook, cards oversized — a little bigger than a standard tarot deck so it didn’t work with the mixed deck project I’m building. That’s okay. Sometimes the hope would be that a deck didn’t fit the size requirements and would be stuck here with me, in the little tarot library I’ve tried so many times not to build. The one I’m just letting myself have now.
This deck is home.
The Deck…
The Queer Tarot
Created by: Ash + Chess (Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham)
Published by: RP Studio
Published: 2022
Card Count: 78
Suits: Cups, Pentacles, Swords, Wands
Major Arcana: Traditional
On the cards: Roman numerals on all, plus name on court cards and Major Arcana
Comes with: An amazing thoughtful guidebook, protective and pretty outer box, soft pretty inner box to keep the cards safe and snug.
Gore: none
Sex: none
Representation: Diverse queer figures throughout — real human models across skin tones, body sizes, gender presentations, and ages
Vibe: Visibility and Love
The Queer Tarot is by Ash + Chess — Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham. The art is inspired by the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith deck originally illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith. If you don’t know about Pamela Colman Smith, it’s time for me to talk about her again soon. Just not today.
Today is all about The Queer Tarot. And The Queer Tarot Guidebook.
I’ve put off featuring this deck because every time I sit with it there is a whole new layer to discover. I wanted to sit with the deck, the cards, the art, and all of the visual meaning before I read the book. Mostly because usually guidebooks are kind of disappointing.
This time, instead of being disappointed, I was pulled deeper into this most beautiful of safe and expressive places.
The care. The context. The reframing. The kindness.
I want to highlight every word. I want to quote it all at you. I want to scream THIS THIS THIS this is why tarot.
So let’s start there. This deck is an invitation to set aside preconceived notions and play. To be curious. To wonder. To feel seen. This is the most thoughtful deck I’ve experienced. Start to finish.
From the moment they (Ash + Chess) walked into a party and had their tarot cards read for the first time, to the moment I sat out in my driveway that desperately wants to be a garden tea and tarot lounge and finally read the book… well I don’t know where I was going with that because I am too busy being enamored.
I started tearing up reading the introduction. Total transparency: I usually skip past introductions. I always give them like a 7-word chance to pull me in, and I can’t actually tell you the last introduction that won. Until this one.
I had been saving this deck to feature until I had time to read every word of the guidebook and until I had read with it enough times to feel like we were in a groove. And then I was waiting for June, because obviously I was going to feature The Queer Tarot during Pride Month. But here we are, the last Friday in June, and I’m still not ready to share this deck with you — because no matter how much time I spend with it, pouring over it, loving it, I’m still going to find new things to love.
From the thoughtful approach to inclusion (using real live queer folk from around the world as models), to the succinct and warm explanation of how to use the cards, to the descriptions themselves — love and craft were poured into this experience.
And I haven’t even told you about the care and craft that went into the artwork for this deck. The original prints were done on a risograph. This is not an art and printing newsletter, so I’m not going to go down the chonky boi risograph rabbit hole… but I encourage you to go down that path on your own if it interests you.
Want One?
Pick up The Queer Tarot at Bookshop.org. That’s a Bookshop.org affiliate link — a small commission comes back to support this newsletter, and Bookshop.org’s whole model routes a percentage of every sale to independent bookstores. You buy a deck, three things happen at once.
The Giveaway…
Starting next week, every Friday in July, I’m giving away one tarot deck to one subscriber. Five Fridays. Five winners.
If you’re already subscribed, you’re already entered. Want extra entries? Refer new subscribers — your unique referral link is at the bottom of every email I send you. Anyone who subscribes through your link earns you an extra entry, up to thirteen. Witchy number. Wink.
Winners get to choose: the featured deck of the week, or a mystery deck from my archives. For when you already have the featured one — or you just want surprise energy.
I’m currently only able to ship within the United States. If you’re a subscriber outside of the US, you aren’t eligible to win. A physical deck, that is. Alternate digital prizes will be offered to international winners.
Winners will be contacted privately. Whether your win is announced publicly or kept discreet — your call.
The first deck reveals next Friday.
That’s it…
Happy last Friday of Pride.
Thank you for being here.
Love love love,
Cami
Wanna hang out between Fridays? Follow @kaostictarot on Instagram.