In Search of Tarot

Cassandra Snow is a now a three-time Weiser author, having previously penned Queering the Tarot and Queering Your Craft: Witchcraft From the Margins. Professionally, Cassandra is a tarot reader and teacher who has taught students how to read cards in their own unique, personalized way everywhere from college campuses to burlesque studios. In their other life, Cassandra makes theatre happen, dabbles in storytelling, obsesses over tabletop roleplaying games, goes hiking, and devours books and movies. Their new book, Lessons from the Empress: A Tarot Workbook for Self-Care and Creative Growth, co-written with Siri Vincent Plouff, will be published October 1 by Weiser Books.  Purchase Lessons from the Empress Follow Cassandra on Instagram Support Cassandra on Patreon www.cassandra-snow.com --- Support In Search of Tarot on Patreon Follow Nick on Instagram www.manofthecards.com Music by AJ Ackleson. Thanks AJ!

Rebecca Scolnick is an emotional witch, forever seeker, and queer human lady (she/her), who uses magic and storytelling to support unlearning work and inspire new meaning-making. She hopes to provide spiritual and practical support for those looking to reclaim freedom from all of the ways in which our modern culture has taught us to hate ourselves, not know ourselves, and keep ourselves small. Rebecca lives in Manhattan with her wife and their pup. She’s deeply obsessed with them both. The Witch’s Book of Numbers is her first book. Purchase The Witch's Book of Numbers Visit Rebecca's Website Follow Rebecca on Instagram Join Rebecca's Substack ----- Support this podcast on Patreon Follow Nick on Instagram Music by AJ Ackleson. Thanks AJ!

Brittany Muller (@blessed.vigil) is an Austin-based writer and an enthusiastic believer in the beautiful strangeness of Christianity. A devout Catholic with an equally devout sense of curiosity, her favorite pastime is finding new ways to think about God. She is the author of The Contemplative Tarot: A Christian Guide to the Cards, which was published this past Tuesday, September 13 by St. Martin’s Essentials. Share your thoughts on this conversation by leaving a review wherever you podcast, or by emailing us at isotpod@gmail.com Support this podcast on Patreon Follow Brittany on Instagram and Twitter Purchase The Contemplative Tarot on Bookshop.org Follow Nick on Instagram Music by AJ Ackleson. Thanks AJ!

In our final installment of this special summer series, we're venturing into new territory with Oracle & Lenormand cards, examining the ways in which the work of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell led Tarot readers to apply more psychological and therapeutic interpretations to the cards, and discussing how we imagine Tarot might continue to expand and evolve into the future. One thing's for sure, Tarot readers have continued to find new ways to keep the cards relevant and the time is ripe for a new evolution of our practices and philosophies.  Share your predictions and tell us what you've thought of this series by leaving a rating and review wherever you listen, and/or emailing us at isotpod@gmail.com. SUPPORT THIS PODCAST on Patreon Follow NICK and ANGIE on Instagram Source for this episode: robertmplacetarot.com, marykgreer.com, historyofyesterday.com, reference.jrank.org, faust.com, labyrinthos.co, lozzyslenormand.com, academia.edu, cbdtarot.com, journalpsyche.org, jungchicago.org, jcf.org, thetarotforum.com, refinery29.com, tarot-heritage.com, "A Complete Guide to Tarot" and "Tarot Revealed: A Modern Guide to Reading Tarot Cards" by Eden Gray Music by AJ Ackleson. Thanks AJ!

Today we're casting light on "the wickedest man in the world," Aleister Crowley. If we had to choose a word to describe this guy it would be "extreme." From hearing the disembodied voices of Egyptian gods, to getting deported from Italy by the Italian government, Crowley's story is full of mania, bigotry, and obsession. Join us as we open this dark chapter of Tarot history.  Tell us what you think of this episode! Email us at isotpod@gmail.com. SUPPORT THIS PODCAST on Patreon Follow NICK and ANGIE on Instagram Sources: Stealing Fire from Heaven by Nevill Dawn; The Book of Law, The Book of Thoth, and The Confessions of Aleister Crowley by Aleister Crowley; Wikipedia; “Mercury is in a Very Ape-LIke Mood” by Deja Whitehouse; ARIES: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, Vol 21 (2021): Issue I (Dec 2020): Special Issue: Rethinking Aleister Crowley and Thelema; learnreligions.com; Rethinking Aleister Crowley and Thelema by Manon Hedenberg White; brittanica.com;  Drawing of Crowley's "Double Loop": https://www.corneliuspublications.com/an-open-epistle-on-crowleys-zodiac-belt/ Article from The Guardian on Crowley's bisexuality: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/09/occultists-poems-to-grace-london-antiquarian-book-fair Music by AJ Ackleson. Thanks AJ!

Welcome to one of the most highly documented periods in Tarot history: the codification of western occultism, the rise and prominence of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the creation of the Smith-Waite Tarot deck. It's a time marked by problematic syncretism, in which initiatory fraternities invented stories and misappropriated spiritual knowledge in an attempt to make their version of the Tarot more "legitimate." Although many of these practices have been cloaked in secrecy for centuries, we're bringing them to light in today's chapter of Tarot history! Tell us what you think! Email us at isotpod@gmail.com and leave a rating and review wherever you podcast. SUPPORT THIS PODCAST on Patreon Follow NICK and ANGIE on Instagram Today's Sources: Etteilla, or A Way to Entertain Yourself with a Deck of Cards by Jean-Baptiste Alliette, "The Four Cardinal Virtues and How Freemasonry Came to Influence Tarot" by P.D. Newman, The Primeval World, Analyzed and Compared to the Modern World by Antoine Court de Gebelin, Promethean Ambitions by William R. Newman, The Shape of Sex: Nonbinary Gender from Genesis to the Renaissance by Leah DeVun, Talking to the Gods by Susan Johnson Graf, Witchcraft Today: An Encyclopedia of Wiccan and Neopagan Traditions by James R. Lewis, "Practical Occultism" by Helena Blavatsky, Theosophy and the Golden Dawn by David Reigle, Modern Ritual Magic: the Rise of Western Occultism by Francis King, Book of the Artists by Henry Tuckerman, The National Encyclopedia of American Biography, "The Deck of Cards That Made Tarot A Global Phenomenon" by Laura June Topolsky for Atlas Obscura, "The Jewish History of Tarot" by Zo Jacobi, Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite Music by AJ Ackleson. Thanks AJ!

We're devoting the entirety of today's episode to the misunderstood and often completely erased story of the Romani people. Many of us in the Tarot community complain about the way cartomancy gets vilified and misrepresented by religion and pop culture. But the history of that stereotyping rests solely in the horrific persecution Roma have faced for centuries. Romani fortune-tellers have influenced and inspired countless Tarot practitioners over the years, and we owe it to them to lift up their voices and their stories. Tell us what you think! Write in to isotpod@gmail.com and share this episode with a friend you think would enjoy learning about the history of the Tarot. Romani Organizations to Support: patreon.com/eromnja, domarisociety.com, Romni.org Romani Readers to Follow: Jezmina Von Thiele Paulina Verminski: @romaniholistic Aurora Sims: @baby_recklesss Katelan Foisy: @katelanfoisy Kiki Robinson: @opulentwitch Angeliska Polachek: @angeliska & @sistertemperancetarot SUPPORT THIS PODCAST FOLLOW NICK AND ANGIE ON INSTAGRAM Sources for Chapter Two: rise up! good witch podcast, Romanistan podcast, Code Switch podcast, Jezmina Von Thiele, villagepreservation.org, ushmm.org, nationalww2museum.org, hmd.org, wikipedia.org, theguardian.com, gypsyloresociety.org, "Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling" by Charles G. Leland, "Confessions of a Tarot Reader" by Jane Stern, "Gipsy Witches and Celtic Magicians: Charles Godfrey Leland and Lewis Spence" by Juliette Wood Music by AJ Ackleson. Thanks AJ!

We're walking you thru a multi-episode exploration of the complete history of the Tarot (or at least what we know of it)! Playing card origins, erased Romani culture, occult misunderstandings, modern day innovations - we're weaving it all together to create the most comprehensive story that two self-described Tarot-nerds-turned-amateur-historians could ever hope to tell.  CHAPTER ONE: Origins & Tarot de Marseille - Where and how did the Tarot come to be? What exactly do people mean when they talk about "traditional Tarot decks?" Who invented the Tarot de Marseille and why? We'll cover these foundational topics and more, including a discussion on the first artist to illustrate the pip cards (spoiler: it wasn't Pamela Colman Smith).  If you're enjoying this series, please leave us a rating and review! You can also email us at isotpod@gmail.com  SUPPORT THE PODCAST ON PATREON  FOLLOW NICK AND ANGIE ON INSTAGRAM  Sources for Chapter One: marykgreer.com, ancient-origins.net, beyondenigma.com, tarot-heritage.com, en-academic.com, en-camoin.com, and labyrinthos.co.  Our theme music was written and recorded by AJ Ackleson. Thanks AJ!

Angeliska Polacheck (they/she) of Sister Temperance Tarot, is an Austin, Texas based writer, healer, and professional tarot reader. Devoted to helping seekers find their path, they utilize the tarot in a compassionate and trauma-informed combination of visionary mystic counseling and energy work. Angeliska has been working with the tarot for over 30 years now, and has been reading for clients professionally since 1999. Their dedication and genuine passion for creating joyful and intriguing connections has led to acclaim and recognition from the Chronicle's Best of Austin Awards as Austin's Best Tarot Reader/Psychic for the past eight years running. IN THIS CONVERSATION Angeliska shares a bit about their incredibly eclectic spiritual upbringing which combined Celtic, Slavic, Jewish, and Romani influences, among others. We also discuss the important distinction between the practice of divination and the act of prediction, the all too often overlooked history of the Romani people within the overall story of the tarot, and the complicated way Jewish mysticism has been mis-applied within western esotericism. Follow Angeliska on Instagram Visit sistertemperance.com Support this podcast on Patreon Book a reading with Nick In Search of Tarot theme music written and recorded by AJ Ackleson.

Who told you not to tell the future? How might the act of divination be a form of resistance to the capitalistic/colonialist construction of time? IN TODAY'S CONVERSATION Angie and I are falling deep down the time rabbit hole that was opened during our recent interview with Jonathan Koe. Is it really possible to offer a "collective reading?" How can we use Tarot to subvert the linear idea of time? What changes when gender changes from a noun to verb? Support this podcast on Patreon Follow Angie on Instagram Follow Nick on Instagram In Search of Tarot theme written and recorded by AJ Ackleson.