Queering the Tarot, page 7
Alternatively, my favorite experience of queering the tarot means looking at the card totally differently. If queering the tarot means taking not only LGBTQQIP2SA+, kink, and polyam identities into consideration but also the idea that the queer community is one built on a different value system from the straight patriarchy we live under, it's very possible that The Tower becomes a positive force for change in a once-maligned person or organization's heart or policies. It's possible you are being named as a huge force for much-needed change in the world. It's possible that if something catastrophic happens you come out on top. It's possible too that you knock down your own Tower built on half-truths and misplaced trust, and move on to rebuild your life into something so much more beautiful than you ever could have imagined. You now get a life that is genuine and full of queer family and allies, and you get the support structure you deserve. It's even possible with The Tower that you're being called on to create that support system. When those Towers fall for those who don't have a safety net, you can provide that. That is powerful. The Tower is powerful and you are powerful, and together you can be one hell of a force for good. I've discussed before how cards indicating tradition and institutions can be very negative for queer people. The flip side of that is cards like this—cards that many would fear when they come up in a reading. Instead, The Tower could be calling you to greatness, begging you to burn down the institutions that would keep us marginalized, and building something new and beautiful in their place.
THE STAR
When I started the Queering the Tarot article series, I primarily wanted to examine the cards individually and see how they would apply specifically to LGBTQQIP2SA+ querents, as well as share stories from my life and those of my clients to see how the applications manifest. While this is still a key component of my writing, the connections between the cards have become just as powerful as the cards themselves. The Star is our next card, and we can't truly examine it without recalling the sometimes traumatic events of The Tower. The Star is frequently thought of as what comes after a period when everything is falling down around us. While the picture is always peaceful, in my mind I have always thought an ideal Star card would be the same picture surrounded by the rubble of The Tower. It would have just as much hope as traditional interpretations of The Star, but without denying what got us here.
Traditionally The Star indicates hope. It shows a slight illumination in a dark time, like a star guiding you home. The Star card usually shows an image of a woman nourishing the Earth and being nourished in return, a potential statement on the infinite resources available to us, and their cyclical nature. Renewal and refreshment are also indicated with this card, and The Star promises us a fresh burst of energy. Vacations are often indicated with this card, along with anything that makes us feel as if we've hit a reset button. This is one of the cards in the deck that is harder to separate from its spiritual root, as the card itself can mean simply spirituality or comfort via spiritual matters. You're truly blessed by the Divine (whatever or whoever that is to you) in this time.
In a queer reading, this card almost always comes up after we've gone through a rough time. It might not always be as devastating as The Tower, but it is hard to ignore the feeling of loss and being left to stand on your own that The Tower leaves behind and how that uniquely affects LGBTQQIP2SA+ querents when queering The Star. Without The Tower of being outed or coming out in unsupportive environments, you don't have that moment of hope and clarity where you realize that either you can make life work on your own, or that you do have support around you to rebuild from. Recognizing the milestones that queer seekers face and how The Star as a source of hope, illumination, or renewal would show up for them is an easy enough line to draw—it is essentially, after all, the breakthrough that comes when all has fallen. Politically, it's been a rough couple of years. We have more or less been living in a period of Tower after Tower, especially when we are marginalized. The Star doesn't deny any of that reality, but does lead us to look at the signs of hope and change all around us, even if this card itself is one of the only signs we get that things will turn around.
The Star is a card that deals pretty heavily with the infinite resources of the universe and what's available to us. In very straightforward readings for LGBTQQIP2SA+ querents, The Star also shows up to guide us toward community resources. It doesn't just show up as a promise that those resources are there—it's an actual advice card encouraging you to seek out the services or social groups that you need. This can include anything from a gay bar to a trans-friendly therapist, but if The Star is present, your search for that resource should be fruitful.
The matter of spirituality is a difficult one for many queer people. Many of us in the West grew up in oppressive Christian households or are acutely aware that the rights and dignities we do not have in large part stay absent from our lives because of the stronghold of the Christian Right in our society. For that reason, many have abandoned or turned their back not only on Christianity, but also on spirituality as a whole. Some may never miss it, and atheism is a perfectly valid belief if that works for you. For many though, spirituality is a source of inspiration and connection to spirit, and a crucial part of who we are and how we view the world. When that's taken from you or you lose that faith, your life can feel out of balance. All too often, losing your faith feels like losing yourself as well. So, for many in this community, The Star shows up to indicate that it is safe and it's time for the querent to seek out a spiritual path. Seeking out that spiritual path will look a lot different this time around. This is a new sense of spirit and a new road we're walking down. None of the traps that were hurting us in our old faith are meant to be here now. This is a time to try on many different hats, spiritually speaking, and see what works for you. Spirituality often moves in cycles in our lives and in the world at large. Right now we are seeing a huge uptick in queer and trans people turning to Pagan paths and even being willing to experiment with paths other may view as darker. This path, for me and many others, has led to a sense of faith in self and spirit that was so lost for so long. The Star promises refreshment and renewal, and we find that when we start looking beyond a faith that has hurt us for connection and spirituality.
Finally, The Star as a card about faith directly addresses one of the biggest epidemics sweeping any community of marginalized people—low self-esteem or lack of faith in ourselves. Many times when The Tower falls, good or bad, it was for reasons beyond our control. The Star comes to let us know that anything we made out of the rubble, we made on our own, and to remind us how much more we can build. We have an idea and a focus for our life now, thanks to that illumination from The Star, and it is time to create the path we want out of it. Hold tight to your faith in yourself when this card shows up. We live in a pretty nasty society where gender and sexual minorities are concerned. Even when legal rights are obtained, our dignities are affronted every day, but we are so strong and so beautiful in the face of that. The Star shows up to remind us of this, to remind us to keep fighting the good fight—whether it's for the community or just for ourselves. More importantly, The Star shows up to remind us how capable we really are, and how many miracles we can create by learning to believe in ourselves again.
THE MOON
For me, as a stereotypical Pisces, The Moon has always been one of the most important tarot cards in the whole deck. In so many ways this card sums up the tarot's intention and purpose in and of itself. This card indicates our own psychic power and brings connection to the moon and to water. This is a card of deep intuitive knowledge that encourages us to dig deep into our subconscious to find the answers we're looking for. Because of this card's connection to intuition, it often surfaces when someone in our lives is being deceptive. I reject this interpretation sometimes, because The Moon is traditionally the feminine face of the Divine, and The Sun is its masculine counterpart. I refuse to demonize the feminine face of the Divine, and that does mean rejecting this function of the card. It does have its place though. When we are talking about rooting around in our subconscious and our intuition, what we often uncover are all of those ways we deceive ourselves. This is where low self-esteem lives. This is where that part of us that stops us from taking bold risks or listening to our soul when it's crying out for purpose thrives. Learning about this defensive part of ourselves is an important part of a growth and healing cycle, and The Moon just wants to prod us further down a path to healing.
The Moon does illuminate things when you are looking for answers, but unlike the bright, warm glow of the sun, the moon guides us with slivers of light and odd persistence, requiring us to go deeper into ourselves for the answers we seek. The Moon represents our shadow self, the side that shows when we are home alone with ourselves and we don't have to put on a show or a happy face for anyone. Again, I absolutely adore this card. I love that it represents a mixed up Piscean duality by indicating both illusions at play and an energy calling you to face that illusion head-on. That seeming contrast leads to something else entirely—a concise message to listen to your subconscious and your intuition, and an encouragement to go deeper into your own depths. The High Priestess alluded to knowledge that was within us the whole time, and The Moon sees it slowly come to light.
It is without a doubt time to listen to your intuition when The Moon comes up in a reading. It is 100 percent a sign that you know the answers you're seeking. What's blocking you from seeing that? Why don't you trust that inner voice? What are your literal dreams telling you while you're fast asleep that you refuse to see in your waking life? These are the questions The Moon begs us to ask ourselves, and the reason she doesn't give us answers to them is because we already know the answers.
As we look at queering The Moon, we go back to The Star's call for us to explore alternative spiritualities. The Moon can be calling us specifically to a spirituality where a divine feminine is honored, instead of the more popular (in present-day society) divine masculine. Of course worshiping or praying to a divine feminine isn't a queer-specific calling and not all LGBTQQIP2SA+ people will be called to such a religion. However, it is a common experience when your sexual or gender identity isolates you from a more patriarchal religion that a more fluid, feminine one would call to you. While this card's spiritual elements indicating intuition and prophetic dreams don't seem like they would be altered that dramatically because someone is LGBTQQIP2SA+, many in our community who come from oppressive backgrounds where we are told listening to ourselves is wrong, that who we think we are isn't okay, that our very perception of ourselves is up for discussion by people who aren't us, have a tough time listening to themselves. The Moon may show up over and over again for people who have been trained not to trust themselves. If you're getting this card a lot and it's getting frustrating, don't despair. You are not intentionally blocking out your subconscious or intuition. You just have to dig deeper into that shadow self to get there and allow The Moon to guide you along the way.
Regardless of one's gender or sexual identity, The Moon brings big things to the surface, things we often let bubble up only when we're alone. An important alternative interpretation to note, then, is as an indicator of past trauma such as abuse or sexual assault. I bring this up not only because I don't think it gets talked about enough in relation to this card, but also because queer people all too frequently accept trauma as part of our lives and suppress the very real effects it may have on us. Even worse, LGBTQQIP2SA+ people often do not feel supported, included, or even welcome in the few spaces or within the resources that exist for trauma recovery. I have seen this card bring tears to people's eyes even when they have no idea what it means. As we dig through the reading, trauma often comes to light. Again, The Moon's primary job is not just to bring painful things to the surface—it wants us to heal. That's why everything we try to suppress keeps bubbling up. Listen to your Divine, do some dreamwork, and spend some time sitting with your intuition to begin healing from these unfortunate circumstances.
The Moon does bring us wonderful things once we start on our path to healing. The Moon's illumination and the concept of healing in the tarot are closely linked. When this card shows up, the moonlight will guide us to those healing forces if we listen to ourselves and those we trust. Unlike The Tower or even the positive-but-huge Wheel of Fortune, The Moon allows you to take things slowly. It's here encouraging you to process and pushing you to get in tune spiritually so that you can guide yourself through the next stages of healing. The Moon loves LGBTQQIP2SA+ seekers, and wants us to feel confident in our voice as we move down our path.
THE SUN
Following The Moon, naturally, is The Sun. The Sun (in contrast with The Moon) leaves little to the imagination. It shines brightly, illuminating all in its path. In our secular lives, it's generally a positive omen in most areas, but even more so for creative people, those looking to start a family, individuals who've had it rough and need an energy shift, and for people with questions related to health. This is a truly radiant card, guaranteeing that whatever your question, it is aspected well. I actually kind of hate when this card comes up in readings for other people because it's so positive that I feel like I'm blowing smoke. If I pull it in regards to my own career, health, or love life though, I'm pretty ecstatic. As advice this card is still pretty great. Go have fun, or maybe yes, take that big risk. It also advises us to stay positive since we are on exactly the right trajectory.
As we begin queering The Sun though, we do see some shadow work or darker themes. I mentioned that The Sun leaves little to the imagination. While that's often a good thing, if you've been avoiding facing a core aspect of your identity or if you've been wanting or needing to stay in a closet, you could be outed or forced to come to terms with this now. No card is flawlessly positive all the time, and if you're asking about an element of your life or identity that you're not ready to bring your gender or sexual identity into, having The Sun shine brightly on the issue can be a bad thing. That being said, the card is usually sunny and positive, so I can guarantee you'll be in a much better situation in six months because of these events than you ever could have dreamed.
Generally The Sun is a very positive time for manifesting and pulling what you want into your life. I often liken it to a King Midas card, but that story had a dark side, too. You can have too much of a good thing, and it's important to be careful what you wish for. LGBTQQIP2SA+ seekers are not any more likely to be attracted to dangerous partners than anyone else. We aren't more likely to use our determination to will them into our arms than the general population but . . . we are as likely to do those things. For our community too, there is a lack of resources for dealing with the fallout of such relationships to take into account. This can be applied across the board to all areas of our lives. And, because queer people sometimes separate ourselves from our inner voice or intuition, we can manifest and wish things into being that aren't all that great for us. I reiterate if this card comes up surrounded by darker cards, be careful what you wish for right now, because you're going to get it.
On the neutral side of The Sun, this card deals quite a bit with the divine masculine. It often shows up in readings about one's spiritual path for queer seekers who are still steeped in or are finding their way back to a Judeo-Christian version of God or spirituality. When we are trying to reconcile our faith with any backlash we may have received or internalized guilt we may be carrying because of our gender or sexual identities, The Sun promises that the same faith can help us heal moving forward. This is positively aspected then, but some querents may still have negative associations with such a God or carry guilt from growing up in a culture with a traditional mind-set. This is still a spiritual path that will ultimately work out well, though. There may be some emotional pitfalls to deal with along the way, but we are being pushed back to that sense of spirituality.
In questions directly regarding gender or sexual identity, this card does hint at masculinity. If The Sun alone shows up when someone is directly inquiring about their identity, I wouldn't feel comfortable making that call. However, if other cards with masculine energy show up, I know to advise toward a masculine-of-center partner, identity, or presentation. This card does come up quite often for transgender men, gay men, butch women, non-binary people, and bisexual and pansexual people as a way to guide them toward their best option or affirm their intuition that the masculine is right, right now.
The Sun is most often a happy card, and I mentioned earlier that it is generally a good omen for families, and certainly indicates children for those seeking parenthood. This is especially true for the same-sex couples, couples where one or both partners are transgender, and polyamorous families I read for. Often when people in these relationships are thinking about children, they experience darkness and tough decisions, rough starts, and mishaps on the journey to bringing children into their lives. They might feel frustrated with the entire process, and questioning if they should give up. The Sun does promise that those darker days are behind us (or will be soon), and that the family we dream of is coming. Furthermore The Sun assures us that the family unit will thrive and grow long after the children in question are safely in your home.
