A short note about why we focus on queer, trans and BIPOC creatives

Ensuring that a rich diversity of voices - especially those voices most often in the margins are given space to flourish and be listened to - is important for all of us.

There are countless lovely shops dedicated to both mainstream and independently created tarot decks, personal development and spiritual tools. Shops centering independent, queer, trans and BIPOC voices are more difficult to find. This is the space in which we situate ourselves. 

With every artist's interpretation and creation of a new tarot deck, the collective wisdom available through the tarot grows. Each new creation is rooted in a particular individual and collective consciousness AND it contributes to an evolving collective consciousness. As Rachel Pollack says: "the unconscious... draws its material from the cultural background of the individual dreamer. Many people view archetypes as rigid fixed images shared by all people at all times. Rather, archetypes are tendencies for the mind to form certain kinds of images... and the specific form an image takes will depend very much on a person's cultural background and experiences."

As a white western queer non-binary person, I can find countless visions of tarot steeped in patriarchical, white, neurotypical, ableist, binary gendered views of the world. I have to look harder to find visions in which I belong and am represented. Queer tarot. Trans tarot. I have to look even harder and more intentionally to find visions in which the voices and realities of the multitude of Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian and other people of color are represented.

This unjustly creates a knowledge and wisdom gap for those who find themselves underrepresented in the collective body of wisdom. It also robs everyone of a more nuanced, expansive view of the tarot and the world around us. If anyone - but especially those most often represented in dominant culture such as white, straight or cisgender people only listen to their own voices or those which feel palatable enough to be "like me," they rob others of the right to have their voice heard and they rob themselves of the opportunity to discover a richer and more nuanced reality than they ever imagined. We need to hear these voices.

In centering these voices, I hope that those who identify with these communities and those who do not will discover the rich variety and wisdom in them. While I hope that many will find this exciting and beneficial, there's no denying I center queer, trans, and BIPOC artists for the countless diverse expressions of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities and for myself. 

Indie Tarot strives to center and celebrate these voices and these communities hoping that in some small way it also enriches them and enriches all of us through supporting the evolution of the collective consciousness rich with diversity and healing potential. This is one part of how we practice our vow to contribute to reduced suffering in the world, part of how we practice anti-racism and rooting out white supremacy in our own lives and how we support diversity in and accessibility of personal development and spiritual tools for all.