For a long time, I have been fascinated by what happens when you stop looking at the 78 tarot cards as individual pictures and start laying them out side by side. When you do that, something dynamic starts to happen.
In this talk, I want to take you through some of the unexpected patterns, subtle echoes, and mirror relationships I have uncovered within the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Suddenly, familiar cards start speaking to one another across the table, figures strike mirroring poses, symbols echo across generations, and images that seem totally unrelated reveal surprising connections.
I love looking at the tarot as a thoughtfully constructed visual system rather than just a stack of individual meanings. What can we learn if we step back and look at the spaces between the pictures instead of focusing on what each card is supposed to stand for?
I am excited to share a few of theconnections that caught my eye and completely changed the way I look at one of the world’s most recognizable decks. No previous knowledge of tarot is required, and coming to these cards with fresh eyes might make these discoveries even more delightful.
Views: 93 | Enquiries: 0Hello! I am an arts and culture journalist, podcast producer, and tarot researcher based in Nottinghamshire.
I founded the British Tarot Archive and created Tarot Interviews: a world-first international interview platform where tarot cards guide conversations with best-selling authors, musicians, and cultural leaders.
At the heart of everything I do is a fascination with hidden stories sitting just beneath familiar things: the real human lives that might be tucked away in century-old tarot cards, the gentle ways traditions survive as they are passed from hand to hand, and the magic that happens when you approach an interview or a piece of technology fitting into your work like a jigsaw piece.
Much of my research focuses on the iconic Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, the extraordinary life and world of artist Pamela Colman Smith, and tarot as a vibrant, continuous thread in Britain’s cultural history. I have presented my research at places like Goldsmiths, University of London, and my day-to-day work spans writing, producing podcasts, digging through archives, and speaking at festivals.
My talks almost always start with a spark of curiosity. I find a little thread, pull on it, and see where it leads us. Sometimes that thread is an easily overlooked detail in a single card. Other times it is a 400-year-old witchcraft trial, or the simple question of whether an everyday mobile phone can pull off the job of thousands of pounds’ worth of studio tech.
Above all, these sessions are crafted for curious minds. You do not need to arrive knowing anything about tarot or history, so just bring your enthusiasm and we will explore it together.
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