Would you buy a 'gay tarot' book?

[tarotbear]

I am possibly going into collaboration with a current Tarot book author on his second book.

While he was discussing mine, which is at another publisher- hoping to see print, he told me I should focus it more...and create a sexy title. I asked him if I should also pose nude for the cover and call it 'The Gay Guys Guide to Tarot' -- AS A JOKE!

We may now be writing a book aimed at gay men and gay interpretation for certain cards - specifically the ones dealing with relationships; all books treat a couple from a heterosexual viewpoint.

IF such a book was written..do you think it would sell? Would you buy it? ( Would you buy it if I sold you an autographed copy?)

PS - NO - I am NOT posing nude on the cover!

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

LOL

There is a deck out there that give you a choice of the Lovers card. One with two females, one with two males and one heterosexual. The deck and book leaves the options open.

Personally, I wouldn't buy it .....then again, I have stopped purchasing all tarot books. I think they are aimed at beginners and those with little insight. (just my .02) I'm sure the book would have a market though. ;)

[maya]

Honestly, being of the hetrosexual persuasion and creative enough to adapt the meanings for the person I was reading for I don't think I'd buy it. However, gay pride goes a long way with things like this. I think homosexuals might appreciate having something aimed at their specific needs and given the large, open and out number of gays in pagan religions or with an interest in the occult I'd say "sure". Although, I also won't buy books for the same reason as Dagda. Other people's interepretations don't work for me. I have to go with what I feel.

~ Maya

[Chibi-Fallon]

It's a neat idea. I don't know how well it would sell or anything but why not give it a try. But I don't know any gay guys who use tarot, so you might have a problem there. Unless lots of them do and their just hiding from me. ;)

[Flaire-FireStar]

Hmm....I'm not sure, myself.. I'd have to look through it first, to see if I could get some things out of it... I'm not saying definitely "no", but nor am I saying "yes"....:) You never know, I might end up doing a reading for a homosexual person some day and might benefit from the book. ;)

[tarotbear]

Validation- it's an important thing in gay comminities.

For 100 years or more, quilting was considered 'women's work'- it was a utilitarian thing, unworthy of recognition or praise. In the late 1970s, suddenly (with the tercentennial) attention was being paid to quilters and suddenly there developed 'the Art Quilt'-- quilts that were designed to be beautiful - and not put on a bed for the dog to jump on! Quilting was an 'art form'.

Gay people search the media for images of us..and we don't seem to exist, no matter how many incidental gay characters on on the hottest show.

All tarot books are based on a male/female relationship, and trying to deal with same-sex couples does not work by substituting 's/he' in the text.

How do you interpret the Queens when doing a reading for a gay man? ( Stop giggling!)

Wouldn't Christopher Lowell be perfect as the Queen of Pentacles?

[Theres]

hi TarotBear!
personally, i would not buy it (or avoid it) because of it's gay orientation. the reason is (as i think you know) that i see the tarot as a tool for personal journey. i feel that the archetypes lie much deeper than sexuality, gender, lifestyle or preference. therefore, i would buy it (or not) based on it's relevance to these archetypes. sexual bias would just not enter the equation for me.
but i do feel there may be a market for such a book, and i hope persue your goal.
good luck my friend (and i may just take you up on buying an autographed copy!).

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

Originally posted by Dagda Moon~Lily
LOL

There is a deck out there that give you a choice of the Lovers card. One with two females, one with two males and one heterosexual. The deck and book leaves the options open.

Personally, I wouldn't buy it .....then again, I have stopped purchasing all tarot books. I think they are aimed at beginners and those with little insight. (just my .02) I'm sure the book would have a market though. ;)

Doh! Just noticed that I didn't site the name of the deck with the optional gender cards. The name of the deck is "Cosmic Tribe Tarot" Be warned though that the deck is based on photographs and beautiful computer generated effects as well. The people in all the photos are in the nude. There is a book that accompanies the deck. :D I'll look at the deck this evening to let you know how the book reads though. ;)

[Semele]

I would have to say that there would be a market for it. I have a friend who is a gay man who reads tarot. In fact, he gave me my first reading long before I even knew anything about Tarot at all. My brother, Dravin, is gay and he recently purchased a book on horoscopes that is based on homosexuality. It goes into the whole relationship between the signs etc. Very informative and fun to read.

I am with greenman in that I am ready to purchase that autographed copy, and possibly a couple more to give as gifts. Hurry up and get it done!!

Semele

[Dagda Moon~Lily]

My next question/s:

Would the people buying this give readings ONLY to the homosexual community?? I feel there would have to be both hetero- and homo-sexual meanings given for each card or whatever. .....unless they have more than one deck to read from and will only use it for spiritual growth. See what I mean?? I know it would be a specialty deck/book. I get that much! lol But if a person could only afford one deck/book.....ya know?? And are you going to be designing the cards for the book? Or would it just be a book that covered all decks in general??

[Semele]

I agree it could get a little confusing Dagda! I was thinking more along the lines of as a tool for personal growth. At least that is why I would purchase a copy as a gift. However, maybe they could do a lot more readings for gay friends. Although, I am sure the intuitions and meanings you get would be similar from either book....I think a more gay friendly deck would be cool!!

I guess another reason I think it would be so cool is that it may introduce tarot to folks who never really had an interest before. It just may be another of the many many books out there, that are mostly, like you said for beginners.

[Adrenaline Junkie]

Sounds like a nifty idea. I'd consider buying the book. However I usually interput cards for myself. So thus if the heterosexual "Lovers" card comes up in a reading for me or another person who is Gay/Bi or whatever it will be interupted as someone of the same sex.

[Earthcup]

If it was GLBT I might but not if it was geared specifically towards Gay men. I think it's a great idea though. I usually follow my intuition on meanings but I love to read other peoples insights.

A book on alternative tarot interpretations for alternative lifestyles would definitely have a market! My fave card in my deck is the one with Hermaphroditus on it!

*tarot reading Bi girl*

[tarotbear]

Yes, but you see - I could not write in any detail about the lesbian population because it would be like me trying to write on article on childbirth! Not in my field of expertise! I would not exclude the women, but my focus would be men. I can get my hands on a lot more men (figuratively and literally) than I could get women to sit down and discuss what the reading reveals from a gay point of view. There are lots of feminist decks out there that are 'women only', there are many books out there for 'women only', so I would not feel guilty about writing a book strictly for gay men.

Don't laugh, but I have already been approached by one artist with a deck design idea, another gay man with an entire Major Arcana blocked out on paper, and someone who will translate the work into Portugeuse and German for me!

[Earthcup]

Good point! :D

I say go for it! The more I think about it the more I like it. Keep us updated! :sunny:

[tarotbear]

Today my daily reading ended with:

" Your female friends may help smooth over any difficulties leaving you more confident to plan a special occasion."

So, I have no idea who these female friends are, since I may work with a lot of women, but I don't have a lot of women friends.

According to what some of you have stated, I should 'automatically' turn this to read "Your gay male friends". Why should I need a separate book to try to interpret this?

Why, or why not? Do I 'automatically' make all the women references in Tarot into men? That's kind of silly, don't you think? Isn't that like saying all gay men swish and have limp wrists? All lesbians dress like men and drive pickup trucks?

THIS is where I think a book written from a gay point of view would be of interest.

[Myst]

Why not? You're the one who's doing the reading, you interpret it your way. Does that mean only gay/lesbians can use the deck you refer to, and only hetero folks can use all the regular decks?

Your reading could refer to women at work, a female family member, or even men you think of as feminine. It's up to you to get the meaning in it.

That's not saying gays/lesbians do anything. It's not even saying you're wasting your time making it.

It's saying "I wouldn't buy it". You asked, we answer.

[Earthcup]

:o I, uh, drive a, ummm.. truck! :lol: Usually in prissy shoes though! :D

Gender in the tarot can be weird because in real life gender isn't compartmentalized and black and white. Most of the prissy guys I know are straight and I was quite shocked when I learned a very manly guy I knew had been married to a wonderful man for years.

Some times the traditional images can be confusing when it comes to gender. I try to focus on the personality of the card alone but that doesn't help when I've got a very feminine or masculine picture before me.

[Witchy Cowgirl]

Tarotbear, this sounds like a great idea and I for one am interested in knowing what's happening with it at this point in time.

If I had a need to buy it I would.:) What I mean is, If I were asked for a reading by a gay man I think a book of this type would be a wonderful reference and would be handy to have around. Even though it wouldn't be at the top of my wish list I'm quite sure there would be a great market for this.

So, how's it going?

[tarotbear]

Right now I am in limbo until the holidays blow by. I did get a good start on it, but am still a long, long way from finishing anything- still in the first half of the Majors, and then my collaborator went out of the country on business...so things are 'going'.

At the moment, the focus is on men in general, trying neither to be blatantly gay nor completely straight. My problem is in having enough anecdotes, personal examples, or just plain witty comments to get through the entire deck. To help this along I am working on the Majors in numerical order, so that if I make a reference back to a comment in a previous card, perhaps you may have already read that section. I am also trying not to turn this into a standup comedy routine! The fine tuning will come later as Kaser comes up with exercises to go along with what is being discussed at that time. I am assuming I will end up taking each suit through it's entirety, rather than picking cards randomly.

This is a strange project, because it is forcing me to take what I know about Tarot and try to find a completely novel way to approach the subject, and then maintaining the style in which is has started being written.

I'll keep you posted.