A review by barbarawoodland
Red Tarot: A Decolonial Guide to Divinatory Literacy by Christopher Marmolejo

emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

Chris Marmolejo’s Red Tarot sets out to examine the standard 78 card tarot deck through a decolonial and indigenous lens. Prior knowledge of tarot isn’t explicitly required for this book, but I think a basic knowledge of tarot before reading would help readers get the most out of these more complex interpretations of cards. The chapters are long but filled with the author’s insights. This book is certainly not intended to be read in a single sitting. I recommend reading a few sections of a chapter per sitting, and giving yourself time to take in and process the information. Red Tarot does a great job analyzing the cards that I’ve personally struggled to connect with based on the colonial capitalist lens typically attached to them. Some sections throughout the book could be edited down by a third or half as they repeat the same point reworded for a few pages. Some of the writing may be difficult to comprehend for someone unfamiliar with concepts like decolonization and intersectionality. If you don’t have much background knowledge on those topics, I would recommend a little research on the side as you read. Much of the book connects the cards to a relationship with God or experiencing God. It is noted about halfway through the book that God can refer to any Divine being the reader believes in or chooses, but I think it would benefit readers for this caveat to be moved to the introduction. If you are uncomfortable with reading a lot about God (and there is a lot) for whatever reason, I still recommend this book but maybe wait until you’re in a more comfortable mental space to handle it. Overall, I enjoyed Red Tarot, and I would recommend it to readers interested in advancing (or challenging) their established understanding of tarot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced e-reader copy in exchange for my honest review.