The Tarot Podcast with T. Susan Chang

Have you ever wondered if you could communicate with the dead? One answer: Maybe, maybe not, but your cards certainly can!

As tarot readers, we know our cards can do a lot of spooky things. My guest this week, Jenna Matlin, believes that a tarot deck is a naturally mediumistic tool; an interface between realms.  In her new book, The Tarot Book of the Dead (Weiser 2026), she offers a framework for anyone to use the cards to communicate with spirit, whether or not you think you’re psychically gifted. How does this work? How do we adjust our readings to accommodate messages from Elsewhere? Listen and find out!

This week’s bonus post: “The Heralds” Spread – Jenna walks us through an example spread for sharing essential truths with the ead.

 

Jenna Matlin holds an M.S. in Organizational Psychology and B.A. in Anthropology, with end-of-life doula training through INELDA and completed training in psychedelic integration support. Named Philadelphia Magazine’s Spiritual Guru of 2019, her book, Will You Give Me a Reading? received the 2023 COVR Silver Visionary Award. Since 2012, she has maintained a full-time tarot practice, known for highly intuitive and innovative techniques. Her revolutionary approach to tarot mediumship specifically helps clients navigate grief, death, and communication with the dead. Based in Chapel Hill, NC, she teaches internationally and speaks at conferences. Learn more at www.jennamatlin.com.

Links for this show

www.jennamatlin.com

Jenna's newsletter (scroll to bottom of page to subscribe)

The Tarot Book of the Dead (Weiser, 2026)

Will You Give Me a Reading? (Llewellyn, 2022)

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“Always.” That’s a big word. And it’s a bold move to say “The Cards are Always Right.”. But as tarot readers, it’s a creed we embrace. So what do we do when our cards fall silent? Where does our belief fall short. and what do we do about it?

Host T. Susan gets into it in this solo show. Pick up some reasons to believe, some causes for skepticism, and some helpful suggestions as to WHAT to do and what NOT to do when the cards don’t add up.

This week’s Patreon bonus content: Have *you* drawn a card that’s got you stumped? Bring it to the Tarot Podcast for a second opinion!

 

Links for this show:

Bonus Post: Stumpers, conundrums, and headscratchers welcome!

Episode 69: Active Imagination and the Tarot, with Mariana Louis

Book a mentorship session with T. Susan! (Scroll to the bottom of the page.)

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Become a Tarot Podcast member!

Shop for Tarot Podcast MERCH! & cool stuff made by your host!

Sign up for readings and explore books and classes!

Continue your tarot journey with The Living Tarot book and/or The Living Tarot online class (discount for class available if you purchase the book!)

In today’s episode, we’re talking about the two most popular tarot decks in the world: Rider Waite Smith and Thoth. What makes these two decks so influential? What do they have in common, and how are they different? And how do you choose which one to take with you on your own tarot journey?!

My guest is Joe Monteleone, whose channel on YouTube has a devoted following on YouTube; he’s also the founder of Tarot Mysticism Academy. Joe is particularly known for his work with the Thoth Tarot, featured in his recently published book, Tarot Mysticism (Llewellyn, 2025)

 

This week’s bonus content: Take the poll!  on the Pepsi and Coke of the tarot world.  Are you a Thoth nerd? Is RWS your ride-or-die? Curious about one or the other? I want to know!

 

About Joe Monteleone

Described by The Huffington Post as a "one-man band of magical-thinking-made-reality," Joe Monteleone is a tarot master teacher, modern mystic, best-selling author, and content-creator with over 80,000 YouTube subscribers. He is the founder of the Tarot Mysticism Academy, where he teaches tarot and mysticism as a psycho-spiritual framework rooted in the perennial philosophy, bridging Western Esotericism and Eastern Mysticism into a path of divination, self-awareness, personal growth, and transpersonal/spiritual awakening.

He is the author of the award-winning Tarot Mysticism: The Psycho-Spiritual Technology of the Thoth Tarot and the #1 Bestseller Tarot Mysticism: Visual Primer. Joe has taught, performed, and written for various institutions and platforms, including The Readers Studio, World Divination Association, Tarot Readers’ Academy, Anahata’s Purpose, Esotoracle Magazine, and the New York Pagan Pride Festival to name a few. Before becoming a teacher, Joe was a professional dancer and choreographer who created and toured multimedia dance works based on mystical philosophy.

He continues to provide free resources in tarot and spiritual education, including authoring many free e-books.

 

Links for this episode:

Tarot Mysticism Academy

Joe's YouTube channel

Tarot Mysticism: The Psycho-Spiritual Technology of the Thoth Tarot

Tarot Mysticism: A Visual Primer

 Tiktok: @tarotwithjoe

 Instagram: @tarotwithjoe

Last week's bonus post on Knight/Knight/Prince correspondences

TAKE THE POLL!  RWS or Thoth?

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Sign up for readings and explore books and classes!
thetarotpodcast.com

Continue your tarot journey with The Living Tarot book and/or The Living Tarot online class (discount for class available if you purchase the book!)

😊 And...don't forget to like, rate, subscribe, and share!! 😊

Tarot readers, it’s long been observed, have a particular affinity for Jungian thought, probably because Carl Jung’s theories of archetype, synchronicity, and personality offer us such rich and thought provoking frameworks for thinking about what’s going on in a tarot reading.

This week’s episode features the first of a series of conversations with Mariana Louis, whose “archetypal tarot” approach applies Jungian thought to the practice of tarot, allowing readers a way to engage deeply with the symbolic content of tarot imagery.  In this episode, we talk about the Jungian practice of active imagination, and how it can extend our dialogue with the cards.

 

This week’s bonus content!: Host T. Susan and Tarot Podcast video producer Randy take the active imagination train ride with a mystery card! Find out which one—and what happened!—in this week’s Patreon post for members at https://patreon.com/thetarotpodcast.

Mariana Louis is a professional tarot counselor, scholar, and creator of Persephone's Sister, a platform for psycho-spiritual education and guidance. After stumbling upon Jung's The Undiscovered Self in her grandfather's attic library, Mariana began her study of depth psychology and the archetypal language of the soul. This led her to pursue a degree in Western Intellectual Traditions at the CUNY Graduate Center where she focused on archetypal perspectives in the transformation of Western thought. Marrying this scholarship with her expertise in the tarot Mariana formulated the archetypal tarot approach, which she teaches in the Archetypal Tarot School and other programs. Mariana is the author of Tarot and the Psychology of the Soul: Exploring the Archetypal Mirrors of the Psyche, as well as the co-host of the Soror Mystica podcast and a faculty member at the Jung Archademy.

Links for this show:

Soror Mystica podcast:

Tarot and the Psychology of the Soul

Mariana’s website: https://persephonessister.com

Archetypal Tarot School

On Substack: https://persephonessister.substack.com/

On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/persephonessister/

On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PersephonesSister

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Become a Tarot Podcast member! patreon.com/thetarotpodcast

Shop for Tarot Podcast MERCH! & cool stuff made by your host! etsy.com/shop/tarotista

Sign up for readings and explore books and classes!
thetarotpodcast.com

Continue your tarot journey with The Living Tarot book and/or The Living Tarot online class (discount for class available if you purchase the book!)

😊 And...don't forget to like, rate, subscribe, and share!! 😊

Tarot IRL is back, with our next court card! In this episode, we examine how the charismatic and charming Knight of Wands shows up in the lives of regular people like you and me.

With his prancing steed, flaming helmet and salamander-bedecked surcoat, our Knight of Wands is heading places. His fit is checked, his hair is did, his look is maxxed—and he’s off on his next adventure just as soon as he takes one last selfie.  What will he do with the awesome creative potential of the Ace of Wands?!

When you draw the Knight of Wands, look out for the following themes:

People experiencing momentum

People having adventures

People meeting challenges

People Experiencing romantic drama

People moving

People having air-of-fire/solar experiences.

✨ To share your stories about the Queen of Wands for the next Tarot in Real Life segment - please join as a Patreon supporter of the Tarot Podcast! https://patreon.com/thetarotpodcast . You can also write in to the show at thetarotpodcast.com/about, using the contact form at the bottom of the page.

Links for this episode:

Ep. 60: Intro to Court Cards.

4 Stories: An Elemental Approach to the Tarot (2025)
(Link above is better for creators, but here's an Amazon link if that's easier.)

Shop for cool stuff made by your host! 

Tarot Deciphered: a card-by-card encyclopedia of tarot lore and correspondences.

Become a Tarot Podcast member!

Sign up for readings and explore books and classes! https://tsusanchang.com

Continue your tarot journey with The Living Tarot book and/or The Living Tarot online class (discount for class available if you purchase the book!)

😊 And...don't forget to like, rate, subscribe, and share!! 😊