top of page
Charlie at the park - 1.jpeg
TWW_About_White_edited.png
Charlie Headshot selfie - 1.jpeg

charlie claire burgess

Charlie (they/them) is a queer and trans-nonbinary tarot practitioner, author, illustrator, and deck creator. They are the creator of Fifth Spirit Tarot (indie 2020, Hay House 2022), a queer and inclusive deck for a world beyond binaries; and The Gay Marseille, a cheeky, queer update on the classic Tarot de Marseille. Their book Radical Tarot (Hay House 2023) is a guide to reading tarot for personal and collective liberation. They are currently at work on their next book, Queer Devotion (Hay House, May 2025), an exploration of the queer divine in deities and figures of myth and legend that opens pathways for LGBTQIA2S+ people to revere the sacred in themselves. Charlie is represented by Kelly Van Sant of kt literary.

Charlie is also the erstwhile host of The Word Witch Podcast and teaches classes on tarot and queer devotion online. In addition to their witchy work, Charlie writes creative nonfiction and fiction and has an MFA in Creative Writing from Vanderbilt University. Born and raised in the Deep South, Charlie has made their home in Portland, Oregon, with their spouse Aaron and their one-eyed pug Apollo.

 

The best places to connect with Charlie are on Instagram @the.word.witch, signing up for their newsletter, or subscribing to their Substack, Queerly Devoted.

SELECTED WRITING

Non-Fiction

 

​"Letters from Between: On Tarot, Grief, and the Queer Heart," The Lambda Literary Review, 2024​

​

"Fools and Believers," F(r)iction, Arcana issue, 2023

​

"Eight of Quills," The Literary Tarot, Brink Literacy Project, 2023

​

"Remember Us With Your Imagination," 2022

​

Fiction

 

"Ghost Story," Joyland

​

"Upper Middle Class Houses," Third Coast -- Pushcart Prize Special Mention 2014

​

"Last Dog," Hunger Mountain -- Notable mention in Best American Short Stories 2012 and Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012

​

"Male Seeking Female," Annalemma

​

"Salt" and "Clean," PANK

​

Anthology

​

New Stories from the Midwest 2016: "Upper Middle Class Houses," originally published in Third Coast 

PRESS & Interviews

Radical Tarot Book Club series on the In Search of Tarot podcast: Part 1, Part 2, Author Interview.

​

"Fifth Spirit Tarot," deck review on the Wildly Tarot Podcast

​

"Kickstarter's Season of the Witch," by Rebecca Hiscott, Kickstarter.com

​

"Why Queer People Love Witchcraft," by Amanda Kohr, Refinery29

​

YouTube

​

Tarot Adventures with Jules, Deck Creator Chat: Radical Tarot and The Gay Marseille, July 2023

 

Tarot Adventures with Jules, Deck Creator Chat: Fifth Spirit Tarot, November 2021

​

Podcasts

​

A Tiny Revolution, "Queering the Mystical with Charlie Claire Burgess," November 2023.

​

Myth Tarot Love, "Radical Tarot with Charlie Claire Burgess," November 2023.

​

Witch Church, "Exploring Your Queerness Through a Radical Tarot with Charlie Claire Burgess," October 2023.

​

Cosmic Cousins, A Conversation with "Radical Tarot" Author Charlie Claire Burgess

July 2023.

​

In Search of Tarot, Live from the 2021 Searcher's Solstice Tarot ConferenceA Panel Discussion on Expanding Sex, Sexuality, and Gender in the Tarot with Cassandra Snow, Charlie Claire Burgess, and Nick Kepley

June 2021

​

Wellness Community Magic Podcast, The Messy In-Between with Charlie Claire Burgess

April 2021

​

Cosmic Cousins, Aquarius New Moon: Conversation with Fifth Spirit Tarot Deck Creator Charlie Claire Burgess

February 2021

​

In Search of Tarot, Gender in Tarot with Charlie Claire Burgess

December 2020

​

We Are Our Own Lovers, Where Kelsey and Claire Emphatically Agree about the Power of Self-Acceptance 

May 2020 

​

The Arnemancy Podcast, Tarot Beyond Binaries with The Word Witch

April 2020

​

Rise Up! Good Witch, Tarot Storytelling with Claire Burgess, Diana Rose, and Sarah Gottessdiener

September 2019

​

Blind Love Radio, Creating from the Void with Claire Burgess

July 2019

WANT ME ON YOUR POD OR CHANNEL?

I'd love to, thanks for asking! I'm eager to talk about my work and/or topics including:

​

  • Queering the tarot

  • Using tarot for liberation and creating the future

  • Creating tarot decks

  • Queer devotion / spirituality / witchcraft

  • Queer and trans divinity

  • Finding my way to a fulfilling magical and spiritual practice after being raised in the Southern protestant church and a decade of atheism

  • Being a queer and trans nonbinary person in the world today

bottom of page