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 (available 2024). 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 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 sporadic 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​
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"Fools and Believers," F(r)iction, Arcana issue, 2023
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"Eight of Quills," The Literary Tarot, Brink Literacy Project, 2023
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"Remember Us With Your Imagination," 2022
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Fiction
"Ghost Story," Joyland
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"Upper Middle Class Houses," Third Coast -- Pushcart Prize Special Mention 2014
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"Last Dog," Hunger Mountain -- Notable mention in Best American Short Stories 2012 and Best American Nonrequired Reading 2012
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"Male Seeking Female," Annalemma
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"Salt" and "Clean," PANK
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Anthology
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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.
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"Fifth Spirit Tarot," deck review on the Wildly Tarot Podcast
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"Kickstarter's Season of the Witch," by Rebecca Hiscott, Kickstarter.com
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"Why Queer People Love Witchcraft," by Amanda Kohr, Refinery29
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YouTube
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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
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Podcasts
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A Tiny Revolution, "Queering the Mystical with Charlie Claire Burgess," November 2023.
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Myth Tarot Love, "Radical Tarot with Charlie Claire Burgess," November 2023.
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Witch Church, "Exploring Your Queerness Through a Radical Tarot with Charlie Claire Burgess," October 2023.
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Cosmic Cousins, A Conversation with "Radical Tarot" Author Charlie Claire Burgess
July 2023.
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In Search of Tarot, Live from the 2021 Searcher's Solstice Tarot Conference, A Panel Discussion on Expanding Sex, Sexuality, and Gender in the Tarot with Cassandra Snow, Charlie Claire Burgess, and Nick Kepley
June 2021
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Wellness Community Magic Podcast, The Messy In-Between with Charlie Claire Burgess
April 2021
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Cosmic Cousins, Aquarius New Moon: Conversation with Fifth Spirit Tarot Deck Creator Charlie Claire Burgess
February 2021
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In Search of Tarot, Gender in Tarot with Charlie Claire Burgess
December 2020
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We Are Our Own Lovers, Where Kelsey and Claire Emphatically Agree about the Power of Self-Acceptance
May 2020
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The Arnemancy Podcast, Tarot Beyond Binaries with The Word Witch
April 2020
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Rise Up! Good Witch, Tarot Storytelling with Claire Burgess, Diana Rose, and Sarah Gottessdiener
September 2019
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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:
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Queering the tarot
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Using tarot for liberation and creating the future
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Creating tarot decks
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Queer devotion / spirituality / witchcraft
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Queer and trans divinity
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Finding my way to a fulfilling magical and spiritual practice after being raised in the Southern protestant church and a decade of atheism
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Being a queer and trans nonbinary person in the world today