This week, the Tarot Podcast brings you one of the best-selling tarot decks of all time: the Wildwood Tarot. Creators Mark Ryan and John Matthews joined me to discuss the roots of this deck in pre-Celtic mythology, earth-based shamanism, and the lore of Sherwood Forest. (Artist Will Worthington was unfortunately unavailable for the interview.).  Anchored to the Wheel of the Year and the earth’s seasonal cycles, the Wildwood Tarot has proven to hold enduring appeal for pagan practitioners and mainstream readers alike.

As always, there’s a patron reading using the deck at the end of the episode. If you yourself would like to submit a question for a reading on the Tarot Podcast, sign up as a paid member!  You’ll find out when readings are happening on Patreon or Discord and be able to share your question then!

Mark Ryan (b. 1956) is an English actor, singer, author, and action director whose career spans West End musicals, television, and film. He's best known to mainstream audiences as the voice of Bumblebee, Jetfire, and Lockdown across the Transformers franchise, and for his iconic portrayal of Nasir in Robin of Sherwood and Mr. Gates in Black Sails, alongside work as a swordmaster and fight director on films like King Arthur and First Knight. Before entertainment, he served with British Army Intelligence and Special Forces, later working as a licensed US private investigator (as described in his 2015 autobiography, Hold Fast). Ryan's most enduring contribution to tarot is the Greenwood Tarot, created with artist Chesca Potter, which he later reworked with John Matthews and illustrator Will Worthington into the internationally bestselling Wildwood Tarot, followed by a 2017 companion workbook, Wild Magic. 

John Matthews, dubbed "Oxford's answer to all things mythic," has worked as an independent scholar since 1980, building a lifetime study of Arthurian legend and, more recently, the history of piracy, across a publication list topping 200 titles — among them Pirates, a number-one New York Times bestseller for 22 weeks in 18 languages. He has advised on major films including King Arthur, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Prince of Persia, and won a BAFTA for the King Arthur education DVD. His tarot work began with the Arthurian Tarot, devised with Caitlin Matthews and now some 150,000 copies deep across three editions. He went on to create the best-selling Wildwood Tarot with Mark Ryan, along with The Shaman's Oracle, The Camelot Oracle, The Lost Tarot of Nostradamus, and The Sherlock Holmes Tarot. His latest publications include The Sleeping Beauty Oracle, The Circle of the Sidhe, and Merlin's Mirror Oracle.

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Tarot IRL is back, with our very first court card! In this episode, we examine how the energetic and enthusiastic Page of Wands shows up in the lives of ordinary folks.

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

✨ To share your stories about the Knight of Wands for the next Tarot in Real Life segment - please join as a Patreon supporter of the Tarot Podcast!  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.

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Animal decks are commonplace in the world of tarot, but to my mind the very finest of them is the Animal Totem Tarot, published in 2016 by author Leeza Robertson and artist Eugene Smith. In our conversation, the creators share the story behind Leeza’s meticulously-conceived animal correspondences and Eugene’s exquisite inkwork, which came together in an unforgettable 78-piece work of art..

As always, there’s a patron reading using the deck, at the end of the episode. If you'd like to see more of the Animal Totem Tarot in action, we have a few more readings in this week's Patreon bonus content. 

Leeza Robertson is an international bestselling author with Llewellyn Worldwide. She is a girl from the Aussie bush living her best life in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her wife. When she is not writing books or creating decks, she is helping other writers bring their dream of publishing into reality.

Eugene Smith is an illustrator born and raised in California now residing in Chicago, IL.  He decided all that time spent doodling in notebooks and scribbling on walls should be put to good use and so he pursued a BFA in painting and drawing from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. His work has appeared in books, editorials, tarot card decks, and educational graphic novels. He lives with his lovely wife, two children, and an odd dog.

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Neurobiologist and tarot reader Siddharth Ramakrishnan returns to the Tarot Podcast to talk about interoception—your awareness of what’s going on inside your own body. When we’re doing a tarot reading, what’s happening in this internal sensor system? How do the things we’re hearing from our body affect what we see in the cards and say to our querents?

For more Siddharth, and more on the intersection of brain biology and divination, check out this week’s bonus content, where Siddharth and I speculate about what’s going on neurologically when you’re trying to detect whether your tarot reader is a fraud!

Siddharth Ramakrishnan, PhD, is a neuroscientist, artist, and educator. He is the Chair of Neuroscience and Professor of Biology at the University of Puget Sound and a recipient of the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award. His research spans developmental biology, neuroendocrinology and neuroethics. A Fellow of the UCLA Art|Sci center, his collaborations with artists have led to exhibitions and documentaries that blend the worlds of art and science highlighting topics like Hox genes, animal umwelts and biomimicry.  An avid Tarot reader, he has designed and created the NeuroTarot deck based on the major arcana of Tarot and infused with neuroscience. He was the keynote speaker at NWTS 2023, StaarCon 2025, the UCLA Art Sci Center, and a panelist at the Masters of Tarot workshop (2023) with Mary K. Greer at Omega, Rhinebeck NY. In addition he has been featured at various scientific conferences, art museums and tarot workshops. His book "The Neuroscience of Tarot", is out with Llewellyn Worldwide. "The Neuroscience of Magic" will be out in 2026!

Instagram/BlueSky/Threads: @siddbits

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It is commonly said that court cards are the hardest cards to interpret. Today, we take on these Royal Pains in the A** and try to make some sense of them. When you’re done listening, you’ll have a toolbox full of ways to interpret courts. But remember, above all, court cards are just people!

For this week’s bonus post, I’m asking folks to tell me a story about a court card using its associated minor cards! Send yours before 7/31/26 and I’ll thank you with a little surprise gift!

Links for this episode:

Court Card reference books

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Tarot on the Road is back! This week, the Tarot Podcast heads out to the Morgan Library in New York City for their “Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions” show. The exhibit is dazzling to look at, but it also gives you a sense of how tarot morphed and shifted in form over the centuries.

In my conversation with the three organizers responsible for the exhibit, you’ll see how the rich, thoughtful narrative they organized around tarot captures the imagination and closely follows the trajectory of tarot from a luxury object made an artisanal workshop in 15th century Italy to becoming a contemporary global phenomenon.

If you just can’t possibly make it New York, you can see many of the featured images both in the video version of this podcast and in the Morgan’s own incredible exhibit catalogue, which is lavishly illustrated and full of fascinating essays on the cultural history of tarot (yes! you do need one more book!).

Links for this episode:

More tarot history episodes:

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If you’re tarot-curious, you’ve probably heard some of the myths around tarot – how you’re supposed to get your first deck, what kind of abilities you have to have, what kind of power the cards have, even how to handle or not handle your cards.

But what do REAL tarot readers think about some of these myths? Cardfluencer Ethony Dawn and I pull back the curtain on what tarot actually looks like! in contemporary practice.

Ethony is an author, tarot reader, tarot teacher, and High Priestess. She’s the author of Become an Exceptional Tarot Reader, Tarot Grimoire, and Your Tarot Court (Llewellyn) and created several decks, including Luminous Flow Tarot, Cosmic Wisdom Tarot, Modern Love Tarot, and Awakened Soul Oracle. As Headmistress of the Tarot Readers Academy, she teaches Tarot worldwide. Ethony is an ’80s child who loves Halloween, Care Bears, and the ocean. 

Links for this show:

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Getting a tarot reading? How can you make sure you have the most meaningful experience possible?  How do you protect yourself against “querent remorse”?  In this week’s show, host T. Susan offers tips and caveats: how to prepare for a reading, what to expect during a reading, and what to do after a reading.

(This one’s intended especially for those who are seeking out readings, but it’s also generally applicable for anyone who consults the cards for themselves.)

For examples of great questions you can ask a tarot reader, be sure to check out this week’s bonus content! 

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It’s Tarot On the Road! This week, the Tarot Podcast visits the Tarot Museum Belgium, where proprietor Guido Gillabel shows us what 40 years of pure tarot obsession can look like. If you find yourself somewhere between Brussels and Antwerp, be sure to get in touch with Guido for a tour.

The audio and video versions of this episode are distinct.  In the audio version, you’ll hear my interview with Guido about how he became a tarot reader and teacher and how the Museum got started in the Amsterdam occult scene of the late 1970’s and early 80’s. In the video version, Guido shows off his collection of historic tarot artifacts, tarot novelties and contemporary decks from all over the world.

Links for this episode:

 ***Tarot Museum Belgium visits are by appointment. Contact Guido directly through his website or e-mail.***

This week’s bonus content:

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In today’s show, the Tarot Podcast veers off the beaten path and turns to science! for an explanation of how prediction works. My guest is Siddharth Ramakrishnan, a neuroscientist who also practices tarot. He’s also a terrific explainer of brain biology for those of us without advanced degrees in the sciences. How has evolution shaped our perception of the future? What role does our brain play in decoding what’s to come? Join us for some facts, some educated guesses, and some wild speculation!

Siddharth Ramakrishnan, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist, artist, and educator. He is the Chair of Neuroscience and Professor of Biology at the University of Puget Sound and a recipient of the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award. His research spans developmental biology, neuroendocrinology and neuroethics. A Fellow of the UCLA Art|Sci center, his collaborations with artists have led to exhibitions and documentaries that blend the worlds of art and science highlighting topics like Hox genes, animal umwelts and biomimicry.  An avid Tarot reader, he has designed and created the NeuroTarot deck based on the major arcana of Tarot and infused with neuroscience. He was the keynote speaker at NWTS 2023, StaarCon 2025, the UCLA Art Sci Center, and a panelist at the Masters of Tarot workshop (2023) with Mary K. Greer at Omega, Rhinebeck NY. In addition he has been featured at various scientific conferences, art museums and tarot workshops. His book "The Neuroscience of Tarot", is out with Llewellyn Worldwide. "The Neuroscience of Magic" will be out in 2026!

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