Hi everyone! I hope you’ve had a good April—today is May 1, also known as International Workers’ Day. In solidarity and celebration of all the amazing creative people I follow and consider my peers/colleagues, here’s a list of folks whose work I urge you to check out. Featuring witchy types—tarot readers, astrologers—as well as writers. Lots of folks on this list are both! In addition, everyone on this list is queer and a large number of them are also disabled/chronically ill. If that’s your life, they understand, too, and bring that perspective to their work.
The Kraken Collective - Indie Queer Speculative Fiction Authors
This year I joined the Kraken Collective, a group of indie queer speculative fiction authors working together to share resources and marketing! I’ve talked about them before, but I’ll do it again! If you’re looking for more queer SFF and horror, I highly advise you to check out the Kraken booklist below and see if anything strikes your fancy. There’s a wide range of genres and tones available, although cozy/comfort fantasy is probably most popular.
Jeanna Kadlec - Astrologer and Author
I’ve been following Jeanna for years now, and I cannot recommend all of her varied work enough! Jeanna is a professional astrologer (profiled in the NYT!) and author whose experience is rooted in leaving the evangelical community she was raised in and discovering her authentic, magical, queer self. Jeanna is the ultimate Capricorn and says things like they are, straight, with a little bit of an edge that I really love—but never with any cruelty.
My favorite thing of Jeanna’s right now is my paid subscription to her substack, Astrology for Writers. The paid version of this newsletter includes multiple posts per week about the current astrological weather, with a focus on how it may affect our lives and practices as creative folks. Jeanna’s astrological writing is clear, concise, and rich with visual imagery. And sometimes gifs and memes, lol.
In the paid subscription, you also get access to the Astrology for Writers discord server, which is an AMAZING little community! I’ve made so many cool friends there—it’s super welcoming to people of all writing/astrology levels, to folks with chronic illness/disabilities, neurodivergence, etc. One of my favorite places on the internet right now.
She also does classes, workshops, and astrological readings! I took her original Astrology for Writers course a couple years ago on scholarship and it was so enlightening and fun.
And of course I have to mention her memoir, Heretic, which not only tells the story of her exvangelical journey, but also delves into the history and effects of evangelism in America past and present. Highly, highly recommend.
Meg Jones Wall - Tarot Reader and Author
Meg is another person whose work I’ve been following for ages, and who I’ve had the opportunity to get to know in Jeanna’s discord (full disclosure: everyone on this list aside from the Kraken Collective is in that discord, lol)! Meg is an incredible tarot reader and author of Finding the Fool, a book I can’t recommend enough to anyone who is into tarot and cartomancy.
Something else Meg is well known for is their enormous library of tarot spreads! If you read cards, you should absolutely bookmark that link for reference whenever you’re looking for a specific spread for your next reading. Recently, Meg has also been posting a lot of IG reels about tarot/cartomancy as a practice, answering both common and uncommon questions with their honest, no-nonsense, but kind manner. Definitely go follow if you’re on IG.
And of course, if you have the funds, Meg also offers one-on-one services like tarot readings, workshops, and coaching/mentorship.
Siri Vincent Plouff - Witch, Teacher, Author, Small Biz Owner
I met so many cool people on Twitter back in the day, Siri being one of the few who I made sure to stay in touch with when I left in 2021 (or whenever that was). Over the years, they’ve done SO much and SO many different things! A true polymath, unafraid to change up their offerings based on what they feel called to create and offer in the moment.
Some of Siri’s most known and accessible work is The Heathen’s Journey podcast and their antiracist Heathen resources. If you follow this path or are interested in it, these are almost certainly up your alley.
Like everyone else on this list, Siri is an author! Lessons from the Empress, cowritten with Cassandra Snow, is a deep dive by two nonbinary writers into self-care, compassion, and spiritual wellness with the Empress card and tarot as a guide.
Lessons from the Empress is available now, but you can also preorder their new book, Queering the Runes: Reclaiming Ancestral Wisdom in Rune Magic and Mythology as well! Runes aren’t a type of divination I personally do, but I know from being in the divination/pagan community for so long that this book is a WELL NEEDED resource.
Siri’s most recent endeavor is the creation of Lore Books and Supplies, which is currently an online shop and witchy/occult book resource list, but will hopefully one day become a physical space for shopping, learning, and community in the Twin Cities area. We need more community spaces these days, so check it out if you’re interested in ritual supplies, books, or classes!
Cassandra Snow - Tarot Reader and Author
Cassandra is one of the nicest people I know, and extremely skilled at everything they do. Huge Pisces energy, which I love! I’ve had a few email tarot readings with them over the years, and they’re always full of insight and advice that I need in the moment—Cassandra’s readings are also extremely affordable, so if you don’t have the big bucks, you can still book a reading with them at a comfortable price.
As mentioned before, Cassandra is the cowriter of Lessons from the Empress. They also wrote the incredible books Queering the Tarot and Queering Your Craft. When I first published the Numinous Tarot, a lot of folks messaged me to ask if I knew of any good queer-focused books about tarot. At the time I didn’t really have any good suggestions, but now I point everyone towards Queering the Tarot! I’ve been reading cards for over 20 years and I still consult this book on the regular.
Like many others on this list, Cassandra is also a teacher. If you’re new to tarot or are interested but haven’t even started, Cassandra also sometimes offers classes that I think y’all would be very interested in. I’m not sure that there are any open right now, but definitely give them a follow on IG or their newsletter for updates.
Hannah Levy - Tarot Magazine Editor, Writer, Poet
Hannah is the newest person on this list! I found her work through the Astrology for Writers discord and have had a great time getting to know her and the things she does.
The first thing, of course, is that she is the founder and editor of The Rebis, a magazine celebrating tarot, art, and creative writing. I have the first two issues of The Rebis, and they’re not only FILLED with incredible work and insights on The Chariot and The Wheel of Fortune (each issue is themed around a specific card), but the physical print magazines are super high quality.
Hannah also shares her poetry and prose through her free substack, //understories//, which is beautiful and thought-provoking. Definitely give it a read.
I hope you find at least one new person whose work you enjoy on this list! Every creative person I know has been struggling with income lately, for a variety of reasons, but in no small part due to the economy and changes to social media. If you have a little extra time and/or money to support folks, it’ll be extra appreciated right now.
Whose work—witchy, writing, creative, whatever—do you wish more people knew about? Let me and others know in the comments! Feel free to promote your own work as well.
As a reminder, on April 11th, I released PARTY OF FOOLS, a comedic fantasy novella in a brand new series! Two of these novellas will be released per year so you don’t have to wait long between installments.
Ale’s well that ends well…
What happens when a wayward immortal Emperor, a halfling metal bard, and a 60-year-old barbarian queen walk into a bar? They plan a worldwide food tour, of course! But first they have to escape the capital without being caught by the Captain of the Royal Guard, who’s bent on protecting the Emperor from pesky rebels—rebels who may already be Emperor Vallora’s new friends...
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who’s gotten a copy so far—you’re really making my author dreams come true. Happy reading, and happy May Day!