The Witches' Insurrection Tarot

The Witches' Insurrection Tarot is a 78-card deck that offers a radical reinterpretation of the Rider-Waite-Smith system, infused with anarchist, anti-fascist, and pro-sex-worker philosophies. Created by Kit Snicket, the deck aims to dismantle hierarchical structures often found in traditional tarot, replacing them with concepts of ungovernable multitudes and personal autonomy. This re-envisioning extends to the card titles, where court cards are renamed as Harlots, Enchantresses, Partisans, and Conspirators, and major arcana like The Empress and The Emperor become The Whore and The Mistress, respectively.

The deck is deeply personal for Snicket, serving as an autobiographical narrative and an exercise in self-portraiture that also seeks to resonate with a broader audience of outcasts and rebels. The imagery draws inspiration from Pamela Colman Smith's work while incorporating more confrontational and explicit themes, such as the homage to Artemisia Gentileschi's 'Judith Slaying Holofernes' in the Justice card, which features a severed head and vagina dentata as a symbol of defensive femme sexuality. This blend of traditional influence and provocative modern interpretation creates a deck that is both recognizable in its structure and revolutionary in its message.

The Witches' Insurrection Tarot is presented as a "deck for the end of the world," embracing themes of destruction and transformation. It is designed for those who feel marginalized by mainstream society, including anarchists, sex workers, witches, and queer individuals. The minimalist card faces feature images floating in negative space, while the backs are more ornamental, combining Victorian borders with the eight-pointed star of Ishtar, symbolizing a fusion of beauty and utility in a deck that challenges conventional norms.

This deck is specifically designed for readers who identify with anarchist, anti-fascist, pro-sex-worker, and queer perspectives, or those who seek a tarot deck that challenges traditional hierarchies and societal norms. It will appeal to experienced tarot readers looking for a deck with a strong, explicit political and social message, as well as collectors interested in unique, artist-driven interpretations of the tarot. Beginners might find the renamed cards and intense imagery less accessible without prior RWS knowledge, but its clear thematic focus makes it a powerful tool for self-reflection and activism.

Kit Snicket first attempted to draw a tarot deck at age fourteen, a project abandoned due to undeveloped artistic skills. Fourteen years later, in 2017, a spontaneous sketch of The Hanged Man reignited the ambition. Having gained years of tarot experience and artistic development, Snicket began serious work on the deck in August 2018. The deck is deeply autobiographical, reflecting personal interpretations and experiences, and is rooted in anarchist values, aiming to portray the "ungovernable multitudes" of the occult rather than hierarchical binaries.