Tarot Research
My research examines tarot as a living cultural practice, with particular attention to the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition, British tarot history, creative interviewing and the use of chance-based methods in qualitative research.
I combine archival research, practitioner testimony, public documentation and experimental interview methods. My work is directed by more than thirty years of practical experience with tarot, alongside my work as a journalist, podcast producer and founder of the British Tarot Archive.
Rider-Waite-Smith tarot as living heritage
In 2026, I coordinated a community submission documenting Rider-Waite-Smith tarot reading practice in the UK for the Inventories of Living Heritage in the UK.
The project gathered testimony and supporting evidence from readers, teachers, writers, artists, historians, archivists and organisers. It examined how Rider-Waite-Smith tarot practice is maintained, taught, adapted, interpreted and passed on within contemporary communities.
The completed submission was made in March 2026 and is currently under review for possible inclusion in the UK inventories.
The inventories form part of the United Kingdom’s implementation of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Visit the Rider-Waite-Smith Living Heritage project
Conference research
In June 2026, I presented:
Tarot Reading as Living Heritage: Documenting Contemporary Rider-Waite-Smith Practice in the UK
Presented at Tarot Cultures, a conference organised by Goldsmiths, University of London.
The paper considered tarot reading as a living practice. It drew on the community consultation undertaken for the UK living heritage submission and examined how tarot practice is carried and taught.
Research and publications
Piercing the PR Shield
Aleatory Intervention as a Method for Disrupting Narrative Control in Qualitative Interviewing
A 2026 working paper examining the use of chance-based prompts in interviews. It considers how aleatory methods can interrupt rehearsed narratives, reduce message control and create space for less predictable forms of response.
The Beeston Genesis
Robert William Felkin and the Codification of Modern Tarot Systems
A 2026 research preprint examining Robert William Felkin’s connection to Beeston and his role in the development of British occult and tarot systems.
The research also identified and documented Felkin’s birthplace for inclusion in public geographic records.
Rider-Waite-Smith tarot as living heritage
I coordinated a community submission documenting Rider-Waite-Smith tarot reading practice in the UK for the Inventories of Living Heritage in the UK.
The project gathered testimony and supporting evidence from readers, teachers, writers, artists, historians, archivists and organisers about how the practice is maintained, taught, adapted and passed on. The completed submission was made in March 2026 and is currently under review for possible inclusion in the UK inventories.
The inventories form part of the United Kingdom’s implementation of the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Visit the Rider-Waite-Smith Living Heritage project
British Tarot Archive
I founded the British Tarot Archive as an independent research and documentation project.
The archive records tarot decks, publications, objects, people, organisations and practices connected with tarot in Britain. Its purpose is to preserve evidence of tarot as both a material culture and a continuing social practice.
The project places particular emphasis on material that may otherwise be overlooked, including small press publications, independently produced decks, event ephemera, practitioner histories and contemporary community activity.
Research themes
My current areas of research include:
- tarot as living heritage
- Rider-Waite-Smith tarot reading practice in the UK
- the cultural influence of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck
- the development of modern British tarot systems
- tarot decks and publications as material culture
- chance-based and aleatory interview methods
- tarot as a tool for creativity, storytelling and conversation
- the documentation of contemporary tarot communities
Practice and experience
I have worked with tarot for more than three decades.
My practical experience informs my research, particularly where formal historical accounts differ from the ways tarot is taught, used and understood within communities.
This portrait shows me using divination cards in the late 1990s and reflects a relationship with the cards that continues to shape my research today
