Maygan Barker (Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador)
In 2019, Pew Research Center published a study that found Christianity was in decline. As Christianity membership has decreased, Trinity College in Connecticut found a simultaneous increase of people identifying as witchcraft practitioners. Meanwhile, social media has fostered community among disenfranchised ex-Christian women and neo-witches. There is overlap between these communities; a quick Tiktok search reveals several thousand videos simultaneously tagged as #exchristian, #witchtok, and #tarot. This paper explores these communities on Tiktok, looking at digital tarot reading as performance of feminine epistemologies before considering the ways in which women are using tarot to reclaim autonomy and spiritual authority post-religion.
Part of 09-09 Gender and Belief, Saturday, October 15, 2:30 pm–4:30 pm