XZ — The Red Read

XZ - a tarot course in transgressive movement

Screen Shot 2023-12-26 at 4.01.02 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-12-26 at 4.00.18 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-12-26 at 4.01.50 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-12-26 at 4.02.36 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-05-05 at 5.52.50 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-05-05 at 5.53.05 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-05-05 at 5.53.16 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-12-26 at 4.03.13 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-05-05 at 5.53.26 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-12-26 at 3.59.54 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-12-26 at 4.04.24 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-12-26 at 4.05.02 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-05-05 at 5.53.51 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-05-05 at 5.56.05 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-05-05 at 5.57.07 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-05-05 at 5.57.37 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-12-26 at 4.05.31 PM.png

Screen Shot 2023-12-26 at 4.06.06 PM.png

Jan 2024 - Jan 2025 [ThursDays} 5-7 pm PST

Class Starts Jan 25th 2024

TENZ is a facilitated decan walk through the minor arcana of the tarot. This is a year long guide into the minor arcana, using the tarot images as doorways into a depth understanding of the zodiac. We will still be covering the major “parents” of each the minor arcana / pip cards.

As is the tradition of decanic imagery, this course is an inspired re-interpretation of historical meaning through modern application. Decan history and application is ongoing, a rich ritual calendar with four millenia long collection of spirits and symbols, and a path toward individual determination, a path toward dignity that is queer in its self-determination. TENZ is tarot as a movement practice, whereby as we walk with agency we reclaim dignity lost at the intersections of white supremacy, capitalism and imperialism.

TENZ teaches tarot a system of syncretization, connecting the decanic history in live classes, to the critical co-investigation of the new cultural terrain we walk on, done with lectures for each class which are interpreted through various queer, and critical theory. This course is an unveiling of tarot, a summoning of wisdom distilled from the Sun’s serpentine journey through the zodiac, and an extending our tarot reading into an expanded critical literacy informed by the indigenous, feminist, and decolonial texts curated for this course. This is a borderlands course. It aims to fuse relationships by honoring a narrative tradition which creates poetic coherence out of a life of movement and fragmentation, as is the case when modern readers traverse dissociative linguistic, colonial, cultural, psychic and physical borders.

Class Format

TENZ teaches how the tarot can be used multidisciplinary, as an astrological calendar connecting the histories of our bodies in space and time. The critical texts accompanying the course inspire transformation of the cultural sites and societal institutions we interact with, inform and are informed by, by doing so in collaborative community space. The lectures are meant to supply a critical terminology through the conceptual apparatus of the tarot. The live classes encourage a dialogue, contestation and coherence. The recorded lectures provide a modern application and reading, while the live classes will lean on the decanic history, traditional application and overall blended exploration.

The class is cut into 12 monthly units, following the cards / decans of the current zodiacal season, which cuts the zodiac down to a finer grain (36 distinct faces versus 12). Each month consists of a pre-recorded lesson ( about 1.5 hours each), and 2 live class (each approx. 2 hours ) to focus on integration and application. The lecture is accompanied by a downloadable presentation, which includes a summarized critical reading of the decans, journal / tarot prompts and tarot spreads for personal inquiry. Also provided are ancient translations of the decans for a well-rounded exploration and learning. There is an additional introductory live lecture on defining and explore decanic history and dignity. This is a primer to start our journey together. In total there are 37 (12 recorded, 25 (!) live) classes here offered.

Live sessions will take place on Thursdays (sometimes Fridays), twice a zodiac season, from 5-7 pm PT (though subject to change based upon the collective availability). These will be held via Zoom and are recorded for future reference, and to ensure students who can’t make it live, are kept current. Once enrolled you will gain access to a private webpage with the monthly lectures and presentations, and invitations to live classes, exclusive texts, and a private discord channel.

Texts

All About Love & Belonging: A Culture of Place by bell hooks ~ Eros and Civilization by Herbert Marcuse ~ Feminism Without Borders by Chandra Talpade Mohanty ~ Red Skin White Masks by Glen Sean Coulthard ~ The Fantasy Bond by Robert W. Firestone ~ Theories of the Flesh by Julie Avril Minich ~ Making Face, Making Soul, Haciendo Caras edited by Gloria Anzaldúa ~ The Inner Reaches of Outer Space by Joseph Campbell ~ And The Category Is…Inside New York’s Vogue House, and Ballroom Community by Rick Tucker ~36 Faces by Austin Coppock ~ 36 Secrets by T. Susan Chang and more!

Check out the syllabus here

Student Testimonial:

"TENZ, the year-long decanic walk of the minor arcana was insightful, liberating, and healing. The way Christopher teaches tarot and astrology through a queer, feminist, and ecological (to name a few) frameworks is extraordinary. It felt like some of my favorite critical theory classes mixed with spiritual development and group therapy - all things I admire deeply. The synchronicities were really felt throughout this process and Christopher's teachings influenced me to feel the planets' transit(s) or placement(s) in the decans in a much richer way. Along the way, I was able to connect with and learn from others who shared such beautiful, poetic experiences and delineations. This would have only been possible through Christopher's careful curation of textual pairing and witnessing/space-holding despite a virtual setting. I highly recommend working with Christopher whether it be for a reading or a workshop/class and look forward to seeing more of their brilliant work in the future." - Alex H., a recent graduate from TENZ year 1.

Combined, Accessible Study

This offering is for you if want to study with me, and the tarot, but with a bit more space / deconstruction and accessibility than the comprehensive THRESHOLDS : TÉTTARES tarot course. This course is for more advanced / committed diviners, and most students have taken the foundational THRESHOLDS course, otherwise have some preexisting astrological knowledge. Either way you are sure to establish a tarot practice that is anchored in astrological historic cosmic coherence. It will make your divination practice much more nuanced. Each month we cover everyone’s chart one house, one planet and placement at a time, providing ongoing counseling, collaborative consideration, and cathartic ritual.

Committing to this offering is to accept invitation to a field and frequency of devotion, right relations and revelation. Payments can be processed on automatic monthly basis once you sign up, or in-full upfront for discount.

Tuition: $850 (discounted for full upfront enrollment to $780). (scheduling block to the right / below)

Payment Plans: $135 to set up and enroll and then $65 per month for 12 months (the first being the enrollment month). (scheduling block to the left /above, make sure to use code after setting up payment plan to then enroll in the XZ course) Please reach out if you have any questions!

Already purchased one or more workshops? Email me here and I’ll provide a discount for your enrollment in accordance with the number of individual workshops previously purchased.

XZ meets twice a zodiac season . THRESHOLDS is offered quarterly for an intensive 3 mo / 5 mo container with weekly continuous study. Learn more about THRESHOLDS here and TÉTTARES here.