Queering Tarot, Queering Tantra: A Case Study of Indian Tarot Channels on YouTube

Drawing on Homi K. Bhabha’s postcolonial theory of hybridity, the paper proposes the concept of a “virtual-sacred hybridity” to argue that Indian tarot channels on YouTube exemplify a hybridity at multiple levels: a) sacred hybridity where Tarot readers incorporate and synthesize elements from different religions and spiritual traditions, b) linguistic hybridity as seen in Tarot channels that combine different languages and cultural idioms, and c) spatial hybridity where online Tarot functions within a liminal, virtual space between the analog and the transcendental space. Based on case study and content analysis, the paper further contends that the hybridity of online Tarot remains embedded in queerness just as queerness embraces hybridity by challenging heteronormative binaries. The online blending of Tarot and Tantra offers insights into how digital platforms allow space for non-majoritarian, spiritual practices even though content creators remain governed by the market logic of algorithm, revenue production, and consumption