Episode 36: Robert M. Place + the Alchemical Tarot episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 11, 2026 · 35 MIN

Episode 36: Robert M. Place + the Alchemical Tarot

from The Tarot Podcast with T. Susan Chang · host T. Susan Chang

The Tarot Podcast has TWO different interviews! with two different deck creators this week. Here in Episode 36, we chat with Robert Place, the creator of the best-selling Alchemical Tarot. Bob drew the Alchemical Tarot in the style of 17th century alchemical engravings, and it became an instant favorite in the tarot community on publication in 1995. Along with Bob’s books, this deck is a crash course in Western esotericism, and we had a lot of fun talking about the wondrous synchronicities that accompanied his creation of this deck. On Patreon, we have a written interview with Catrin Welz-Stein, the creator of the Tarot of Mystical Moments, a stunning and surreal woman-centered deck. At the end, there’s a one-card reading from me. You can check it out by visiting  patreon.com/thetarotpodcast and signing up to support the show. (Thank you!) Featured in the show art this week: The King of Coins, 5 of Wands and Lady of Cups (equivalent to the Page of Cups in RWS-based decks) from the Alchemical Tarot. Robert M. Place is the designer and illustrator of over twenty Tarot and oracle decks: including the internationally acclaimed and award-winning Alchemical Tarot, The Angels Tarot, The Marziano Tarot, the award-winning The Tarot of the Saints, The Buddha Tarot, The Vampire Tarot, The Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, The Tarot of the Alchemical Magnum Opus, The Alchemical Tarot of Marseille, The Hermes Playing Card Oracle, An Ukiyo-e Lenormand (based on Japanese culture), The Raziel Tarot and The Burning Serpent Oracle (for both of which he collaborated with Tarot diva Rachel Pollack). His newest work, The First Occult Tarot, is a deck and book based on the descriptions written in 1781 by the Comte de Mellet, the first occult author to describe a Tarot deck. He is the author of The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, which Booklist has said, “may be the best book ever written on that deck of cards decorated with mysterious images called the Tarot.” He is the author of Astrology and Divination, Magic and Alchemy, Shamanism, Alchemy and the Tarot, and The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism.   Pick up a copy of the Alchemical Tarot Check out Bob’s website The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination [book] The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism [book] ________________________________________________ Become a Tarot Podcast member! Shop for cool stuff made by your host! Watch the episode on YouTube!   😊 And...don't forget to like, rate, subscribe, and share!! 😊

Join host T. Susan and veteran tarot artist Bob Place to explore the best-selling Alchemical Tarot.

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Episode 36: Robert M. Place + the Alchemical Tarot

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This episode was published on February 11, 2026.

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The Tarot Podcast has TWO different interviews! with two different deck creators this week. Here in Episode 36, we chat with Robert Place, the creator of the best-selling Alchemical Tarot. Bob drew the Alchemical Tarot in the style of 17th century...

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