Fools & Rebels: Highlights from UK Tarot Conference 2025
When Mum (Karen) first told me she’d been asked to speak at the Conference, my heart skipped. We’ve been attending together for four years now (and Mum did it solo the year before that) — but this year, she graced the stage. I still feel proud and full of excitement.
The theme of her talk, “Rebel with a Cosmic Cause: The Fool & 2025’s Astrological Awakening”, felt so aligned with our brand ethos at Stars & Signs: clear, relatable Astrology and Tarot, no fluff, just insight and empowerment.
Our weekend in London, at the Copthorne Tara Hotel , London, Kensington (the venue for the conference) was equal parts workshop, reunion, insight-fest and bar-chat. It felt like home. A familiar tribe of intuitive wanderers, old friends who only meet in person at this conference, new faces who will become friends, and the serious content we’d travelled for.
Here are some of my highlight take-aways — not just from Mum’s talk (which I’ll cover in more detail, naturally) but also from the other presenters, each bringing something unique to the weekend’s thread of The Fool, risk, leap and transformation.
Rebel with a Cosmic Cause
Of course Mum was nervous before her talk — being the second day, she had all weekend to get jittery. And with so many well-meaning Tarot friends hyping her up, she felt the love, but also felt the butterflies. But I had no doubt that, once she was up on that stage, she’d be in her element.
Her talk opened with a warm admission: she’s always been a rule-questioner, halfway out of the box — and clearly, so many in the room identified with that. She framed The Fool card not as naïve, but as the archetype of instinct, openness and possibility — with Curiosity (the little white dog) at its heel. She wove in the upcoming Astrological landscape (with outer planets shifting into fire and air signs, old maps no longer fit) and linked it beautifully to the Tarot’s Major Arcana.
It had heart. It had framework. It had practical take-aways (her 7-card spread “The Leap Beneath the Shifting Stars” is a keeper). It felt like a talk for us: intuitive readers, seekers, people wanting to take the leap without losing their grounding. I was cheering at the back with my phone, snapping pics as fast as I could — humble brag: that’s my Mum!
Highlights from the Tarot greats
Of course, to me, Mum’s talk was the highlight — nothing will top seeing her up there, totally in her element. But honestly? The rest of this year’s line-up was incredible. Every speaker brought something unique, thought-provoking, or beautifully strange, and I could barely scribble my notes fast enough to keep up. It was one of those weekends where your brain feels stretched in the best possible way.
Kim Arnold
Kim always owns the stage (although she might never admit it). Her message was sharply grounded: “Don’t confuse destiny with decision making” — a punch that landed. She reminded us that Tarot is an aid, a mirror, but we still take responsibility. Her Fool story was personal, vivid and very real-life. I left feeling both light (with the possibility of Fool-energy) and empowered (with the weight of choice).
Follow Kim on Instagram | Follow UK Tarot Conference on Instagram | UK Tarot Conference website
Davide de Angelis
This talk was something else. Davide used his collaboration with and inspiration from David Bowie to show Tarot as a vehicle for wonder and anomaly.
Key lines: “Wonder is being downgraded into entertainment” and “Tarot helps us access areas of life where we don’t know what we don’t know.” For someone like me (and you, perhaps) who likes clear, actionable insight, it was interesting to really lean into mystery — not as vague, but as space for creation. “What shall we create?” he asked. I was scribbling notes.
Definitely adding The Starman Tarot deck to my personal collection…
Follow Davide on Instagram | Davide’s website
Jason Dean
Jason’s talk felt crisp: “Reality changes when observed and measured.” “Words have power in statements of intent.” He grounded his work in Tarot and reading practice with a strong emphasis on structure (which, naturally, appeals when Saturn rules). This was less about myth and more about mechanics – about how readings change when we change our framing, our language.
Follow Jason on Instagram | Jason’s website
Laetitia Barbier
Laetitia’s lens was deeply historical and visually rich. She asked: “Is it madness or is the Fool glimpsing into the infinite?” She explored how The Fool has been the outcast, the anarchic figure, the one who doesn’t recognise limits. I loved how she tied art history, cultural representation and Tarot symbolism together. For readers who want depth (and don’t mind getting challenged) this was a session I kept thinking about throughout the weekend.
Follow Laetitia on Instagram | Laetitia’s website
Letao Wang
Letao brought mythology into play: “Myth is just an exaggerated version of our daily existence.” “‘What is created was once imagined.’” Tarot as story. The Fool as the rebellious free spirit, the “cosmic rule-breaker” but also the one who faces consequences. His talk reminded us that Tarot isn’t just happening in the “mystical bubble” — it’s woven through our myths, our lives, our imagination.
But, I have to admit, my lack of knowledge on mythology was definitely highlighted during this talk. It’s got me fired up to research more myths and legends!
Follow Letao on Instagram | Letao’s website
Andrea Aste
Andrea soft-launched his myriorama deck and spoke to Tarot as an immersive experience: “Tarot is a mirror of the Soul.” “Wander inside the deck.” I liked his phrasing: no humans in his deck — you are the human. That flips things in a useful way. Especially for people like us who do consultations and want to help others feel their power, not just read cards.
Follow Andrea on Instagram | Andrea’s website
Geraldine Beskin
Geraldine (of the amazing Atlantis Bookshop) focussed on Frieda Harris and was gentle yet powerful: “We are no more than specks of dust, if we are lucky.” Her talk offered context and inspiration: the legacy of deck-design, of voice, of being seen.
I’ll admit that I hadn’t heard of Frieda Harris before (I’m not exactly a fan of Crowley, so haven’t researched much about him and his peers), but after learning more about her, I’m fascinated — so glad to have felt a connection to someone I’d never known until that moment.
Follow Atlantis Bookshop | The Atlantis Bookshop website
Suzanne Corbie
Suzanne flipped the outsider story: The Fool’s outcast identity becomes strength. She pointed out quirky historical things (like the nude-from-waist-down Fool card!) and transformed them into metaphors of freedom. “The outcast identity is being turned around — now, it’s a strength.” I loved that.
Elliot Adam
Elliot asked the big question: “Am I enough?” With the response “My dog thinks I’m enough.”
His take on The Fool: “The Sun in The Fool card represents purpose… Authenticity is always the lightest thing you can carry.” That line stuck with me. As someone in the business of guiding others, the reminder that authenticity matters more than perfection felt reassuring.
Follow Elliot on Instagram | Elliot’s website
Tree Carr
Tree’s session brought the shadows into the light: “The mad medicine of laughter.” “The Fool’s leap is not random — it’s shadow work in action.” She led a deep guided meditation and reminded us that our journeys include the dark as well as the bright.
Follow Tree on Instagram | Tree’s website
Jolanda de Jong (TarotJo)
In classic TarotJo style, Jo was here to shake things up — literally.
During a lunchtime session, to embody The Fool, she handed out red feathers for us to tuck into our caps and led us in a joyful stomp-stomp-clap-clap rhythm to one of her songs. It was exactly the kind of grounding-meets-liberating start we needed — laughter, movement, music, and that little reminder that Tarot doesn’t just live on the page or in the cards. It lives in our bodies, too.
Follow TarotJo on Instagram | TarotJo’s website
Anya Bergman
Anya spoke briefly about her upcoming novel, The Tarot Reader of Versailles — and, of course, the moment she mentioned Madame Lenormand, my ears pricked up and my wallet practically leapt from my bag. The story sounds incredible: two women, extraordinary gifts, and a friendship forged in the chaos of the French Revolution.
Set in the early days of revolution-era Paris, it follows Marie Anne Adélaïde Lenormand (yes, that Lenormand), the young seer whose readings captivated both revolutionaries and royals, and Cait, an Irish maid who can read the past as Lenormand reads the future. Power, betrayal, loyalty — all determined by the turn of a card.
Naturally, I bought a copy on the spot — and Anya was kind enough to sign it. We ended up chatting afterwards about Lenormand’s legacy, and I could have happily kept talking all afternoon.
I still have yet to read the book, but rest assured, it’s next on my list (review coming soon!).
Follow Anya on Instagram | Anya’s website | Buy The Tarot Reader of Versailles
Why we keep coming back, year after year
Beyond the talks, this Conference is so much about people. Mum and I have built our little ritual: arrive together, hug old friends, settle into the sessions with anticipation, then late evening at the bar — oh yes, hours of chat. We swapped life stories, laughed, caught up. It always feels like both homecoming and a launch pad into something new.
One of the best parts: seeing friends who only appear once a year in person. That shared space, that common vocabulary of Tarot-talk, yet every person bringing their story, their edge, their voice. It reminds me why this work matters: it’s not just the cards, it’s the community around them.
My key learnings from the UK Tarot Conference 2025
The Planetary shifts (which Mum talked about so clearly) are real. Fire and Air taking over means ideas, action, mental freedom — but also risk of scattering. Grounding matters.
Language matters (thanks Jason). Story matters (thanks Letao, Laetitia). Art matters (thanks Andrea). Community matters (thanks everyone).
After the weekend, I felt both “lit up” and “realigned”. That’s the sweet spot we aim for: insight that sticks, not just sparkle.
Stock up on cold and flu medication — with that many people, I’m always the one that gets a cold afterwards!
Massive thanks to Kim Arnold for championing speakers like Mum, for creating space for new voices, and for making this amazing conference happen, for 22 years. (That’s an achievement in itself.)
And of course, Mum – Karen – thank you for being bold, for taking the stage, for staying true to our vision with Stars & Signs. It was an honour to watch you shine.
Both of us can’t wait for next year already. Because we know the Conference will still be this mix of deep content + connection + fun.
If you came to the Conference, I hope you’re still buzzing. If you didn’t — consider next year. Because when the right people meet, at the right time, in the right place… it’s magic.
