Jenna Matlin is an American tarot reader, psychic medium, author and educator with a background in anthropology and organisational psychology. Her latest book, The Tarot Book of the Dead (2026), takes readers on a journey through tarot and the Underworld.
Tarot Book Of The Dead is out now in the US and is released 19th November in the UK.
Explore Jenna’s world of tarot at jennamatlin.com
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:03): Welcome to Tarot DMs with Finbarre. Jenna Matlin is an American tarot reader, psychic medium, author and educator who has been reading tarot since 1990 and working professionally since 2012.
Her latest book, The Tarot Book of the Dead, explores the relationship between tarot, mortality and mediumship.
Jenna has a background in anthropology and organisational psychology, alongside training as an end-of-life doula. A distinctive perspective to some of life’s oldest questions.
For this edition of Tarot DMs, I invited Jenna to explore where three randomly drawn tarot cards might lead our conversation about life, death and everything in between.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:03): Hi Jenna, where in the world are you today?
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:04): Hello and greetings! I am texting you from North Carolina, US. Hello to all.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:05): I’m waving from across the pond in Beeston, Nottinghamshire. While I’m shuffling this rather fabulous new deck I have in my hands, tell me how your Autumn (or Fall?) has started. All good?
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:07): waves hello! My autumn is indeed pretty wonderous and quite busy as The Tarot Book of the Dead launched on the 5th of October and it has been an incredible ride thus far. Besides that, autumn is when it finally cools down here in my neck of the woods and the mosquitoes finally stop trying to drain me of blood. You?
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:09): I sat down on my big green velvet sofa, put down my mobile to pick up a mug of steaming hot fruit tea and realised the cushion I placed my phone on was actually my orange cat Beigli, sat on an orange blanket. He was not impressed. The season has started with big hand-knitted jumpers and hot pear crumble over here. So no complaints!
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:10): Hot pear crumble?! Okay, save me a piece, I am coming right over.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:10): Oh, it is long long gone. DELICIOUS. Before I deal out your first card, tell me about the first time you picked up a deck and what it was like if you can still recall that far back?
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:12):
100% invisible
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:13): I can tell you exactly the day I got my first deck. It was a few days after my birthday, and my friends and I were sitting on the living room floor watching TV. We were watching OJ Simson run it in his white Bronco! My deck was given to me for my birthday as my friend (a neighbor who was part of a couple of houses of very lovely men who also happened to be drag queens) stopped by to drop it off. He then asked me if I wanted to read tarot at their Victor Victoria party happening later that year. Talk about an introduction to my first tarot deck!
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:16): I mean, I just opened mine up on a smoke filled train while I was with my Highly Disapproving Grandma so you most definitely got the best introduction to the cards. Wow! Right, without further ado, I will draw from THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW TAROT (oh yes!) and will reveal the Anchor card that everyone gets this month. Are you ready?
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:17): Let’s do the time warp AGAAAIIINNNN
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:18): I am most ready, if that was not clear lol.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:18):
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:20): How do you think Frank looks as the Emperor there? That’s quite the combination of meanings
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:22): The corset looks almost Tudorian/Elizabethan which I love. Also, it is an interesting choice to have ripped fishnet stockings. Now, this is an Emperor who isn’t afraid of getting...dirty.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:23): The card is fresh out of the packet I’ll have you know.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:24): (I’ll TRY to behave.) I find it interesting that the Emperor holds no globe or sceptre of office like you typically find. The hand is open in... a gesture that is asking the reader, “Yes? Go on...” Along with the raised eyebrow.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:24): What have we brought for our Emperor’s pleasure? Are we to entertain, to prove, to grovel at the pretty feet of asking how we may be of service?
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:25): (I have no words. Laughing too much)
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:25): It is an interesting way of thinking about the Emperor!
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:25):
Indeed.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:27): I’ll crunch the conversational gears to change course and rightly so as it’s time for your tarot question!
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:28): All serious now. How do you balance running your business with the unpredictable nature of the energy you must have for readings?
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:31): This is an insightful question and one every reader desiring to go pro must seriously consider. The Emperor is a great card in this aspect because the card reminds us of some fundamental values such as boundaries and control. Like the Emperor, our businesses are fully our own: there is no one telling us to take a lunch, or letting us know when enough is enough. And, as far as being our own boss there is a tendency to fall into two camps: being overly harsh on ourselves, OR too lenient. An upright Emperor speaks of a united land that allows for diversity but does have unity in significant aspects. Which means that we need to give ourselves good, reasonable boundaries which include self care, moderation, and good husbandry.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:32): How you do...I... see you’ve met...my...faithful handyman... duh duh duh DUH DUH...
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:33): What was it that inspired you to become your own boss?
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:35): A persistent issue with authority. 😆
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:36): I have a high tolerance for risk and ambiguity. A willingness to try things out (vs. perfectionism) and an audacious (some might say unfortunate) lack of fear in some ways.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:37): I also am self motivated and prefer freedom to try my own creative thing vs. needing an external push to get things done. I also am independent and do not mind working alone and figuring things out along the way.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:40): Being from the US, this is especially difficult because here health care is tied to employment, making health care for small business owners outrageously expensive. It is weird to be told that the US is a “country of innovation” but in practice the social structures are all tied to traditional employment. Economically, one must work very hard in the US as an enterpreneur to overcome those challenges.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:40): Well, we’ll need to obey the cards today as the second one needs to be drawn. So demanding. The Wild card which could be any from this lovely selection is waiting, just type stop when you want me to stop shuffling them.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:40): stop!
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:41):
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:42): hahaha... of course...
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:43): Seeing as I am promoting a tarot book about Death, I am not at all surprised...
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:44): I find Death imagery like this in keeping with the traditional Grim Reaper version, but in fact, Death is not the cause of death. Death ends what is no longer viable. Death removes suffering. Other things happening to us is what calls Death to our side.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:45): On that, your second tarot question is... has working so closely with the subject of death changed your view of your own mortality?
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:45): Assuming you are actually mortal. I called a person dressed as a fae that once and she was most offended.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:48): Indeed I am of this mortal coil. I would say that I worked closely with Death vs. working with the subject of death. This small distinction is where the magic happened. I was literally stalked by Death everywhere, all the time, in many different formats until I gave in and began writing the book. Then, a few days after I finished the manuscript, Death came for something that was dear to me. Looking back on it now, I can see it was a dark gift from Death, but it didn’t feel like that at the time.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:49): I’m sorry to hear that you had bad news.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:49): Thank you. It was for the best. Death ended something that was suffering.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:50): Ultimately what I’ve learned is that Death is a friend to us all. And, without death there would be no life, not really. Without death this planet would still be filled with one-celled organisms. Death is part of the churn which makes life so precious, so diverse, so incalculably precious. They are two sides of the same coin.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:52): The obol that you would take to the River Styx no less. In the book you talk about the Major Arcana being “Gatekeepers”. Could you introduce the Tarot DMs reader to your thoughts on this?
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:54): Yes, taking from the mythology of Inanna’s descent to the Underworld, she had to pass several gates. At each gate she had to leave something behind until ultimately all she had left was her naked body without adornment to meet her sister, Ereshkigal, the Goddess of the Underworld.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 20:56): That myth teaches of that to traverse the Underworld we must give something up: in this case each gate has a lesson and a challenge. The reader is encouraged to read the book as an initiatory journey where each gate is granted access via successful completion of the challenge.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:58): I’m not familiar with the Sumerian myth of the Underworld, but it made me immediately think of Orpheus stealing himself into Hades and the challenges he faced.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 20:59): Cerberus, such a good boy. Also a good boy and a good boy
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:00): Oh yes, one of the few extant woodcut block prints of the 16th century, the first one made in France, shows Orpheus attempting to leave with Eurydice, and failing, as the Tower card!
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:00): I actually repainted them as a fun side project let me get the image to you!
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:01):
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:02): I did this attempting to recreate the image in gouache, the closest analog to the tempura paints they used back them.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:02): I drew it close to the woodcut block style and used the same color scheme as the cards themselves.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:03): This is the moment, of course, that he looks back. Immediately, an imp comes to take Eurydice back to the Underworld (now recast as hell in the post Dante view of life after death of the 16th century.)
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:04): That is GLORIOUS. Vivacious and heartbreaking too. A beautiful piece.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:05): Like Baldur, the myths are the same, we cannot fight the laws of nature and death, and should we try, we come back not quite right.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:06): Somehow, the interview has taken us all too quickly to the third card. The Gift card offered to you by the violinist, vocalist and theremin player Meredith Yayanos. She wanted you to have...
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:07):
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:08): The second time I have seen this pleasant and clement card recently and one I have to say, is usually a rare one for me to witness. We don’t cross paths often.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:09): Ah! You know I have a new understanding about Temperance that I didn’t before doing research for my book. As I look at Temperance it is always pouring from a great height over the other. If we look at it through an alchemical lens we might see this as an act of aeration... intentionally introducing air to soften the humors, or mixture.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:09): I like that. So it isn’t always a cocktail flair?
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:10): Medieval health was very focused on balancing the humors. Wet/dry/hot/cold and they believed that ill health meant that these were out of balance. Wine is tempered both by water and air. Anyone who swirls wine is basically doing the same thing today.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:11): Now, for me personally, I laugh because I’ve been working extraordinarily hard in the book launch and I see this as a, “Hey Jenna this is a marathon, not a sprint.” Self care reminder.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:12): For your last tarot question I would like to know more about that. You combine tarot, mediumship, psychology, anthropology and other spiritual disciplines in your practice - how do you fit all of that into the same day?
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:13): I owe everything I am to the “superpower” of ADHD!
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:15): Jokes aside, I am very integrated as a thinker. I am a systems thinker and I am highly creative while also making associative leaps across what others might silo. This knack I have is what really powers everything I do and it is why I find things that others might have missed. It is like I have a massive cross-referencing engine in my head. It is the gift of nonlinear logic.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:15): I talk about that extensively in the book and it underpins my approach to reading.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:16): But PLEASE don’t make me use Excel. That feels like “mind jail” to me. There are excel spreadsheet people (whom I adore and admire very much) and there are please god not Excel spreadsheets. The latter are my people.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:19): I’m lucky enough to have married an Excel sorceress, one of those people who has spreadsheets of spreadsheets and seeing her fill in cells from a distance is like she is communing with The Matrix. I can only make it work if everything is different colours and I’ll spend far too long on the UI and not enough on the actual data entry.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:20): Which probably reveals whatever type of neurospice I have!
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:20): That’s so real! Watching people use Excel like it is a native tongue impresses me very much.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:20): Jenna, do you have a... deck of tarot cards with you by any chance?
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:21): absolutely.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:21): Excellent. Could I ask you to pick one for the next guest? Take a snap too if you have a moment.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:24): Kitty Kahane: The Moon
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:24): I love the boldness of this deck, a perfect one to reach for by candlelight
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:24): I love the boldness of this deck, a perfect one to reach for by candlelight
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:24): I adore this deck, it reads beautifully.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:25): Yet ANOTHER one I now need to add to my collection. Jenna this has been wonderful, thank you for joining me today.
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:26): You are an absolute delight! Thank you for having meeeeee
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:26): Thanks again to Jenna Matlin for a wonderfully entertaining journey through tarot, Death, the Underworld and the unexpected horrors of Excel spreadsheets! Her new book, The Tarot Book of the Dead, is out in the US as I type, and in the UK on the 19th November. You can find her at jennamatlin.com.
Finbarre (13/10/2026 21:26): Ta da! And scene!
Jenna Matlin (13/10/2026 21:27): Haha! thanks so much! This was so fun!