March 13, 2025 • 22 mins
Today on CARD TALK, I’ll cover:
-a quick intro to this new mini series
-roles in social movements, and how they can connect to the minor arcana
-using archetypes to find your place
-a tarot spread for affirming daily commitments
-a simple journaling exercise for checking in with the self
Resources mentioned:
-calculating your birth card
-10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won from Waging Nonviolence
-3am.tarot newsletter essays you might find helpful: one day at a time / stop making things harder for yourself / hope is not a requirement / honor your personal cycles / pulling cards in an uncertain world
-favorite activism / supportive newsletters include Chop Wood, Carry Water / Men Yell At Me / Abortion, Every Day / WTF Just Happened Today? / Cosmic Anarchy / Waging NonViolence / The White Pages / Couch Nap / The Sick Times
-daily commitments tarot spread // spread archive
-archetype medicine lecture
For more on Meg, check out 3amtarot.com, and order your copy of Finding the Fool through Bookshop.org or your favorite local bookstore.
Find episode transcripts and more over on the CARD TALK website. And as a special thank you for CARD TALK listeners, click here to download a completely free, exclusive workbook for building your best personal tarot practice.
Love what you’re hearing? Support the pod with a one-time donation or recurring subscription, and please subscribe, review, and share with a friend or two!
CARD TALK is written, edited, and produced by Meg Jones Wall of 3am.tarot. Theme music created by PaulYudin.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
I'm Meg Jones-Wall and this is Card Talk, a mini
podcast for tarot basics andevergreen insights.
I'm here to help you build atarot practice that works for
you.
Glad you're here.
Glad you're here.
Today's episode is going to bethe first in a series of
(00:32):
episodes that I'm doing here onCard Talk, all based around
questions that might come up foryou as part of your own
personal tarot practice.
Some of these are questionsthat I have asked myself in my
own practice and others weresourced from members, actually,
of the 3am tarot discord server.
If you are craving community, Ijust want to drop a little note
(00:53):
, a little reminder, that I dorun a private discord server
full of really incredible,generous and wonderful people
who are all really interested intarot but also really
interested in activism andcommunity care.
It's a beautiful space and it'sopen to anyone who has a paid
subscription to my newsletter.
So if that's something you'reinterested in, you can find a
link to that in the show notes.
Now, I mentioned community andactivism specifically because in
(01:15):
this very first episode, we aregoing to be talking about how
tarot can support your activismwork.
Now I am based in the UnitedStates, but I think no matter
where you are in the world, thistopic is going to feel super
relevant as more and more peopleare plugging into direct action
and mutual aid and organizingefforts, looking for ways that
they can get involved and takecare of their communities.
I think that putting our energyinto this community work and
(01:38):
political change is incrediblyimportant, but it can also be
really draining, it can bereally hard, it can be really
overwhelming and intimidating,and so having a personal
practice, even a super simpleone, can help you feel a lot
more anchored, grounded,supported and stabilized, and
tarot, especially if it'ssomething that you're already
interested in or something youalready have a relationship with
(01:59):
, can be a really fantastic wayto help yourself consistently
and regularly slow down, checkin, take care of yourself and
get focused.
Now, this is a topic that Ihave written about a lot in the
past, so the show notes aregoing to be very robust for this
episode, because I'm going toinclude some links to essays
that I've written and tarotspreads I've created in the show
(02:20):
notes.
But I also wanted to talkthrough today some very basic
techniques that you can use touse tarot to help support your
activism and also to help betterunderstand your activism.
The first thing I want to talkabout is roles, or the idea of
having a role in a movement.
Now, I am not a professionalorganizer or someone with
decades and decades oforganizing experience, but I
(02:42):
have been reading a lot aboutorganization, mutual aid.
I've been getting reallyinterested in what it looks like
and the different ways thatpeople can show up, and so I
think that roles especially whenyou're thinking about activism
and long-term effort, andespecially when you want to use
tarot for that it's reallyimportant to get focused into
how you fit into a broaderecosystem.
(03:04):
Social movements always havelots of people with lots of
different skills, offeringdifferent kinds of resources and
assets and abilities, and Ithink that it can be really
helpful to remember, especiallywhen we're feeling overwhelmed
about all the things that wecannot do, to really sink into
our role in a juicy way, and Ithink tarot is so well equipped
(03:25):
for this kind of work.
Now, I believe I've shared itbefore, but I'm definitely going
to share it again.
There was an excellent articlefrom Waging Nonviolence that was
making the rounds earlier inthis year.
I'm pretty sure I've alreadylinked to it in a podcast
episode, but I don't care, I'mdoing it again.
It's an incredible resource forslowing down, getting focused
and really finding your lane.
When it comes to this broaderwork, I'm linking it in the show
(03:51):
notes, but I also actually wantto talk about it because one of
my favorite pieces of this isthat it breaks roles into four
distinct categories, which sharedifferent characteristics and
different focuses Now theseroles can be further segmented
and niched down as well.
Focuses Now these roles can befurther segmented and niched
down as well, and a lot ofplaces, like slow factory, for
example, breaks these into muchmore specific individual roles.
But I really like the idea ofhaving categories because I
(04:14):
think it's easier to talkthrough and I think there's also
some really neat things we cando in mapping these ideas onto
the tarot.
Now this article from wagingnonviolence breaks these into
four roles.
The first is protecting people,which is folks that are working
on organizing networks ofresources and support outside of
existing systems.
So these are going to be peoplethat are working with mutual
(04:36):
aid, putting together supportfunds and offering trainings to
help people, especiallymarginalized folks or people who
might not have access to asmuch care and support or who
might be the first to reallylose out as our government
collapses and different thingsare taken away.
These are people that are goingto be involved in trainings and
direct outreach to protectthese marginalized people.
(04:56):
The second role is in defendingcivic institutions, and these
are folks who are working withinthe existing structures and
working with existing leadershipon things like safeguarding
elections to make sure we stillhave free and fair elections,
protecting the protections thatalready exist as well as
lawsuits and taking things tocourt, and fighting the power
(05:17):
using the systems that we haveat our disposal.
The third role is disrupt anddisobey, and these are often
kind of the flashiest ones.
This is often what we thinkabout when we think of civil
disobedience or massdisobedience or mass
non-cooperation efforts.
These are the protests, theseare the strikes, this is tax
resistance and work shutdownsand big walkouts and things like
(05:37):
that, but things that aredesigned to literally disrupt
the status quo.
And the fourth and finalcategory is building
alternatives, which are folkswho are doing the slow and
sometimes painful work ofcreating brand new systems and
different structures oralternative structures.
So these are going to be yourhealing modalities your teachers
, your community leaders, peopleoffering community care, people
(05:59):
investing in participatorybudgeting, et cetera.
Now, all four of thesecategories, all four of these
kinds of roles all serve veryimportant functions within
resistance movements.
And in thinking about yourpersonal skills, it might feel
really obvious which role yourtalents or abilities or capacity
fits into, or it might not.
(06:19):
For me personally, I work as awriter and a teacher and an
artist.
I teach people how to use tarot.
I also sit with people in theirgrief and help them connect
with one another and withthemselves spiritually and
creatively, and all of that workfits pretty neatly into the
fourth category.
I talked about that buildingalternatives but that doesn't
mean that I never, ever, stepinto any of those other roles.
(06:42):
Sometimes I participate inprotests or strikes, I try to
contact my representatives whenit feels like it's going to be
relevant and I donate to mutualaid funds when I can.
But knowing my lane of being inthat building alternatives role
helps me feel less overwhelmedand also helps me feel less
guilty.
When I can't do all the thingsin all the roles, I know what my
(07:03):
job is and I can remember howI'm contributing and really lean
into that instead of trying todo all the things and not doing
any of them very well.
But if you're not sure, that'sokay, there are lots of ways to
figure that out, and that's someof what we're going to be
talking about in the rest ofthis episode.
If you're wondering what any ofthis has to do with tarot, allow
me to help, because for me, oneof the reasons I love these
(07:23):
four role categories is becausethey feel really aligned to me
with the four elements that makeup the four suits of the minor
arcana.
Now, look, I just made these up, so you might completely
disagree with my correspondences, and if you do, that's fine,
because, again, I just made themup.
You can use different ones Ifthat works for you.
Literally whatever works foryou is totally fine, but if
you're trying to think about theways that these roles might
(07:45):
look in real life, or you'retrying to identify which ones
feel the most accessible or themost exciting or the most doable
for you, this could be ahelpful framework.
Now I'm quickly going to sharehow I see these four roles and
how they align with the foursuits.
The first role that I talkedabout that role category of
protecting people I see reallyaligned with the element of
(08:06):
water and the suit of cups,because this is so much about
caring for the vulnerable andthe marginalized, making space
for emotions and for challengesas well, in creating containers
and systems where we're relyingon one another for nourishment
and support.
That second category ofdefending civic institutions to
me feels really in line with theelement of air and the suit of
(08:27):
swords, because it's so muchabout communicating truth,
standing up for what's right,fighting disinformation and
utilizing the structures thatalready exist to accomplish
amazing things.
The third category is disruptand obey, and for me, again,
that feels super in line withthe element of fire and the suit
of wands, because this reallyis courageously fucking things
(08:48):
up and breaking things in waysthat are going to be
intentionally disruptive.
But it's also about beingbright and loud and visible,
about serving as a torch thatothers can see and gain
inspiration from.
And that final role category isbuilding alternatives, which I
see as falling in line with theelement of earth and the suit of
pentacles.
This is so much about slowlycreating something new and
(09:09):
supportive, establishingresources, setting up systems of
care, sharing what we have and,ultimately, about growing
together, putting down roots andbuilding something new.
Knowing your role and being ableto explore that through the
suits and the elements can be areally helpful way of building
like a more tactical, practical,realistic, everyday way of
(09:30):
understanding what that mightreally look like for you, and it
can also be a good reminderthat you don't have to do all
the lanes, you don't have to beevery card at once.
You can instead really chooseyour focus and double down on
that in a way that is going tobe sustainable for you.
This isn't about burning out asquickly as possible.
It's instead about recognizingthat we are in a broader cycle
(09:52):
and we have a role to play inthat cycle.
Now, whether or not the idea ofhaving a really specific role
or your role fitting into acategory resonates with you, we
can also look at activismthrough the lens of archetypes
and really think about whicharchetype feels the most aligned
with either your role, yourrole category or just the skills
and assets that you're bringingto the party.
(10:13):
I love using the tarot like this, because having an archetype
that you've kind of associatedwith your own brand of activism
or your own activist energy canbe super empowering, and it can
become like a hat that you'reputting on or a role that you're
stepping into, or a vibe thatyou can embrace.
You can say you know, I'mleaning into this energy, I'm
embracing this energy.
(10:34):
I'm stepping into this energyand it can just feel really
empowering and exciting.
There's tons of ways you canconnect with your archetype.
Once you've identified it, youcan make an altar, you can
create a talisman, you can builda playlist, you can think about
what this archetype might wearor how they might smell or how
they might move, and just reallylet yourself lean into and
embody that energy.
(10:54):
Now, in terms of whicharchetype you want to work with,
you can do whatever you want.
There's certainly precedent forworking with your birth card, if
that card feels like somethingthat feels really good for you,
or a card that you reallyidentify with or that you find
really accessible for yourself.
And if you don't know how tocalculate your birth card, I'm
going to put a link to theinstructions in the show notes.
(11:15):
It's very simple, it's justsome basic math.
But not everyone feels superconnected to their birth card.
Or you might feel like yourbirth card for you is more
connected to your creative selfor your spiritual practice or
your work or your relationshipsor community or whatever.
It might just not go there foryou, and that's totally fine.
In that case, I think it can bereally helpful to just let
(11:36):
yourself pick an archetype thatyou want, that you want to work
with, that you want to embody,or that feels representative of
what you're already doing.
So to think again about ourcategories.
Maybe protecting people thatfirst category that we talked
about of protecting people feelsreally emperor-like to you, or
maybe very queen of cups to you,right?
Maybe you're thinking aboutboundaries and protection and
(11:56):
community care and safeguarding.
For that second category,defending civic institutions,
maybe it gives you big King ofSwords vibes or reminds you of
the justice archetype.
For that third category,disrupt and disobey, maybe you
think about the tower or theknight of wands and for that
last one, the buildingalternatives.
You could think about almostanything, but I first thought
(12:17):
about the page of pentacles orthe strength archetype or the
star archetype.
But again, the sky is reallythe limit here.
You really can decide foryourself which archetypes from
the major arcana or from theminor arcana courts, or you can
also just pick a card that's notan archetype, if you prefer,
but choosing a card that feelslike something you could step
into or embody or work withclosely, especially when it
(12:39):
comes to how you show up in anactivism way or in a community
oriented way, can be really justhelpful as a way of narrowing
your focus and remembering whoyou are.
Since I used myself as anexample for the first one and
talking about roles and feelingreally aligned with that
building alternatives category,I'll also share which archetypes
I associate that with my birthcards are justice and the high
(13:02):
priestess, which honestly feelreally good for me in a lot of
different ways and do feelpretty aligned with my activism
strategy.
To be completely honest, I doreally focus on authenticity, on
making choices that resonate,on tools and resources that help
people look internally andconnect with what really matters
most and make choices that feelaligned with values as well as
(13:25):
justice, which is so much aboutpaying attention to impact and
recognizing how we connect withothers in our community, what
we're willing to stand up for,what matters to us, what our
values are, et cetera.
So for me, both of thosearchetypes actually feel deeply
tied to this idea of buildingalternatives, but I also, when
it comes to activism and the waythat I show up in this kind of
(13:48):
work, I also think about thehierophant and the hermit.
For me, both of those feelreally connected to what I do,
how I see the world and how Itry to support those around me.
Now.
Thinking about roles andarchetypes are both really ways
that you are making decisions orchoices for yourself, or just
exploring ideas around how youcan show up and what that might
(14:08):
look like and what that mightfeel like and how that ties back
to the tarot.
But, of course, those aren'tthe only ways that we can
connect tarot with activism, soI want to offer you two other
ways that you can connect thesetwo things together.
The third thing I want to offeryou is a tarot spread.
Now.
I've written lots of tarotspreads about roles, about
showing up, about persistence,about taking care of yourself,
(14:30):
about community care, aboutresourcing so many different
things that can help support youin your activism and different
ways that you can use the cardsin your personal readings and
your personal practice to gainsome new answers and insights
from the cards themselves.
But today I want to talkspecifically through one spread
that I wrote back in Octoberthat I think can be really
(14:52):
helpful for this particularconversation, and it's called
the daily commitments spread.
Now I'm going to include a linkto the Instagram post that I
made about this spread, becauseit was inspired by a number of
different people and their work,and so I want to make sure that
that is very, very clear.
But I want to talk through thespread quickly here with you,
because I think that it's areally helpful thing that you
(15:13):
can use as a one-off or as adaily practice or as anything in
between to really connect yourdaily efforts and the ways that
you show up on a regular basiswith the tarot.
So there are four differentpositions.
So, to use the spread, you'regoing to shuffle the cards.
Well, I would recommend keepingall 78 cards in the deck and
then pull four different cards,one for each of the following
(15:35):
positions.
Now you can read these in anyorder you like, but I like to
read the first card as where Iam, which is just to say where
you are in this present momentemotionally, physically,
spiritually, relationally,intellectually, et cetera, just
giving you a baseline of whereyou are in this particular
moment.
The second card is what I'mmaking, which is to say what
(15:59):
you're putting out into theworld, what you're expressing,
what you're offering, whatyou're working on, what you're
doing.
The third card is what I'mcommitted to, which is kind of
the values or the desire or thegoal that's underpinning where
you are and what you're making.
This is what's driving you,this is what you care about,
this is what you are workingtowards.
(16:21):
And the fourth and final card iswhy it matters, and I really
like to think about this as kindof the impact or the
significance or the purpose ofit.
What is what you're doing,starting to accomplish?
Why do you care about it?
What is the good that it isbringing?
What is the impact that it'shaving?
I love this spread as a way toanchor into your work, to stay
(16:44):
connected and stay focused andto kind of sink in a little bit.
I think when we're looking atwhat is happening in the world,
when we're looking at what'shappening in our government,
when we're looking at what'shappening in our communities,
it's really easy to try to takein all of the information
possible and then that can getreally overwhelming into how
what we're doing contributes tothat, if we're doing enough, if
(17:06):
what we're doing is reallymaking a difference, et cetera.
But spreads like this and worklike this can really help us
drill down and remember that weare all pieces of a larger
machine and we are allcontributing to something in our
own unique way and where we are, and what we're making and what
we're committed to does matter.
It does have an impact.
(17:27):
It does have an effect.
It does have a purpose.
So using a spread like this, orjust, you know, mulling these
ideas over on your own, can be ahelpful, consistent practice to
help tie your tarot andactivism together and give you
an opportunity to remember whyyou're doing what you're doing
and to affirm that you areactually doing something.
(17:51):
And the last thing I want tooffer is a quick little
journaling exercise.
I'm going to ask you a fewdifferent questions that will
help encourage you to pull somecards out of your tarot deck and
then think about them.
Look at them together and thinkabout what you can find in
terms of insights and truths andperspectives, as well as food
for future thought, alongsideyour cards.
So, with your tarot deck inhand, I want you to think about
which tarot cards represent yourmain area of focus right now in
(18:14):
terms of your activism, whichcards represent your energy
levels right now, and whichcards represent your emotions
around activism right now, yourfeelings, your needs, you know
whatever's bubbling up.
I want you to go through thetarot deck and pull cards out
for each of these maincategories, cards that represent
(18:36):
your area of focus or yourintentionality or where you're
investing energy in terms ofyour activism, work, cards that
represent your energy levelsright now, how much energy
you're bringing to this work, aswell as cards that represent
your emotions or your feelingsaround the work that you're
doing right now.
Pull all of those cards out ofthe deck in little groups and
look at them all together andjournal on what they have in
common, if anything.
Journal on if you see anythingthematically within this group,
(19:00):
whether from a correspondenceperspective you know if they're
all from a similar suit or ifthey all have similar numbers,
or just if they all have similarenergies, if they feel like
they're all cut from the samecloth or telling different
pieces of the same story.
Are there any cards inparticular from this entire
group that feel justparticularly true or clear or
supportive for you right now?
Are there any cards you feeldrawn to or cards that you feel
(19:23):
really encompass where you're atemotionally right now?
And what would it feel like towork with those cards really
intentionally, to hear theirmedicine, to let them sing to
you, to perhaps put them upsomewhere you can see them or
take a photo that you said isyour background as a, as a way
of coming back to self andchecking in with yourself on a
more consistent basis.
(19:43):
Now I've talked about fourdifferent ways that tarot can
support your activism throughroles, through archetype work,
through a spread and throughjournaling this little
journaling exercise that Ishared.
But, of course, there are tonsof ways to connect tarot and
activism or to use tarot tosupport your activism.
So I hope that these just serveas a jumping off point for you
to start exploring how you canlet the cards support you more
(20:05):
specifically in your daily work.
I always like to wrap theseepisodes up with a tip or a
trick, and I'm going to keepthis very short, because this is
already a longer episode andthe show notes are juicy, but I
just want to remind you thatthis doesn't have to be
complicated.
Whether you've been working withthe cards for a long time or
not, whether you identify as anactivist or not, tarot really
(20:25):
can support the things that youcare about, especially when it
comes to making broadercollective change.
So I just want to remind youthat in all parts of your tarot
practice, but especially in this, it's okay if this isn't a
super consistent thing.
Every reading you do does nothave to be about your activism
work, even if your activism workis incredibly important to you.
I want to just give youpermission, if you need it, to
(20:48):
reach for the tarot when it'sgoing to feel supportive for
this work, and not to guiltyourself when it doesn't.
Tarot is a tool that you get touse as it serves you, and I
realized that that might feelreally selfish, but it doesn't
have to Remember that the cardscan show up for you in whatever
ways you need them to, and thatdoesn't have to be limited just
to readings.
(21:08):
I've shared a lot of differentways to work with the cards
today and I sincerely hope that,as you fight the good fight,
get in good trouble and figureout how you can support efforts
to rebuild our world intosomething that works for all of
us, that the tarot can really bean incredible tool in your
toolbox for doing that kind ofwork.
That is all I have for youtoday, but, as always, thank you
(21:29):
so much for spending this timewith me, and I will be back
again soon with another episodeof Card Talk.
Card Talk episodes are alwaysfree for everyone to enjoy, so
if you love what you hear,please consider supporting the
podcast by subscribing,recommending Card, talk to a
friend or two or donating tohelp with production costs.
You can find episodetranscripts.
(21:49):
Learn more about me and join mysignature Tarot Conservatory
membership program through mywebsite, 3amtarotcom.
Thanks for listening and seeyou next time.
I'm Meg Jones-Wall and this is Card Talk, a mini
podcast for tarot basics andevergreen insights.
I'm here to help you build atarot practice that works for
you.
Glad you're here.
Glad you're here.
Today's episode is going to bethe first in a series of
(00:32):
episodes that I'm doing here onCard Talk, all based around
questions that might come up foryou as part of your own
personal tarot practice.
Some of these are questionsthat I have asked myself in my
own practice and others weresourced from members, actually,
of the 3am tarot discord server.
If you are craving community, Ijust want to drop a little note
(00:53):
, a little reminder, that I dorun a private discord server
full of really incredible,generous and wonderful people
who are all really interested intarot but also really
interested in activism andcommunity care.
It's a beautiful space and it'sopen to anyone who has a paid
subscription to my newsletter.
So if that's something you'reinterested in, you can find a
link to that in the show notes.
Now, I mentioned community andactivism specifically because in
(01:15):
this very first episode, we aregoing to be talking about how
tarot can support your activismwork.
Now I am based in the UnitedStates, but I think no matter
where you are in the world, thistopic is going to feel super
relevant as more and more peopleare plugging into direct action
and mutual aid and organizingefforts, looking for ways that
they can get involved and takecare of their communities.
I think that putting our energyinto this community work and
(01:38):
political change is incrediblyimportant, but it can also be
really draining, it can bereally hard, it can be really
overwhelming and intimidating,and so having a personal
practice, even a super simpleone, can help you feel a lot
more anchored, grounded,supported and stabilized, and
tarot, especially if it'ssomething that you're already
interested in or something youalready have a relationship with
(01:59):
, can be a really fantastic wayto help yourself consistently
and regularly slow down, checkin, take care of yourself and
get focused.
Now, this is a topic that Ihave written about a lot in the
past, so the show notes aregoing to be very robust for this
episode, because I'm going toinclude some links to essays
that I've written and tarotspreads I've created in the show
(02:20):
notes.
But I also wanted to talkthrough today some very basic
techniques that you can use touse tarot to help support your
activism and also to help betterunderstand your activism.
The first thing I want to talkabout is roles, or the idea of
having a role in a movement.
Now, I am not a professionalorganizer or someone with
decades and decades oforganizing experience, but I
(02:42):
have been reading a lot aboutorganization, mutual aid.
I've been getting reallyinterested in what it looks like
and the different ways thatpeople can show up, and so I
think that roles especially whenyou're thinking about activism
and long-term effort, andespecially when you want to use
tarot for that it's reallyimportant to get focused into
how you fit into a broaderecosystem.
(03:04):
Social movements always havelots of people with lots of
different skills, offeringdifferent kinds of resources and
assets and abilities, and Ithink that it can be really
helpful to remember, especiallywhen we're feeling overwhelmed
about all the things that wecannot do, to really sink into
our role in a juicy way, and Ithink tarot is so well equipped
(03:25):
for this kind of work.
Now, I believe I've shared itbefore, but I'm definitely going
to share it again.
There was an excellent articlefrom Waging Nonviolence that was
making the rounds earlier inthis year.
I'm pretty sure I've alreadylinked to it in a podcast
episode, but I don't care, I'mdoing it again.
It's an incredible resource forslowing down, getting focused
and really finding your lane.
When it comes to this broaderwork, I'm linking it in the show
(03:51):
notes, but I also actually wantto talk about it because one of
my favorite pieces of this isthat it breaks roles into four
distinct categories, which sharedifferent characteristics and
different focuses Now theseroles can be further segmented
and niched down as well.
Focuses Now these roles can befurther segmented and niched
down as well, and a lot ofplaces, like slow factory, for
example, breaks these into muchmore specific individual roles.
But I really like the idea ofhaving categories because I
(04:14):
think it's easier to talkthrough and I think there's also
some really neat things we cando in mapping these ideas onto
the tarot.
Now this article from wagingnonviolence breaks these into
four roles.
The first is protecting people,which is folks that are working
on organizing networks ofresources and support outside of
existing systems.
So these are going to be peoplethat are working with mutual
(04:36):
aid, putting together supportfunds and offering trainings to
help people, especiallymarginalized folks or people who
might not have access to asmuch care and support or who
might be the first to reallylose out as our government
collapses and different thingsare taken away.
These are people that are goingto be involved in trainings and
direct outreach to protectthese marginalized people.
(04:56):
The second role is in defendingcivic institutions, and these
are folks who are working withinthe existing structures and
working with existing leadershipon things like safeguarding
elections to make sure we stillhave free and fair elections,
protecting the protections thatalready exist as well as
lawsuits and taking things tocourt, and fighting the power
(05:17):
using the systems that we haveat our disposal.
The third role is disrupt anddisobey, and these are often
kind of the flashiest ones.
This is often what we thinkabout when we think of civil
disobedience or massdisobedience or mass
non-cooperation efforts.
These are the protests, theseare the strikes, this is tax
resistance and work shutdownsand big walkouts and things like
(05:37):
that, but things that aredesigned to literally disrupt
the status quo.
And the fourth and finalcategory is building
alternatives, which are folkswho are doing the slow and
sometimes painful work ofcreating brand new systems and
different structures oralternative structures.
So these are going to be yourhealing modalities your teachers
, your community leaders, peopleoffering community care, people
(05:59):
investing in participatorybudgeting, et cetera.
Now, all four of thesecategories, all four of these
kinds of roles all serve veryimportant functions within
resistance movements.
And in thinking about yourpersonal skills, it might feel
really obvious which role yourtalents or abilities or capacity
fits into, or it might not.
(06:19):
For me personally, I work as awriter and a teacher and an
artist.
I teach people how to use tarot.
I also sit with people in theirgrief and help them connect
with one another and withthemselves spiritually and
creatively, and all of that workfits pretty neatly into the
fourth category.
I talked about that buildingalternatives but that doesn't
mean that I never, ever, stepinto any of those other roles.
(06:42):
Sometimes I participate inprotests or strikes, I try to
contact my representatives whenit feels like it's going to be
relevant and I donate to mutualaid funds when I can.
But knowing my lane of being inthat building alternatives role
helps me feel less overwhelmedand also helps me feel less
guilty.
When I can't do all the thingsin all the roles, I know what my
(07:03):
job is and I can remember howI'm contributing and really lean
into that instead of trying todo all the things and not doing
any of them very well.
But if you're not sure, that'sokay, there are lots of ways to
figure that out, and that's someof what we're going to be
talking about in the rest ofthis episode.
If you're wondering what any ofthis has to do with tarot, allow
me to help, because for me, oneof the reasons I love these
(07:23):
four role categories is becausethey feel really aligned to me
with the four elements that makeup the four suits of the minor
arcana.
Now, look, I just made these up, so you might completely
disagree with my correspondences, and if you do, that's fine,
because, again, I just made themup.
You can use different ones Ifthat works for you.
Literally whatever works foryou is totally fine, but if
you're trying to think about theways that these roles might
(07:45):
look in real life, or you'retrying to identify which ones
feel the most accessible or themost exciting or the most doable
for you, this could be ahelpful framework.
Now I'm quickly going to sharehow I see these four roles and
how they align with the foursuits.
The first role that I talkedabout that role category of
protecting people I see reallyaligned with the element of
(08:06):
water and the suit of cups,because this is so much about
caring for the vulnerable andthe marginalized, making space
for emotions and for challengesas well, in creating containers
and systems where we're relyingon one another for nourishment
and support.
That second category ofdefending civic institutions to
me feels really in line with theelement of air and the suit of
(08:27):
swords, because it's so muchabout communicating truth,
standing up for what's right,fighting disinformation and
utilizing the structures thatalready exist to accomplish
amazing things.
The third category is disruptand obey, and for me, again,
that feels super in line withthe element of fire and the suit
of wands, because this reallyis courageously fucking things
(08:48):
up and breaking things in waysthat are going to be
intentionally disruptive.
But it's also about beingbright and loud and visible,
about serving as a torch thatothers can see and gain
inspiration from.
And that final role category isbuilding alternatives, which I
see as falling in line with theelement of earth and the suit of
pentacles.
This is so much about slowlycreating something new and
(09:09):
supportive, establishingresources, setting up systems of
care, sharing what we have and,ultimately, about growing
together, putting down roots andbuilding something new.
Knowing your role and being ableto explore that through the
suits and the elements can be areally helpful way of building
like a more tactical, practical,realistic, everyday way of
(09:30):
understanding what that mightreally look like for you, and it
can also be a good reminderthat you don't have to do all
the lanes, you don't have to beevery card at once.
You can instead really chooseyour focus and double down on
that in a way that is going tobe sustainable for you.
This isn't about burning out asquickly as possible.
It's instead about recognizingthat we are in a broader cycle
(09:52):
and we have a role to play inthat cycle.
Now, whether or not the idea ofhaving a really specific role
or your role fitting into acategory resonates with you, we
can also look at activismthrough the lens of archetypes
and really think about whicharchetype feels the most aligned
with either your role, yourrole category or just the skills
and assets that you're bringingto the party.
(10:13):
I love using the tarot like this, because having an archetype
that you've kind of associatedwith your own brand of activism
or your own activist energy canbe super empowering, and it can
become like a hat that you'reputting on or a role that you're
stepping into, or a vibe thatyou can embrace.
You can say you know, I'mleaning into this energy, I'm
embracing this energy.
(10:34):
I'm stepping into this energyand it can just feel really
empowering and exciting.
There's tons of ways you canconnect with your archetype.
Once you've identified it, youcan make an altar, you can
create a talisman, you can builda playlist, you can think about
what this archetype might wearor how they might smell or how
they might move, and just reallylet yourself lean into and
embody that energy.
(10:54):
Now, in terms of whicharchetype you want to work with,
you can do whatever you want.
There's certainly precedent forworking with your birth card, if
that card feels like somethingthat feels really good for you,
or a card that you reallyidentify with or that you find
really accessible for yourself.
And if you don't know how tocalculate your birth card, I'm
going to put a link to theinstructions in the show notes.
(11:15):
It's very simple, it's justsome basic math.
But not everyone feels superconnected to their birth card.
Or you might feel like yourbirth card for you is more
connected to your creative selfor your spiritual practice or
your work or your relationshipsor community or whatever.
It might just not go there foryou, and that's totally fine.
In that case, I think it can bereally helpful to just let
(11:36):
yourself pick an archetype thatyou want, that you want to work
with, that you want to embody,or that feels representative of
what you're already doing.
So to think again about ourcategories.
Maybe protecting people thatfirst category that we talked
about of protecting people feelsreally emperor-like to you, or
maybe very queen of cups to you,right?
Maybe you're thinking aboutboundaries and protection and
(11:56):
community care and safeguarding.
For that second category,defending civic institutions,
maybe it gives you big King ofSwords vibes or reminds you of
the justice archetype.
For that third category,disrupt and disobey, maybe you
think about the tower or theknight of wands and for that
last one, the buildingalternatives.
You could think about almostanything, but I first thought
(12:17):
about the page of pentacles orthe strength archetype or the
star archetype.
But again, the sky is reallythe limit here.
You really can decide foryourself which archetypes from
the major arcana or from theminor arcana courts, or you can
also just pick a card that's notan archetype, if you prefer,
but choosing a card that feelslike something you could step
into or embody or work withclosely, especially when it
(12:39):
comes to how you show up in anactivism way or in a community
oriented way, can be really justhelpful as a way of narrowing
your focus and remembering whoyou are.
Since I used myself as anexample for the first one and
talking about roles and feelingreally aligned with that
building alternatives category,I'll also share which archetypes
I associate that with my birthcards are justice and the high
(13:02):
priestess, which honestly feelreally good for me in a lot of
different ways and do feelpretty aligned with my activism
strategy.
To be completely honest, I doreally focus on authenticity, on
making choices that resonate,on tools and resources that help
people look internally andconnect with what really matters
most and make choices that feelaligned with values as well as
(13:25):
justice, which is so much aboutpaying attention to impact and
recognizing how we connect withothers in our community, what
we're willing to stand up for,what matters to us, what our
values are, et cetera.
So for me, both of thosearchetypes actually feel deeply
tied to this idea of buildingalternatives, but I also, when
it comes to activism and the waythat I show up in this kind of
(13:48):
work, I also think about thehierophant and the hermit.
For me, both of those feelreally connected to what I do,
how I see the world and how Itry to support those around me.
Now.
Thinking about roles andarchetypes are both really ways
that you are making decisions orchoices for yourself, or just
exploring ideas around how youcan show up and what that might
(14:08):
look like and what that mightfeel like and how that ties back
to the tarot.
But, of course, those aren'tthe only ways that we can
connect tarot with activism, soI want to offer you two other
ways that you can connect thesetwo things together.
The third thing I want to offeryou is a tarot spread.
Now.
I've written lots of tarotspreads about roles, about
showing up, about persistence,about taking care of yourself,
(14:30):
about community care, aboutresourcing so many different
things that can help support youin your activism and different
ways that you can use the cardsin your personal readings and
your personal practice to gainsome new answers and insights
from the cards themselves.
But today I want to talkspecifically through one spread
that I wrote back in Octoberthat I think can be really
(14:52):
helpful for this particularconversation, and it's called
the daily commitments spread.
Now I'm going to include a linkto the Instagram post that I
made about this spread, becauseit was inspired by a number of
different people and their work,and so I want to make sure that
that is very, very clear.
But I want to talk through thespread quickly here with you,
because I think that it's areally helpful thing that you
(15:13):
can use as a one-off or as adaily practice or as anything in
between to really connect yourdaily efforts and the ways that
you show up on a regular basiswith the tarot.
So there are four differentpositions.
So, to use the spread, you'regoing to shuffle the cards.
Well, I would recommend keepingall 78 cards in the deck and
then pull four different cards,one for each of the following
(15:35):
positions.
Now you can read these in anyorder you like, but I like to
read the first card as where Iam, which is just to say where
you are in this present momentemotionally, physically,
spiritually, relationally,intellectually, et cetera, just
giving you a baseline of whereyou are in this particular
moment.
The second card is what I'mmaking, which is to say what
(15:59):
you're putting out into theworld, what you're expressing,
what you're offering, whatyou're working on, what you're
doing.
The third card is what I'mcommitted to, which is kind of
the values or the desire or thegoal that's underpinning where
you are and what you're making.
This is what's driving you,this is what you care about,
this is what you are workingtowards.
(16:21):
And the fourth and final card iswhy it matters, and I really
like to think about this as kindof the impact or the
significance or the purpose ofit.
What is what you're doing,starting to accomplish?
Why do you care about it?
What is the good that it isbringing?
What is the impact that it'shaving?
I love this spread as a way toanchor into your work, to stay
(16:44):
connected and stay focused andto kind of sink in a little bit.
I think when we're looking atwhat is happening in the world,
when we're looking at what'shappening in our government,
when we're looking at what'shappening in our communities,
it's really easy to try to takein all of the information
possible and then that can getreally overwhelming into how
what we're doing contributes tothat, if we're doing enough, if
(17:06):
what we're doing is reallymaking a difference, et cetera.
But spreads like this and worklike this can really help us
drill down and remember that weare all pieces of a larger
machine and we are allcontributing to something in our
own unique way and where we are, and what we're making and what
we're committed to does matter.
It does have an impact.
(17:27):
It does have an effect.
It does have a purpose.
So using a spread like this, orjust, you know, mulling these
ideas over on your own, can be ahelpful, consistent practice to
help tie your tarot andactivism together and give you
an opportunity to remember whyyou're doing what you're doing
and to affirm that you areactually doing something.
(17:51):
And the last thing I want tooffer is a quick little
journaling exercise.
I'm going to ask you a fewdifferent questions that will
help encourage you to pull somecards out of your tarot deck and
then think about them.
Look at them together and thinkabout what you can find in
terms of insights and truths andperspectives, as well as food
for future thought, alongsideyour cards.
So, with your tarot deck inhand, I want you to think about
which tarot cards represent yourmain area of focus right now in
(18:14):
terms of your activism, whichcards represent your energy
levels right now, and whichcards represent your emotions
around activism right now, yourfeelings, your needs, you know
whatever's bubbling up.
I want you to go through thetarot deck and pull cards out
for each of these maincategories, cards that represent
(18:36):
your area of focus or yourintentionality or where you're
investing energy in terms ofyour activism, work, cards that
represent your energy levelsright now, how much energy
you're bringing to this work, aswell as cards that represent
your emotions or your feelingsaround the work that you're
doing right now.
Pull all of those cards out ofthe deck in little groups and
look at them all together andjournal on what they have in
common, if anything.
Journal on if you see anythingthematically within this group,
(19:00):
whether from a correspondenceperspective you know if they're
all from a similar suit or ifthey all have similar numbers,
or just if they all have similarenergies, if they feel like
they're all cut from the samecloth or telling different
pieces of the same story.
Are there any cards inparticular from this entire
group that feel justparticularly true or clear or
supportive for you right now?
Are there any cards you feeldrawn to or cards that you feel
(19:23):
really encompass where you're atemotionally right now?
And what would it feel like towork with those cards really
intentionally, to hear theirmedicine, to let them sing to
you, to perhaps put them upsomewhere you can see them or
take a photo that you said isyour background as a, as a way
of coming back to self andchecking in with yourself on a
more consistent basis.
(19:43):
Now I've talked about fourdifferent ways that tarot can
support your activism throughroles, through archetype work,
through a spread and throughjournaling this little
journaling exercise that Ishared.
But, of course, there are tonsof ways to connect tarot and
activism or to use tarot tosupport your activism.
So I hope that these just serveas a jumping off point for you
to start exploring how you canlet the cards support you more
(20:05):
specifically in your daily work.
I always like to wrap theseepisodes up with a tip or a
trick, and I'm going to keepthis very short, because this is
already a longer episode andthe show notes are juicy, but I
just want to remind you thatthis doesn't have to be
complicated.
Whether you've been working withthe cards for a long time or
not, whether you identify as anactivist or not, tarot really
(20:25):
can support the things that youcare about, especially when it
comes to making broadercollective change.
So I just want to remind youthat in all parts of your tarot
practice, but especially in this, it's okay if this isn't a
super consistent thing.
Every reading you do does nothave to be about your activism
work, even if your activism workis incredibly important to you.
I want to just give youpermission, if you need it, to
(20:48):
reach for the tarot when it'sgoing to feel supportive for
this work, and not to guiltyourself when it doesn't.
Tarot is a tool that you get touse as it serves you, and I
realized that that might feelreally selfish, but it doesn't
have to Remember that the cardscan show up for you in whatever
ways you need them to, and thatdoesn't have to be limited just
to readings.
(21:08):
I've shared a lot of differentways to work with the cards
today and I sincerely hope that,as you fight the good fight,
get in good trouble and figureout how you can support efforts
to rebuild our world intosomething that works for all of
us, that the tarot can really bean incredible tool in your
toolbox for doing that kind ofwork.
That is all I have for youtoday, but, as always, thank you
(21:29):
so much for spending this timewith me, and I will be back
again soon with another episodeof Card Talk.
Card Talk episodes are alwaysfree for everyone to enjoy, so
if you love what you hear,please consider supporting the
podcast by subscribing,recommending Card, talk to a
friend or two or donating tohelp with production costs.
You can find episodetranscripts.
(21:49):
Learn more about me and join mysignature Tarot Conservatory
membership program through mywebsite, 3amtarotcom.
Thanks for listening and seeyou next time.
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