Card Talk
CARD TALK is a mini podcast featuring tarot basics and evergreen insights, supporting you from your very first reading to card-slinging with confidence. Whether you're a curious beginner or an experienced practitioner, CARD TALK is your new go-to tarot podcast for quick tips and practical tricks.
Hosted by 3am.tarot creator and Finding the Fool author Meg Jones Wall, a queer and non-binary tarot reader dedicated to creating accessible, inclusive tarot resources.
Card Talk
so you want to use tarot in your activism
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.
I'm Meg Jones-Wall and this is Card Talk, a mini podcast for tarot basics and evergreen insights. I'm here to help you build a tarot practice that works for you. Glad you're here. Glad you're here. Today's episode is going to be the first in a series of episodes that I'm doing here on Card Talk, all based around questions that might come up for you as part of your own personal tarot practice. Some of these are questions that I have asked myself in my own practice and others were sourced from members, actually, of the 3am tarot discord server. If you are craving community, I just want to drop a little note, a little reminder, that I do run a private discord server full of really incredible, generous and wonderful people who are all really interested in tarot but also really interested in activism and community care. It's a beautiful space and it's open to anyone who has a paid subscription to my newsletter. So if that's something you're interested in, you can find a link to that in the show notes.
Speaker 1:Now, I mentioned community and activism specifically because in this very first episode, we are going to be talking about how tarot can support your activism work. Now I am based in the United States, but I think no matter where you are in the world, this topic is going to feel super relevant as more and more people are plugging into direct action and mutual aid and organizing efforts, looking for ways that they can get involved and take care of their communities. I think that putting our energy into this community work and political change is incredibly important, but it can also be really draining, it can be really hard, it can be really overwhelming and intimidating, and so having a personal practice, even a super simple one, can help you feel a lot more anchored, grounded, supported and stabilized, and tarot, especially if it's something that you're already interested in or something you already have a relationship with, can be a really fantastic way to help yourself consistently and regularly slow down, check in, take care of yourself and get focused. Now, this is a topic that I have written about a lot in the past, so the show notes are going to be very robust for this episode, because I'm going to include some links to essays that I've written and tarot spreads I've created in the show notes. But I also wanted to talk through today some very basic techniques that you can use to use tarot to help support your activism and also to help better understand your activism.
Speaker 1:The first thing I want to talk about is roles, or the idea of having a role in a movement. Now, I am not a professional organizer or someone with decades and decades of organizing experience, but I have been reading a lot about organization, mutual aid. I've been getting really interested in what it looks like and the different ways that people can show up, and so I think that roles especially when you're thinking about activism and long-term effort, and especially when you want to use tarot for that it's really important to get focused into how you fit into a broader ecosystem. Social movements always have lots of people with lots of different skills, offering different kinds of resources and assets and abilities, and I think that it can be really helpful to remember, especially when we're feeling overwhelmed about all the things that we cannot do, to really sink into our role in a juicy way, and I think tarot is so well equipped for this kind of work. Now, I believe I've shared it before, but I'm definitely going to share it again.
Speaker 1:There was an excellent article from Waging Nonviolence that was making the rounds earlier in this year. I'm pretty sure I've already linked to it in a podcast episode, but I don't care, I'm doing it again. It's an incredible resource for slowing down, getting focused and really finding your lane. When it comes to this broader work, I'm linking it in the show notes, but I also actually want to talk about it because one of my favorite pieces of this is that it breaks roles into four distinct categories, which share different characteristics and different focuses Now these roles can be further segmented and niched down as well. Focuses Now these roles can be further segmented and niched down as well, and a lot of places, like slow factory, for example, breaks these into much more specific individual roles. But I really like the idea of having categories because I think it's easier to talk through and I think there's also some really neat things we can do in mapping these ideas onto the tarot.
Speaker 1:Now this article from waging nonviolence breaks these into four roles. The first is protecting people, which is folks that are working on organizing networks of resources and support outside of existing systems. So these are going to be people that are working with mutual aid, putting together support funds and offering trainings to help people, especially marginalized folks or people who might not have access to as much care and support or who might be the first to really lose out as our government collapses and different things are taken away. These are people that are going to be involved in trainings and direct outreach to protect these marginalized people. The second role is in defending civic institutions, and these are folks who are working within the existing structures and working with existing leadership on things like safeguarding elections to make sure we still have free and fair elections, protecting the protections that already exist as well as lawsuits and taking things to court, and fighting the power using the systems that we have at our disposal. The third role is disrupt and disobey, and these are often kind of the flashiest ones. This is often what we think about when we think of civil disobedience or mass disobedience or mass non-cooperation efforts. These are the protests, these are the strikes, this is tax resistance and work shutdowns and big walkouts and things like that, but things that are designed to literally disrupt the status quo.
Speaker 1:And the fourth and final category is building alternatives, which are folks who are doing the slow and sometimes painful work of creating brand new systems and different structures or alternative structures. So these are going to be your healing modalities your teachers, your community leaders, people offering community care, people investing in participatory budgeting, et cetera. Now, all four of these categories, all four of these kinds of roles all serve very important functions within resistance movements. And in thinking about your personal skills, it might feel really obvious which role your talents or abilities or capacity fits into, or it might not. For me personally, I work as a writer and a teacher and an artist. I teach people how to use tarot. I also sit with people in their grief and help them connect with one another and with themselves spiritually and creatively, and all of that work fits pretty neatly into the fourth category.
Speaker 1:I talked about that building alternatives but that doesn't mean that I never, ever, step into any of those other roles. Sometimes I participate in protests or strikes, I try to contact my representatives when it feels like it's going to be relevant and I donate to mutual aid funds when I can. But knowing my lane of being in that building alternatives role helps me feel less overwhelmed and also helps me feel less guilty. When I can't do all the things in all the roles, I know what my job is and I can remember how I'm contributing and really lean into that instead of trying to do all the things and not doing any of them very well. But if you're not sure, that's okay, there are lots of ways to figure that out, and that's some of what we're going to be talking about in the rest of this episode.
Speaker 1:If you're wondering what any of this has to do with tarot, allow me to help, because for me, one of the reasons I love these four role categories is because they feel really aligned to me with the four elements that make up 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 them up. You can use different ones If that works for you. Literally whatever works for you is totally fine, but if you're trying to think about the ways that these roles might look in real life, or you're trying to identify which ones feel the most accessible or the most exciting or the most doable for you, this could be a helpful framework. Now I'm quickly going to share how I see these four roles and how they align with the four suits.
Speaker 1:The first role that I talked about that role category of protecting people I see really aligned with the element of water and the suit of cups, because this is so much about caring for the vulnerable and the marginalized, making space for emotions and for challenges as well, in creating containers and systems where we're relying on one another for nourishment and support. That second category of defending civic institutions to me feels really in line with the element of air and the suit of swords, because it's so much about communicating truth, standing up for what's right, fighting disinformation and utilizing the structures that already exist to accomplish amazing things. The third category is disrupt and obey, and for me, again, that feels super in line with the element of fire and the suit of wands, because this really is courageously fucking things up and breaking things in ways that are going to be intentionally disruptive. But it's also about being bright and loud and visible, about serving as a torch that others can see and gain inspiration from. And that final role category is building alternatives, which I see as falling in line with the element of earth and the suit of pentacles. This is so much about slowly creating something new and supportive, establishing resources, setting up systems of care, sharing what we have and, ultimately, about growing together, putting down roots and building something new.
Speaker 1:Knowing your role and being able to explore that through the suits and the elements can be a really helpful way of building like a more tactical, practical, realistic, everyday way of understanding what that might really look like for you, and it can also be a good reminder that you don't have to do all the lanes, you don't have to be every card at once. You can instead really choose your focus and double down on that in a way that is going to be sustainable for you. This isn't about burning out as quickly as possible. It's instead about recognizing that we are in a broader cycle and we have a role to play in that cycle. Now, whether or not the idea of having a really specific role or your role fitting into a category resonates with you, we can also look at activism through the lens of archetypes and really think about which archetype feels the most aligned with either your role, your role category or just the skills and assets that you're bringing to the party.
Speaker 1:I love using the tarot like this, because having an archetype that you've kind of associated with your own brand of activism or your own activist energy can be super empowering, and it can become like a hat that you're putting on or a role that you're stepping into, or a vibe that you can embrace. You can say you know, I'm leaning into this energy, I'm embracing this energy. I'm stepping into this energy and it can just feel really empowering and exciting. There's tons of ways you can connect with your archetype. Once you've identified it, you can make an altar, you can create a talisman, you can build a playlist, you can think about what this archetype might wear or how they might smell or how they might move, and just really let yourself lean into and embody that energy. Now, in terms of which archetype you want to work with, you can do whatever you want.
Speaker 1:There's certainly precedent for working with your birth card, if that card feels like something that feels really good for you, or a card that you really identify with or that you find really accessible for yourself. And if you don't know how to calculate your birth card, I'm going to put a link to the instructions in the show notes. It's very simple, it's just some basic math. But not everyone feels super connected to their birth card. Or you might feel like your birth card for you is more connected to your creative self or your spiritual practice or your work or your relationships or community or whatever. It might just not go there for you, and that's totally fine. In that case, I think it can be really helpful to just let yourself pick an archetype that you want, that you want to work with, that you want to embody, or that feels representative of what you're already doing.
Speaker 1:So to think again about our categories. Maybe protecting people that first category that we talked about of protecting people feels really emperor-like to you, or maybe very queen of cups to you, right? Maybe you're thinking about boundaries and protection and community care and safeguarding. For that second category, defending civic institutions, maybe it gives you big King of Swords vibes or reminds you of the justice archetype. For that third category, disrupt and disobey, maybe you think about the tower or the knight of wands and for that last one, the building alternatives. You could think about almost anything, but I first thought about the page of pentacles or the strength archetype or the star archetype. But again, the sky is really the limit here. You really can decide for yourself which archetypes from the major arcana or from the minor arcana courts, or you can also just pick a card that's not an archetype, if you prefer, but choosing a card that feels like something you could step into or embody or work with closely, especially when it comes to how you show up in an activism way or in a community oriented way, can be really just helpful as a way of narrowing your focus and remembering who you are.
Speaker 1:Since I used myself as an example for the first one and talking about roles and feeling really aligned with that building alternatives category, I'll also share which archetypes I associate that with my birth cards are justice and the high priestess, which honestly feel really good for me in a lot of different ways and do feel pretty aligned with my activism strategy. To be completely honest, I do really focus on authenticity, on making choices that resonate, on tools and resources that help people look internally and connect with what really matters most and make choices that feel aligned with values as well as justice, which is so much about paying attention to impact and recognizing how we connect with others 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 those archetypes actually feel deeply tied to this idea of building alternatives, but I also, when it comes to activism and the way that I show up in this kind of work, I also think about the hierophant and the hermit. For me, both of those feel really connected to what I do, how I see the world and how I try to support those around me. Now. Thinking about roles and archetypes are both really ways that you are making decisions or choices for yourself, or just exploring ideas around how you can show up and what that might look like and what that might feel like and how that ties back to the tarot. But, of course, those aren't the only ways that we can connect tarot with activism, so I want to offer you two other ways that you can connect these two things together.
Speaker 1:The third thing I want to offer you is a tarot spread. Now. I've written lots of tarot spreads about roles, about showing up, about persistence, about taking care of yourself, about community care, about resourcing so many different things that can help support you in your activism and different ways that you can use the cards in your personal readings and your personal practice to gain some new answers and insights from the cards themselves. But today I want to talk specifically through one spread that I wrote back in October that I think can be really helpful for this particular conversation, and it's called the daily commitments spread. Now I'm going to include a link to the Instagram post that I made about this spread, because it 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 the spread quickly here with you, because I think that it's a really helpful thing that you can use as a one-off or as a daily practice or as anything in between to really connect your daily efforts and the ways that you show up on a regular basis with the tarot.
Speaker 1:So there are four different positions. So, to use the spread, you're going to shuffle the cards. Well, I would recommend keeping all 78 cards in the deck and then pull four different cards, one for each of the following positions. Now you can read these in any order you like, but I like to read the first card as where I am, which is just to say where you are in this present moment emotionally, physically, spiritually, relationally, intellectually, et cetera, just giving you a baseline of where you are in this particular moment. The second card is what I'm making, which is to say what you're putting out into the world, what you're expressing, what you're offering, what you're working on, what you're doing. The third card is what I'm committed to, which is kind of the values or the desire or the goal 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 working towards.
Speaker 1:And the fourth and final card is why it matters, and I really like to think about this as kind of the impact or the significance or the purpose of it. What is what you're doing, starting to accomplish? Why do you care about it? What is the good that it is bringing? What is the impact that it's having? I love this spread as a way to anchor into your work, to stay connected and stay focused and to kind of sink in a little bit. I think when we're looking at what is happening in the world, when we're looking at what's happening in our government, when we're looking at what's happening in our communities, it's really easy to try to take in all of the information possible and then that can get really overwhelming into how what we're doing contributes to that, if we're doing enough, if what we're doing is really making a difference, et cetera. But spreads like this and work like this can really help us drill down and remember that we are all pieces of a larger machine and we are all contributing 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. It does have an effect. It does have a purpose. So using a spread like this, or just, you know, mulling these ideas over on your own, can be a helpful, consistent practice to help tie your tarot and activism together and give you an opportunity to remember why you're doing what you're doing and to affirm that you are actually doing something.
Speaker 1:And the last thing I want to offer is a quick little journaling exercise. I'm going to ask you a few different questions that will help encourage you to pull some cards out of your tarot deck and then think about them. Look at them together and think about what you can find in terms of insights and truths and perspectives, as well as food for future thought, alongside your cards. So, with your tarot deck in hand, I want you to think about which tarot cards represent your main area of focus right now in terms of your activism, which cards represent your energy levels right now, and which cards represent your emotions around activism right now, your feelings, your needs, you know whatever's bubbling up. I want you to go through the tarot deck and pull cards out for each of these main categories, cards that represent your area of focus or your intentionality or where you're investing energy in terms of your activism, work, cards that represent your energy levels right now, how much energy you're bringing to this work, as well as cards that represent your emotions or your feelings around the work that you're doing right now.
Speaker 1:Pull all of those cards out of the deck in little groups and look at them all together and journal on what they have in common, if anything. Journal on if you see anything thematically within this group, whether from a correspondence perspective you know if they're all from a similar suit or if they all have similar numbers, or just if they all have similar energies, if they feel like they're all cut from the same cloth or telling different pieces of the same story. Are there any cards in particular from this entire group that feel just particularly true or clear or supportive for you right now? Are there any cards you feel drawn to or cards that you feel really encompass where you're at emotionally right now? And what would it feel like to work with those cards really intentionally, to hear their medicine, to let them sing to you, to perhaps put them up somewhere you can see them or take a photo that you said is your background as a, as a way of coming back to self and checking in with yourself on a more consistent basis.
Speaker 1:Now I've talked about four different ways that tarot can support your activism through roles, through archetype work, through a spread and through journaling this little journaling exercise that I shared. But, of course, there are tons of ways to connect tarot and activism or to use tarot to support your activism. So I hope that these just serve as a jumping off point for you to start exploring how you can let the cards support you more specifically in your daily work. I always like to wrap these episodes up with a tip or a trick, and I'm going to keep this very short, because this is already a longer episode and the show notes are juicy, but I just want to remind you that this doesn't have to be complicated.
Speaker 1:Whether you've been working with the cards for a long time or not, whether you identify as an activist or not, tarot really can support the things that you care about, especially when it comes to making broader collective change. So I just want to remind you that 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 not have to be about your activism work, even if your activism work is incredibly important to you. I want to just give you permission, if you need it, to reach for the tarot when it's going to feel supportive for this work, and not to guilt yourself when it doesn't. Tarot is a tool that you get to use as it serves you, and I realized that that might feel really selfish, but it doesn't have to Remember that the cards can show up for you in whatever ways you need them to, and that doesn't have to be limited just to readings.
Speaker 1:I've shared a lot of different ways to work with the cards today and I sincerely hope that, as you fight the good fight, get in good trouble and figure out how you can support efforts to rebuild our world into something that works for all of us, that the tarot can really be an incredible tool in your toolbox for doing that kind of work. That is all I have for you today, but, as always, thank you so much for spending this time with me, and I will be back again soon with another episode of Card Talk. Card Talk episodes are always free 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 to help with production costs. You can find episode transcripts. Learn more about me and join my signature Tarot Conservatory membership program through my website, 3amtarotcom. Thanks for listening and see you next time.
