The Devil & the Knight of Earth: Tarot Reading for Black Liberation | Pts 4 - 6
Feature Photo Credit: @urbancowgirl510
A few folks have asked “As a diviner & healing artist, what information is coming up? How can we prepare?” Weeks ago, I consulted the ancestors and pulled these cards - but I did not feel released to share publicly then. It likely would’ve done more harm than good. But times have swiftly changed & now is the time to share. The mission of my work as a whole is to "contribute resources, art, narratives, and experiential learning opportunities that aid in the holistic healing processes of Blackfolk." I’m very clear that my role in a social change movement is as a healing artist, caregiver, and storyteller. It is in that spirit that I offer this reading.
Today, we’ll unpack the Knight of Earth & what that means for this political moment. I will offer MULTIPLE interpretations of this card. Choose the one that works and most resonates with your experience.
Part Four | “Pray working.” - Blackchurchfolk
The Knight of Earth / Pentacles reminds us, in the words of Toni Cade Bambara, that “We better take the time to fashion revolutionary selves, revolutionary lives, revolutionary relationships.” Why? Because “mouth don’t win the war.”
The Knight of Earth is about strategy, planning, and intentional movement. It reminds us that we can’t spend all of our time talking (though critical dialogue IS very important). Additionally, this Knight reminds us that activism is not about personality but about consistent PRACTICE.
It’s no wonder that the Knight of Pentacles comes directly after the Devil card in this reading. It reminds us that we must “pray working” - divining, consulting the stars, understanding the cards, and reading the TANGIBLE signs of the times. In order to be in integrity, we must then use that information toward liberation, the abolition of the police state, and the safety of Black lives. If we ain’t doing that, then we really gotta ask what are we doing?
PART FIVE: “Pray working.” - Blackchurchfolk
”I don’t know what to do,” will not be enough to excuse you in this moment. 🤷🏾♀️ (Let me be clear: I’m not talking about folks who are actively being targeted. It’s okay if you don’t know what to do boo 💜 For right now, the Knight can encourage you to get back to the Earth, rest, and live to fight another day. 💜).
The Knight contemplates their coin. What resources do you have? If it’s money, then use it to redistribute wealth to the impoverished, to donate to bail bonds, or to support the work of Blackfolk & folks organizing for freedom. If it’s time, then volunteer. Folks have volunteered their time to give acupuncture for organizers, energy healing, ride-shares, food trees, etc. If it’s space, then give that! Peaceful places where organizers and Blackfolk can rest are ALWAYS important. The point is, beloveds, ain’t no card between the Devil and the Knight. Ain’t no half stepping. To deny one is to embrace the other.
PART SIX: “Pray working.”- Blackchurchfolk
Black People: The Knight of Earth reminds us to PROTECT ourselves in tangible ways. Our diasporic spiritualities make way for this. And for Black Americans, revisiting the roots of hoodoo is quite powerful bc its uses are both spiritual & material.*
Many times, we make sure folks have go-bags, meds, masks, care items, etc... and it can be so easy to forget to do this for ourselves! 😩 Protecting yourself at this time can look a MYRIAD of ways. The @theconjurecleaner has offered a beautiful hoodoo protection spell video. The use of masks and gloves during direct action can help. Stating CLEAR boundaries around your time, treasure, and talent (Pentacles) can help. Asking for help explicitly from trusted friends and comrades is an important “protection spell “ for these times too!
We will SERIOUSLY need to lean into cooperative economics. Thankfully, we ain’t new to this. We will TRULY have to consult the ancestors as we chart our next steps. Thankfully, THEY ain’t new to this either. We will need to remember, in the words of June Jordan, that “we are each other’s harvest.” We are the sword and the balm. It’s enough, Earth Knights, to do what you can, where you are. Don’t forget that YOU ARE the prize! ✨🙌🏾✨
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A quick note for the unclear or uninitiated: Let’s not conflate or assume the practitioner pictured is working within the hoodoo system. I bring it up here solely for the point of this specific reading & not as a commentary on what is happening IN the picture. Pictured here is Mama Lula Christopher of Seeds of Our Ancestors, a mobile healing justice crew based in Boston. Mama Lula is an initiated Elder in the Dagara tradition. 💜
This series was originally offered via Instagram on June 2, 2020.
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Learn Tarot with me | The Cecilia Weston Tarot Academy
OPENS AUGUST 2020 - DECEMBER 2020 | ANANSI COHORT
Cecilia Weston is the name of my great-great-grandmother, who is known in family folklore to have been an astute tarot reader & folk medicine woman. While she openly identified as "Catholic," she practiced a variety of folk magic like palm reading & tea leaf readings. One of the creative ways that Black women in her time could strive to create economic freedom was through hoodoo & conjure, although it was a precarious political position to practice openly. The "Anansi" cohort celebrates Black folk wisdom & the ability to creatively problem-solve through the spiritual arts.
Patrons on this tier (limited to 10) will receive:
+ Monthly 2 hour-long tarot teaching courses
+ Homework & check-ins after each course
+ Readings, tarot resources, & supplemental learning material throughout the term
+ Access to personal assistance with spreads & questions throughout the month via Patreon messaging
+ Closing mini-ceremony & group divination
+ Access to all Wednesday Night Study sessions, live Q&A's, & community gatherings
Enrollment is OPEN NOW
The mission of my work, as a whole, is to contribute resources, art, narratives, and experiential learning opportunities that aid in the holistic healing processes of Blackfolk, queer people of color (QPOC), and disabled / chronically ill POC. While this experience is not exclusive to these identities, I want to be intentional about saving as many spaces for folks who are at these intersections.
Fill out this short interest form to let me know you'd like to join the Anansi cohort. Invitations to join will go out July 2020 along with a digital welcome packet.