Knight of Coins/Pentacles: The Peaceful Activist
Above: Knight of Pentacles from Waite-Smith Tarot.
The Knight of Coins rejects extremism. As Knights embody the energy of Fire, and the suit of Coins/Pentacles embodies the Earth element, we could say (if doing a Nature reading) that the Knight of Coins is Fire of Earth, passion for the planet. And yet, in the Waite-Smith deck, his horse has stopped at the edge of a field, mid-motion. There is no rush. The Knight holds his coin, his offering to the world, to a field that has been ploughed too extremely, a depleted landscape that bleeds the colour red to show its suffering. And yet – outrageously, perhaps – the Knight does not look worried. He is taking in the view. What kind of activist is this? Where is his fiery passion? The world before him is dying, and he just stands there…
We need to change this rotten situation; some of us must be activists, but not all of us can be. I know that I can’t. I was an activist (for a different cause, not climate) for many years and I became eaten by anger. We can contribute in other ways though, with clarity and peace. Even activists can do things with clarity and peace. Thich Nhat Hanh was an excellent example of this. The reality is that you alone cannot change the world, so you can let go of carrying that burden.
Are ‘little differences’ worth it, though? If I make a decision, for example, to buy certain biodegradable products instead of plastic, I won’t think to myself, _What’s the point? The world is burning anyway._ No, sorry. It’s not up to me alone to save the entire planet, and I refuse to take the weight of the world on my shoulders, just like this Knight of Coins. What I can do is think about the plastic that I might have used otherwise; how it could have ended up in the ocean, killing a beautiful marine creature somewhere. Did my little choice here just stop some suffering out there? Possibly. That makes me smile. We could say that it’s inconsequential in this big picture, but I believe in the small picture, too. Isn’t the Earth just one tiny planet in a huge, unfathomable universe? Does that make it inconsequential if it its destroyed? I don’t think so. Perhaps my imaginary-but-possible marine animal might have choked on someone else’s shit instead anyway, maybe not. I can work with the laws of damage limitation and feel okay about that choice, without feeling like some kind of martyr because of my choice of toothpick. Just a little thing tiny that possibly matters.
Even those who are called to activism can do it mindfully, calmly, with respect for themselves. They can still go out into a city park and enjoy the birds and the trees that are thriving, and not only cry for the species in decline. I think that we need to be able to do both of these things. Being a prophet of doom helps the planet very little in my experience, and those who lecture others about their choices only serve to create guilt, which makes people switch off. I actively avoid spending time with certain people who do incredible activism because their miserable presence makes me feel so down about the planet that I find it hard to see the beauty in it afterwards. I just carry darkness. If all I feel in a city park is fear and misery then I tend to cease caring for it, because it’s hard to work constructively from such a place. It’s a fine line to walk, but as long as I remember to appreciate my privilege in being ALIVE to experience all of this wonder, I feel like I’m on roughly the right track.
If I cannot slow down, stop, and take in the view – like the Knight of Pentacles in the Waite-Smith Tarot – I can’t understand what role I can actually play. In my case, it’s in connecting other people with Nature for their personal wellbeing. (Because suffering people are the Earth, too.) But I have to be honest, I do it mostly because I love the work; I adore the magic of being ALIVE and I want to share it with others, I’m not doing it to to save the world. I’m not powerful enough to save the world. Righteous rage is fine and has its place – at a street march, for example. But if you are burning with rage every time you see a piece of litter on the street, then perhaps it is time you slowed down, reevaluated or even got some support. There is no shame in feeling eco-anxiety: it is a normal response to an abnormal situation. We are the Earth, and so we feel its stress. But like all animals, we need peace and rest, or we won’t be of any use to anyone, least of all ourselves.
That’s all for now, friends. Thank you for being here – and please check out my Therapeutic Tarot Sessions and my courses embracing Tarot and Nature if you’d like us to work together. You can also sign up for the Tarot Blog newsletter (different to my main newsletter) below to receive occasional email updates (roughly monthly) with the latest posts.
Smiles from Scotland,
Stephen
