Council of the Elements, a Tarot Practice
A tarot practice by James Wells, based on the work of Joanna Macy (1929-2025)
Dear Ones,
This week I watched yellow cottonwood leaves drift downward and get caught in stems of lavender in my garden. I’ve noticed a red tinge to vine maple leaves in the woods. I’m never quite ready for this shift in seasons, from summer to fall. I always want to hold it off a bit longer. I realize I would feel differently if I lived in an area that suffers through terrible heat waves. But here in my ecosystem, the sunny days (not too hot) are a gift, a call to live life outdoors, an invitation to play. The turn towards fall is always so bittersweet. The abundance of summer will soon turn to harvest-tide, followed by the fallow time. I’m just Not. Quite. Ready.
Collectively, we lost two great souls this past week: the poet Andrea Gibson (I wrote about them last week) and environmental activist Joanna Macy, whose teachings on the Great Turning and the Work That Reconnects are important to so many. She taught us how we can take action in the face of grief and anxiety over the climate crisis and more. Andrea was 49 when they died; Joanna was 96. Both lived their lives in ways that had significant impacts. They will continue to guide us, I believe, as ancestors on the other side of the veil.
“At the root of people’s despair over the environment, [Joanna Macy] believed, was a reverence for the earth’s magnificence and an understanding that human beings are part of the web of life.”
— NY Times obituary 7.24.25. Gift link here.
I first attended one of her workshops in southern California around 1985. I had never before been exposed to the idea of honoring your grief, whether personal or collective. It was a revelatory concept back then, to consider being present with your pain instead of trying to push it away, and to allow it to fuel your actions to create a better world. This became a guiding principle in my life.
Any hope that I have for the future of our planet comes not only from my immersion in the Sacred Wheel of life, but also in Joanna Macy’s concept of The Great Turning, “one name for the essential adventure of our time: the shift from an industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization.” Even if the current political climate makes it seem like we’re regressing! I’ve been delighted and encouraged in the last year or so to see a younger generation, led by musician Lydia Violet, take up Joanna’s work through courses and workshops in the School for the Great Turning.
Rebecca Solnit wrote a beautiful piece about Joanna Macy’s passing here.
Last year, Joanna (age 95!) recorded a 10-part podcast with her friend and student Jessica Serrante called “We Are the Great Turning.” You can listen here on Spotify or here on Apple.
What is remembered, lives.
Council of the Elements, a Tarot Practice
“The Work That Reconnects helps people around the world discover and experience their innate connections with each other and the self-healing powers of the web of life, transforming despair and overwhelm into inspired, collaborative action.”
— Joanna Macy
The Work That Reconnects is based on a spiral pattern that moves through four stages:
Coming from Gratitude
Honoring Our Pain for the World
Seeing with New/Ancient Eyes
Going Forth
My friend and tarot colleague James Wells adapted this spiral to an elemental tarot practice about 15 or 20 years ago. I used to teach it often in workshops and remembered it this past week when I heard about Joanna Macy’s death. James gave me permission to share it with you here. It’s very powerful when done in a small group of people, and I encourage you to try it with a few friends. You can also go through the process alone and write your responses in your journal.
