I knew as I watched last week’s storm develop in the Gulf and then hit that, for many, it would be a clear divide. There would be “before the storm” and “after.” I also knew this storm hit with a sliding scale of severity because that’s how these things go.
Someone in Seminole Heights might have emerged Thursday morning only to see their pack of cigarettes still balancing on their porch railing. Across the Bay in St. Petersburg someone else might have watched the storm come through their front door and destroy everything. Another family would have lost a freezer’s worth of food, someone their life. Some homes would be gone completely; some would have only lost power for the night.
But, regardless of where we each personally sit on the scale, we have to recognize that our community, as a whole, has been dealt a heavy blow. Much like COVID, we cannot go at this alone. In order for a community to heal, we have to do what we can, each of us. To figure out where to start, I turned to Tarot because, for me, that’s how these things go.To begin: In the immediate aftermath, those who can afford to give financially should. With the King of Pentacles and the Nine of Pentacles, material wealth will be what’s necessary for many people to get back to their homes, feed themselves, and replace the things they need. People may have lost their jobs, houses, cars, clothes, and everything to the storm, and with these two cards reversed, a steady cash flow will be a necessary lifeline for months.
This generosity can and should extend beyond the material, too. We need to be generous with each other, give people grace and offer help where we can. This might be helping your neighbor clear their yard, bringing extra eggs over to a co-worker’s house, or letting it go if someone is kind of an asshole in line at Publix. The “P” in PTSD means “post,” so now that there is time to process everything that’s happened, people might be doing so in strange and ugly ways. Let them.
Cards: Ace of Swords, Two of Wands, Knight of Pentacles, Seven of Pentacles, The Magician, Six of Cups
In the following weeks, leadership will be necessary, and the Ace of Swords might be someone (or many people) who emerges from this disaster and directs those willing to put in some Two of Wands hard work on where to go. There is hope in these efforts and a genuine belief that things will improve, which will be good for morale. It might also be a time when we, as individuals, take stock of what we really need/want in our lives. Again, like Covid, the aftermath of a disaster shows us with glaring light what our priorities were and if we want to keep those centered in our lives.
This extends to our communities, too, especially with local business and municipal policy. The calm and steady Knight of Pentacles knows that it’s our responsibility to support what we want to see in our community, and the Seven of Pentacles includes reevaluating what we want to invest in. As many local businesses across Tampa Bay had to close for days leading up to the hurricane—some for a week or more afterward—many probably need financial support. Coming off the slow summer season and shutting down for two or more weeks might put places you love in great financial risk. So, if you can, go buy that artisanal cupcake or that book or get a gift certificate for that restaurant that can’t reopen just yet. Kick $5 bucks to that GoFundMe. FEMA and insurance money may come through eventually, but if a business is operating on slim margins to begin with, it might shutter before that check arrives.
Responsibility about money doesn’t just extend to our own spending. With an election coming up, it’s also worth evaluating what our city counselors, school boards, and other programs are spending money on and if that’s serving our community. What do the different communities in our city need, including yours? How can these needs be met?
Finally, the energy of a city can change dramatically after a dramatic event. When the Wall came down, East Berlin ceased to be, even though it had the same streets and same buildings, and people. New Orleans changed, too, after the storm, though it was able to get its magic back over time because people rebuilt it. They put their energy into the city and coaxed it back.
That is what we need to do. As The Magician, the powerful conductor of the Major Arcana, we need to raise that energy again. The Six of Cups asks us what we love about our cities. Many of us chose to make a home there, so what was it about these places we loved? Why did we settle in Sarasota and not St. Louis? What is it that we love that we want to bring back or to preserve?
We can do it. We can rebuild. It will take time, and certainly, it will take money, but most importantly, it will take effort. We cannot afford to sit back and say, “Remember when?” or “I miss how that used to be.” We have to make our cities into the places we love, and we have to fight to keep what we love alive.
But most of all, we need to be there for each other. I know that sounds so kumbaya, but fuck it, it’s true. We all need to get through this and it’ll be a long time before it’s over. So until then, use your own magic. Be there for one another. It’s how these things have to go.
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This article appears in Oct 10-16, 2024.