With so much injustice in the world, I am filled with rage. I am so angry at so many people (politicians/other people in power), and I don’t know what to do with it. I feel it just eats away at me, and part of me is actually scared of how dark I feel. I’m trying to channel my anger towards something more productive, but it’s not working. I see a genocide happening, and children starving, and people being snatched off the streets, and I want the people in power to suffer. Do the cards have any advice?—Rage Against Everything
Cards: Seven of Swords, The Tower (reversed), The Magician, Queen of Cups
Dear Rage,
The first thing I consulted when I read your question was not my Tarot deck but my dictionary. You mention “anger,” which can be a useful emotion. Anger can be channeled into positive change, it can galvanize you on a path towards justice, or motivate you in other, healthy ways.
Rage is something deeper; if anger is a flame, rage is a field on fire, consuming all. But rage, too, can be quelled, redirected if allowed to be tamped down.
What I think you are feeling, though, is not anger or rage but wrath.
Wrath is rage that demands vengeance. It is divine in stature, as smooth and sharp as an obsidian blade, and can consume every part of you. Wrath is rage channeled; it is the end stage that demands hurt to be returned tenfold, your enemy vanquished. Wrath is to be both savior and punisher; it is to imagine yourself as Michael the Archangel, defeater of the devil and handler of the holy flame.
But we, my dear, are not archangels. We cannot hold a flaming sword for eternity. It will burn us to ash, too.
While we might feel righteous, wrath is tied to annihilation. It is at the bottom of terrorist attacks, assassinations, mass shootings. It is destructive and never-ending because vengeance will always expand. Someone else will always need to be punished.
You know that this feeling inside of you is destructive. The Seven of Swords is often a card of our darkest impulses and urges. But therapist and Tarot reader Jessica Dore writes about how the Seven of Swords can also be a card of unresolved trauma. It is something that requires careful excavation as layer after layer is uncovered.
I don’t think you need to have a traumatic past to be brutally angry at a genocide, but vengeance is often personal. Do you want those inflicting the suffering to simply be punished, or do you want to be the one holding the sword? If the latter, where does that come from? Is this wrath rooted in something deeper that is coming to the surface now in the face of everything?
It’s easy to feel helpless as people in power commit mass atrocities and feel like they can only be stopped by a greater force. While I’ve often described The Tower as a card of chaos or great change, the image on the card is lightning striking the Tower of Babel and people falling to their deaths. It is a literal depiction of God’s wrath on arrogant mankind. The Tower can be a prayer to God or St. Michael or Nemesis Adrasteia to step in, stop the suffering, and strike down those who should be smited.
But The Tower is also a card of legacy—and legacy can be combated by human effort alone.
The Magician is a card that reminds us of our own power. The Magician rules all elements: your emotions (cups), your material reality (pentacles), your thoughts (swords), and your passionate soul (wands). You possess this great power and control. You have power over your darkest impulses and the ability to generate hope. You are not helpless in the face of this great suffering.
To truly understand The Magician, you also have to understand how magick works. Occultist Alister Crowley defined magick as “the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will” and that “every intentional act is a Magickal Act.” While I am FAR from a fan of The Beast, I do like this definition because it’s so simple. You can intentionally change things. Literally. You can make real, measurable changes in the world by showing up with a plan and doing something. You can even become a powerful force if you’re working with others with the same intention or goal.
One act of magick for you to do is to transform your destructive wrath into something productive or creative. (This you might do on your own or-—strongly recommended–with a therapist.) The Queen of Wands is a passionate, warm, creative force that is also fiercely protective. She does not suffer fools.
If you want to destroy the legacy of those you find evil, how can you do so in a productive way? Is it helping elect different people into office? Is it writing blistering op-eds? Making a documentary? Becoming a paralegal? Showing up to city council meetings, town halls, any place you can be heard? Joining an organization already making inroads or starting a grassroots campaign yourself?
You have both power and will. It might be difficult but you can create change.
A final note: in magick, there is often an exchange of power. To take something requires you to give something. To destroy requires creation. There must be balance for it to stick. If you want to tear down a legacy of terror and suffering, make sure you have a replacement of peace and healing at the ready. Vengeance can and will hollow you out and leave you with nothing. But the flame of fierce hope can be kept burning far after you leave this world. Cultivating that is far more powerful than any destruction that can be wrought.
Readers and community members are always welcome to send letters to the editors Please let us know if we may consider your submission for publication.
Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | BlueSky
This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2025.