Radical Reciprocity: The Six of Pentacles and Mutual Aid
Applying tarot irl
The Six of Pentacles
A wealthy figure standing dishing out coins to poor-looking people, begging at their feet, the arbiter of who deserves their resources; this is the imagery many associate with the Six of Pentacles in tarot, found in the classic Smith-Waite deck. Often interpreted as an act of charity, sharing or generosity, ignoring the power imbalance between those who have and those who don’t. But what if we reframe this act of giving beyond a simple transaction and view it within a larger context? Sixes in tarot are often associated with finding balance and harmony after the struggle or conflict of the fives. The number six also relates to the sixth Major Arcana: The Lovers, bringing up themes of choice. So, the Six of Pentacles asks us how we choose to interact with the concept of, and the act of, giving. How do we ensure balance?
Mutual aid is an organisational model where voluntary collaborative exchanges of resources and services for common benefit occur amongst community members to overcome social, economic and political barriers to meeting everyday needs. The contrast with charity lies in the lack of hierarchy and the way resources are shared unconditionally, whereas charity often comes with conditions for access, particularly in the modern world. Charity can also serve to maintain hierarchies of power, subtly reinforcing the status quo by keeping the oppressed reliant on the benevolence of the powerful for these offerings of temporary relief while doing nothing to change the systems of exploitation and domination that create poverty in the first place.
The term mutual aid was popularised by the anarchist philosopher Peter Kropotkin, whose work challenged the competitive framework of capitalism, showing that human survival has always been rooted in cooperation and that mutual aid is a natural and historical survival mechanism. While this might be the origin of the term, as a practice, it is as old as humanity, particularly if we look to Indigenous people and community structures, we’ll see mutual aid as a way of life.
In Cristy C. Road’s beautifully radical Next World Tarot, she gives the six of pentacles the keyword “Redistribution”. Expanding in the guidebook, “The 6 of pentacles represents your higher self–your drive to redistribute power and safety by means that elevate the marginalised.” Road continues, “In the current world we live in, we are congratulated for achieving financial power and conventional success.”, she explains “the 6 of Pentacles heralds a new value system … a system based on human need.”. This perspective echoes the title of the Six of Discs found in the Thoth Tarot: Success and invites reflection about how we define success through personal material gains or perhaps through participation in the equitable distribution of resources in our community, sharing responsibility for our collective liberation.
Reciprocity and the Cyclical Nature of Care
Balance and reciprocity are essential not just for the dissolution of hierarchies but also for sustainability. Activist burnout and donor fatigue are significant challenges that movements have to manage. Palestinian-Italian author Sabrin Hasbrun explains, “You have to think about this, activism and movements and solidarity, as a choir. We are all singing, but if you stop singing for half a minute, the choir is still there. If you stop singing because you burn out and you don’t sing anymore, then the choir will feel it.”.
Activists, caregivers and community members often feel pressure to give endlessly, leading to exhaustion, burnout and even compassion fatigue if care and support are not reciprocated. Jessica Dore explores this dynamic in Tarot For Change, writing, “When we erect hierarchies in any type of relationship–whether that be the therapist who maintains a position of power by disclosing nothing about themselves, or a partner who is constantly trying to ‘help’ the other without ever asking for what they themselves need–we are investing in a structure that unevenly distributes things like care, resources, vulnerability and, as a result, power.”. Dore explores the emotional underpinnings of this desire for unbalanced giving, suggesting that the drive to make oneself indispensable can stem from fears of abandonment. In making ourselves essential to others and asking for nothing in return, we may feel secure in believing we will not be left behind.
Learning to request and receive care is an integral part of mutual aid. In Frames of War, Judith Butler writes about how our shared vulnerabilities create an ethical obligation to care for one another. Care must be shared, not hoarded or monopolised so that everyone can participate in supporting each other. In their incredible book Red Tarot: A Decolonial Guide to Divinatory Literacy, Christopher Mamolejo explains: “The Six of Pentacles wants hope to emerge from isolation with an elevated sense of possibility. We will know ourselves to be more capable, and we will come to expect more of each other, more of ourselves. We will intimately know that our actions depend on and affect the other.”. The work of mutual aid is ongoing, and through it, we have the power to transform our communities, dismantle the systems that create oppression and build a world where care and justice are for everyone.
If you feel like you’re in a place where you want to explore these ideas further, below are a couple of prompts for reflection or journaling, they would also work as a three-card tarot spread. If you fancy using them as a spread, you could pull the six pentacles out of your deck (or another deck if you have multiple) to use as a focal point while you shuffle.
In what ways have I seen hierarchies of power influence the flow of care and resources in my life?
How can I contribute to cycles of care that sustain myself and others?
How can I build and nurture relationships rooted in shared vulnerability and collective empowerment?
References:
Butler, Judith. Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable? Verso, 2009.
Dore, Jessica. Tarot for Change: Using the Cards for Self-Care, Acceptance, and Growth. Penguin, 2021.
Kropotkin, Peter. Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution. Black Rose Books, 1902.
Marmolejo, Christopher. Red Tarot: A Decolonial Guide to Divinatory Literacy. North Atlantic Books, 2022.
Road, Cristy C. Next World Tarot. Silver Sprocket, 2021
This essay is reworked notes from this video from last year as part of the Witches For Palestine project.