• Slug: Audio-Eco-tarot Reading. Arizona in Focus podcast. By EmmaVandenEinde
• Runtime: 14:10
• Downloadable audio here. (Note: Some web browsers may not support media download)
• 3 photos and captions available below.

ADRIENE JENIK PLACES A DECK OF CARDS IN FRONT OF ME.

JENIK: SO HAVE YOU EVER HAD A TAROT READING BEFORE? (3 SECONDS)
VANDENEINDE: I’VE NEVER HAD A TAROT READING. (1 SECOND)
JENIK: MY GOODNESS. (1 SECOND)
VANDENEINDE: I’M VERY EXCITED. (1 SECOND)

JENIK: WELL, I’M REALLY HONORED THAT YOU’RE HAVING AN ECO TAROT READING, AND I JUST NEED TO EXPLAIN AGAIN THE ECO TAROT. IT’S NOT YOUR STANDARD TAROT READING. I’M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE OR YOUR FAME AND FORTUNE. (14 SECONDS)
VANDENEINDE: I DON’T KNOW IF I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MY LOVE LIFE. *LAUGHTER* (2 SECONDS)
THIS READING IS DIFFERENT.
JENIK: I’M GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT YOUR CLIMATE FUTURE, AND THAT MEANS I’LL TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR FUTURE AS IT RELATES TO ALL THE CHANGES UNFOLDING IN OUR WORLD. SO YOU’RE STILL INTERESTED? (8 SECONDS)
VANDENEINDE: YES. (1 SECOND)
JENIK: OK, GREAT. (1 SECOND)
(MUSIC-PALOMAR 12)

THIS IS ARIZONA IN FOCUS – A PODCAST FROM CRONKITE NEWS. I’M EMMA VANDENEINDE, AND ON THIS EPISODE WE TAKE A LOOK AT CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH THE LENS OF A PHOENIX ARTIST AND AN AUTHOR WHO ARE BOTH GRAPPLING WITH THE EMOTIONS THAT CAN COME WITH A WARMING WORLD.

(MUSIC-PALOMAR 12)

LET’S START IN THE ATTIC IN A HISTORIC BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN PHOENIX. THIS IS ADRIENE JENIK’S STUDIO. AND THIS IS WHERE THIS ARTIST AND ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF THE ECOTAROT CARDS…
JENIK: I HAD BEEN FOR QUITE SOME TIME TRAVELING THROUGH WHAT I COULD DO AS AN ARTIST TO ASSIST WITH THE CULTURAL CHANGES THAT I SEE NEED TO HAPPEN IN RELATIONSHIP TO HUMAN DRIVEN CLIMATE DISRUPTION. (17 SECONDS)
SHE ALMOST DIDN’T PURSUE IT.
JENIK: I AT FIRST PUT IT ASIDE, BECAUSE TO BE FRANK, IT SEEMS KIND OF LIKE A NUTTY IDEA TO TELL PEOPLE’S CLIMATE FUTURES. IT SOUNDED LIKE IT MIGHT BE KIND OF DEPRESSING, AND I DIDN’T THINK I WANTED TO DO THAT, BUT IT CONTINUED TO NUDGE AT ME THAT NO, NO, NO, YOU NEED TO DO THIS. (18 SECONDS)
SHE STARTED BY DOING DEEP RESEARCH INTO TAROT READINGS AND CLIMATE REPORTS BEFORE DESIGNING THE CARDS. EACH CARD FEATURES A HAND PAINTED CLIMATE-RELATED IMAGE STAINED WITH NATURAL, GROUND-UP PIGMENTS ON AGAVE PAPER. SHE SAYS IT TOOK HER A COUPLE OF YEARS TO COMPLETE THE DECK.
BUT THAT WASN’T HER BIGGEST CHALLENGE. THE NEXT HURDLE SHE SAYS WAS CONVINCING THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY THAT THESE CARDS HAVE VALUE.
JENIK: I WAS REALLY AFRAID TO TALK TO MY SCIENCE COLLEAGUES…BUT WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE SCIENTISTS, ARE SOME OF THE MOST EXCITED AND SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE OF THIS PROJECT. (11 SECONDS)
JENIK STARTED TO GIVE READINGS ALL OVER THE WORLD. SCIENTISTS, STUDENTS AND OTHERS SAT ACROSS FROM JENIK AS SHE LAYED OUT THEIR CLIMATE FUTURE…ONE CARD AT A TIME.
JENIK: AND NOW AT THIS POINT, I’VE GIVEN MORE THAN 12-HUNDRED ECOTAROT READINGS ALL OVER THE WORLD,…I’VE DONE READINGS IN FINLAND, AT AALTO UNIVERSITY AND IN HELSINKI, I’VE DONE READINGS IN ICELAND…I WAS JUST AT COP26 DOING ECO TAROT READINGS…I’LL BASICALLY GO ANYWHERE THAT ANYBODY WILL INVITE ME. (19 SECONDS)
THE RESULTS FROM THE READING ARE, OF COURSE, UP TO INTERPRETATION. BUT AT THE CORE, THE DEPICTIONS – FROM WIND TURBINES TO FIRE — ARE ROOTED IN SCIENCE.
JENIK: I REALLY SEE IT AS A TOOL, A TOOL TO SHIFT OUR PATTERNS AND THOUGHTS AROUND…THE CARDS THAT I MADE, THEY’RE A MASH UP BETWEEN IPCC REPORTS AND THE CLIMATE SCIENCE THAT’S COMING OUT COMES THROUGH THE INTERPRETATION. SO THERE’S PEDAGOGICAL VALUE, THERE’S LEARNING VALUE WITHIN IT. (19 SECONDS)
(MUSIC-Jenner)

I’VE NEVER DONE A TAROT CARD READING. SO I DECIDED TO GIVE IT A TRY.
JENIK: YOU CAN SHUFFLE THEM ANY WAY THAT YOU WANT AND FOR AS LONG AS YOU WANT. BUT WHILE YOU’RE SHUFFLING, IF YOU CAN BE THINKING ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE PLANET, YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE EARTH. ANY THOUGHTS OR FEELINGS THAT YOU HAVE ABOUT THE CHANGES THAT ARE GOING ON? JUST SORT OF PUT YOURSELF IN THAT FRAME OF MIND WHILE YOU’RE SHUFFLING…

JENIK: AND THEN I USUALLY LIKE TO DO JUST A LITTLE BLESSING WITH SOME SUSTAINABLY SOURCED PALO SANTO. IS THAT OK WITH YOU? (22 SECONDS)
VANDENEINDE: MMHM. (1 SECOND)
JENIK: OKAY. *LIGHTS MATCH* (3 SECONDS)
WE START WITH THE FIRST OF TWO CARDS. THE CARD SHE FLIPS OVER HAS A BIG WIND TURBINE THAT HAS BLACK SMOKE COMING OUT OF THE BOTTOM . IT REVEALS SOME EVENT RELATED TO CLIMATE THAT WILL HAPPEN IN MY LIFETIME, JENIK TELLS ME.
JENIK: OH, OK, INTERESTING. SO THIS IS THE ACE OF AIR, AND IT’S REVERSED. (9 SECONDS)
JENIK: THIS IS ACTUALLY SAYING DURING THE ARC OF YOUR LIFETIME THAT THIS THIS BIG SHIFT, THIS BIG NEW CYCLE OF SHIFTING FROM FOSSIL FUELS TO RENEWABLES, A NEW COMMITMENT TO THAT A NEW PROPULSIVE LIKE A BEGINNING OF DOING THAT IS ACTUALLY GOING TO UNFOLD. (21 SECONDS)
VANDENEINDE: SO THIS IS GOOD NEWS, THEN? (4 SECONDS)
JENIK: SURE. I MEAN, WHAT IT’S SAYING IS THAT THERE’S A NEW BEGINNING FOR IN THIS SHIFT. THE REVERSE IS KIND OF LIKE IT’S LIKE DELAYED. IT’S NOT TODAY. SO WILL IT BE IN TIME? (13 SECONDS)
(MUSIC-Footsteps on Alden)

I’M INSTANTLY CAUGHT OFF GUARD. A SHIFT TO RENEWABLES? I TOTALLY EXPECTED A CARD FULL OF FLAMES OR SOMETHING MORE APOCALYPTIC. JENIK SAYS THAT’S NOT UNCOMMON THOUGH. SHE SAYS SHE’S WATCHED PEOPLE BURST INTO TEARS DURING READINGS.
JENIK: PEOPLE HAVE VERY, VERY COMPLICATED EMOTIONS AROUND CLIMATE CHANGE. MANY PEOPLE ARE CARRYING A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WHAT WE CALL ECOLOGICAL GRIEF, WHERE THEY’RE GRIEVING THE LOSS OF THINGS THAT THEY EITHER ALREADY HAVE EXPERIENCED IN THEIR LIFETIMES OR THAT THEY KNOW ARE HAPPENING, ESPECIALLY WITH BIODIVERSITY LOSS, WITH SPECIES LOSS. (21 SECONDS)
JENIK BELIEVES THE ECOTAROT CARDS CAN HELP.

JENIK: “THEY’VE ENDED UP RATHER THAN BEING DEPRESSING, PEOPLE WALK AWAY FEELING REALLY FORTIFIED AND ENCOURAGED. AND ALSO THAT THEY CAN SEE THEMSELVES AS ANOTHER WAY, AS A KIND OF HERO WITHIN THIS LARGER, YOU KNOW, ACTIVITY THAT’S GOING ON TO UNDERSTAND THEIR ROLE BETTER WITHIN IT.” (18 SECONDS)

(MUSIC-Ranch Hand)
ECOLOGICAL GRIEF OR ECO- GRIEF IS REAL. IN FACT, IT’S A RELATIVELY NEW TERM FOR A VERY OLD ISSUE. CONSERVATIONIST ALDO LEOPOLD IN THE 1940S WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO WRITE ABOUT THE IMPACT OF ECOLOGICAL LOSS IN HIS PIVOTAL BOOK …. A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC.
SARAH RAY, AUTHOR OF A FIELD GUIDE TO CLIMATE ANXIETY, SAYS UNCERTAINTY IS ANOTHER EMOTION PEOPLE FEEL WITH CLIMATE CHANGE.
RAY: UNCERTAINTY IS KIND OF A THEME, AND THAT’S WHERE THE ANXIETY COMES FROM…IT’S CLOSE TO HOME, NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE. INCREASED HEAT, INCREASED AIR POLLUTION. YOU KNOW, THE POTENTIAL TO NOT NOT THINK IT’S A VIABLE THING TO HAVE A HABITABLE PLANET WORTHY OF HAVING CHILDREN IN…YOU KNOW, CLIMATE CHANGE JUST EXACERBATES ALL OF THOSE THINGS.” (20 SECONDS)
THIS FEAR OF ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER, OR ECO-ANXIETY, IS GROWING. A STUDY IN THE LANCET PLANETARY HEALTH JOURNAL FOUND THAT 75 PERCENT OF TEENAGERS AND YOUNG ADULTS SAID THE FUTURE IS FRIGHTENING.
RAY SAYS IT HAS TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT PEOPLE FEEL DISEMPOWERED.
RAY: I THINK THAT THE MORE WE SEE THE PROBLEM AS INTRACTABLE AND BIG, THE LESS WE FEEL WE CAN DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW…I THINK WE WOULD ALL FEEL LIKE THESE HUGE PROBLEMS WERE MUCH LESS LESS ANXIETY PRODUCING IF WE FELT WE COULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. (15 SECONDS)
BUT BEYOND EMOTIONS, THERE’S ALSO A CHEMICAL ASPECT TO IT.
RAY: WHEN WE LOOK AT CLIMATE CHANGE AS A PHENOMENON, IT FEELS SO BIG. IT ENCOMPASSES SO MANY THINGS THAT THE SORT OF PREFRONTAL CORTEX, YOUR ABILITY TO RATIONALLY RESPOND TO STIMULATION THAT YOU’RE GETTING SHUTS DOWN AND THE AMYGDALA KIND OF KICKS IN. AND THE AMYGDALA SAYS, THIS THING IS SUPER SCARY AND I DON’T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. (23 SECONDS)
WHEN YOUR BRAIN SHUTS DOWN…YOU NEED A DIFFERENT APPROACH. ENTER JENIK’S READINGS…
JENIK: THE READINGS, IT’S PART OF THAT PROCESS OF KIND OF USHERING THROUGH THAT CHANGE AND ENABLING PEOPLE TO KIND OF IMAGINE SOMETHING ELSE. IN MANY CASES, THE READINGS UNDERLINE THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE ALREADY THINKING ABOUT DOING, AND IT JUST GIVES THEM MAYBE MORE COURAGE TO DO THAT. (19 SECONDS)
(MUSIC-A Oddly Formal Dance)
JENIK FLIPS OVER MY SECOND CARD. SHE SAYS IT’S A “HELPER” CARD. IT SHOWS MY VALUES AND CAPABILITIES TO INCITE CHANGE.
VANDENEINDE: I SEE A BUNCH OF PLANETS. THERE MIGHT BE SOME SPARKLES IN IT, TOO. I CAN KINDA SEE THE SPARKLES IF I MOVE MY HEAD. AND IT LOOKS LIKE A FIGURE LIKE REACHING UP TOWARDS THE ATMOSPHERE. IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE THE ATMOSPHERE IS LIKE IT’S OPENING UP. (9 SECONDS)
JENIK: SO THIS IS A VERY BEAUTIFUL CARD, EMMA. THIS IS THE TRANSCENDENCE CARD…THIS IS A CARD THAT IS ABOUT SOMEBODY THAT UNDERSTANDS THAT IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE SEEN WORLD, THAT THE UNSEEN WORLD…THE DELAY IN THIS CARD BECAUSE IT’S ALSO REVERSED MEANS THAT THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT NECESSARILY YOU THINK ABOUT ALL THE TIME OR YOU SEE IS A TALENT…BUT THAT YOU’RE GOING TO COME INTO THAT. (25 SECONDS)
JENIK: THAT’S ACTUALLY KIND OF A SPECIAL POWER THAT YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT. (4 SECONDS)
(MUSIC-Setting Pace)

SO I HAD A RATHER OPTIMISTIC READING. AND THAT FUTURE ISN’T OUT OF THE QUESTION IF CHANGES IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ARE DRASTICALLY CUT IN THE COMING YEARS.

THE LATEST U-N REPORT ON CLIMATE CHANGE FINDS THAT GLOBAL WARMING CAN BE LIMITED TO 3-POINT-SIX DEGREES FARENHEIT IF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS PEAK BY 2025 AND ARE REDUCED BY A QUARTER BY 2030.

SARAH RAY, THE AUTHOR OF A FIELD GUIDE TO CLIMATE ANXIETY, AGREES IT’S POSSIBLE.
RAY: THE CHANGE IS INEVITABLE AND WHAT WE’VE CREATED CAN BE CHANGED. AND THE QUESTION IS, WHAT DO WE WANT TO CHANGE AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO IT?…IF IT’S AN ERA OF HUMAN INDUCED CLIMATE CHANGE, HUMANS ALSO THEREFORE HAVE THE POWER TO FIX THAT. (18 SECONDS)
MUSIC UP THEN BACK DOWN AND UP
PART OF THAT CHANGE INVOLVES SCIENCE, BUT IT ALSO INVOLVES CREATIVITY, ACCORDING TO JENIK.
JENIK’S GOAL IS NOT TO DIMINISH THE IMPORTANCE OF SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. INSTEAD, SHE WANTS TO BRING THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT BRAIN TOGETHER, TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO TAP INTO THINGS THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE CONSIDERED BEFORE.
JENIK: THE CORE OF THE PRACTICE IS REALLY ABOUT HAVING THIS DEEPER CONVERSATION THAN PEOPLE WOULD REALLY EXPECT TO HAVE THE CARDS DESTABILIZE YOUR USUAL KIND OF THOUGHTS AND PATTERNS AND GROOVES ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE THINKING AND CREATE THESE KIND OF OPENINGS SO THAT YOU CAN GO A LITTLE DEEPER OR OFFER SOMETHING UP. (19 SECONDS)
THAT’S IMPORTANT, RAY SAYS, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO IMAGINE AN APOCALYPSE OVER A NEW CLIMATE SOLUTION, LIKE A POST-FOSSIL FUEL WORLD…
RAY: WHY CAN’T WE IMAGINE THE MORE LIKELY THING, THE MORE DOABLE THING? THIS SUGGESTS THAT WHAT WE HAVE IS A LACK OF THE IMAGINATION ABOUT WHAT THIS WORLD IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, WHAT WE CAN BUILD, AND SO ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO CRACK OPEN THE IMAGINATION TO GET THOSE JUICES FLOWING. THE TAROT CARD READING IS DOING EXACTLY THAT. (18 SECONDS)
(MUSIC-Inamorata)

VANDENEINDE: WELL, THIS WAS REALLY INTRIGUING. I’VE NEVER DONE A READING LIKE THIS, SO IT’S VERY COOL. THE CARDS ARE REALLY PRETTY, TOO. (7 SECONDS)
JENIK: THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. (1 SECOND)
SO I RECEIVED MY POTENTIAL CLIMATE FUTURE. BUT THAT’S TRULY WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO–POTENTIAL. JENIK HOPES HER WORK CAN DRAW PEOPLE TOWARD THEIR INNER DESTINATION LIKE A COMPASS.
JENIK: WE NEED TO MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE, HAVE THESE KIND OF DISCUSSIONS, HAVE THIS KIND OF UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE DOES THIS ACTUALLY CONNECT WITH YOU, NOT JUST AS DATA, BUT IN YOUR LIFE AND IN YOUR HEART AND WITH WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT. AND THAT’S WHAT THE ECOTAROT SEEKS TO DO IS MAKE THAT KIND OF CONNECTION BETWEEN WHAT’S ACTUALLY UNFOLDING, WHAT OUR FUTURES ARE AND YOU AS A PERSON KIND OF WITHIN THAT. (23 SECONDS)
———–

OUTRO:

ADRIENE JENIK RECENTLY DID A READING AT HAVERFORD COLLEGE IN PENNSYLVANIA AND PLANS TO DO MORE IN-PERSON READINGS IN THE FUTURE.

IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT THE ECOTAROT CARDS LOOK LIKE, YOU CAN VISIT CRONKITE-NEWS-DOT-A-Z-PBS-DOT-ORG TO GET A CLOSER LOOK AT JENIK’S WORK IN HER STUDIO.

(MUSIC-_____happy, calm________________________)

CRONKITE NEWS CONTINUES TO REPORT ON SUSTAINABILITY AND STORIES ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND ARIZONA AND BEYOND. YOU CAN FIND ALL THAT COVERAGE AT CRONKITE-NEWS-DOT-AZ-PBS-DOT-ORG AS WELL AS LISTEN TO PAST EPISODES OF ARIZONA IN FOCUS. IF YOU LIKED THIS EPISODE, MAKE SURE TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT US AND TO SUBSCRIBE WHEREVER YOU GET YOUR PODCASTS FROM. AND THANKS TO BLUE DOT SESSIONS FOR PROVIDING THE MUSIC FEATURED IN THIS PODCAST.

(MUSIC-_____happy calm_______________)

THIS IS ARIZONA IN FOCUS FROM CRONKITE NEWS.

(MUSIC- _____happy calm___________________)

I’M EMMA VANDENEINDE.