Top Five Tarot Cards: Physical Activity

I love being active. Moving my body is an essential part of my day. In a perfect world I would go on a 4 hour hike each day to the top of a different mountain. I’d then spend time doing yoga and stretching and foam rolling. Oh, and then go week the garden and tend the orchard and pick berries in the sunshine. My body would be fit and strong and tan.

That’s not really how it goes on most days, though. I think I climbed maybe 3 mountains all summer. The only thing left to do in the garden most days is pick some kale and turn over some beds for winter. I spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer, body hunched over the keyboard. I do tend to get out for a walk with my dog Cosmo, but that’s about it. Even the yoga practice has fallen into erratic bursts.

Today I got to thinking, as I walked Cosmo on our favorite trial through the woods, about what tarot cards would represent physical activity. I like to let my mind wander on these walks and often it wanders into the realm of what to write about on this blog. I hadn’t thought about the intersection between tarot and exercise, so I’ll do a top five cards about that today!

I cheated a little bit on picking my top five cards for physical activity because I felt that a few cards gave me the same vibe of motion. So, this time around you are actually getting a top seven cards, so aren’t you lucky?

Knight of Wands and Knight of Pentacles

The Knights are all about action. I couldn’t decide between the action of the Knight of Wands and the Knight of Pentacles, so they are both included here. The Knight of Wands is enthusiastic, explosive, or even aggressive energy. He is the sprint at the end of a long run. He is the dive into a frothing ocean. He is the leap over the high jump. The Knight of Wands is the fire inside to do difficult physical feats that leave you exhilarated and pumped full of adrenaline.

If you’re having a difficult time getting into a physical activity routine (and you want one), ask the Knight of Wands what you are enthusiastic about. He asks the question, “What did you like to do for fun when you were a little kid?” Do that now! Perhaps you liked to play sports with others, or you liked to climb trees, or you liked to build forts. You can still do all those things! And perhaps you’ll have an easier time getting active if you reconnect with what you already know you love.

If you’re a dedicated exerciser enthusiast, you can ask the Knight of Wands to push you out of your comfort zone. We all plateau at some point in our exercise routine. We achieve a certain fitness level and just kind of hang out there. The Knight of Wands can help push you to the next level by encouraging you to go a little harder. He inspires you to be even stronger.

The Knight of Pentacles is more my speed when it comes to physical activity. This is the plodding along, dogged routine kind of energy. I channel the Knight of Pentacles when I am out on a hike because he is able to put one foot in front of the other indefinitely. He just keeps going. The key is to put your body into a gear that it can sustain without break until the destination has been achieved.

The Knight of Pentacles is sustained activity rather than the bursts of speed you might encounter with the Knight of Wands. The Knight of Pentacles is also an earthy, outdoor energy versus the fire and adrenal of the Knight of Wands. When you want to explore nature, feel rooted and connected to your body, and heal your energy centers, connect with the Knight of Pentacles. I can see this guy getting really into yoga, breath work, gardening, and distance running. And, of course, horseback trail riding!

Ace of Wands and The Fool

The Ace of Wands and The Fool both deal with the play aspect of physical activity. I’ve already mentioned the Knight of Wands asking you what you liked to do for fun as a child, but these two cards encourage you to focus on what you like to do now. Maybe you’ve become a pickleball fanatic or want to join a run club. Doing what you find fun is going to make physical activity an enjoyable part of your life.

It’s important, even as adults, that we connect with our sense of playfulness. The Fool is willing to, well, look foolish in order to do what calls to him. The Ace of Wands represents that spark of enjoyment that makes an activity worthwhile. Ask yourself how you can bring play into your life and be willing to look silly doing what you love. It may be something you get better at over time and look less silly doing, but it may just be a silly looking thing that you love! Both The Fool and the Ace of Wands encourage you to do what’s fun, be playful, and not worry about what other people think.

Both the Ace of Wands and The Fool have get up and go energy. There isn’t a whole lot of thought that goes into it, an idea strikes and you’re ready to get started! You take a leap and sees if it’s fun later. It’s just, “Hmm, this seems fun so I’m going to just go for it!” Start moving first and think about the outcome or destination later. You don’t have to have an end fitness goal besides just “move more” if that’s what works for you. You can set goals later if you want, but The Fool tells you just to get going and not worry about the outcome.

VIII of Wands and V of Wands

VIII of Wands and V of Wands are cards that represent restlessness or pent up energy that needs to be released. This is more of that Wands fire energy inside that so many of us quell or let go out as we sit at desks all day or spend too much time otherwise sedentary. When you feel like you need to ignite your inner fire and let out restlessness that you’ve been holding back, look to the VIII and V of Wands to guide you. They both want you to get up and MOVE!

The VIII and V of Wands also engender a sense of competition. YThis energy can be well directed into activities like organized sports and benchmarking. Your physical activity desires may require people to stack yourself up against, or a personal record to break. For example, you could join a sports league that plays other teams. You could also benefit from a goal, like a couch to 5K. Or you may do a pre-training assessment and then set goals for how your training will improve your fitness: You can do 10 pushups now but in a month you want to be able to 40- that kind of thing.

Use these cards when you need directed and focused physical activity to quiet a restless and anxious body. If you’re feeling jittery or repressed, don’t delay. The key is swift action. Once again, don’t think about it. Override inertia by switching off you thoughts and moving right into full gear, wheel spinning. It actually doesn’t have to be long or drawn out activity, just something to get that heartrate up and make you feel alive!

The Chariot

The major arcana card that best captures the archetype of movement is The Chariot. This is the major that is most in motion, well besides perhaps The Fool who I have already mentioned. Oftentimes, I think of this card as a vehicle that gets you towards you goal, but that doesn’t need to be an actual machine. You, yourself can be the vehicle that moves you towards your goals, the body as the source of motion. Your soul resides within this vessel that moves you towards the desires and goals of your spirit. I can get behind that idea.

Interestingly, The Chariot is a Water element card. It encourages you to flow like water. This can be a helpful idea to keep in mind as you develop or enhance a movement practice. You’ll want to move towards what you’re enthusiastic about, what ignites your Fire energy. You’ll need to keep going, plodding along and moving forward even when times get tough. When you do encounter resistance, you’ll know to connect to your inner sense of play and joy in activity. And you’ll remember to not take it too seriously when you feel foolish or silly.

Most of all, I think The Chariot represents that sense of accomplishment and inner victory that comes from moving your body. Who doesn’t feel good about themselves after they climb a mountain, run around the bases, or cross that finish line? The “Namaste” at the end of a yoga practice can bring such joy to a heart that moved a body in time to the breath. Challenging and supporting your body in movement is an essential part of being alive, no matter what your body is capable of physically. The Chariot signals that triumph of connection between body and spirit, a truly beautiful thing.

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five cards for Physical Activity and learned something useful! While coming up this Top Five, I thought there be more earth energy or Pentacles cards. These cards represent the physical body which is basically what you want to set in motion. Really though, its mostly Wands that come up for action. These present the fire energy that puts your body into motion.

If you’re reading this because you want to use the tarot to help you get more active, use the energy of the cards in this post to get yourself into action. Pick one that resonates the most with the type of activity you want to do, put that cards on your altar, and channel it’s energy to guide and support you in your progress. Good luck! Let me know how it goes!