Ace of Wands

Designer: Amy Hamlin

Artist: Ade Bethune

A seraph is a divine being with roots in Judaism as well as Christianity and Islam. They are pure fire and light, a vision to behold and receive with humility. This seraph was imagined by the American liturgical artist and activist Ade Bethune (1914-2002), who created hundreds of illustrations for The Catholic Worker Newspaper, among many other achievements. Bethune’s yonic messenger is resplendent and watchful; their six wings are furnished with eyes without faces that return our gaze. An embodiment of the fiery spirit of the Ace of Wands, Bethune’s seraph ignites joy as an exhortation to the practice of pleasure. For the American writer and activist Audre Lorde, this sort of pleasure can be articulated in this way: “The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference.” This Ace of Wands proclaims the urgency of pleasure in social change work. They ask: Where and how do you practice and share joy? What kindles your inner fire in response to the needs of our time?

Further Resources: Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by adrienne maree brown; In Lightning by Feist; Clove incense.