Tarot Interviews | S01E03
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In a fascinating recent conversation with philosopher, author, and poet Carrie Jenkins, we explored the complex interplay between philosophy, love, creativity, and personal authenticity through the lens of tarot cards. As a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia with a PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge, Jenkins brings both academic rigour and personal experience to her exploration of love's nature and possibilities.
Our discussion began with the Lovers card, which Jenkins immediately connected to its visual parallel with the Devil card - both featuring two naked figures with a supernatural presence behind them. This comparison set the tone for a conversation about duality and the often overlooked complexities of love. Jenkins explained how her work challenges conventional romantic narratives, suggesting these limited perspectives cause significant harm. "I think romance as a myth or narrative that we live by is responsible for a lot of BS and causes a lot of damage to a lot of folks," she noted, questioning why our conception of love often resembles "a naked man and a naked woman doing something sinful with an apple" when there are "actually a lot of other pictures of love."
Jenkins' academic journey revealed fascinating intersections between her personal and professional lives. She described her early passion for philosophy, sparked by thinkers like Bertrand Russell, whose work on mathematics and logic captivated her before she later discovered his more controversial aspects. This complexity reflects Jenkins' own nuanced relationship with academia - valuing certain traditional scholarly practices while pushing against their limitations.
When The Queen of Wands appeared in our reading, Jenkins' face lit up, revealing it as one of her favourite cards. She connected its mature creative energy to her own philosophical approach of "crafting" both work and relationships. This concept of "crafting" emerged as a central theme in our conversation - the idea that we should shape our professional lives, relationships, and personal identities according to our authentic needs rather than conforming to predefined scripts.
Jenkins introduced her concept of "love crafting" (unrelated to Lovecraftian horror, she clarified!), which parallels "job crafting" from management studies. Both involve actively reconfiguring established structures to better align with individual values and needs. Her advocacy for non-monogamous relationships stems from this perspective - not prescribing one approach but encouraging people to create relationship models that genuinely serve them rather than adhering to restrictive societal templates.
Throughout our conversation, Jenkins embodied the qualities of both cards we drew - the passion and creative spark of the Ace of Wands combined with the confident, self-assured energy of the Queen of Wands. Her intellectual journey demonstrates how philosophical inquiry can illuminate personal experience, and vice versa. As she mentioned receiving a touching message from a reader the previous day, it became clear that her work's power lies in this integration - creating philosophy that reaches beyond academic boundaries to connect with people's lived experiences.
Jenkins' vision for reshaping scholarly life parallels her vision for reimagining love - both involve breaking from limiting traditions while preserving what remains valuable. As she eloquently put it, we should be "crafting these things to fit the shapes we need and we want" rather than forcing ourselves into harmful and limited scripts. This philosophy of intentional crafting applies equally to love, work, and life itself - a powerful message for anyone seeking greater authenticity and fulfillment.
