Episode notes
In this episode, we talk about the power of black—its associations with Saturn, protection, banishing, and the underworld, its misunderstood cultural symbolism, and how black appears throughout tarot as a reminder of endings, boundaries, and necessary transformation.
What we explore in this episode:
Black as the color of protection, boundaries, endings, and the void
How black connects to Saturn, banishing magic, and the shadow self
Why black is culturally coded as “negative” and why that’s incomplete
How the color black shows up across tarot symbolism
Black is often described as the absence of visible light. In magical and symbolic language, black represents the void, the unknown, the unseen, and the spaces where transformation quietly takes shape.
Black is commonly associated with:
Protection and warding
Banishing and unbinding
Truth-telling and stripping away illusions
Releasing, endings, and letting the old cycle die
Saturn: discipline, responsibility, time, and boundaries
- Shadow work - not “bad,” simply the truths we’ve tucked away
Understanding Black in Color MagicBlack can be culturally misunderstood because of language and imagery that tie “darkness” to “bad” and “light” to “good.” But in reality, black is not evil. Black is depth, protection, shadow, mystery, rest, and the fertile soil where new things grow.
Work with black magic in simple, grounding ways: wear black for protection or shadow work, burn a black candle to release old patterns, try a void meditation to sink into calming darkness, journal honestly about what needs to end, use black crystals or herbs like obsidian or Mugwort, and align your release rituals with the new moon’s return to the cosmic void.
Tarot, Symbolism, and the Power of Black
In tarot, black is often used deliberately to convey depth, severity, or transition. Many Rider–Waite–Smith–based cards use black to highlight the heaviness or intensity of a moment, but the deeper message is always one of transition, not doom.
Anima Mundi Tarot Deck by Megan Wyreweden
Norse Goddess Rune Oracle by Rebecca Joy Stark and illustrated by Sharon McLeod
Common “black-heavy” cards include:
Death - transformation, cycles, shedding the old
The Devil - shadow, entanglement, exploring what binds us
The Tower - destruction that leads to truth and awakening
The Nine & Ten of Swords - mental overwhelm, the darkest before the dawn
The Five of Cups - grief, sorrow, the heaviness of cloaked emotion
💭 Today's Tarot Pull:
From The Citadel: A Fantasy Oracle by Fen Inkwright, I pulled The Founder (Upright).
The Founder reminds us that even after destruction, there must be rebuilding. Something may be ending, shedding, or collapsing, but that frees you to build something truer, sturdier, and more aligned.
Ref