Yes, you read that correctly. This blog is called True Tarot Tales for a reason. The Tarot is a tool for use in the real world and does not disdain to talk about anything at all: money, plumbing, toilets -and kettles. Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble. Pass me the biccies. The kettle is on the boil.
The Devil card might be the Tarot’s way of trying to tell me about someone’s diarrhea or constipation.
Indeed, it has been known, and the client confirmed it.
Love n Light. Give me a break. I don’t mean to be mean, but certain mantras can become debased by a kind of lazy reductionism. Life doesn’t come off the peg. Yes, there is love and light. We need to give it and receive it, the more of it the merrier, and a little goodwill goes a long way. But reading for others isn’t a party piece demanding applause, is not about the reader and their self-image as an aspiring Merlin, Witch Goddess, Earth Mother or Buddha- in- waiting.
Life can be a struggle at times, sad or lonely, even frightening, demanding not only patience and fortitude but concerted thought, effort and direct action. And how much money, time, energy and actual worry is invested in the basics of everyday living?
The Tarot would be self-indulgent, snooty, and in fact, pointless; bugger all use to anyone else (oh, I say, Jeeves, steady on) Not fit for serious purpose if its readers decided such conversations were not deserving of its very best attention, the same as anything else of a purportedly more ‘spiritual’ nature.
If the Devil is in the details, so is God and and all the angels. If God created everything, that includes germs, worms, and parasitic wasps.
The Tarot will do deadly serious.
Oh yes. It will go ‘there’.
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a sense of humour.
Junior Sprog was annoyed this morning (we were talking via Skype…she lives nearby with the ‘boyf.’) She had purchased a box of three sachets of limescale remover for her kettle, but when she opened the box, it contained only one sachet.
She deployed said measly single sachet, which I understood was a formula based on baking soda.
‘Why not just use baking soda?’ I suggested in that annoying way parents have, but she explained she had lent hers to Amy next door but one, who was making banana bread.
Maybe new craft habits and other good things will come out of these very sad events and this lock-down, even though we’d all like to tell the hideous coronavirus (and I would like to tell certain relentlessly self -aggrandizing figures in the media this)….
Junior Sprog had done the job, and rinsed the kettle out, but wondered was it safe to use again now, and drink from when boiled?
Bicarbonate of soda, aka baking soda, isn’t going to hurt anyone, unless they ingest it in inappropriate quantities when it certainly could hurt them. I didn’t know what else was in this cleaning product.
Struck with a sudden horrific image of my baby afflicted with alkaloid poisoning, I whipped out a Tarot card:-
Card Number One: The premise of the situation in hand
The Three of Swords Reversed. Uh oh! Death, mourning, separation, severance, divorce, heartburn/heart attack.
The Three of Swords from The Gilded tarot, Ciro Marchetti
‘Are you OK?’ I asked. Tarot often picks up other stuff, regardless of the actual issue being presented for discussion. I like to rule out the worst case scenarios- and either clear the decks or flag up the other priorities being detected, and give the other person the opportunity to discuss that first if they so wish, and then come back to the other thing.
Junior Sprog rolled her eyes.
‘I’ll take that as a yes,’ I said, and had another think.
Of course. No worries. The Three of Swords Reversed was saying two things at once, confirming that ‘it,’ – the Tarot, my spokeswoman/spokestool of The Psychic Mind Delta aka Twilight Zone had heard me perfectly well, and understood the real question; ‘is my daughter at risk from poisoning if she uses the kettle as it is, or does it need another rinse?’
The Tarot was specifically commenting that:-
Indigestion…baking soda is a remedy for heartburn, referring to the other well known use of sodium bicarbonate…a more benign aspect of that classical ‘heart ache/pain/attack’ possibility of interpretation.
She had bought a product advertised as containing 3 sachets, but the box contained only one. 3 sachets not present = 3 Swords Reversed
Card Number Two was asking for advice….where are we at now?
The Eight of Swords. Stress. Abandonment. A flooded bathroom. No hang on, I said to myself. Let’s keep this narrative kettle-based. Just stick with the kettle!
The Eight of Swords has long since proved its worth to me as MY card for spotting problems, letting me know if my client is dealing with drains, plumbing or damp issues or making home improvements along these lines.
The Eight of Swords, The Gilded tarot, Ciro Marchetti
‘How many rinses have you given it?’ I asked Junior Sprog.
‘Seven or Eight,’ she said.
‘That’s OK then. That should do it.’
Final card. Is the kettle completely safe to use?
The Knight of Cups. Flow of water. Healing. Yes it is. This is the ultimate card of clean water…excepting only the Ace of Cups, which symbolizes the Healing Chalice/ Grail Cup. There is a touch of salt here, and the waters may be shark infested but the sharks are not hungry today. This water will not ‘bite.’
The Knight of Cups from the Legacy of the Divine Tarot by permission of Ciro Marchetti
Common sense may well suggest we hardly needed the Tarot for this exercise, and that’s fair enough in general terms, but it’s beside the point here. When I started learning the Tarot, there were so many sources dealing in generic, quasi mystical language, counselling that this card was exhorting us to ‘let go of what does not serve,’ or to ‘rediscover our true purpose,’ that when I first began to write this blog in 2010, it was with a determination to learn, apply and illustrate the Tarot as a useful, modern psychic tool capable of talking in terms of concrete realities, and dealing in specifics.
Whatever the question, whatever the concern, the reader must never lose sight of the ‘so what?’
Cup of tea? Biccie?
I wonder how Amy got on with her banana bread. The Six of Pentacles suggests it went down pretty well. Maybe just a touch on the heavy side…not quite enough baking soda.
But the sprog didn’t rate her single sachet of kettle cleaner. I have told her baking soda plus adding vinegar does a pretty impressive cleaning trick…kaboom… but four hours later she’s confirmed she’s OK, and that was the priority today.
First let’s take a minute to consider what is meant by this word, ‘psychic.’ It comes from the Greek word psychikos (‘of the mind’ or ‘mental’) and the Greek word ‘psyche’ means ‘soul’ or ‘breath.’
That’s pretty vague, but we’ll broadly understand what we’re talking about here. It is the (sometimes spooky) experience of feeling you know something, without knowing how you know it or why you feel it, and then getting the proof, and finding out you were right, though you still don’t know how.
The Moon from the Gilded Royale Tarot, Ciro Marchetti
Everyone is psychic to a degree. It’s fascinating, but it’s natural. It might be uncanny, and often it is. It really, really is, but that doesn’t mean it’s supernatural. It is you. It is nothing to do with the occult. It is nothing directly to do with religion or witchcraft, though these activities are connected to or derive from that aspect of the human mind/psyche.
It’s about your innate animal intelligence, your instinct and intuition, and is simply a more acute manifestation of these natural functions of the human mind -your sensory capabilities. Intuition is acutely heightened instinct. It’s built in to your software, maybe even your hardware and is a key element in your survival tool-kit.
Jung was interested in the archetypes of Tarot.
So you took an instant dislike to someone but you don’t know why? Don’t simply dismiss that feeling; the reasons may become apparent later. Meanwhile, give it the benefit of the doubt but tread with care.
So you feel an overpowering reluctance to do something, but you don’t quite know why? Trust yourself. You have your reasons.
Feelings can be wrong, of course, in which case we can always reassess the situation or our reactions, and change our minds. But far more often they are right, and they work faster than conscious reasoning. Far, far faster, and it is this very speed that can save our life. That if something feels bad, it probably is.
Avoid.
But if we’re all psychic, why do people pay to go and consult someone else, or go to a professional psychic practitioner for readings?
They are looking for a service, and that depends on skill and a specific kind of experience. Professional psychics can not rely solely on their intuitive ability in order to deliver a service on demand. Psychic experiences happen when they happen, but the psychic reader needs to respond on demand, and to do this they have trained their abilities, developing specific skills, possibly involving many years of individual study, time and practice so that they can deliver insights that are relevant and that mean something to a total stranger, right here, right now.
But everyone had to start somewhere, and that doesn’t mean we can’t try it for ourselves.
Sometimes we might find ourselves undecided whether to go route A or route B. Using the playing cards might well give us a response that simply reflects what we already knew, or guessed, or suspected, but that is largely the point of doing such readings, and validation can itself be helpful in letting us know we read that situation correctly, whether or not it’s what we were hoping for.
Points to consider
Professional psychic readers are not permitted by law to take payment, reading for people aged under-18.
Or at least, it is not allowed in the UK without the authorization of a parent or guardian. There are good reasons for this, to do with maturity and vulnerability, and a word of caution applies here too, in reading for yourself if you are under 18.
There is a risk is you will not get it rightand misunderstand the message. Beware wishful thinking or fearful thinking. Calm your mind. Try and place yourself in a neutral frame of mind.
You may for instance draw the Death card and get frightened, interpreting this as a prediction of imminent death. What is far more likely is that the Death card is reflecting back at you something that has been on your mind lately. Perhaps there has been a death in your circle or perhaps you have been thinking of leaving a job or ending a relationship or other connection, or leaving one area to move away. Professional readers do not always get it right either. Until, and unless you are getting correct answers more than 55% of the time, your results are statistically no better than lucky guesses. Getting it wrong doesn’t mean you don’t have psychic ability, but this ability builds with practise and confidence.
Stay humble or you will be riding for a fall. This is not about power. No-one knows it all, and no one likes a know all. No-one has a 100% accuracy rate.
Is is unwise to make decisions based solely on the turn of a card.
The cards are to be regarded as an opportunity to pause, reflect and maybe think again. Start with easy but specific questions that you can quickly and easily validate, e.g. ‘will it be sunny here outside my window at 10.00 tomorrow morning?’
You might not understand or like the answer.
This is the very real risk in consulting with oracles, even your own – or especially your own. It needs discipline. Words matter. Be clear in your mind what it is you are really asking. Avoid repeating the same questions over and over in hope of getting the answer you want. You may get that answer in the end, but this is not conducive to accuracy, and if it becomes a compulsion, and you find you are doing it A LOT, or if you are experiencing, or have lately experienced depression or anxiety, you will be well advised to leave such activities alone for the time being. It could make matters worse.
Now let’s look at how to get an advisory yes or no answer using just one playing card. That’s all it is, an advisory answer; no court of law could treat this as admissible evidence.
Ordinary playing cards have been used in this way since at least the 1600’s and probably longer. A deck of playing cards is readily affordable and easy to obtain in many shops and online if you do not already have a deck.
The One- Card Spread is the simplest spread of all, but can do the job perfectly well, delivering an accurate yes or no answer.
First, for simplification and for the avoidance of confusion, remove the Joker. The Joker is a complex card. It correlates to the Fool in the Tarot and may mean a yes, no or maybe depending on a number of factors, so is not ideal for our purposes today.
You need somewhere quiet, no distractions. Some people like to use rituals, smudging, candles etc. I don’t use those myself in doing card readings, but this is purely a matter of personal preference.
Doing the reading
First you need to decide the code or system you will use for your one card spread. How are you going to interpret the answer?
Classical cartomancy uses this system:
Any red suit card, Hearts or Diamonds, will mean yes, irrespective of its meaning
Any black suit card, Clubs or Spades will mean no, irrespective of its meaning
There are no rules except that you decide your system and then stick with it.
Consistency and repetition is crucially important. This is what professional card readers do. They ‘self-programme’ by telling themselves that this card means X and this other card means Y until with repetition and practise – it actually does.
They do it till they make it so.
Consider the question. It needs to be clear and unambiguous, asking for an answer that will serve your highest good, harming none.
You remain in charge, using the cards for advice only. You could, for example, ask questions along the lines of, ‘Is it a good idea/plan/will it work out well at this time (meaning is it in my best interests) to go here, go there, speak to, do this, do that…?” etc.
Now shuffle the deck, keeping the cards blind, asking your question aloud or just silently to yourself.
Draw a card whenever you feel ready. There are no rights and wrongs here, but it is this act of stopping and choosing a card completely at random that is actually the psychic activity involved in the reading.
You have here a deck of 52 cards but you are drawing just one, and expecting it to be meaningful and relevant, more so than all the other cards that you didn’t draw, that have remained in the deck. The cards that are missing may be just as significant in answering your question, as the ones that appear.
What have we got here?
A red card or a black card?
No further action is required or even desirable at this point. Simply log the card. Make a note and allow time to discover if the answer is correct.
If you would like to go beyond the probable yes or no answer, and look at the reasons why you got that answer, you could look up the actual card meaning for additional feedback, to treat that as an extra comment or piece of advice, referring to this very basic key below.
In general, the higher the number of your ‘yes’ or ‘no card, the stronger the answer, except for Aces, which are the lowest number, 1, but are the strongest cards. So the strongest yes answers would be the Ace of Diamonds or Hearts, or the 10 of Diamonds or hearts. The strongest no answers would be the Ace of Spades or Clubs, or the 10 of Spades or Clubs.
Ace – new beginnings; the pure energy of their suit.
Two – partnerships, attraction, balance.
Three – co-operation, connection, growth.
Four – security, stability, foundations, inaction.
Five – imbalance, challenges, change, adjustment.
Six – sweet victory, harmony, attainment and peace.
Seven – spiritual discernment, magic, wisdom, turning point, options.
Eight – movement (or lack of it), organization, prioritizing.
Nine – Growth, understanding, integration, realization.
Ten – Culmination, completion, transition, endings, beginnings.
The Court cards (portrait cards)
Knaves/Jacks represent news or new situations, or young people below the ages of around 25.
Knave of Hearts – romantic, emotional, sweet-natured.
Knave of Diamonds – curious, grounded, sensible.
Knaveof Spades – witty, clever, focused.
Knave of Clubs – active, adventurous, risk-taker.
Queens are adults, actual people; usually female but not necessarily.
Queen of Hearts – kind, empathic, nurturing.
Queen of Diamonds – practical, down-to-earth, good in a crisis.
Queen of Spades – truth-seeker, honest, straight-speaking.
Queen of Clubs – ambitious, strong communicator, passionate.
Kings are adults, actual people; usually male but not necessarily.
King of Hearts – approachable but reserved, wise, calm.
King of Diamonds – wealthy, hard working, shrewd, lover of luxury.
King of Spades – analytical, calculating, dispassionate.
King of Clubs – leader, inspirational, temperamental, sees the big picture.
Did the Norse celebrate Halloween? Plus a message from the runes for you…
Public Domain
What we know of Norse Mythology comes largely from the Eddas, two collections of writings from assorted anonymous writers, dating around 1250 CE.
All Hallows Eve, Halloween or Samhain is a Gaelic custom, not Norse. The Norse peoples did mark this time of year, although in a different way, with Álfablót – the Elf Ritual.
Elves were associated with burial mounds (also known as barrows) as it was believed that they lived in or around them, and more than this, elves were associated with the souls of the dead, rather than fairies in the other sense of the word, as a supernatural entity that was never human.
Rakni’s burial mound, Noway, Public Domain
It is the largest burial mound in Scandinavia, 77 metres in diameter and over 15 metres in height. There are a number of stories associated with it, one associated with a roving sea-King Raki or Ragnar. Skull fragments were found inside it, of a man aged between 20 and 25 but there were no grave goods. The mound has been dated to the sixth century to the time of the great migration after the collapse of the Roman Empire.
It is possible that this chieftain was an ancestor of Rollo, the Norse ancestor of William the Conqueror.
Like the modern Halloween, Álfablót originally marked the general end of autumn, although it may technically be celebrated on any day around this time. However in recent years, it has been predominantly practiced on or close to 31st October (Halloween/Samhain).
Traditionally, Álfablót almost certainly involved an animal sacrifice, (blood) Records suggest this may even have been a (highly valuable) bull. It was intended as a sacrifice to the elves, asking for protection from the ancestors. Connected with this, the elves were also associated with fertility.
A chief difference here is, unlike Halloween/Samhain, Álfablót was not a community celebration. It was a private ritual performed at the homesteads. Strangers were not permitted to take part or even watch.
Old Norse Runes
What runes do we drawn this Halloween Álfablót 2022?
Ehwaz The Horse transport, journey progress
Mannaz Merkstave Communication difficulties, trouble with fellow man
Tiwaz Justice, Law and War (spear)
The message is not a cheerful one, I am sorry to say, but it will easily be understood why not in the context of the war in Ukraine and a lot more besides.
One might reasonably say, but the dead do us no harm? It is the living we need to watch for. Well, that depends upon their legacy, and the memories they leave behind. Jewish graves read ‘may their memory be a blessing.’
The rune of mankind has been drawn merkstave. This advice is a downer. In these days of travelling far afield almost at the drop of a hat, don’t be too quick at this time to get on your ‘horse’ and ride off to the lands of ‘strangers’.
Don’t be too quick to share your opinions with your neighbour, or all and sundry.
You do not know what they may be struggling with when you enter their space. Beware of the horses coming to your door carrying strangers. Some will come as friends, and honour us with their arrival. But not every stranger comes as a friend. The history books warn, it is a friendly fool that can’t tell friend from foe.
Why do you travel? What do you bring to the places you visit, for the sustenance of the people who live there?
Who is this that is coming now? Why do they come? What do they seek? What do they offer? Is it a fair just and lawful exchange? Or is this a hunting trip? What is the prey? What is the prize?
This grim counsel goes against our powerful instinct of hospitality and kindness to strangers. But that bottom line was always there, and the runes are reminding us.
The Viking raid on Lindisfarne in 793 sent a shock wave through Europe. But this was just the start of something bigger. What was driving it? In part, changes to the laws of inheritance in Scandinavia, younger sons, now dispossessed of family farms, had to go in search of their own fortunes.
So they did.
The Viking Raid on Lindisfarne
Another way of looking at these runes in terms of comment or advice about the cosmic weather right now, which is, beware of joining the crowd.
Beware of crowds. This, following the tragedy in Seoul where 150 or more people have died in a crush at a Halloween celebration. And the death toll is still rising, following the collapse of a bridge in India killing over 141 people who were celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights.
This also refers to getting into arguments on social media, and avoid gossip at this time. Stay clear of group-think.
The runes here are reflecting the fact that fiery Mars, planet of war, has just moved into the zodiac domain of Gemini, the sign of communications and siblings, and it will stay there, appparently moving backwards or retrograde, until 12 January 2023. There will be spectacular events. One can see how this combination may represent aeroplanes, missiles or indeed any kind of projectile. The threat of a nuclear attack is real, though I haven’t been shown that it will happen.
Contagion travels by the same token, suggesting an inevitable rise of flu and covid cases starting now, at least in the northern hemisphere.
There are many kinds of ghosts. There are the whirling leaves that used to be buds. There are the echoes of the distant past. There are the ghosts of our hopes, not all of which can ever be realized, the grief, the fears and memories of the living.
But Jupiter is returning to Pisces and this brings a promise of good cheer. Even in desperate times we see a Ukrainian soldier rescuing a hamster in a cage, the hamster obliviously running in its wheel. The soldier places it in the back of the truck, returns for two rabbits.
In such moments rests the hope for humanity.
Death is the theme for the season- and this is an unusually tricky Halloween season, caught between the partial solar in Scorpio on 25 October, and the upcoming Lunar eclipse in Taurus on 8 November.
And here we are again…embarking on the selection process of a new Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party
I will be looking further in the Tarot as this new contest unfolds. We will all know sooner or later of course, and in that respect, one might say there is no need and little point in doing any Tarot reading. But this is a Tarot blog, and I am writing this for those people who are interested in divination or psychic thinking and its workings. That’s what this blog is about, getting the Tarot’s Eye view on a real life situation and then seeing how that works out on the ground.
Rishi Sunak is the obvious front runner at the time of writing, and he could well get the post. I have drawn the Nine of Cups for him (the card means wishes granted) But I have twice in a row drawn the Nine of Wands for him, offsetting that Nine of Cups. Not an encouraging card in this context.
The Nine of Wands is courage and stamina, but someone has dug themselves into a furrow. Are they a one trick pony? This may prove to be a reference to Rishi Sunak’s position re taxation. Whatever his support within the party, if they are keeping a sharp eye on the prospects for winning the next general election, this seems at present to be the star to which he has hitched his wagon, and it is not classic grass roots conservatism.
Boris Johnson had wanted Rishi Sunak to cut taxes in line with previous manifesto promises, and notwithstanding the economic effects of the global pandemic crisis which hit almost as soon as Boris Johnson came into office. We have all been given to understand that this had set them at loggerheads, and we now see that Rishi Sunak has been quietly preparing for this moment for some time.
It is also I feel a reference to the emergency in Ukraine. The situation won’t go away. It is a direct longer term threat to Britain’s security and the economy. There is no appeasing Putin. How will Rishi Sunak handle it?
Ben Wallace draws positive cards and is clearly very well liked indeed, but the cards drawn last night were not looking strong at this juncture for him as the next Prime Minister. The same for Suella Braverman. Penny Mordaunt drew stronger cards than either of these two potential candidates
This however was merely te briefest look. The Tarot outlook may change. I will be watching this space and reporting further. Meantime, you can read on here for a reminder of what the Tarot had to say in June 2019 about Brexit, which was not yet ‘done’ (and arguably still isn’t completely done) and also what it had to say about the last leadership contest in 2019.
Original Posting 19 June 2019
Prescience is not omniscience. Tarot cards are used to facilitate divination via the language embedded in their imagery. Generally this means that they allow a reading of the present situation, but with hints about the past or hints about the future reading events in respect of an evolving continuum.
The puzzle of this, and not infrequently the wonder, is what the reader may pick up when reading for complete strangers, while knowing nothing or little of them, or their present circumstances.
Public Domain: The Fortune Teller, Albert Anker, 1880
Sometimes the cards enable forecasting or sudden leaps of insight, not easy to account for through the standard meanings of the cards themselves. It is a conundrum that sometimes the future exists and sometimes it does not. As the saying goes, nothing is certain but death and taxes.
People may scoff all they like about the method. But this is a method that has to be learned, and we all make forecasts all the time. That is what planning is based on, and what forecasting activities are based on…projection of some pattern or algorithm. The tricky thing about ‘psychic’ predictions are generally disbelieved, even by the person making them, because unlike numerically based forecasts, they indicate a lack or break in some easily seen pattern. We don’t get to see the whole audit trail.
Experience tells me prediction with cards is possible, though of course not infallible, while others point out that it can’t be done, full stop, and that tarot is actually a meditation or counselling tool.
I am not in the business of telling other people what to think, or that they are wrong. But it has happened far too many times in my work to agree that tarot prediction can’t be done with an accuracy rate that goes far beyond the chances of the random hit, way beyond 50:50.
Reading the cards for predictive purposes was one of the earliest functions, if not the raison d’ etre of tarot reading in the first place, going back possibly even further than the renaissance, and as early as the thirteenth century.
Too many times, peering through the dark glass of my cards, looking into the unknowns of this or that; the answers proved correct. This does not mean that I knew the answers. I did not. How could I? had to sit with my cards, have a look, and have a think, deciding how I felt about them.
When, as here, I am looking at politicians through the cards, who or what am I trying to read? There is no direct personal connection. How am I coming at it? What am I trying to read, actually? Future news headlines? The thoughts of people who do not know I exist, who are not asking me any question, who have not entered into a ‘telepathic’ dialogue with a reader like me?
I do not know, and I don’t ‘know’ anything more than anyone else, but of course I will give it a go, for the experience, and to learn, and test myself in new ways.
These were the cards I drew 18/19 June 2019 in respect of
-Brexit and
-the contest for the new PM.
Context: These cards were drawn forty five minutes ahead of the announcement that Dominic Raab was now out of the contest for Prime Minister.
I drew further cards after the cards discussed below. Unfortunately the photo evidence didn’t make it to my lap-top. IT glitch but the bottom line of the lost cards was that the UK will eventually leave the EU as per the referendum mandate 2016, and may yet achieve a trade only special deal with the EU.
I drew the Ten of Cups twice, Scorpio timing, late Sept-late Oct, indicating that the UK government may deliver on its new promise to leave by or before 31 October. If not, it could slip until at least May/June 2020 (Knight of Swords =Gemini, and we are still in Gemini now, with 2 days still to go of Gemini in 2019) To what extent does this depend on the choice of the next PM?
UPDATE: So now that we know for a fact that Boris Johnson is the new MP, will we leave the EU by or before 31 October 2019?
The cards:
The first card, the 8 Spades, denotes a stalemate, imprisonment or benighted state of affairs and this is the start point of the answer. 1 Black suit card, the Joker signifying a need for a fresh start, and then 3 red suit cards out of a total of 5 indicates that it can be done in fact, and very likely will be.
Will it be a rehash of the Withdrawal Agreement? I don’t think so, I may need to frame that as a direct question and look again, especially in view of suspicions expressed by the Brexit Party. The 9 Diamonds promises a tough time, with obstacles and delays, but an extra comment card is an Ace, (new start) while of the four Aces, the Ace of Clubs in particular refers to a new Government or a new Act of Government. The central card, the 9 of Hearts represents the crux of the answer, yes or no, and here it is saying yes, because
A) it is a red suit card and
B) the 9 Hearts is the ‘wishes’ card, indicating that The new PM will realise, or see realised, the stated wish of his leadership contest manifesto.
Who Will be the New PM?
NB I am not asking who should be PM. I will leave that to others. I am not enquiring into the ‘worthiness’ of the candidates, only asking for signs as to whom it will be, and what might prevent them from succeeding, or what might help them, as suggested by the cards and only the cards, but connecting these to the known evidence where possible. This is about divination, not a political opinion piece.
Boris Johnson
The Magician, The 9 Swords, The Knight Swords, FUTURE? THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE
Image Ciro Marchetti: The Legacy of The Divine Tarot
Reflecting the current state of voting, these are the strongest cards, and this is the longest write-up for the same reason, but there is a but.
Mr Johnson is a Gemini subject, which interestingly for a reader, correlates astrologically with The Magician card. The Magician is Odin/Woden, the god of Wednesday. It is ruled by Mercury, combining agility, intellect and intuition. The Magician can get things done but is sometimes also regarded as a figure of mistrust, the Trickster. Sometimes this suspicion is justified. But the mercurial quality here means that the thinking happens so fast, others cannot follow it, and suspect a sleight of hand where actually, there was none.
Gemini is ruled by Mercury, planet of Trade. Another name for The Magician is The Jester. Mr Johnson is up for fun, can laugh at himself, or present himself as a figure of fun to many, a buffoon some say, But his mind remains separate and cool.
The 9 Swords is a horrible card of stress and sometimes sadness. There is a fair degree of stress suggested here, maybe headaches, literally. Insomnia. This situation weighs heavy on Boris Johnson, irrespective of appearances and how would it not? There is also a worry about something personal, close to his own home. Women and children feature in that picture.
Update: headlines followed a few days after this blog was posted re Mr Johnson’s domestic argument with Carrie Symonds. It would seem that the 9 Swords was foreshadowing this event, and possibly something more besides, but it really is private, and it doesn’t feel appropriate for me to speculate in public. Someone was listening in on a private conversation and by questionable means, always somewhat unsavoury.
The Knight of Swords attacks head on, but with a cool head. It’s not personal but get in his/her way, he/she strikes you down and carries on going. The objective is everything.
The Wheel of Fortune is a big card; a destiny card. THE destiny card, bespeaking forces greater than any individual’s ability to control. This is not up to him. He has been here before and it did not go his way. But the Wheel has been drawn the right way up. When the Wheel is drawn reversed, change is coming, but you’re riding the downward wheel. The Wheel is not only a major arcana card, it is a Number 10 card.
Mr Johnson has drawn two major arcana cards out of four cards drawn. That strikes me as significant. These cards are not straightforward, however.
The votes suggest this is almost in the bag, but that isn’t how it feels. This situation is, I feel, weighing heavy on Mr Johnson. Not shown here but looking on previous occasions I have twice drawn the 3 of Cups as the outcome in respect of his candidacy. A celebration. Still, there is that 9 of Swords…and a sense of perhaps entirely natural guarded reserve.
Jeremy Hunt
The 3 Coins, The Sun Rx , The Ace Coins RX, FUTURE? THE ACE SWORDS (?)
Image: Ciro Marchetti: Legacy of The Divine Tarot
The 3 Coins denotes conscientiousness, skill and attention to detail. I’d be inclined to rule out Mr Hunt’s chances of the top job based on these cards. The 3 Coins is a positive card, but here it is combined with The Sun RX (success denied or delayed) and the Ace of Coins RX (no new job, no new house) Except I can’t yet decide he won’t be in the final two, notwithstanding these cards, because of the presence of the Ace of Swords; ‘the seeds of a victory as yet unseen’ – a coup…though it could be foreshadowing a metaphorical coup de grace, the sword of Damocles, looming over the next round. Update:As we know know, Mr Hunt made it to the final two.
Cards drawn the evening of 22 July
Top Line: Boris Johnson: 1 character card followed by 4 yes cards
Bottom Line: Jeremy Hunt: 1 character card followed by 4 no cards
BJ’s Joker is picking up on his reputation of course, but in cartomancy it means ‘all change’. It can mean a risk taker. It can mean tricky dealings, or recklessness, but what it never means is stupid.
JH’s Three of Diamonds is a good communicator and team worker. But for significance it lacks the weightiness of The Joker. In cartomancy, BTW, it does not usually matter if a card comes out right way or not.
But again, The Joker seems to be making some additional comment attached to Mr Johnson’s personal life and relationship matters. Here is someone with an irregular domestic situation going on, but this is not someone who is a ‘womaniser’ on anything like the scale of a John F Kennedy, or a David Lloyd George, and by their final public record have they been judged by posterity, and in view of the gravity of their times, I’d say rightly so. Perhaps the jury of public opinion will stay out for now at least, and concern itself only with the performance of Boris Johnson the Prime Minister. But of course it won’t.
The Other Candidates
Michael Gove
Strength, The 8 Wands, The Empress, FUTURE? The 10 CUPS
Image: Ciro Marchetti The Gilded Tarot
Mr Gove’s cards start strong. The Strength card does what it says on the tin. Plus it hints at a health kick. Could this card be showing us Una, taming the Lion of Britannia? As an individual contender, it is not that Mr Gove trumps Boris Johnson in terms of ability, but he does seem to have an edge in terms of a gift for teamwork. Strength is a Number 8 card, auspicious in both western and Chinese astrology; a good card of money and trade. This card trumps the dedicated craftsmanship and attention to detail of the Three of Coins of Mr Hunt. Then we have The Empress – harvest home, and the 10 of Cups.
Mr Johnson has the 10 of the Wheel of Fortune. Mr Gove has the 10 of happiness. Could it be the hearth at 10 Downing Street? Theoretically, perhaps, but it’s a smaller echo , the 1o Cups is more domestic in character, when weighed against the ‘destiny’ card, and that weightier 10 of The Wheel of Fortune.
Update: As we know now, Mr Gove made it to the final 3, amid rumours that tactical voting had ensured Mr Hunt made it through to the final two, and if so, perhaps this was done a) to remove what was seen as a chief threat to Mr Johnson’s chances and b) to offer party voters the advantage of a clear choice between two very different candidates with different approaches to delivering Brexit.
Sajid Javid
The Hermit, The 7 Cups RX , The 8 Cups FUTURE? The 9 COINS.
Image: Kat Black: The Golden Tarot
The Hermit suggests commendable qualities suggested in these cards; personal kindliness, a marked degree of self- sufficiency and also keen analytical abilities, and Mr Javid’s future with the conservative party seems set to continue with some senior role as indicated by the future 9 Coins. But the 7 of Cups is reversed, castles in the air. The 8 of Cups is about moving on, and 9 Coins is about managing a sector, running a ‘hotel’ or a financial department, tending a ‘garden’. But it’s not an Ace (beginnings) and it’s not a 10 (arrival at a destination, end of a cycle, crossing the line, completion)
Update: That senior role suggested by 9 Coins and 8 Cups, running a ‘financial department’ as we have now seen, turned out to be Mr Javid’s appointment as Chancellor of The Exchequer.
Rory Stewart (typing this section at 18.05, having just heard the results of today’s round while typing up Mr Raab’s cards.)
The Ace Cups Rx. The 2 Wands Rx, The Page Cups, FUTURE? 4 COINS Rx
Image Public Domain The Ace Cups Reversed: Rider-Waite
This was the weakest row of cards yesterday.Weaker than Mr Raab’s, and on this basis, I expected that Mr Stewart would go out of the contest before Mr Raab for all the sudden media push of positive publicity on Mr Stewart. And that expectation was wrong. WRONGGGG. I award myself a bad gold star. I thought Mr Stewart would go out before Mr Raab. And as it turned out, there was only one day between them, but there it is. Mr Raab went out first despite the fact of his stronger cards, and there may be in that, another suggestion of tactical voting at work. No matter. Bad gold star for me.
So what was weak about Mr Stewart’s cards? Out of four cards, three were drawn reversed. We had the reversed Ace of Cups, meaning, ‘a cup is emptied on the ground’, while the 2 Wands RX is nicknamed the ‘sorrow of Alexander’. Disappointment in expansion and conquest. The most positive card in this spread, the page of cups- denotes a ‘new kid in town,’ and a surge in goodwill and popularity, which is certainly being borne out in the media. But in terms of the Tarot, Mr Stewart has done very well to get so far as he has in the face of this card portrait. The 4 Coins Reversed were saying, literally, as literally as the Tarot can speak ‘NOT round 4.’
Dominic Raab
The Chariot, 4 SWORDS Rx, High Priestess (Out)
Image Public Domain: The Chariot, Rider-Waite
It was the 4 Swords that was warning of Mr Raab leaving the contest yesterday, 18.06.2019. One may think I should have been expecting that? Saw that coming yesterday? Nah. Not with my everyday hat on, I was surprised to see Brexiteer Mr Raab go out so soon.
The Chariot card suggests Mr Raab could have made progress on driving Brexit forward, but those voting decided he was a horse (or the griffin) pulling The Chariot, rather than the charioteer himself, while the 4 Swords Reversed is a ‘sick’ bed, or a ‘tomb’. Perhaps pro-Brexit voters in the conservative party were not sufficiently convinced of his having the wherewithal to guide The Chariot? The 4 Swords suggests that this was based on the circumstances of his earlier resignation as Brexit Secretary.
Update: The Chariot, a weighty, Major Arcana card, turns out to denote diplomacy and travel. Mr Raab has been appointed First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. That High Priestess leaves him as a new Number 2. A much consulted figure.
The Four of Swords came up more than once before in previous readings, asking about the Withdrawal Agreement, and whether that would get through Parliament.
‘No’, suggested the Four of Swords back then, and we saw how that turned out.
The solitary figure of Mr Raab’s High Priestess is Number 2 in the Major Arcana whereas Boris Johnson has drawn that equally solitary figure, The Magician, is Number 1 in the Major Arcana.
One might have thought pro- Brexit conservatives would want to hedge their bets, ensuring that an unequivocally pro-Brexit ‘Number 2’ stayed in the race as back-up, but no. We are all seeing, politics at the moment just isn’t working according to what might seem to be obvious dynamics.
These are strange times and the cards are strange. I have been looking out for an appearance of The Emperor, Judgement, Justice, The Sun or The World against the name of one of these candidates.
Maybe tomorrow.
There remains a sense that the UK will eventually leave the EU as per the referendum 2016, and may agree a trade only special deal with the EU. But the battle is not over.
I drew the Ten of Cups twice, correlating with Scorpio timing, late Sept-late Oct, indicating that the UK government may deliver on its new promise to leave by or before 31 October.
If not, it could slip until at least May/June 2020 (Knight of Swords =Gemini, and we are still in Gemini now, with 2 days still to go of Gemini in 2019) But the Knight of Swords is a card sudden, speedy development and conclusive actions. Whose style is that? Mr Hunt has said that if he wins, he will have Mr Johnson on his team. And maybe Mr Hunt will yet do it, but that’s not sufficiently clear for me to feel he’s closed the gap enough yet.
I had a strange night night before last, on Friday night. Il Matrimonio came trotting into the room about 9 PM and said, ‘Tomorrow night, Liverpool or Spurs? Which is it? Quick!’
I was irritable at the word ‘quick,’ because this stuff is not like using a coffee machine.
I don’t know what is going to happen any more than he does.
I have to look and think. It’s not like I’m a…….
He might as well have snapped his fingers.
‘I don’t *effing* know!’ I said, as he ran out again, not waiting for a further answer, either because he took me at my word, and bore no grudge (highly likely) and/or, he knew I would look, and meanwhile he was missing out on something more interesting elsewhere as I reached for my playing cards.
Next time he came in, I said I thought Liverpool to win.
Why?
I laid out 2 lines of 5 cards asking an open question each time:
‘How will Liverpool do tomorrow against Spurs?’
‘How will Spurs do tomorrow against Liverpool?’
Both teams drew 3 red cards and 2 black cards, 3 yeses and 2 nos, giving them the same chance of winning, according to the most basic rule of interpreting ‘The Line of 5’ as it is prosaically called in cartomancy.
Both lines of 5 ended with a black suit card (meaning a no)
Samey, samey, this did not look like a dramatic match.
But Liverpool’s final black card (10 Clubs) was more positive than Spurs final black card (6 Spades).
Plus, aha, a means of teasing this out, one of Liverpool’s red suit cards was the 9 Hearts
This is the wishes card. Wishes granted. Happy times.
Therefore I decided I thought it was Liverpool to win.
But then – I don’t know why I did this, exactly – an impulse- I pulled an extra card asking for any further comment, and drew the 3 Spades; a card of separation, divorce, severance, heart attacks, mourning and death.
I said to myself, eh? What’s this about and put it back in thee deck.Shuffled again, pulled another card and drew the 3 Spades again.
I called for Il Matrimonio.
‘I just drew the 3 Spades twice, asking about the footie tomorrow. That’s weird, getting it twice, and it’s nasty. Like there’s going to be an injury or death.’
‘An injury during the match?’
‘No, I think it’s a death,’ I said, ‘maybe nothing to do with the match, but to do with football. We’ll find out tomorrow. Maybe it’ll be on the news.’
I wasn’t worried as such, though unpleasantly struck by the co-incidence of drawing it twice. The card felt too remote to be personal, but I had also done a fairly intense client reading earlier in the day, and I spent an unsettled night. Peculiar dreams. I don’t remember what, only that they were peculiar and unsettling.
Yesterday, Saturday, we had the plumber in. I was here on my lap-top when I saw a piece of very sad news; Jose Reyes, a very well known footballer, had just been killed in a car crash, leaving a wife and three children.
Jose Antonio Reyes: Former Arsenal winger dies aged 35
He was in a high speed car accident near Seville, driving, it is thought, at 120 kph when he was killed shortly before midday yesterday.
Jose Reyes and 2 others.
3
Spades and Clubs are the suits that say ‘men.’
Diamonds and Hearts are the suits that say ‘women.’
I tweeted this last night while the match was still going:-
Hub asked last night re today’s footie. Gave my answer, L’pool drew the 9 Hearts, twice. Wish card, but then I drew an extra card. 3 Spades. Injury. Death. No!? NO! Put it back in the deck, shuffled again…3 Spades again. Oh no.
9:32 PM – 1 Jun 2019
Result: Liverpool 2- Spurs -0.
Il Matrimonio said afterwards, ‘how awful that you drew that card last night, and said there’d be news today. Like it was waiting to happen. Like it was destiny.’
Indeed. Truly weird and awful. And of course I didn’t know. How could I? But something was already present in the ether, sufficiently that a card enabled me to access some vibration on an invisible thread. Or else it was a complete and meaningless coincidence. You can decide. I haven’t.
The papers are saying that the vehicle left the road, hit some concrete blocks and burst into flames, with Jose Reyes at the wheel.
Astrology and Tarot are separate artistic disciplines with distinct histories and traditions, but there are powerful connections between them, with many astrological archetypes embedded in the Tarot.
Image: Public Domain from The Book of Hours, Jean Pierre Verdet
The 78 cards of a classic Tarot deck include 22 Major Arcana cards (Greater Secrets) and 56 Minor Arcana Cards (Lesser Secrets.)
The Major Arcana cards shine a light on life-changing situations and events, or draw attention to some crucial aspect of your own personality or behaviour, demanding attention at the time of the reading.
Each sign of the Zodiac is linked with a Tarot card from The Major Arcana. Your sun sign and your Major Arcana card represent key archetypes. But what exactly is an archetype?
Archetypes
The word derives from Ancient Greek and means a very typical example of something, like a model from which other copies are made; a prototype.
Arkhetupon ‘something moulded first as a model’, from arkhe-‘primitive’ + tupos ‘a model’.
The Oxford English Dictionary offers these definitions
A very typical example of a certain person or thing.
Later, in Psychoanalysis (in Jungian theory) a primitive mental image inherited from the earliest human ancestors, and supposed to be present in the collective unconscious.
A recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology.
Archetypes are complexes of experience that come upon us like fate, and their effects are felt in our most personal life.
The ‘anima’ no longer crosses our path as a goddess, but, it may be, as an intimately personal misadventure, or perhaps as our best venture.
When, for instance, a highly esteemed professor in his seventies abandons his family and runs off with a young red-headed actress, we know that the gods have claimed another victim.
From Jung: Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, Image: John Strudwick 1849-1937
The archetype represented by your Major Arcana card does not define you, of course, any more than your Sun sign does. You and I are unique. Every living thing is unique and yet- it is also classifiable
The archetypes are classifications of behaviours and attributes, and in the Tarot, the Major Arcana chime with the signs of the zodiac.
There are two key archetypes in play in personal astrology; the archetype of your Sun sign, and then there is your ‘outward face’; a key aspect of the public persona, represented by your Rising Sign or Ascendant; the planet rising on the Eastern horizon at the time of your birth. It’s a good idea to read both when reading your horoscope.
If you know your time of birth, you can identify your rising sign via this link
Discover the Tarot’s Major Arcana card for your zodiac sign below.
Aries (Mar 21-Apr 19)
Astrological archetype: The Ram. The Warrior.
Major Arcana card The Emperor – (energy, organisation, leadership)
Spring bursts forth after winter and so does the ram with the year’s first lambs, and so does The Emperor in you and me. The Emperor decrees we can’t just creep through Life. We need to push sometimes, and push hard or we would never get anywhere. The Emperor is fiery, energetic, driven and determined, good at delegating but controlling – some might even say bossy; A battering ‘ram’. The Emperor may be accident- prone due to general speed and haste. Male or female ‘he’ needs to learn how to take it easy, and slow down, to be more careful and patient, to stay curious and listen to the ideas of others. He’s not the only Emperor round here.
Taurus (Apr 20-May 20)
Astrological archetype: The Bull. The Artist. The Farmer.
Major Arcana card The Hierophant – (faith, study, tradition)
This card is about the power and wisdom of the written words and of tradition. Books, publishers, librarians, churches of all faiths, and universities are indicated by this same card. The High Priest (Hierophant) does things by the book, and has faith and trust in the old ways. He is all about standards. He is a protector, a gardener, a teacher, a mentor, a scholar, but the other message of this card is that change can be good, even necessary, wisdom is knowing when to bend with the wind, and that does not necessarily mean the same as throwing out any baby with the bathwater.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Astrological archetype: The Twins. The Jester.Mercury.
Your Major Arcana card is The Lovers – (choices, love, duality)
This card has another name: ‘The Decision.’ Gemini is quick-witted, but sometimes decisions need more care and time than mercurial Gemini gives them. There is an innate restlessness, Gemini can be quick to walk away, even when sometimes they might do better to stick at things, even if they are bored, or the going gets rough. Gemini is the archetype of the Jester, the one who can take any turn of fate with a laugh and makes sure we remember to enjoy ourselves. This is the wisdom of Gemini. We need to be able to laugh at ourselves in order to keep a healthy sense of perspective. Laughter is powerful medicine. What we can’t joke about, we can’t deal with..
Cancer (Jun 21-Jul 22)
Astrological archetype: The Crab. The Mother.
Major Arcana card The Chariot – (progress, effort, co-operation).
The Crab is famously gentle, home-loving, intuitive, private; even secretive, but just look again at this guy/girl. This is Cancer’s Tarot face. The Chariot carries the victorious on parade. The Chariot takes us places. This is a card of triumph through discipline and sustained effort; the harnessing of resources, the charioteer and the horses working as one. Choose your teams well, put in a sustained effort, you and they can do great things together. The Crab may be the archetypal sign of motherhood where the Ram is fatherhood, but these are qualities, not identities, while a carer is not a servant, and the gentleness of Cancer does not make it a doormat. No way. Push too far they will withdraw.
Leo (Jul 23-Aug 22)
Dominant element: Fire.
Astrological archetype: The Lion. The King.
Major Arcana card Strength – (courage, willpower, fortitude)
Life demands courage to meet it head on. To learn new things you have to take chances and risk failure. But the fire of Leo demands control. The lady patiently restrains the lion. It shall not devour her. She shall not try to harm it. The lion represents the spirit of the Leo subject. There is natural courage and charisma, but the Lady represents strength with gentleness and restraint – moral courage. The lion does not want to be ruled, but nor does she wish to be devoured, power must be used wisely and tyranny is always to be resisted.
Virgo (Aug 23-Sep 22)
Dominant element: Earth
Astrological archetype: The Virgin. The Craftsman.
Major Arcana card The Hermit – (Self-sufficiency, connection to nature, analysis)
The Hermit often likes to walk alone, and this is usually by choice. Time alone, especially in quiet, wild, green places, is especially good for the Hermit, male or female, married, or single. People turn to the Hermit for wise advice. The Hermit knows how to listen and sees far more than he or she says. The Hermit shines a quiet light along his path and others may safely follow in times of need. Animals can trust to the hermit’s compassion. The Hermit is often a talented artist or crafts-person, slow, methodical and a perfectionist, so much so, that she never feelsthe work is good enough to sell, even when it is. Virgo’s challenge is to expedite..
Libra (Sep 23-Oct 22)
Dominant element: Air.
Astrological archetype: The Scales. The Judge.
Major Arcana card Justice – (order, reason, restitution).
Libra combines analytical ability with intuition, and a natural grace and charm, with a talent for diplomacy. Justice is capable of severity, however, and can just now and again be overly keen to apply the letter of the law, forgetting the spirit. See the Sword in the hand of Justice. But the scales don’t stay still. They are rarely in perfect balance. They see-saw, like Libra’s moods and occasional indecision. Libra is changeable. It may be the only sign of the Zodiac represented by an inanimate object, and a Libra subject may be a born judge, but still, they are only human. But without Justice there would be chaos and misery, mature loose and running red in tooth and claw. There could be no society and no civilisation.
Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21)
Dominant element: Water.
Astrological archetype: The Scorpion. The Actor.
Major Arcana card Death – (endings, liberation, transformation)
There is no life without death. There can be nothing new without something else changing or ending. But just like the song, the seasons don’t fear the reaper. Death is not the enemy of Life. Scorpio understands this great mystery. Intuitive, subtle, often somewhat secretive, charismatic, intense, Scorpio is devoted to their loved ones, while with others they may be a true friend and powerful ally – or a vengeful enemy. Death has a long memory. He has seen it all before. Get in the way, and he may mow you down with that scythe. Sometimes it is better to walk away. Sometimes it is wiser to call it quits and call time on something that no longer serves you well.
Sagittarius (Nov 22-Dec 21)
Dominant element: Fire.
Astrological archetype: The Archer. The Explorer.
Your Tarot archetype is Temperance – (moderation; timing, healing).
Temperance was regarded as an angel- a force for virtue at the time the Tarot was first in use. Temperance is about moderation, and self- control, and the avoidance of extremes. But Temperance has other meanings…alchemy, the fusing together of two elements, materials or qualities to make a new thing stronger than either individual element; Intellect and feeling, ability and ambition, one person and another, one people and another. This is a force for diplomacy, reconciliation of differences and also for physical healing after illness.
Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 19)
Dominant element: Earth.
Astrological archetype: The Goat. The Builder.
Major Arcana card The Devil – (also Pan. Wildness, entrapment, liberation)
Powerful opposites meet in the Goat. Capricorn, thought to be named originally for the ibex which mated at this same time of year, is the builder and the banker of the zodiac; hard working and solid yet agile, with an often understated glamour and a keen, if dry sense of humour. The Devil comes in many guises; often powerfully attractive. Or think of animal magnetism. That’s Pan for you. The Devil warns us to beware compulsion reminding us that we can get trapped by our own behaviour as much as by circumstance but we can choose to liberate ourselves by exercising the willpower sufficient to change the behaviour or the circumstance, bringing order out of chaos.
Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18)
Dominant element: Air. (Special note: Aquarius is sometimes mistakenly identified as a water sign because its symbol is the water carrier)
Astrological archetype: The Water Carrier. The Teacher.
Major Arcana card The Star – (hope, inspiration , humanitarianism).
The Star of hope has much in common with the imagery of the Aquarian Water Carrier. It shines its brightest, far-off light when everything else looks dark. The figure in the card has one foot in the water, symbolising her powers of intuition, and the other foot still on land, denotes her stability. Her knee is a bridge between elements. The stars symbolise the card’s over-arching message of guidance, hope and inspiration. Aquarius loves people as a general concept, but she is not one to blend in with the crowd, indicated by the biggest star above her head, which is bigger and set apart from the others.
Pisces (Feb 19-Mar 20)
Dominant element: Water.
Astrological archetype: The Fishes. The Seeker/Seer
Major Arcana card The Moon– (imagination, instinct, intuition)
Like Pisces, The Moon card is associated with the subconscious, and suggests that things are not always as they first appear. The Moon card also represents our secretive side or “shadow self”. The barking dog and the wolf in this card represent Pisces’ wild side sitting alongside its more domestic self. Pisces may seem gentle but the pull of the wild is strong, and so is the pull of the ocean’s tides. These people are deep. The crayfish crawling from the water represents “coming into consciousness” and the possession of psychic abilities, true of all the zodiac signs in their different ways, but especially archetypal of Pisces.
The archetypes are represented real things, real people. Who do we have here? The Magician? The Hermit? Herne? Cernunnos?
Question: Will the UK leave the Customs Union in 2020?
I shuffled a deck of ordinary playing cards, drew six and laid them out as shown below.
Picture this spread as a storyboard, reading the top row left to right then the bottom row from left to right. The answer to the question as stated is contained in the two cards of the central column, i.e. the 6 of Hearts and the Ace of Spades, and this answer hinges on the card bottom right, The Joker.
I have programmed myself to count red suit cards as a yes, and black suit cards as a no, regardless of which cards actually appear.
By this reckoning you can see how tight this looks (I understand others have their own view of this situation and its likely outcome. I am neither claiming to know better, not expressing an opinion, simply illustrating a divination of topical interest for those interested in cartomancy at work.)
So, what have we got? Three red suit cards and two black, while the central answer column reads as a 50:50 and hinges on The Joker which is neither red nor black, so that this battle, for such it is, looks set to continue sticky as hell but the short answer is yes, the UK will leave the Customs Union in 2020.
The ‘yes ‘answer is reinforced here by the fact that one of the ‘no’ cards is the Ace of Spades. This is a card of Law, of clean cuts, of deaths and of endings, and here that would imply the ending of the customs Union. It may possibly suggest a power play or coup before the ‘close of play’ while The Joker says a wild card or surprise will be critical.
Let’s take a quick look at the cards one at a time.
The Nine of Clubs is about journeys, physical and symbolic, and refers to the journey of the UK on its new trajectory. while Theresa May is represented here by The Queen of Diamonds; a quick, clever queen, shrewd and honest in intention, actually, but shown under threat, as we all see she is, squeezed between Parliament, the people who voted Brexit and also many now of those who did not, who just want to get on with it, and conflicting factions within her own party and even the Cabinet.
The Six of Cups is about all things masculine, suggesting that a male colleague has been/will be hugely instrumental in helping ensure implementation of the referendum decision to leave the customs union. This masculine element may also represent a personal or political challenge to Theresa May, underscored by that Ace of Spades.
The Five of Diamonds is about the home environment, property. Speech, the act of speaking, an argument, a legal judgement or court case. City life. London.
The Queen of Diamonds. This represents Theresa May; a quick, clever queen, shrewd and honest in intention, but shown here under threat, as we know she is, sandwiched if not squeezed almost breathless between the 5 of Diamonds and that Ace of Spades.
Ace of Spades Traditionally the Death card, though this is rarely physical death. Death and rebirth, an ending and new beginning, transformation, a major life change, the skull, the mind, an important decision that brings change, worry and anxiety.
The Joker Not every reader uses their joker, but I equate it with the Tarot’s Fool card, the most numinous card in the deck, equating to the number zero. The Fool or the Joker is anything but a fool, and signifies BIG change and new beginnings.
But which of these options look more likely?
streamlined customs arrangement – which involves minimal customs checks and the use of new technology to enable as frictionless trade as possible. This option would allow the movement of goods between the UK and the EU to be monitored and recorded, with traders paying duties on a monthly or quarterly basis, rather than paying duties on every shipment or service traded. This is the option currently favoured by ‘Brexiteers’.
A customs partnership with the EU – which involves the UK acting as a tax collector for the EU whenever goods enter the UK. If the goods are bound for the UK, and if the UK tariff is lower than the EU tariff, traders could claim any difference. This was the option reportedly favoured by Mrs May, although it remains unclear whether she still supports it following the Cabinet meeting this week.
Late on Monday evening Il Matrimonio reminded me that the vote for the EU Repeal Bill was due to take place that night, and I reached for my playing cards. It was already 10.00 PM, just hours to go as I drew the cards illustrated below, asking, would the Bill be passed? I left the cards out on the table, made my initial assessment which was that it was a yes answer, then went to bed and tried to forget about it till morning.
These were the cards left out overnight. The top line contained the yes answer, but on what basis did I arrive at that interpretation?
To get at a yes/no answer, you lay out a row of cards using an odd number, 3, 5 or 7.
It’s a question of preference. On such a weighty and hugely multi-factorial question, 3 might seem too few, and by now I’ve trained myself to read in fives. That’s what this stuff is about. You learn your chosen system of divination, whether that’s playing cards, Tarot, runes or whatever. You study it. You learn and you practise, practise, practise until you internalise the code, the programme, or whatever you like to call it, until, if you persist, it feels like second nature.
You activate your internal oracular programme on request. The most psychic psychic in the world – whoever that is, and it isn’t me, doesn’t go round being psychic all the time. Do they heck. They wouldn’t be able to function. Prescience isn’t omniscience, with tools, you learn to manage, instruct and direct that innate human capability. So, how do you direct it?
If it’s cards you’re reading, you do it simply by stating your question aloud as you shuffle. Not for the purpose of enlisting any rogue, random spirits in the room (or, wait… no, are they…are they… aaaggghhh…imps of Satan come to steal your soul?)
No. It is just so that you will hear yourself say it. Then stop shuffling when you feel ready. That’s it. You just stop shuffling when you feel ready, then you take off the top five cards and lay them out from left to right, creating a story-board moving forward in time.
The red card suits are Hearts and Diamonds, simplistically read as supportive or positive.
The black card suits are Clubs and Spades, simplistically read as challenging or negative.
5 red suit cards represents a definite yes
4 red suit cards represents a probable yes
3 red cards represent a likely yes
2 red cards represent a likely no
1 red card represents a probable no
0 red cards says forget it. The answer is no.
So what did we have here? 3 red cards and 2 black cards, suggesting that it was more likely than not, that yes, the Repeal Bill would pass. But we had those 2 black suit cards. What else could be gleaned?
The first card out, the 10 of Clubs, is a card of business and far-flung travel and clearly represents the bottom line. Additionally, the 10 Clubs also represents the idea of a body of water. It might be a sink or a bathtub, or it might be a sea or a channel. For the first card out to say ‘The Channel! La Manche!’ provides quite a benchmark.
The second card out, the 8 of Hearts, speaks of a gathering, a convocation. It looks surprisingly cheerful here, there would appear to be more goodwill than so much other evidence suggests. It is strongly suggestive of togetherness (huh? eh? really?) It is suggestive of total sincerity at least, on both sides, whichever side of the argument you personally happen to support.
The third and central card, the pivot or hinge card here, is the 3 of Clubs: a card of confrontation but also collaboration. Three way deals. My goodness, there have been some mighty interesting conversations behind the scenes both sides of the House.
The fourth card here represents a male figure, highly significant in this debate. It might be David Davis, Jeremy Corbyn, or both. Any one card may have multiple meanings. My initial impression was that while David Davis was, despite everything, within his personal comfort zone, while Jeremy Corbyn was faced with a perplexity; needing not to alienate Labour voters who voted to leave, whilst needing to reconcile opposing elements within his party.
The final outcome card, the 4 of Hearts, is traditionally a card of a settled home, indicative of a solid, foursquare outcome. Because this card falls in the final position, this swung the cards more strongly towards a yes answer, denoting a solid but hardly sweeping result, and we now know there was a majority of 36 votes, with 126 challenges and amendments already tabled.
And if you got this far, you might be wondering about those other cards. What were they about?
When a question is so heavily loaded, supra-personal and complex, I cross- reference, coming at the question from different directions, looking for repetition, pattern and breaks in pattern.
The second row is talking about Theresa May herself. I had asked, would she achieve the result she was looking for? Again, we had 3 red suit cards and 2 black translating as, yes, more likely than not. The 2 black suit cards here however, were spades, which are to do with intellect, focus, strategy, loss – and stress, suggesting that while Theresa May will hold her nerve going forward, she is acutely aware of past mistakes and errors of calculation (the jack of spades is bad news, tricky in the extreme.)
The 9 of Spades together with the Queen of Diamonds, speaks of stress and strain, loss, attack and grief, concerning a reserved, pragmatic woman of quick instincts and warmth. It also seems, interestingly, to have foreshadowed the challenge of the 9 Conservative MP’s now tabling amendments
There is no doubt the Prime Minister has felt the sad and terrible events of 2017 no less profoundly on the personal, human level than the rest of the general population, and if anything, more intensely because some of her responses were criticised, and, wherever the culpability lay, because these things happened on her watch.
The third row of cards was looking at those opposed to the passing of the Repeal Bill. Would they be happy with the outcome? We see here 4 black suit cards and only 1 is red. The King of Spades here is Jeremy Corbyn again, or Keir Starmer, but those who were disappointed can be assured that some concessions will be negotiated or obtained, especially and broadly pertaining to business affairs, as suggested by the outcome card on this line; the lively, mercantile Jack of Diamonds.
In laying out the final row, I had no specific question but was looking for a general sense of how things seem set to progress. The indications here are that the UK will leave the EU more or less according to the scheduled deadline. If there had been a spades card at the end of this row, it would have suggested delays, perhaps even significant delays, and if it had been the Ace of Spades, may even have detected an aborted exit process. The only spade card here however, is at the commencement of this row and it is the 6 of Spades; a positive if solemn card, denoting a departure; charting a new course. It represents progress, though of course, not without effort, cost or struggle.
Below: The Six of Swords (Spades) from The Gilded Tarot by kind permission of Ciro Marchetti
The outcome card, the 2 of Hearts, suggests a 2 year time-frame, possibly accelerated by whatever is being flagged up here by the 9 of Diamonds sitting just in front of it. It looks as though, because of the electricity of the diamonds suit, that certain significant dealings in respect of transport or travel, and possibly also power stations, may be settled somewhat more advantageously to the UK than many fear. Let’s all hope so.
This is not about politics, promoting any political viewpoint. This is about learning how to read the cards in respect of public affairs, reading cold, developing skill of interpretation via benefit of hindsight.
The lessons of hindsight facilitate wider, deeper future foresight. Reading practitioners develop intuitive muscle by tackling questions. All kinds of questions. Exposition builds the reader’s vocabulary, and with it, the capacity for more in-depth precision of card interpretation, and context is king.
True Tarot Tales 