Deal or No Deal? Brexit Brouhaha 11

A cartomancy update on the prospects for Brexit

Update on a reading initially posted on this site May 2019, comments based on cards drawn last night, 10 PM, 30 September 2019. I will post the images later today. for readers interested in the cartomancy.

It is looking unlikely that Jeremy Corbyn will be PM after the next General Election, whenever that date will be. Still possible, certainly, but not likely.

It is looking unlikely that Jo Swinson will be be PM after the next General Election, whenever that date will be.

Of the two, Jeremy Corbyn seems to have the better chance.

Brexit, and the referendum vote to leave the EU bloc may seem almost dead in the water, but it isn’t. Despite repeated and further planned attempts to strangle it slowly and surely to death. A pro-Remain Parliament is dead set against it, and no longer making any bones about this, citing fears of a so- called No Deal (WTO) exit while, as evidenced by Jo Swinson’s letter to Mr Juncker trying to ensure there will be no deal by 31 October. The pro-EU element has a majority in Parliament, regardless of the mandate on which many Remain MP’s were originally elected, and seems to hold all the cards as of 14 September.

But Deal or No Deal, I don’t know more than anyone else, and certainly do not claim to. I am a card reader, not a politician, but looking at this through the lens of cartomancy, the twists and turns are far from done, and Brexit may still happen by that Oct 31 deadline. It is looking more likely it will not, and could slip then till Jan/Feb 2020, but it will still happen. This is the big picture. Brexit has now become a juggernaut loaded with constitutional dynamite, and chaos is the alternative to delivering on the referendum result of 2016. Too much has happened, and political reform is now required it seems, whatever the outcome, and whenever that definitive outcome is finally announced to an angry, weary nation in which no-one is happy and Mrs May’s three years as PM, with her ostensible attempts at compromise seem only to have muddied the waters, compounding the difficulties.

Let’s look back at the cards drawn in August and May.

Tweeted 20 August

#Cartomancy Will UK leave EU by/before 31 Oct 2019? Chance is higher than 3+/5. Read L-R. 8 Spades, stuck state. Joker Rx, ie, new PM. (Gemini) Crux card= 9 Hearts. Red suit indicates yes. King D and 9 D. Money talks last minute. Ace Clubs. A deal. New start. GE?

So then, what does it look like? Will there be a No Deal Brexit, ie, an exit on WTO terms? Will it be a rehashed Withdrawal Agreement?

The so-called No Deal departure is the anathema of many Remain voters and the preferred option of many, though by no means all Leave voters, whether these are Labour voters or Tory voters. Meanwhile the Brexit Party has demonstrated its muscle, not only in the EU Elections, but in the UK sufficient that, although the Leave vote was split in Radnorshire, the very splitting of that vote also demonstrated the power of the Brexit party, even though this worked against both the Tory Party and the Brexit Party, such that the Lib Dem candidate was selected.

Be that as it may, what cards do we get?

Does this look like a No Deal Brexit?

Not really. If it is a NO Deal departure, then there is a special European deal on the side. This is not looking like a straight WTO exit. Or if it is, there is also some kind of a special trade deal with the EU. No, this is a beast of some other form. Is it Leave and is it good news for the UK economy ?

Ultimately, yes. It looks that way. Yes for both, 5 Clubs and Queen of Diamonds.

This reading starts as a classic Line of Five spread, where the cards are read left-right like a storyboard. For a yes or no answer, my system is the classic colour system that says more reds than blacks = a yes answer. More blacks than red = a no answer.

How and why does this work in practice? It’s simply a convention of self-programming. I could do it the other way around, blacks are yes and reds are no, and that would work just as well. But this is how I have programmed myself to read them, and with much repetition, like learning to play an instrument, this is how it actually starts to work and deliver accurate results. Perhaps the brain builds new synapses.

The results will not be accurate every time, any more than with any other form of forecasting. Of course not, and prescience is not omniscience, or anything like it, but this is the basic mechanics of how card reading is done.

So, back to Brexit and what it will look like, what did we get?

1 red suit card

1 Joker

3 black suit cards

The short answer is, cartomancy suggests there will very likely be at least some kind of trade deal with the EU, so that it will not be a complete WTO exit.

Does that mean that it’s going to be a rehash of the Withdrawal Agreement then, presumably minus the Irish Backstop? BRINO? Brexit in Name only?

No, it doesn’t look like that either.

This is looking like a trade- only deal, so far as I can see, possibly because the Backstop issue is resolved adequately for Parliament(just) and Mrs Merkel feels she has obtained for EU members some adequate measure of economic surety.

Let’s look at the individual cards for further comment.

That one red suit card, the 8 of Hearts, is representing the status quo, and the power of the Remain lobby in Parliament.

The Joker– cue the catcalls here from those out of accord with the new PM, (says a former Labour voter)- but this is a destiny card, and does not simply describe an actual Joker or clown or buffoon. But if it did, then take another look at the Joker. See the smile. Watch the eyes. They are serious. So is the skill. As an opponent, he is not to be underestimated.

The Joker is a card of surprises. It is the most powerful card in the deck, symbolically. Turning points in a nation’s destiny. My deck contains two Jokers and both have made an appearance in this 9 card spread.

Astrologically speaking, and rather curiously, this is also the card of the new PM, Boris Johnson, as a Gemini subject three times over. The Joker is Gemini. It suggests that, whatever he does in the end, he is completely in earnest when he says he wants us out. And he is not afraid of the EU, unlike Mrs May, and where she had Ollie Robbins, he has Dominic Cummins, one to be knighted, the other held up to public opprobrium. Mr Johnson is intellectually and politically agile, mercurial even, and not averse to sleight of hand. This is meant neither as criticism or a compliment. The stakes are so high, the situation demands nothing less than utmost cunning, or as others would call it, utmost strategic thinking.

There is a saying, that if you love someone they can do no wrong, but if you don’t like someone they can do no right, and this clearly holds true, and has been setting the tone of public discourse since 2016, to little benefit. Where all civility has gone, violence will surely follow.

So, the next card. The central card in that top row. And we have the 2 Spades. Split. Severance. Divorce. This is a Brexit divorce, so if there is an element of ‘fudge’ or compromise, it may not be as significant, or be the trickery into indefinite entrapment that Leavers fear.

This is reinforced by the next card, the 3 Swords. This is in itself a deeply negative card with grief and mourning attached. Our family of nations is unhappy, angry and uneasy. But here, it is also a 3 way plan and again, it signifies a parting of the ways enacted in law. I feel it represents Mr Johnson, Mrs Merkel and M Macron today, and that Mrs Merkel and M Macron will not be in accord re the best way to proceed. The news media suggests this is probably the case even as we speak.

The outcome card, the 5 Clubs…so what does that mean? Clubs is the suit of government and business. 5 is the number of change…and also conflict. This change is uncomfortable.

But as you see, red suit cards translate as yes in cartomancy, black suit cards translate as no, so my cards, rightly or wrongly, have produced that same card as I drew in May, suggesting some kind of trade deal with the EU either before we leave, or immediately upon exiting.

The central card is key, so I use it as my start point for drawing a new line of enquiry reading top to bottom now, asking, well, if it’s not a straight WTO Exit, what will it look like?

The 7 Swords is negotiation and intense effort. It is the card of the ‘workaholic.’

There seems to be a story line here of Mrs Merkel saying in so many words, we can’t risk the No Deal scenario, this would be crazy. (Joker Reversed) The risk has to be detected as real enough and actually, it is. It looks as though Mrs Merkel will say this if she decides Mr Johnson is not bluffing. And I don’t feel he is. But if he could offer a way out that would be more acceptable to the Remain MP’s, he may take a pragmatic view on that, or cynical as some might say. To get the thing over the line and try to heal divisions, which right now are more of a yawning abyss.

That 5 Clubs card is also a reminder that the UK is the 5th largest economy in the world. Mrs Merkel is naturally, acutely aware of this, and she does not let personal pride or vanity get in the way of her judgement.

This last comment is based on the cards. Mrs Merkel is being shown to me as the eminently pragmatic and shrewd Queen of Diamonds, and the 9 Diamonds says…money talks.

Incidentally, Diamonds is the suit of electricity, and may sometimes suggest a health problem of nervous origin. Nervous as in , signals misfiring in the body, such as with Parkinson’s.

OK, let’s try out a pendulum divination, ie; asking my central nervous system to use a movement to indicate its non-verbal response to a verbalised question.

On what basis does this hocus-pocus work?

Well, it ain’t hocus-pocus. It works on the basis that the mind does not reside entire within the brain, and we know things at a deeper level than language, so the challenge is to distract the conscious mind, notice body cues from the CNS, and turn those into language. This language is of necessity, restricted to yes, no or maybe, in varying degrees of emphasis or intensity, depending on the size of the swing, and the speed of rotation of the swing.

Will the UK leave the EU on No Deal/WTO terms?

The pendulum moves to YES, wobbles a while then moves towards NO and starts swinging rapidly back and forth.

Will the UK leave the EU based on some adjusted version of Mrs May’s Withdrawal Agreement?

Again, the pendulum moves to YES, wobbles there awhile, then moves towards NO and starts swinging rapidly back and forth.

OK. So that Ace of Clubs card. I also drew it in May. Classic meanings. A new business agreement. Trade Deal. A new Government. A General Election.

Will there be a General Election BEFORE the UK leaves?

It is swinging to NO. But I don’t know. I keep thinking of that Ace of Clubs card. I don’t see one occurring in September or October and that timing would be exceedingly tight. But, swinging the pendulum again, there’s something here, suggesting however unlikely, there may be one either concluded or announced before Christmas.

When will Brexit be declared as having occurred?

The pendulum is swinging between Scorpio-early Sagittarius

Corresponding dates 22 October-21 December

But the arc stops well short of the later end of this date range. But I can’t shake off the feeling there is a twist to come, or a surprise. The Joker hints at surprises. Something may happen earlier than expected. And that Ace of Clubs can mean a General Election hoving into view, and if that’s correct, it suggests that Boris Johnson has already made a decision in respect of the next GE.

Update: I believe this coming twist was at least in part, the announcement made on 28 August, 8 days following the reading, declaring the proroguing of Parliament in which case that 5 of Clubs card, in addition to its more general meaning, specifically denotes the time frame; 5 weeks. That is, four weeks of the annual conference season plus another week.

In summary, What can I deduce from this cartomancy portrait?

There is a gap here, begging some question not directly articulated. It is very often the case in Divination, that one has to read between the lines and look for what is NOT present in the cards. As a reader for a client, I draw my cards, share my impressions and then I ask the client for their question. Context is crucial for interpretation, and I am but an instrument.

Public discussions have centred on whether Parliament will permit Brexit to proceed, or cancel it, defying the referendum result, which in many cases, would mean MP’s defying the majorities in their own constituencies. And assuming it proceeds, discussions have centred on whether this will be a Deal/No Deal Brexit.

But in terms of cartomancy, what is being sensed here I think, is that there is a third possibility. Another route out.

Excerpt from a much longer article in The Spectator by QC Marcus Howe, Chairman of Lawyers for Britain:

“…to achieve meaningful changes to the WA would require the EU to be willing to accept a massive loss of face. This seems unlikely to say the least. So the only viable route to leaving the EU with a deal is to leave May’s WA unratified in its box and bypass Article 50 altogether. This can be achieved via a free trade agreement (FTA) similar to Canada’s but with enhanced mutual recognition of services, as well as security and criminal justice cooperation.

Since it would take time to negotiate and conclude such a deal, we would need short-term bridging arrangements to keep trade flowing freely in both directions while the details of the long-term FTA were being hammered out. The UK and the EU would continue to recognise goods and services as conforming with their standards, unless and until relevant laws are changed. Most of these bridging arrangements could be implemented (at least in the short term) through the UK and the EU using unilateral powers under the umbrella of a political agreement, as opposed to needing a formal legal agreement.” – 25 July 2019
Lawyers for Britain

Things are mighty peculiar. They are at the same time intransigent, and yet moving on apace.

Back soon with more cartomancy 🙂

Until next time!

Original Post, May 2019

Brexit, hey? Where next? Your guess is as good as mine but let’s take another look at it through the lens of my playing cards, drawn three nights ago, May 4.

Will there be a second referendum, as called for by Labour, The Lib Dems, and a number of high profile campaign groups?

Or will we leave without a second referendum and if so, what does it look like from here?

#Cartomancy reads the rows of cards left to right & also sometimes top to bottom, noting the ratio of red: black cards before looking at the individual meanings of the cards containing extra comments.

ROW 1 Will there be a 2nd referendum?

Probably not. There is a ‘new’ king about to come into play. This is not Mr Corbyn. This is a king of Diamonds, an electric communicator with acute money sense and I always draw Mr Corbyn as a King of Hearts. So, is this is a candidate to replace Mrs May as PM, or it is Mr Farage and any effect of the new Brexit Party, or is both these things, and the same card is standing for two significant (new) figures coming into play (again).

I suspect so. A second referendum would kill Brexit, which would be the aim, and this would be achieved by the ballot design, which would be designed to split the Leave vote as per an idea currently under discussion, but that 8 Spades is a pretty conclusive ‘no’ card.

ROW 2 Will we leave following a successful fourth attempt by TM to push through the deal already rejected on three previous occasions? After all, time and energy are not inexhaustible. Note the Queen of Spades which is clearly here representing Theresa May; a woman consulting the ‘legalese’.

Well, based on these cards, and however crazy it might seem, a deal is still looking possible, and is looking more likely at this point in time than NO Deal; and perhaps this is hardly surprising, since the No Deal negotiating option removed from Mrs May’s tool box.

But WHAT deal? The four of Spades is a tomb, a rout, a retreat. This prospective fourth deal or new deal is not Mrs May’s.

Those Nines surrounding the Queen of Spades represent both the failure of completion on 29 March, and Mrs May’s intense desire to get this deal passed. The 9 Hearts is the ‘heartfelt wishes’ card.

The cards indicate that Mrs May sincerely wants to find a way to (or to be seen to at least) to bring the UK out of the EU (not Europe) but the terms of course, are the issue, as we all know, except for those for whom it is not a question of the terms, but more the determination to see Article 50 Revoked altogether, and the whole thing put back in its box, and the lid slammed shut never to be re-opened. The threat of this seems very real right now, or the hope of this, depending on how you feel about it. But it doesn’t look to me as though it will happen.

ROW 3: A second Referendum?

This threat or hope notwithstanding, the cards indicated there will not be a second referendum, although this may not be necessary for the revoking of Article 50. And I don’t see that, so it look as though we will leave, but when? Is there an underlying sense of what it will look like?

If Theresa May should present the exact same deal to Parliament (shown as the 10 Diamonds) a fourth time, this will jam up the works, suggests the appearance of the 4 Spades. It won’t pass, plus, she may then quit as PM, and a new PM will come in (King Diamonds?) This could happen this summer, suggests the second column as I read it top to bottom like so:

6 Clubs ( within 6 weeks from the date of this reading, or, this is a summer card.

In Summary

What is absent from this spread is the single clean strike of the Ace of Spades, that would say a less equivocal OUT on WTO terms.

Other readers and astrologers are confident in expressing their forecasts of a clean WTO Brexit, even now.

I am probably struggling more than they to see past the noise, but I draw another cards and get the Ace of Clubs. This is BRAND NEW BUSINESS with a broad geographical horizon, but lacks that more black and white binary quality of the Ace of Swords

The Ace of Clubs has another quality to it, transcending matters of business….it’s equivalent to the Tarot’s Ace of Wands. Ignition. Birth, Almost like a rebirth.

So what does this mean in plain English? Well, this cloud is still morphing, but it’s looking like a WTO exit BUT with a ‘special European add-on.’

Or it is a whole New Deal.

For the sake of transparency, I should say that while I would perfectly calmly have accepted a remain vote in 2016, I feel the original mandate should be honoured as a point of principle, according to the self same terms in which it was clearly presented by the government in the run up to the referendum.

Execution of detail follows direction which follows principle.

However, as always, the risk in consulting with any kind of oracle is that the reader will not see what they personally may hope to see, and they may equally see precisely what they do not want to see.

I want to see that I will get outta this wheelchair and walk again one day. So, do I see that in my cards?

No.

I could be wrong, and I never say never, but meanwhile I am living with the fact that I do not see in my cards what I wish to see for myself.

You take my point. The reader asks a question. S/he may have personal ‘skin in the game ‘or not, but either way s/he shuffles and picks the cards blindly, and s/he may misinterpret, and be especially at risk of doing so if reading from a position of bias or prejudice, but s/he cannot fudge the reds and blacks except by doing so deliberately, and what the heck would be the point of that, when time will tell us all what’s what in due course?

Il Matrimonio, bless his ecologically right-on size 11 breathable bamboo socks, says he no longer cares one way or another. He just wants it all to stop, and he doesn’t mind how. And he’d quite like me to shut up with even trying to forecast about it.

What will happen will happen, he says.

Sure.

I have to give this forecasting thing a go, though, because divination is my line of work, and whether I get it right, or I get it wrong, so that I have to go back and figure out how and why I got it wrong with the benefit of hindsight – still, I will learn something, even if I have to fall flat on my face. So what? Life is short and…

I have done a number of readings around Brexit. I’m not being shown a clear No Deal exit, and yet, I see no sign of Remaining either. It is not going to be business as before, however this works out. The UK will not revert to the previous status quo.

We will all find out, *ahem* soon enough, won’t we?

And let us trust, it will be before each and every one of us is rendered utterly and completely….

William-Cheselden-Osteographia-or-The-anatomy-of-the-bones-London-1733-Courtesy-of

Image: Public Domain Review: William Cheselden, 1733, courtesy of the National Library of Medicine.

Tarot Says, Show Me The Money

I may be asked about anything in a reading and cannot prepare in advance. I can only prepare to respond.

What? Don’t I know in advance what I am going to be asked? How crappy is that?

No I don’t. If I draw cards ahead of a reading and ask, what am I going to be talking about with this person later on today, I will generally have some idea that for example, this will be about a job, a house, a relationship. This feels like a worry about children, or a pet, or money. This is about a bereavement etc etc, maybe even a ghost or some kind of strange occurrence, but I can’t know that I have got it right. How could I? I don’t claim to know anything until it is verified by the other party.

Someone wanted to know which re-investment option would work out best.

Option A, 1 year at 1.4 %?

Option B, 3 years at 1.8 %?

Image: The Legacy of The Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti

I shuffled and drew two columns of three cards each, asking to be shown money cards. I always state a question to myself during shuffling. I may do it silently, but this is my way of consciously directing what is ostensibly an entirely random and unconscious process, pulling cards from the deck.

The cards you do NOT draw can be as instructive and illuminating as the ones you do draw.

Option A initially drew The Nine of Swords Reversed, The Sun and The Page of Swords.

The Nine of Swords speaks of past losses, or worry. The Sun is success, also travel and sometimes children. The Page of Swords represents a good decision, and also in concrete terms, a young person below the age of 25 who will often be an air sign subject: Aquarius, Gemini or Libra. This was the enquirer’s daughter, an Aquarius subject, being funded through a course of post-graduate study…teacher training. The Page of Swords is all about learning.

There were no ‘risk signs’ attached to Option A, but there was no explicit money card either, so I drew an extra card and …aha! drew the very solid card of local business, family and community, the Six of Pentacles or Coins.

Option B drew the Star card, new ideas, a new vision, and oddly enough, this card is THE card of Aquarius again…the daughter, embarking on teacher training. Then we had the Eight of Cups —a card of moving on and finally, a happy, nostalgic card of old haunts, children and childhood, the Six of Cups.

So Option A drew a Six…Coins, and Option B also drew a Six…Cups.

Six is the number of family and community. Six is the number of schools, colleges, schools, hospitals, charities and public parks and other spaces.

This signal of security meant he was not going to go wrong either way, despite the fact he was slightly concerned about the possible financial effect of Brexit. Would the UK leave? (The Eight of Cups) This card indicates yes, after a long hesitation or delay.

How would uncertainty impact on the three year plan if he chose Option B?

I saw no loss associated with the choice of Option B either, but just as with Option A, there was no explicit money card, and again I drew an extra card and drew the Five of Wands Reversed. This card is about volatile markets and did not suggest a loss, but nor did it offer an advantage over the Six of Coins drawn against Option A.

Therefore I suggested he go with Option A.

He was intrigued. It emerged that he had already made his decision, but wanted to see if I would concur and based on what reasoning. My comments supported his own assessment and what he gained from this, he said, was external corroboration, and with that came a sense of greater certainty and clarity.

What if I had seen it very differently?

That might have happened, and then he would have had to weigh his instincts against mine, wouldn’t he, in deciding how best to proceed.

In this situation, should it arise, I would always suggest going with your own assessment, rather than taking the reader’s feedback on advice. But being forewarned you may find a way to ring fence the risk.

It is better to stay true to your natural way of doing things.

Until next time 🙂

#Tarot for #business

Farewell Starry Solstice Crab…until we meet again

It is time to say farewell to the season of the Zodiac Crab for another year, ushering in the season of the Lion.

But what does Cancer look like in the night sky, and what is its seasonal significance?

Common associations

Ruling celestial body: Moon (and I pray it is never industrialized, to be despoiled, for in doing so we will despoil something in ourselves that could never be quantified until it was lost forever, repository of mankind’s dreams.)

Key phrase: I feel

Body: The chest, breast, heart

Birth Stone: Stones and metals fall under the rule of planets, not signs, but through its association with the Moon, Cancer has affinity with pearls, silver and crystals.

Colour: White, silver

Tree: all trees rich in sap

Flower: Acanthus

Tarot card: The Chariot (see how it is like a shell?) Control, progress, teamwork, and the harmonizing of different elements.

The Chariot RiderWaite Public Domain

Public Domain: The Chariot, Rider-Waite

The Astronomy

cancer constellation

Stars of Cancer

Wikipedia: Cancer and its stars, via Free Clipart

Decapoda is the head and it’s actually a double-star. Acubens means ‘claw’ in Arabic, and the star Al Tarf is the foot of the Crab.

And if you think it looks more like a lobster, you’re not far wrong. It was also seen as a crayfish by the Greeks, and in ancient Egypt, a dung beetle.

Cancer, Latin for crab, is in a dark region of the sky, and is the faintest constellation in the Zodiac, with only two stars above the fourth magnitude: Acubens (The Claw) and Al Tarf (The foot). Cancer is visible in the Northern Hemisphere in the early spring, during March at 9 PM and can be seen in the Southern Hemisphere during autumn.

It’s almost impossible to see Cancer with the naked eye or even binoculars, looking between Leo, the lion, and Gemini, the twins. And it doesn’t look much like a crab at all. It looks more like a faint, upside-down Y and it’s often remarked that it’s more like the shape of a crayfish or lobster. It was also called the Crayfish in classical astrology, and in Egyptian astrology, The Scarab. But it’s always been seen a creature with an exoskeleton; an arthropod, and Cancer appears to rise crab-wise; not sideways, but backwards in the zodiac. The Sun’s entry into Cancer occurs at the summer solstice,

‘Solstice,’ Latin sol -stice means the Sun seems to be ‘standing still’ as it approaches this point.

Cancer’s faint but it’s got a lovely star cluster glowing at its centre. Praesepe, or ‘The Manger’ is one of two Messier objects in Cancer, identified in 1771 by French astronomer Charles Messier. Its newest name is The Beehive Cluster because seen through the telescope it looks like a swarm of bees, but to the naked eye it looks like a small, fuzzy patch of light -or a tiny cloud floating through the stars.

download

Public Domain: The Beehive Cluster

The Beehive Cluster (also known as Praesepe (Latin for “manger”), M44, NGC 2632, or Cr 189), is an opencluster in the constellation Cancer. It is one of the nearest open clusters to Earth, containing a larger population of stars than other nearby bright openclusters.

Other designations: M44, Praesepe, NGC 2632

Constellation: Cancer

Estimated age: ~600–700 million years (Wikipedia)

As the sign of the Sun’s greatest elevation, Cancer was considered nearest to the highest point of heaven – and was called ‘the Gate of Men’ through which, it was thought, souls descended to Earth to be born. The opposite constellation, Capricornm was the ‘Gate of the Gods’, where souls of the departed rose back to heaven.

The stars of the Beehive were all formed at the same time, from the same cloud of gas and dust around 600 million to 700 million years ago, making them four billion years younger than the Sun. Pliny used this group of stars as an indicator of wet weather, and said that when Praesepe was not visible in a clear sky, snow or heavy rain or even violent storms were on the way. The outer edges of an approaching weather disturbance consist of very thin/high cirriform clouds, which might otherwise not be noticed under a dark, moonless night sky. These are just opaque enough to block out the light of the Beehive.

Cancer’s other Messier object: M67 is much older, about the same as the age of the Sun. Most clusters don’t survive more than a few trips around the centre of the galaxy because the gravity of other stars and giant clouds of gas and dust pull them apart. But M67 has survived for four or five billion years because it’s in the outer part of the galaxy with fewer stars and gas clouds to disturb it.

Cancer also contains a planetary system; 55 Cancri, containing five known planets, with possibly more awaiting discovery. 55 Cancri is about 40 light-years away, and is just about visible to the unaided eye, although you need help to find it. The innermost of its planets is a “super Earth,” a few times heavier than Earth – but none of these planets has the right surface conditions for liquid water, and life there isn’t considered likely.

The Myth

Cancer is associated with the Twelve Labours of Hercules after he went mad, mistook his wife and children for monsters and tragically killed them. His twelve great labours were performed in token of penance. The second of his great challenges was to kill the Hydra, a terrible water serpent but his enemy, Hera, who had always hated him as an illegitimate son (yet another one) of her husband Zeus, sent a crab to harass him while he fought the serpent. The crab faithfully did its best, nipping Hercules again and again, but he stepped on it and crushed it, or in other versions of the story killed it with his club.

Heracles Hydra and Crab

Public Domain: Hercules fights the hideous Hydra, and is dutifully harassed by The Crab

Hera rewarded its loyalty and tenacity by placing it in the heavens, but she placed it in a dark portion of the heavens, and gave it only faint stars. Crabs like dark, quiet places to feel safe and at home. However, its placement is as spiritually significant as it is shy and retiring, both as the highest point in the zodiac, nearest to heaven, and the messenger of the summer solstice.

The Astrology

Cancer

Public Domain: Enoch’s Constellation

Cancer is the fourth sign of the Zodiac and represents those born between June 20 and July 22. It is considered a water sign, and is one of the four cardinal signs, which are the signs indicating a change of season when the sun makes its annual passage into them.

Cancer is all about the shoreline, and tides, monthly and annual, the moon and the sun. The sign of Cancer, ruled by The Moon, is a cardinal sign, herald of the seasons, announcing the arrival of summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern hemisphere.

The Cancer Personality

Of course there is no such thing in reality as THE Cancer personality. This is simply an archetype. Your sun sign is the keynote but it’s not ‘The Story.’

The archetype of the Cancer personality is complex, elusive and riddled with contradictions.

Cancer stands for both mother and father. It is the zodiac sign of the nurturing parent. Tough outside. Off spring must be defended, dangers must be driven back. Ruled by the Moon, moody and ‘crabby’ they may seem more easy going than they actually are, but there is a softness inside. Cancer typically relates well to babies and small animals, all wild things. The empty nest is rarely easy for any parent but can be total anathema to the Cancer parent.

grandgather rose maynard brown

Public Domain: Grandfather and granddaughter in garden; Rose Maynard Barton

Cancer is the sign of hearth and home, and expanding this; tribal identity and ancestral legacy, historical, cultural and genetic. It is the sign of memory, nostalgia, sometimes regrets, and a longing to return to happy childhood haunts- maybe even a rock-pool.

Cancer is highly intuitive, sensitive, receptive, and keeps its cards close to its chest, not so much deliberately, and as a matter of strategy, but because reserve, reticence and secrecy is what comes naturally to the Cancer subject, just as it does to the living creature. Still waters run deep. Cancer sees and hears, but does not speak. Verbal communication is not Cancer’s number one operating mode.

Decisions may be based on reasoning that is neither obvious nor apparent to other people, but is driven by a gift for lateral thinking, originating solutions to problems from angles that others have not considered.

Cancer is an enigma. But what would be a shoreline or a rock-pool without a crab?

VIDEO: The Trials of Life: The Crabs of Christmas Island

Till next time 🙂

Through a glass of Tarot, darkly…the contest for the new PM (again)

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.

Fortune_teller,_Albert_Anker,_1880.png — *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

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 (?)

3 coins legacy divine — *Image: Ciro Marchetti: Legacy of The Divine Taro*t

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.

boris or Jeremy for prime minister cards drawn evening of 22 7 2019

The Other Candidates

Michael Gove

Strength, The 8 Wands, The Empress, FUTURE? The 10 CUPS

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.

Hermit Golden — *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

ace cups reversed — *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)

The Chariot RiderWaite Public Domain — *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.

Back soon 🙂

Double Trouble, Twice as Nice, it’s Two For The Price of One- Gemini!

Gemini: the Heavenly Twins (May 21- June 20)

Most of us know our zodiac or sun sign, but what does it look like in the night sky, and what’s the story behind it? This month it’s Gemini’s star turn.

gemini

Gemini associations

Symbol: The Roman numeral for 2 joined top and bottom in representation of unity

Ruling planet: Mercury

Affirmation: ‘I think, I inquire.’

Birth Stone: If born in May, Emerald. If born in June, Pearl (although it is not a stone, it is thought to be ruled by Mercury) Lucky stone Tiger’s Eye

Colour: Yellow

Tree: all kinds of nut trees

Flower: Lily of the Valley, Lavender

Tarot cards: The Lovers (love, choices, decision-making) and The Magician/Jester/Trickster

Magician Gilded

Image From the Gilded Tarot, Ciro Marchetti

The Astronomy of Gemini

Gemini is a constellation in the northern sky, one of the constellations in the zodiac, the name for the area of the sky we see from Earth, including the apparent paths of the sun, moon and planets.

The Gemini constellation has been described by cultures since ancient times, with many different names and stories. It was listed as one of the 48 ancient constellations by Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the second century, though Ptolemy called it The Star of Apollo (Castor) and The Star of Heracles (Pollux).

Gemini is the northernmost constellation in the zodiac, high in the winter sky in the northern hemisphere, and is the thirtieth largest in size. Gemini can be seen by the naked eye, looking north east of the constellation Orion between the Taurus and Cancer constellations.

Gemini Wiktionary

Best viewing is during February. By April and May, the constellation can be seen soon after sunset in the west. The two brightest stars in the constellation are Castor and Pollux, representing the heads of the twins from Greek mythology, while fainter stars outline their bodies. Pollux, the westerly twin, is a red giant star, 33 light-years from Earth while Castor is about 51 light-years away. A light-year is the distance that light travels in a year – about 6 trillion miles/9.6 trillion kilometres.

Pollux is the brighter of the two stars, and has a massive planet orbiting it; Genorium Beta, 1.6 times bigger than Jupiter. Castor is actually not a single star, but a star system made of up six stars not visible to the naked eye.

Gemini-constellation-Hevelius

Public Domain: Gemini- Helvelius

The Ancient History

The concept of twins in mythology goes back at least as far as the so-called Age of Gemini, during the Palaeolithic, 6, 500 BCE, arising from our understanding of the duality fundamental to the nature of reality. There are male and female twins but many twin brothers in particular in world myth, standing for night and day, light and dark, heat and cold, male and female, war and peace, good and bad, life and death, and the creation myths of ancient cultures reflect this eternal battle of seeming opposites. Many surviving objects feature twin gods and goddesses; a major theme across all cultures.

The Astrology of Gemini

The ‘twin stars’ have been recognised as representing twins across all cultures, each with their own names and stories. In Arabic astronomy the twins were seen as peacocks, In Egyptian astrology they were twin goats, or else the two gods, Horus the Elder and Horus the Younger, while classical Greek mythology identified them as the twin brothers, Castor and Pollux, The Gemini; the name by which the constellation is still known throughout the western world.

Castor comes from the Greek Καστωρ (Kastor) and means “to excel, to shine.” In Greek myth Castor was a son of Zeus and the twin brother of Pollux.

Pollux comes from the Roman form of Greek Πολυδευκης (Polydeukes) and means “very sweet.”

The circumstances of their birth were unusual to say the least. Queen Leda of Sparta was seduced by Zeus who had disguised himself as a swan though perhaps that was putting it too politely. He glided up preening, and pounced on her while she was bathing. Later that evening, notwithstanding this undoubted shock, she also slept with her husband King Tyndareus and went on to produce four children; Castor, Pollux and their sisters Helen (later Helen of Troy) and Clytemnestra (later married to Agamemnon as queen of Mycenae) Pollux and Helen were immortal, fathered by Zeus, while Castor and Clytemnestra were mortal, fathered by Tyndareus.

Image Below: Public Domain, the young Castor and Pollux (Meissen)

castor-pollux-porcelain

The brothers were handsome, curious and shared many adventures. The mortal Castor was a renowned horseman and a master at fencing, while Pollux was known for his great strength and skill at boxing.

Castor was killed in a quarrel, possibly a disagreement over dividing the spoils after a cattle raid, and Pollux was distraught. He didn’t want immortality, not if it meant being without his twin brother. Pollux begged his father, Zeus, for help and Zeus scratched his head, wondering how to fix this, and then decided to place them both in the stars, to be together forever as the constellation Gemini.

The Greeks worshipped the twins as gods who helped shipwrecked sailors. Later the Romans developed a cult around Castor and Pollux dating back to 484 B.C. A temple to the twins was built in the Roman Forum in 414 BC in thanks for their help in defeating the Latins; an old enemy, in the battle of Regillus. The Romans considered Castor and Pollux the patron gods of horses, and of the Roman mounted knights; the equites and Castor and Pollux appear on many early Roman coins.

The Gemini subject in real life action

Zodiac_Stories-Gemini

Gemini is ‘mercurial’, restless but independent minded- and like the Tarot’s Magician, does things his or her own way, whether or not this is necessarily a good idea.

Gemini often has a pleasing appearance; slender, well-proportioned and above average height, with neat features in an oval face. Classic Gemini subjects are lively, agile, sparkling, charming, chatty and inquisitive, but not necessarily easy to get close to.

Gemini tends to change jobs more often than subjects of the other signs of the zodiac, and is better at starting new projects than finishing them, but can do very well in teams where new ideas, agility and a talent for networking are needed. Gemini could be the perfect journalist, TV or radio presenter, columnist, salesperson, or literary or travel agent.

Gemini has charisma, but can occasionally come across as superficial, fickle, or careless, even ruthless, dropping people and projects once they lose interest, which Gemini can do quite suddenly. But once truly committed, they are intensely loyal to their friends and loved ones. Gemini is mostly fairly peaceable, but they don’t shy away from saying what they think, and if anyone tries to back them into a corner, quicksilver Gemini comes out fighting, and Gemini has plenty of physical courage, but also stealth.

Of cabbages and kings. Tarot, toilets, tantrums, and -oh yes- Boris and Brexit. An Update:

UPDATE 13. 06. 2019

Let’s just look again at that line of playing cards I posted 30. 05. 2019 when I was enquiring primarily about the outcome of the legal action being brought against Boris Johnson, but there was a sniff of a subtext in respect of the imminent leadership contest to decide the new PM.

Would BJ be found guilty on a charge of public misconduct?

3 Hearts, 4 Clubs, 4 Hearts, 5 Diamonds, Outcome Ace Clubs.

Translation of the outcome card The Ace of Clubs:

“The beginning of a new enterprise or business venture. Focus, direction and singleness of purpose, the exercise of will. Important papers to be signed, legal document, contract, mortgages, a legal will. A building or institution – government, corporate, public, private, financial, educational, or penal. “

(Source: the excellent Kapherus- Art of Cartomancy)

We now know Boris Johnson was not required to appear before the Magistrate. The charge was dismissed as politically vexatious, and today Boris Johnson was one of the seven candidates selected in the final round for deciding the new PM.

Votes in alphabetical order.

Gove 37

Hancock 20

Harper 10

Hunt 43

Javid 23

Johnson 114 There goes the Ace of Clubs again.

Leadsom 17

McVey 9

Raab 27

Stewart 19

It doesn’t mean it’s in the bag for Boris Johnson. Politics just isn’t working that way at the moment. But now the list is down to 7 candidates, I’ll take a fresh look over the coming days, go fishing in the ether and see what cards turn up, and with the legal fracas out of the way, I might find it easier to see the wood for the trees. Back soon.

Read on for a reminder of the original post, 30.05. 2019.

The Eight of Swords from The Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti

This was my card of the day shared on twitter this morning. For anyone not familiar with Twitter, a tweet is a cryptic communication, limited to 240 characters.

“Tarot card of the day. For precision, there needs to be a context. Without that, it’s plucking from the ether. 8 Swords. DRAMA . STRESS. A problem has me/you/us stuck. Refusal to look or move, awaiting rescue. 8 Swords also talks about plumbing AND sure enough, plumber coming.”

The drama and stress in the ether is Brexit. Of that there is no doubt. The figure in the card stands for the mood of many in the UK, the fear, the anger, schadenfreude and finger-pointing that is happening all over the media. This is all of us, stuck, and unable or refusing to get to our feet, and walk out of the cage, picking our way through the gaps between those swords.

But I have also learned through practice, that the 8 of Swords may also be making an entirely immediate, practical and concrete reference to a very recent, current or imminent issue to do with drains, damp, plumbing and flooding – and it happens to be the case that a plumber is coming on Saturday to install a new loo and sink.

If you draw a card without the context of a question, you’re going to access the Tarot’s mirror effect. It is like blindly extending an antenna.

Does the card you then get mean anything that is timely and specific enough in meaning to be more than simple coincidence?

Awww shaddap. What about Brexit and Boris?

These are interesting times, and I’m sure everyone hopes they’re not going to get more interesting. But the action of a crowd-funded private prosecutor, barrister Marcus Ball, in bringing Boris Johnson in front of a magistrate to face charges of misconduct in public office is simply too precisely timed not to smell well…..pre-meditated…fishy. Despite the fact that this action has been three years in preparation, according to Mr Ball, who says he is now going to go quiet while he gets on with this unavoidable service to the nation.

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/national/17671394.who-is-private-prosecutor-marcus-ball/

Perhaps this funding should be further investigated on principle, in the interests of fair play not only being done, but being seen to be done, following the recent outcry in respect of crowdfunding of the Brexit Party, which has also declared a major private sponsor, Jeremy Hosking.

Question: Will Boris Johnson be convicted of professional misconduct in Public Office?

I looked in my playing cards yesterday, 29 May, and tweeted as follows:

“Interesting times. Dirtier by the day. Cartomancy re the BJ situation. Row of 5 cards. 3 H, 4 C, 4 H, 5 D, Outcome Ace Clubs. Ace is strongest card =no, indicating no criminal conviction. But ‘ties him up’. Ace Clubs = competition, business handshake and also – a cave.”

I was looking at a classic row of 5 cards.

3 Hearts, 4 Clubs, 4 Hearts, 5 Diamonds, Outcome Ace Clubs.

Three red suit cards and two black suit cards. This, in classic cartomancy would very likely be read as a yes, though a weak yes if I read it according to the colour method.

But I have read Tarot for many more years than I have read playing cards, and have learned through a recent reading on a football question, when I got it wrong using that classic counting method, that I am not necessarily a classical cartomancer, perhaps in consequence of this long Tarot training, and that in my readings, the final card can trump the preceding cards, depending on what that card is, and how powerful a card it is.

If I read this as an open question, that Ace of Clubs trumps the lot. And it says no conviction of Boris Johnson on grounds of public misconduct.

The Aces are the most powerful cards in the deck. The Ace of Spades is the most powerful of all the Aces. It denotes years or even decades for something to happen. The Ace of Hearts denotes months or years, the Ace of Clubs denotes weeks or days, and the Ace of Diamonds days or even hours. Aces of Spades and Diamonds are the Aces that forecast in respect of legal matters, so if I had drawn the Ace of Diamonds, that would read as a yes in answer to the question as stated.

But here we have the Ace Clubs, a black suit card, indicating a final ‘no’, and since it is the last card in the row, I interpret this to mean there will probably not be a criminal conviction of Boris Johnson in line with the charge being brought. But it may hamper him for at least a few weeks, and perhaps that is the true objective.

The favourite rarely wins, historically, and some may rejoice at any spanner in his works, but they are not wise to do so, if it comes at such a cost as this precedent represents; regardless of whether one is a supporter of the Tory Party or Boris Johnson or not.

This action will be damaging, not only to Boris Johnson, but to everyone really, by contributing nothing constructive to a situation that is already way overheated, and poisoned with mistrust, which will only be stoked by the overtly strategic timing of this crowd-funded action.

Here is a characteristically forthright tweet from Old Holborn responding to a tweet from Andrew, Lord Adonis:

Old Holborn✘‏ @Holbornlolz 12 hours ago

Once they start, they can’t stop. EVERYONE should expect a knock at the door at 3am.

Boris Johnson may still be selected as the new PM, I never say never. And he could move this whole situation forward. I’m not asking that question, but I’m not seeing it jumping out at me, looking between the lines as I’m asking about this legal situation.

The King of Wands Reversed. It’s standing for BJ. Maybe this card has come up in token of him being up-ended with a view to silencing him. Not with a view to Justice. Where is the Justice card? Where is Judgement? The reader looks for the cards which do NOT appear as well as the cards that do. This card, the King of Wands, flags up a great communicator, confident, often charismatic, with an instinct for money and business, and a firm thumb on the bottom line.

Astrologically speaking, this card denotes an fire sign king, where Boris is actually an air sign king; super Gemini with his Sun in Gemini. Not only that but apparently he has Venus, Mars and Mercury in Gemini too.

This suggests an arch- communicator, tremendous charisma, widely inquiring, intensely curious, restless and fidgety, and yes, capable of duplicity, absolutely, quicksilver, and tricky as a bag of eels, though any politician who was not, could scarcely be expected to function effectively in key matters of state security or diplomacy either, and we’d be no more savvy than a babe in arms to think so for one minute. The Gemini is archetypal of all of these qualities, but also extremely brave, physically and morally, and while they can be selfish, careless, immature and wasteful, sometimes they are exactly the right key to open a particular door. Gemini is the jester of the zodiac, but jesters could tell kings the truth like no one else, and still not lose their head.

If he got the job of PM. He probably could move Brexit forward to a clear conclusion,no matter what happened after that. Why do I say so? Well, because The World card is about the wider world and world trade (WTO?) but is ultimately a card that is all about completion.

The Two of Cups Reversed. Hinge moment of this legal action. Conversations were had over quiet drinks. They toasted on another. But the parties concerned may not be toasting the outcome.

The Sun reversed A success blocked or delayed. The true objective may be achieved – to help assure BJ does not succeed in a bid to become PM. The Sun card is a moment in the sun. A crowning. But there will be no real winners. The Sun card reversed is a piece of burned toast; a cremation- a pyrrhic victory.

The Five of Swords reversed This card is a real stinker and never, but never, indicates a clear or conclusive outcome for whomever instigates the fight, except with a backlash that renders it…well, a pyrrhic outcome. When I am reading for a client, let’s say that client is considering mounting an attack or challenge, I have to warn them, it will drag on, and cost more than they think, and they will not obtain satisfaction, no matter what, even if they are in the right. And of course, everyone thinks they are in the right.

The Eight of Cups. The card at the bottom looks rather like a rear view of the man of the moment, the crowd funded private prosecutor, here to save the day. This card is about cutting one’s losses and moving on. and may also apply to Boris Johnson himself of course, which is why I’m not feeling he will be the next PM.

Politically, I’m sky blue pink with yellow dots. Sometimes I’m pale pink, other times, pale blue. I vote in line with my response to the prevailing issue as I see it, not along lines of party identification. I haven’t decided who I might want to be the new PM, but I can’t help feeling it would someone right if if he does win. Because of this new development. Or who will they come for next?

I looked recently and did not see there would be a second referendum. Or that Article 50 will be revoked. In terms of when the UK might leave, I can’t say. Although the King Of Wands suggests key developments during Leo (late July to late August) but maybe also …and if so, this would be after the UK should have left on 31 October….Sagittarius (late November to late December).

I’ll be looking again, naturally. It will take me too long to try and ID the front runner for PM at this stage. There are too many candidates still in the running.

Last time I looked, 3 days ago, BJ was, despite this new hullabaloo, shining out somewhat ahead of Mr Gove, and roughly neck and neck with Mr Raab plus there is a ‘quiet man’ on the horizon…Steve Baker? (Update: I think actually this was not Steve Baker but Rory Stewart who has loomed suddenly large in terms of TV exposure) There is a female candidate popping up too, who might make the final three. The Queen of Hearts suggests fair haired and this could be either Ms McVey or Ms Leadsom.

This may all change of course. What the cards are doing here as of todays date is mirroring what I feel from the collective ether.

Pass the popcorn. Meanwhile, let’s all try to accord one another a little more civility, and a bit of charity and not choke. On bile, or chagrin, or indeed on popcorn.

Until next time 🙂

When the Six of Wands said ‘Siena.’

Timing comes up a lot in Tarot readings. ‘When?’ asked a recent client, asking about the prospects of a trip…but this was not just a holiday trip being envisioned, but an activity-focused trip with a purpose. The client was also wondering about the possibilities of encountering a significant other on such a trip.

I drew the Six Wands…

6 wands legacy divine tarot

Image Legacy of the Divine Tarot, Ciro Marchetti

‘I’m sensing late next July,’ I said, ‘maybe August. No surprises there then. Summer holidays. Bit of a no-brainer isn’t it?’

Why did I say these dates? The Six of Wands connects to the zodiac sign of Leo.

‘Well, yes, but I’m a teacher,’ the client said, ‘you’ve picked that up correctly…that I can only go away during school holidays. I went to Italy last year and I’ve been thinking about whether to go again back to the same place next year, same time.’

‘Would this to Siena by any chance?’ I said.

‘Wow,’ said the client, ‘not exactly, but it’s a little place not far off. Sort of in the middle of nowhere. But that’s amazing. How do you know?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said, ‘I only feel it. Look at the card. It just made me think of Siena. That rider here in the amphitheatre? It made me think of the square where they hold the Palio. But it never made me think of that before.’

palio

Commons Wikimedia

The traditional keywords associated with the Six of Wands: A Yes answer, Success, Victory, Achievement, Awards, Supporters, Fans, Crowd, Rally, Goodwill, Compliments, Cheers, Applause, Sharing Success, Fairness, Self-Confidence, Self-Esteem, Pride, Good News, Politician, PR, Campaigns, Sales

I’ve drawn this card many times before of course. Sometimes it’s been talking about a car. Sometimes it has told me about a motorbike. Once it flagged up a sports trip coming up for a disabled athlete selected to go to with his team to the Para- Olympics. The Six of Wands has more than once before helped me decide which team I think will win a football match though I tend not to ‘go there’ much in public. I do now and then, but who needs trolls – or people ringing me up for betting tips?

Besides which, prescience is not remotely the same thing as omniscience.

But it has never said ‘Siena’ or ‘Palio’ before. The picture on the card was therefore functioning as a psychic trigger.

And first I had to draw that card. I had to shuffle and draw it blindly and at random in answer to the stated question. That card and no other.

77 other cards had to stay in the pack.

And it is that peculiar, acute and totally unconscious synchronicity that is so typical of Tarot.

Carl Jung

Would I have picked up on this in the same way via, say, an email reading? There’s no knowing, but quite possibly not. This was a nuance plucked organically from the ether, the invisible electric space between me and the client.

Once upon a time I would probably not have even said it, judging it too silly, not wishing to risk it. Now I am older, less interested in what anyone else makes of it. Caveat emptor. The client doesn’t need to tell the reader much, only ask questions, but they need to be straight with the reader, play fair, no funny business trying to misdirect the reader, wasting time and energy.

It is as it is. For me now, to just do this reading thing is all. Sometimes it comes easy, other times less so.

UPDATE: 3 weeks after this reading I received a message from the client, generously wishing me to see an email just received from a contact in Italy, inviting the client to travel out to Siena for an olive harvesting event….and with a group visit to see….the Palio!

Holy Moly.

Until next time 🙂

Cards Shout- Out, Penalty Shoot-Out.

I have been looking in my cards about England in the World Cup. Of course I have, but everyone has an opinion, and listening to the growling and snarling coming out of the Man den in recent weeks, I sometimes feel it’s more than my life’s worth to share the findings even with my own spouse, Il Matrimonio (who will very likely see this) let alone risk it with a wider readership.

It’s the same with anything political, especially Brexit related. The conversation becomes too toxic, who needs it, but I do look, of course. It’s far too important a matter for me not to, and, it’s yes, it’s still going ahead, so far as I can see, looking at it again this morning.

Whether the reader gets it right or wrong, you might not like the answer. Don’t shoot the messenger. Tiberius used to have them thrown off the cliffs. He threw them off if they got it wrong. Sometimes he threw them off when they got it right but he didn’t like the answer. This soothsaying stuff has always had its perils.

I was watching The Hotel Inspector last night when Il Matrimonio came in, informing me that it was half time, England 1- Colombia 1, and did I have a feeling as to who was going to win?

No I didn’t. I was tired. I wasn’t feeling it. I would have to look.

He disappeared into the kitchen to put the kettle on, and I reached for my nearest cards, a deck of ordinary playing cards.

This was the process. Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, while asking aloud, show me England. Will they win this match tonight against Colombia?

Repeat the question aloud x 3 or even x 6.

Pull ONE card. Just one.

Repeat process for Colombia.

Il Matrimonio came through with his mug of whatever.

‘Look here’, I said.

‘Do I have to? Why don’t you just tell me?’

‘I think it’s England. They’re just that bit faster.’

England draws the 7 of Diamonds.

Traditional meanings. Financial achievement, rewards and recognition, earned success, steady improvement, efforts rewarded. Lucky money, wins, pay raise, improved prospects. Nest egg, financial investment, stocks and bonds, e-trading. (Source, Kapherus. If you are a student or practitioner I highly recommend this invaluable cartomancy resource.)

Colombia draws the 5 of Clubs.

Traditional meanings. Action and change. Symbolizes the five fingers of the hand. Can represent working with one’s hands, or making something. It can also denote exercise, physical labour, and providing the extra effort needed to get the job done. Action, physical activity, need for physical exercise, competition, sporting event, job interview, good luck

SUMMARY

In terms of the traditional interpretations, you can see for yourself both cards are positive. This is a well matched performance but England has drawn the better card.

Why?

Because:

It is a red suit card, not a black suit card. This alone is not definitive, but also…

Diamonds are swift. So are Clubs but they are the second swiftest suit. Diamonds is the swiftest. England look likely to win on their speed of attack in the end.

England have drawn a number 7 card, Colombia draw a number 5 and 7 is higher so it trumps a 5.

The match, as we now know, went into extra time and penalties, emotionally exhausting even to watch. You gather that I had by now switched over from The Hotel Inspector. Sorry, Alex Pollizi.

England won on penalties, breaking a long running streak of unlucky penalty shoot-outs that had become a chimera of the national psyche, something of a national hex.

Don’t tell me tribal magic is dead in the twenty- first century. Do not. You only have to watch the crowd, faces painted, sporting wigs in their team colours, hurling their wishes and curses and mojo- power at the pitch. This is nothing if not sympathetic magic in action.

Definition of sympathetic magic

: magic based on the assumption that a person or thing can be supernaturally affected through its name or an object representing it. (Merriam-Webster)

Me too. I pointed runes at the screen during the penalty shoot-out. The runes for our lot were TIWAZ (victory won in fair fight) and WUNJO (joy) and the runes for the opposition were…well that would be telling.

Penalties Colombia -3, England -4.

‘Harry’s heroes.’