“Making It Real” — The Tarot Talks About Female Presidents
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Although it may not happen during this election cycle, the United States will eventually have a female President; even I, as an “Old White Male,” can see that the paradigm has pretty much run its course. (This time around, the likely Democratic nominee is not a particularly strong candidate if performance [or nonperformance] as Vice President is any indication, even though her frequently-erratic opponent is scorned by the more thoughtful voters on all sides).
I did a reading to explore what it would take for her — I don’t see a “them” in the foreseeable future — to make substantial gains in acceptance among the four major demographics of the general population: the Merchant Class (both business owners and their white-collar employees); the well-off Elite Class (I’m tempted to call them the “Effete Class” because luxury has made them soft, but I guess even they deserve a little “political correctness” from this curmudgeon); the Academic Class of educators and administrators; and the Working Class (basically everyone else who is a “wage-slave” or lower).
I used two decks for this reading. I removed the court cards from Deck #1, shuffled them (allowing for reversals) and dealt four cards from right-to-left in a line representing Fire (Merchant Class); Water (Elite Class); Air (Academic Class); and Earth (Working Class with its commonplace manual disciplines). Note that I subsumed the military under Earth along with the blue-collar workers, rather than under Air (the suit of Swords was at one time emblematic of soldiery), while I left students in the Air category even though they are for the most part mundanely plebeian and not patrician in their makeup.
Next, from Deck #2, I chose a card to identify the female President. I decided on the Queen of Swords because the individual will ideally be sharp, forthright, tough-minded and eminently rational in order to make the strongest impression on both the populace and the “good-old-boy” network in Congress. (We certainly haven’t seen anyone like that in national politics for quite a while.) I left this card in the deck for the shuffle.
I shuffled Deck #2, allowing for reversals, and began dealing cards from right-to-left beneath the four “Class” cards, continuing until the Queen of Swords turned up. Its position showed which class would be most amenable to her persuasions. I wasn’t surprised that it was the Academic Class, where the battle for the “hearts and minds” of the leaders of tomorrow is most pitched. The Queen came up reversed, suggesting the need for a nuanced approach in which she doesn’t immediately tip her hand.
She will obviously have to make an overture to the other classes as well. The Princess of Wands reversed in the “Merchant Class” position implies that they are leery of regulation and will keep some distance from her while still giving her the benefit of the doubt. The Prince of Swords in the “Elite Class” position shows that the wealthy and powerful won’t cut her much slack, especially the young entrepreneurs and the stock market. The Prince of Cups in the “Working Class” position wants to like her but will be put off by her cold, calculating manner; she represents everything they distrust about politicians. The Princess and Princes impart a “younger” complexion to all classes except the academics, the stereotypical “graybeards.”
I then had to populate the “Logistics” string to convey how she might proceed in terms of “Presentation” and “Substance,” with the last card implying the “Reception” she will most likely receive for her efforts. Since there was a large population of cards beneath the Queen of Swords (it appeared late in the pull), I decided to take the three cards immediately under the Queen and place them in a column above the “Academic Class” position.
It is extremely interesting (and telling) that the randomly-pulled court card from Deck #1 that represents the Academic Class is also the Queen of Swords, and it is reversed as well. This informs us that “Madame President” speaks their language, so there will be no need to mount an intellectual offensive in that quarter. However, it does hint at the possibility of “back-room” collusion on matters of public education.
The 6 of Wands (“Victory”) reversed in the “Presentation” position reminds me of a “banked fire.” She will have to rein in the overheated pre-election rhetoric (that is, avoid further polarizing the nation over the fact of her triumph) if she is to command universal respect, which would seem to be “no sweat” for the perfect Ice Queen. (For what it’s worth, I liken the reversed orientation of the Waite-Smith 6 of Wands to “Humpty Dumpty” [i.e. experiencing a brutal fall from a horse]; I wouldn’t go down that road with the Thoth card.)
The Moon in the “Substance “ position cautions that she should not lean too heavily on her “mystique,” which is not a plot the austere Queen of Swords would be expected to hatch anyway (unless it’s only a charming but insincere means to an end). A more dangerous implication is that she may come across as confused (or perhaps just inscrutable) in matters of public policy, particularly regarding the social agenda. It could also reflect a “crisis of confidence” in her honesty, or possibly deception by supposed allies. The Moon in this instance seems to be more about standing in quicksand than “walking on water.”
The Hermit reversed in the “Reception” position indicates that she may very well wind up politically isolated by the end of her term as her more “lunar” proposals are singled out and neutralized one-by-one by hard-line adversaries. The platitude “It’s lonely at the top” seems to suit this card to perfection. As “the first of her kind” she should expect no better from the Establishment. This is not to propose that she won’t serve out her Constitutional mandate (I would expect to see the Tower or maybe the Hanged Man for that), just that she won’t garner widespread popular support and probably won’t win re-election as a marginalized “maverick.” Something similar occurred in the Trump administration; self-serving Congressional Republicans were signaling “It’s every man for himself!” while deserting Trump’s ship for fear of losing their own re-election bid due to negative publicity and “guilt by association.”
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on July 25, 2024.
