Ok, so this one’s for fun. Anyone who knows me, would know that politics is not my thing. I do have many things, but politics is not one of them.
One of my things, though, is tarot. I have been learning in recent months and typically the readings I do for myself or for a friend, draw upon the reflections and energy connected to my or the other person’s situation. I do not particularly connect with the energy of politics, yet somehow I felt like doing a reading for the Indian election outcome. So the lack of connection is a risk with this reading.
Often it happens that a reading at the time it is done will strike as not making much sense. However a couple of months down the line I have found several cases where new information/ insight will exactly explain what was going on at the time of the original reading. This current reading is similar to the extent that I cannot make much sense of it right away. At the same time, what prevented me from ignoring it completely is the strong coherent story-line which is rare. What exactly it means, if it means anything at all, will remain to be seen over coming months perhaps. And that offers me the chance to check my learning.
Ok, with all disclaimers out of the way (phew), let’s get to the reading itself.
The question I asked the cards was- “What will be the impact of the Indian elections outcome?”
Please note that I did not attempt an exit poll through the cards, but the question was around the impact. What it will mean for the country.
Here’s how the Celtic cross spread turned out:
- First observation is the very high number (5 out of 10) of court cards in this reading (kings, queens, knights, pages) which indicates a number of ‘players’ in the situation
- At the heart of the matter, or the dominant influence in the situation, we see the King of Cups along with Queen of Cups. The Cups suite has entirely to do with feelings and emotions. And we literally have the King and Queen cards, indicating the role of emotions and an expectation/ aspiration towards leaders who engage with and act upon the emotions of people. It is no secret that people vote based on the heart rather than the mind.
- The unseen influence on the situation (Chariot) is a force of sheer will and ambition leading to victory. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? Almost no cards in the tarot are ‘negative’ however each card has an energy which can be harnessed for the positive or reveal its shadow side depending on the context and other cards. Ambition and will are clearly needed in political environment. On the shadow side, it can make one rigid, unmindful of subtler aspects like emotions/ ethics/ larger picture with focus only on winning and control. This card is the most powerful/ influential card in this reading.
- The recent past (10 of Wands) shows a sense of burden and tiredness from responsibilities. The wands suit has to do with actions. This can be interpreted as carrying the burden of actions, and a sense of struggle attached to that. I will refrain from interpreting this further as that goes into the domain of one’s own political leanings.
- What could come into being (3 of Swords) The 3 of Swords is one of the few cards which has a very clear cut indication- and it indicates betrayal. The position in which it has come up can mean that either in the aftermath of the election outcome there will be a sense of or actual incident of betrayal, or alternately this could mean that a sense of betrayal was a major conscious influence influencing voters.
- In either of the above cases, what the coming future (6 of swords) indicates is a sense of lowness, sadness but also moving towards slow recovery.
While the cards in the circle part of the Celtic cross spread cover spirit, the staff (4 vertical card) covers matter. And here the moment we move to the staff we see several cards of the Swords suite. The Swords suite has to do with clarity of thought, logic and reasoning as also honesty, justice, ethics.
There are couple of interpretations coming up. One of them being that an individual will present themselves as the ‘Knight in shining armour’ to bring clarity of thought and/or ethical conduct. Their proposals and actions will likely receive a openness from significant others. At the same time progress and success will depend on his/her being able to bring a more mature, benign (king) energy rather than a ruthless one (knight).
Another interpretation, when one looks at these cards in conjunction with the earlier ones, is that following a betrayal, or in conjunction with it, there will be a zealous reformative energy based on logic and justice. One cannot ignore that in a vast and heterogeneous country like India, what spells justice for one may not be felt as the same by another. Can there be an absolute justice? The King card offers hope of resolution through its maturity and inspiring image.
If this key to the situation is suitably harnessed, the cards indicate a strong possibility of a future (Ace of Wands) where there is potentiality for new creative and brave actions, new solutions, and optimism. A fresh ground for actions.
It is interesting that the only suite completely missing from the reading is Pentacles, which stands for material prosperity and progress. However the final card may have implicit opportunities for prosperity as well.
I am a political skeptic so the reading in the last few cards confuses me. But I will check again in some months. Won’t it be great to find my skepticism misplaced 🙂
PS:
[**How a player sees themselves/ public persona: Knight of Swords. The Knight brings this energy with great zeal, at times overzealously.
How other see the player/ situation: Page of Swords. The Page tries the potential of this energy, discovers what all it can do and shows openness to working with it.
Hidden Key to the situation: King of Swords. The King is a master of a situation. He cuts through confusion and provides clarity, handling situations fairly and honorably.]
