I’ve been thinking about doing the divination for the US presidential election for some time. In 2016, this blog didn’t exist, and I didn’t do a prediction. I did draw cards for myself, though, and got the 8 of Pentacles and a reversed 9 of Pentacles. Because I often read the 9 of Pentacles as a strong card for women, and because I don’t tend to read reversals as negative, I thought maybe that was a good sign for Hillary Clinton. And we all know how that worked out.
So, before doing this very consequential drawing, there were a number of issues to address:
How do I set aside my (very definite) bias?
What am I going to do about reversals this time?
If the results are ambiguous, how will the cards express that?
What if one person appears to win on Election Day, only for another to overtake him by the time results are certified? What if one of them gets covid (for the first time, or again) after the election? What if one person cheats? What if ‘one person’ refuses to leave office? What if what if what if?!
The first question - how do I set aside my bias - was by far the most important. I have practice doing this, and there are two things that help me: 1) Meditation. It’s a cliché, but if you have a talkative mind, meditation really does help quiet it down. 2) “Priming the pump”. This is a technique I teach in the Living Tarot course. It means, I think in advance about what a variety of cards might mean if I draw them. “This card will definitely mean victory. This card will definitely mean defeat.” I may not end up drawing the cards I pin down like this in advance, but it sets up an understanding between me and the deck. And that does reduce the amount of squidgy thinking and projection that could go into the reading.
For the rest: I decided to eliminate reversals altogether by righting the cards and using a shuffle that would preserve that state. Ambiguity? always an issue, but I decided each candidate would get just one card, to represent their ultimate outcome from the election; i.e., whether they would be sworn into office on January 20, 2021. No matter what happens between then and now. And if things get weird around Election Day, well, I would have a card for Election Day where that weirdness could express itself. And I would have a last card, a just-in-case fourth card, for actions my partisan self could take if the divination did not favor my personal preference.
Finally, I reminded myself: The cards are always right; only the interpreter can be wrong.
THE RESULTS:
All righty then! First of all, may I say how much I appreciate having a non-ambiguous result. For this I thank my thrice-great boss, praised be he. I did the reading during Mercury hour and asked for his assistance, knowing I could not do this alone. ἑρμηνεῦ παντῶν! φιλἐ θνητοῖς ἐν ὰνάγκαις!
OK, back to English. You do not need to be a tarot reader to interpret these cards, especially the ones I drew for the candidates. The most striking one is Trump’s card, the dolorous 5 of Cups. It is literally known as the Lord of Disappointment. Loss is the primary concept that goes with this card, and it is loss that is obvious to the person who is doing the losing. While the two cups behind the figure do represent having reserves - after all, we know that Donald Trump is never going to be homeless no matter how many millions he loses - the figure experiences his loss as catastrophic. I think we can say we are done with winning, winning, so much winning here. (Esoterically speaking, the 5 of Cups corresponds to Scorpio I, which represents the period from October 23rd to November 2nd this year - literally up to the day before election; make of that what you will.)
Biden’s card is the Knight of Pentacles. All knights are on the move, but I call this one “the knight who moves by staying in one place”. That could well represent someone who already lives in Washington and is going to continue living in Washington, but with a change of station. The Knight of Pentacles represents steadiness, dedication, hard work, and attention to the details. He’s also a little boring, and he probably doesn’t get enough credit for what he does. This makes sense. Biden has his work cut out for him, and frankly, boring sounds great after the last four years.
Election Day looks fraught: the Knight of Swords. Tempers are going to run very high, and the lawyers are going to be going at it so hard that we may have to re-name November 4th “Litigation Day”. That said, it does not look like the long, drawn-out process I personally have been fearing (cf. Bush v. Gore, 2000). It looks very unpleasant and contentious, but with a definite endpoint. Interestingly, Inauguration Day falls right in the heart of the time period associated with the Knight of Swords, which is January 10th to February 8th; the day itself is January 20th, the Sun’s ingress into Aquarius.
So that’s the main rundown. Looks like a tough Election Day for everybody - stock up on Xanax! - resulting ultimately in what I would characterize primarily as a Trump loss, secondarily as a Biden win. If I am wrong, well, I promise to do a deep investigation into my assumptions, method, and interpretive style. Because….all together now…
The cards are always right; only the interpreter can be wrong.
As for my personal “action” card, it’s a pretty nice one: Stay hopeful, stay true to your ideals, keep looking toward Inauguration Day.
Will this reading keep me from being on the edge of my seat, from Election Day until, whatever we call it, Results Certification Day? No! And it probably won’t keep you from being on the edge of yours either. However, for the moment, let us take a deep breath, thank our divinatory gods for their favor and indulgence, and say, together: It is going to be OK.