A Tarot Reading for America

As the American political season draws to a close I find myself more and more disheartened. That is not because I feel that a particular candidate may win or lose, it because I fear the behavior I have seen in my fellow Americans over the last few months.

Never have I seen so much anger, mistrust and rudeness amongst human beings as I have during this campaign season. Maybe I've been sheltered - I've never lived in a war zone or a refugee camp.

But to see American adults behaving like rude spoiled children is frightening.

I fear the situation will be no better after the elections - whoever wins will not receive the mandate of the people.

On January 1, 2012 I predicted a close election, and the likelihood of an Obama victory. Now it seems too close to call.

Partially for fun, and partially to try to get some spiritual clarity, I thought it would be interesting to do a tarot reading on the elections, and the emotional state of the union. Obviously, it is not the best use of tarot to try to read for a large nation of people - tarot speaks better to the individual or small group. But, I always love to experiment, and to do so with a light heart. So, here goes…

First, I pulled cards for the election outcome. I pulled one card for each candidate.

Q: Will Obama win?
A: Eight of Cups.

Q: Will Romney win?
A: Strength Reversed.

Uh oh - this almost looks like another "hanging chad" incident, or an incident of voter fraud. These cards are not particularly clear in terms of whose victory it will be - again, some things are just too close to call. We see Obama walking away and Romney out-of-control angry. It will be interesting to see how these cards manifest on Election Day.

So, let's take a look at the country.

Q: What would the country look like with an Obama second term?
A: Two of Wands Reversed.

Well, that's not good. Obama seems to be unable to renew our sense of hope for the future.

Q: What would the country look like under a Romney presidency?
A: Page of Pentacles Reversed.

Gosh, that is even worse. Apparently Romney would not be able to bring us the economic recovery he has promised.

So neither candidate has what it takes to bring us to a place of hope and prosperity in the next four years. Maybe that is because we, as Americans, must be the ones to restore hope. Maybe it is all up to us.

Next question, then…

Q: What can each one of us do to make things better for everyone?
A: Six of Cups.

Remember the manners we were taught as children. Be generous and loving. Serve others. Act in love. Now that makes a lot of sense!

Q: What will it take to bring balance and cooperation back in our society?
A: The Emperor.

Hmm - Traditionally, the Emperor is a political leader who is responsible, strong and respected. The cards have shown that neither candidate may be able to fill those shoes. Could this indicate a new hope coming from a candidate in 2016? Or, could it be something else entirely?

Given the weak field of politicians, I just had to ask…

Q: Where are we going to find one of those?
A: Two of Cups.

This is the card of perfect love, perfect partnership, and the healing power of love. It may be that we cannot look to others for leadership. It may be that each of us needs be our own Emperor, and embody those values of personal responsibility, and responsibility to the community.

Each of us needs to be a leader in the lessons of love.

These troubled political times may be the precursor to our spiritual evolution. Call it the Mayan Prophesy, call it anything you want. Now may indeed be the time that calls us to our ascension.

We must each learn to let love be the primary energy with which we operate. We must each take responsibility for ourselves, and for our community. Only then will there be harmony in our country, and peace on our planet.

We must stop looking for someone or something to save us, and begin to save ourselves.

Whoever becomes the next president will be the administrator of the nation, but only love can rule.

The Power of Words

This year's elections have been very focused on the words candidates say. Obama's "You didn't build that" became the focus of the GOP convention. Romney's "binders full of women" is only one of many gaffes that make us wonder if politicians are simply misspeaking under pressure as we all do, or if their slips are more, shall we say, Freudian.

More and more the focus of political rhetoric seems to be less about policy and intent, and more about the actual words candidates choose.

I have always been fascinated by words, and the power they hold. In a tarot reading, the proper choice of words is critical. I know what I see, but if I couldn't say what I see in a way that shares my vision with my client the reading would have very little value.

As a child I was told to tell bullies that "Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me." Now, social media gives bullies so much power that it seems the words they choose are contributing to the suicides of their victims.

As a young adult, I worked for a very progressive organization. Long before work-place sensitivity training was mandatory in many companies we would attend a workshop called "Words that Hurt People." Back then, it was suggested that calling grown women "girls" was hurtful. Racial slurs were hurtful. I am sure there would have been a whole section on using the word "illegal" as a noun.

As I began to study energy healing and metaphysics, I learned that words have magickal power. Chants, incantations, prayers, invocations and sacred words all carry power. Speaking sacred words with intention can cause healing and transformation.

Flashing back on the concept of words that hurt people, I begin to wonder if hateful words are more than "politically incorrect." I wonder if hateful words do energetic damage in the same way that sacred words create healing.

Where do words get their power? When musicians use the "n" word in their lyrics, do they disempower that word's ability to cause them harm? Do we ourselves imbue words with positivity or negativity?

The Bible has something to say about the spiritual nature of words. The gospel of John begins with these profound words: "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." Nowadays evangelists suggest that the "word" was a reference to the Bible as the literal word of God. To me, this makes no sense because the gospel was written long before what is now known as the Holy Bible was assembled. So then, what is this "word" that is in fact "God"? Could this be simply another reference to the sacred power of words?

Leonard Bernstein wrote a song popularized by Pete Seeger called "Words, Words, Words." The lyrics speak about our power to change the world with words.

"Words, words, words
On cracked old pages
How much of truth remains?
If my mind could understand them,
And if my life pronounced them,
Would not this world be changed?"

Some people will say that discussing the power of words is silly. To them, it is all about semantics. Whether you refer to someone as an "Illegal" or an "undocumented worker," or a "woman" or a "girl" doesn't really matter, they say. It all means the same thing.

I disagree. Each word has its own energy. The energy between "girl" and "woman" differs greatly.

So many spiritual cultures across the planet use words, tones and utterances in a holy way. If those utterances matter, perhaps every utterance matters.

So what happens when we speak a word in anger? What happens when we simply misspeak? We are all human. Part of being human is saying things we don't mean, and saying things we regret. But if we strive to be aware of the energy we send into the world, and strive to be responsible for the words we say, we will spread more healing than hurt.

On both a political level and a spiritual level words do have power. What a wonderful gift we all have; the ability to use our words to create our world.