Prophecy

Last night, cleaning out old computer files, I came across a cache of notes on old Tarot readings.

Here’s an entry dated March 3, 2003, exploring the question, “How will the war in Iraq develop over the next several months?” You have to remember that, at the time, we were seeing headlines such as, “At the Precipice of War” and “The French Say ‘Non’ to War in Iraq.”

1. VI – LOVERS. Two lone lovers joined together by a fiery angel. My take: the number six is the number of collaboration. America and her primary partner, England, go to war with Iraq on their own.

2. FOUR OF CUPS. Boredom. The world is with us, at first. After a brief period of excitement and unity, people quickly grow tired of news from Iraq. Restlessness grows. The public becomes indifferent.

3. XV – DEVIL. The “Great Satan’s Secrets” are revealed. This card’s artwork mocks the poses and figures on the Lovers card. The Lovers (US and UK) will be shown to be serving their own selfish interests in a major way.

4. X – WHEEL. A twist of fate or an unexpected development will cause the mighty to fall.

5. THREE OF COINS. Talks resume. Collaboration among nations is restored.

6. SEVEN OF SWORDS. A criminal steals away, taking the conflict with him, but leaving a truce behind.

I confess I’m not much for predictive Tarot — I focus more on brainstorming and idea generation than I do trying to foretell the future. These cards, pulled before we went off to war, do seem to outline the general course of events — at least, in retrospect.

I’m hoping the WHEEL’s revelations — no weapons of mass destruction and the torture and humilation at the Iraqi prisons — are even now giving way to resumed international involvement. More than anything else, I hope the SEVEN OF SWORDS points to Bush being voted out in November, despite his having managed, somehow, to strike a truce in the Middle East.

Time will tell. Meanwhile, I think I’ll start posting the occasional predictive reading, just for fun.

Up front: in doing so, I’m just playing with the system. I’m not positioning myself as a prophet, either. I plan to glory in my mistakes just as much as I gloat over my “hits.” Every predictive post will be “for entertainment purposes only,” as they say.

Who knows? Maybe I’m de new Miss Cleo, babies.