A friend invited me to contribute a series of tarot readings to a political and current affairs media outlet. I was pleased to be asked and equally pleased to see just how versatile the Eilat Tarot is. These readings took me into territory I hadn't previously explored with my deck.
I won't share my interpretations or conclusions here, since they're intended for her publication, but I would like to share the questions and photographs of the cards I drew.
1. The possibility of war with Iran
What forces are moving Iran and its adversaries toward or away from military conflict, and what might we expect to develop over the next three months?
For this reading, I drew one Soul card, one Time card, and one World card, shuffling each group separately. The cards are read from right to left.
Soul: What human motivation, fear, ambition, or decision is most influential in moving the parties toward or away from war?
Time: What may unfold over the next three months?
World: What material or external circumstance is most influential in moving the parties toward or away from war?
2. Iran, Israel, and the United States
What roles might Iran, Israel, and the United States play in the developing situation, and how might their involvement unfold over the next three months?
For each of the following three readings, I used the entire Eilat Tarot deck, drawing three cards to explore motivation, possible action, and consequences.
2a. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
What is the principal motivation shaping the IRGC's involvement?
How might the IRGC act over the next three months?
What might be the consequences of the IRGC's actions?
2b. Israeli government
What is the principal motivation shaping Israel's involvement?
How might Israel act over the next three months?
What might be the consequences of Israel's actions?
2c. The U.S. Administration
What is the principal motivation shaping the U.S. administration's involvement?
How might the U.S. administration act over the next three months?
What might be the consequences of U.S. administration’s actions?
3. Mojtaba Khamenei
What can the Tarot reveal about Mojtaba Khamenei's present position, his influence, and his possible future role in Iran's leadership?
I drew three cards from the full deck, one for each aspect of the question.
4. Iran's weapons capabilities
What forces are shaping Iran's nuclear and chemical weapons capabilities, and how might those capabilities develop in the foreseeable future?
Using the full deck, I drew two cards concerning nuclear weapons capabilities and two concerning chemical weapons capabilities. I then drew an additional card to clarify one of the chemical weapons cards.
Feelings are so funny. And hard to name.
These I didn’t question. The bawling as the plane descended. The familiarity and hominess of Eilat. The comfortableness of being with friends and acquaintances. Knowing I was home. The excitement of an available apartment and the possibility it suggested. The anxious wait to hear from may accountant. The thrill after good news that I'm able to retire and then of the apartment still being available. The joy of knowing I’m coming home.
But what is this feeling? Not sadness, but leaning toward tears. Trembling, just a little.
Planing to pack and donate and move pushes the feeling back a little, but it’s still there.
What is it?
A daydream has become real, and now its vulnerable.
Six of the ten cards in this spread are World Cards: Death, the Moon, the Empress, the Chariot, Temperance, and the Emperor. That's striking within the Eilat Tarot's structure of Soul, Time, and World. The spread is dominated by larger patterns and transformations rather than individual personalities or day-to-day actions. The only Soul Card is the Daughter of Swords, who hasn't yet reached a conclusion.
Situation:
Nun - Scorpio - “Smell”
Death - The Path Between Connection and Persistence
What passes through change. What remains.
The existing political order is undergoing transformation. Some alliances may end while others survive in a different form. Parties may need to relinquish old alliances, positions, or expectations to create something new.
Influence:
Seven of Swords - Disarming the Foe (Persistence נֶצַח)
Strategy under pressure. Survival through concealment or risk.
Strategic negotiations, private maneuvering, and political risks may shape the parties' decisions. Cooperation could require unconventional tactics, difficult concessions, or agreements that cannot yet be made public.
Basis of situation:
Quf - Pisces - “Laughter”
The Moon - The Path Between Overflowing Love and Understanding
What makes the familiar strange. What makes certainty absurd.
Old political assumptions may no longer be reliable. Former opponents might consider unexpected alliances. What previously seemed impossible may become conceivable, while what seemed assured is no longer secure. But intentions remain unclear, and appearances may be deceptive.
Potential of situation:
Two of Pentacles - Running and Returning (Wisdom חָכְמָה)
Movement sustained through constant adjustment. Balance under pressure.
Cooperation may be possible through continual negotiation, compromise, and adjustment. A coalition among these parties would require balancing competing interests. Alternatively, the card may describe parties weighing different options without yet committing to an arrangement.
Recent past:
Ten of Swords - The End That Speaks (Presence מַלְכוּת)
Nothing remains to continue. What the ending reveals.
An earlier political arrangement or strategy may have reached the limits of what it can accomplish. Paired with Death, this emphasizes the ending of one arrangement and the necessity of change. The Ten of Swords reveals what can no longer continue; Death concerns what passes through the transformation.
Near future:
Kaf - Venus - “Life and Death”
The Empress - The Path Between Persistence and Overflowing Love
Life changing form. What continues through becoming something new.
A new political relationship may begin developing. Existing parties and interests could combine into a different governing arrangement. The Empress suggests something taking shape and beginning to grow, rather than a completed agreement.
Those parties:
Samekh - Sagittarius - “Sleep”
The Chariot - The Path Between Reverence and Compassion
Carried in the unseen. What moves beneath awareness.
Parties with different leaders, constituencies, and priorities may attempt to move toward a common objective. The Chariot doesn't require the forces pulling it to be identical, but it does require coordination. Its movement may be driven by negotiations and political pressures not yet visible to the public.
Their situation:
Ḥet - Cancer - “Sight”
Temperance - The Path Between Compassion and Overflowing Love
Clear seeing within the flow. What finds the measure.
Cooperation would require moderation, compromise, and a careful balance of competing priorities. The parties would need to distinguish between principles they cannot surrender and policies over which they can compromise.
Temperance complements the Two of Pentacles. The Two represents the difficulty of maintaining balance under pressure; Temperance represents the possibility of integrating competing forces into a workable whole.
Their hopes and fears:
Daughter of Swords - Walker in the Dust (Emanation אֲצִילוּת)
Asking before concluding. Listening before speaking.
The parties may seek reliable assurances before committing themselves, while fearing deception, miscalculation, or loss of political independence. They must listen, test assumptions, and determine whether proposed arrangements are trustworthy and workable.
This card echoes the Moon and Seven of Swords. All three concern incomplete information: the Moon suggests uncertainty, the Seven of Swords suggests strategic concealment or risk, and the Daughter of Swords urges inquiry before conclusion.
The outcome:
Hei - Aries - “Discourse”
The Emperor - The Path Between Wisdom and Divine Will
Naming. Where something becomes distinct.
The negotiations may produce a clearly defined political structure or governing authority. The Emperor suggests the establishment of order, but does not identify which parties or leaders will control it.
The Reading as a Whole
The most compelling symbolic progression is from Death to The Empress to The Emperor: an old arrangement ends, something new develops, and a political structure takes recognizable form.
The reading begins with Death and ends with The Emperor. The ending of one order and the establishment of another is a powerful narrative for a political spread. Yet The Emperor can represent the restoration of an existing authority just as easily as the creation of a new one.
The Two of Pentacles and Temperance suggest that cooperation is possible through continual adjustment and compromise. But The Moon, Seven of Swords, and Daughter of Swords suggest it may be difficult to achieve.
My interpretation:
The cards suggest that the current political arrangement may be coming to an end. The parties may begin looking for new allies, perhaps even working with people they haven't been willing to cooperate with before. They might be able to form a new government through negotiation and compromise. But the cards don't tell us whether all four parties will be involved or who will end up in power.
I began this reading wondering whether these parties might form a coalition with Likud. I still think that's possible, but the cards may be pointing to changes in Israeli politics that go beyond the particular coalition I had in mind.
