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A Tarot Reading for the US in Iraq

by Steffan Vanel 11/08/03

Copyright 2003. All Rights Reserved


I have decided to delay the further examination of the Astrological components of George W. Bush’s chart. I am still traveling in Europe, so I get only bits of news from the states now. The phone readings I conduct with clients in the States, however, keep me connected with the atmosphere there. I am well aware of the view from here in Europe of what is going on with the States, especially in relation to Iraq. There is now the common comparison between the situation in Iraq and what took place in Vietnam. Those of you who have read my book: The United States of America: A Celestial View, know that I predicted a Vietnam type scenario to result from the war if we went ahead with our desire to attack Iraq. My earlier columns have also referenced the astrological factors in the U.S. Astrological chart which are being affected now by the same planet which was affecting the same factors during Vietnam. I do not wish to restate those factors now as that material is available in the archives.

What I would like to do now is to do a short ‘Pentacross Tarot Reading’ for a look into what is going on in relation to the situation in Iraq, which I will do now at this time:

The card for the Past is the Six of Cups-Pleasure. Cups correspond to the element of Water. They represent emotions and feelings. The Six of Cups is a card of emotional balance and harmony, creating an aura and sense of pleasure.

To me this is the positive feeling of euphoria when we seemingly won the war so easily and the sense of danger was over.

The card for the Present is the Three of Wands-Virtue. Wands correspond to the element of Fire. They represent the quality of will. The Three of Wands is a positive fiery will energy to do that which is right and good and positive, to do the right thing. That seems to still be the basic intention of the country at large.

The Challenge or Blockage is The Moon. This is the challenge for the U.S. right now, in light of the present uncertain situation. The Moon is one of the Major Arcana Cards, the ones like the Fool, the Priestess, The Hanged Man, etc. These cards are pathways of Initiation on the Qabbalistic Tree of Life. They are all necessary experiences in life. Some are more pleasant than others, but they are all necessary experiences of transformation at some point in life.

There happens to be another Major Arcana Card which corresponds to the Moon (the celestial Moon). That card is the Priestess, the Goddess of the Moon, the full Moon, the perfect reception and reflection of the spiritual light. The Moon card corresponds to the Astrological Sign Pisces. This card is the ‘Dark side of the Moon.’ This is the initiation where you have no choice, you must go onto the dark side of your Moon, where you are completely vulnerable to all of your previously repressed emotions. This includes emotions which you have previously suppressed or repressed. This can be an overwhelming experience of guilt or fear or insecurity, etc.

This is a necessary experience, however, because when there are things you are afraid to feel, it makes you afraid to feel, period. You shut it all down together. This can be a ‘Dark Night of the Soul’, or a ‘Dark Hour before the Dawn,’ however. It is a time for us Americans to be honest with these difficult emotions so that they can be felt, healed and released into the light.

The card for What Can Help Us is the Prince of Wands. Sometimes what can help you is to see clearly what won’t help you. That is the case here. This is a warning card. If we don’t do our emotional processing it will be because we are using the personality of the Prince of Wands to avoid doing so.

Wands, again, is Fire, will energy. The Prince, however, is one of the ‘Court Cards.’ In my deck they are the Knight, Queen, Prince, and Princess. In my work with the Tarot I have come to observe these cards as distinct personalities. As with every personality they have their good and their not so good aspects. Normally they are allowed into our experience of ourselves during times of insecurity, to give us a sense of strength or security which we feel we wouldn’t otherwise have without them. Many people adapt to them in childhood. They are characters which allow us to ‘survive.’

The Prince of Wands relates to the lower aspect of the Astrological sign Leo. He appears often with people with Leo Ascendant. For those of you who read my last article about the Leo Ascendant of George W. Bush the following may sound familiar:

The Prince of Wands has a lot of fire and will energy. He can be very warm and generous and giving, but he tends to use his fiery will energy to cover up or hide his inner fears and insecurities, with a certain pride or arrogance or superiority. However, it is a false front. He is not as strong as he looks. He is, basically, faking it.

This kind of false, defensive, arrogance will not help the U.S. to do its psychological work. The work of the Moon, to feel and process and heal the fears and insecurities and guilts and doubts.

The Possible Next Phase is the Magician. This is another Major Arcana initiation card. This is the initiation where you must seek to know what is your true individual mind, purpose, will and identity and through that you tap into or discover the true purpose will or identity of Life or God. It is also where you must seek to know what is the true purpose will and identity of Life or God and through that you discover your true purpose will and identity, because at that level they are one in the same. That is when you can do the true magic that you are here to do.

It seems that we are going to have to go deeper in searching to know who we really are and how we fit into the bigger picture. The Moon remains the Challenge, and the Prince of Wands remains what definitely won’t help us, as we go along.

As usual it seems to be a process of learning and growth. I still wish we had a different president as we face these tests and challenges, but even that is part of all of us working out exactly what we need to work out.

Blessings to you all, and may we join and support each other on the Dark Side of the Moon….SGV.

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