CARD OF THE YEAR

This new year, 2011, has the Emperor as its year card, because in magical numerology, 2 + 0 + 1 + 1 = 4, the Emperor’s number. This makes it a potentially good year for building more stable structures and for accomplishing realistic goals. However, as the Emperor is also concerned with boundaries and consolidation, he also tends to require some discipline, austerity, and self-sacrifice.

In terms of our larger economic situation, people who have been slammed by the hard times have had to do a lot of retrenching, whether that requires streamlining and refocusing their businesses, or going back to school, or moving in with their parents or children. However, once these people have gone through the worst and lost what there was to lose, (getting down to the bare bones—after all, the Death card’s 13 [13 = 1 + 3 = 4] is a shadow factor for the Emperor), the groundwork that they lay for the next phase of their lives will likely be informed by the Emperor’s practical outlook, based on what is most secure and workable. While this probably won’t translate into immediate benefits for society in general, it will make a difference in the long run. Although the Emperor may sometimes set some narrow boundaries in accommodating the reality principle, he also has the ability to see the big picture and take the long view.

I believe that the Emperor as year archetype bodes well for President Obama, because the Emperor tarot card seems to be favorable for incumbents. For example, I predicted that George Bush II had a good shot at a second term, because the Emperor was the card that came up when I inquired as to who was most likely to win that particular election. Perhaps now that the worst part of the Recession seems to be getting behind us, Obama will be able to do more to restore order in the symbolic cosmos which the Emperor’s orb and crown suggest, (the 8-sided crown being a medieval symbol for the ideal society). This is also a good time for us as individuals to survey our own symbolic worlds and consider the best ways to set them in order.