2016 Presidential Election Prediction

I know we're more than a year from the formal vote, but I've been hearing so much about the potential candidates lately that I decided to pull some cards to see if I could identify a party win for 2016. Of course, as of now the candidates haven't even been selected yet, and only the Republicans have begun their primary debates. Nevertheless, here we go!

I selected one card to represent the Democrats (I decided it would be the left-hand card for obvious reasons!) and one for the Republicans. I also considered the card at the bottom of the deck for underlying energies. My specific request when shuffling was to understand the energies surrounding election success for each party:

Democrats: World
Republicans: Ace of Swords reversed

Tarot de St. Croix/Lisa de St. Croix

Well... wow!....that was my reaction when I turned the cards over. I find it very interesting that we have the final card in the Major Arcana, and an Ace from the Minors paired together. I'm going to call this for the Democrats, and in particular the woman on the World card brought to mind Hillary Clinton. This is truly someone who has reached the apex of their career, and potentially their life as a whole. It's an incredibly powerful symbol of everything coming together, of profound synthesis of experience and knowledge, and in a literal sense the creation of a new world leader. The constellations represent all of the background support being provided and the bolstering community (at times undefinable to the lay person) that is in place.

Interestingly, the Ace of Swords in its reversed position shows logic and reason falling apart. There is confusion, and strong ideas that miss their mark. Upside down, the sword in this image descends, rather than rising up in triumph. I think it is interesting that both cards feature a deep blue night sky with a background of stars. But whereas the World card feels harmonious, the sword pointing down into the moon suggests the inability to create the sort of clarity, rationale, and focused intent that people can get behind. When I think of what I've read about the current Republican primary debates it does certainly sound like there is already some confusion and lack of decisiveness in the mix.

We will see how it all plays out!

The card on the bottom was: 9 of Wands

Tarot de St. Croix/Lisa de St. Croix

In this card an elderly woman walks alone down a dark path at night. From the vantage point we can see where she's come from: there are the pillars from the High Priestess, and lightening striking a tree, reminiscent of the Tower. She's been through a lot of ups and downs, but she's still walking. In general this shows me that it's going to be a long and exhausting trek to the finish line. And again we have a woman here, which (again) brings my thoughts back to Hillary Clinton. She has a lot of air to clear if she hopes to earn the support of the majority of the nation, one of the more significant issues being the Benghazi emails. But she is a sharp, masterful woman with many long years of high-level political experience behind her. I suspect that she knows exactly what she's in for, and that she has a Plan.

Now that I have drawn my cards, there's nothing left to do but sit back and see how it all unfolds!

UPDATE - 11/10/16

Trump ended up claiming the Republican nomination, and Hillary Clinton did in fact become the Democratic nominee. Clinton was highly favored to win, and after a long, brutal election cycle, Clinton did in fact win the popular vote, however Trump won the presidency via the electoral college. The cards I pulled so long ago were all quite accurate in the sense that there was (and still is) a lot of confusion, disagreements, and division among the Republicans, their nominee, and the public. A day after the results of the election, streets in many cities across the country were filled with protestors claiming that "Trump will never be my president." It's hard when the majority of voters express preference for a candidate, but due to the electoral college, the other candidate is awarded the grand prize. Thus there are also petitions circulating at the moment demanding to either abolish the electoral college altogether, or at the very least update it to reflect modern day America.

Interestingly, Hillary Clinton won support from the current President and First Lady, a number of star celebrates and musicians, a long list of renowned newspapers and news magazines, and many international figures as well (World card). She certainly walked a hard and long road as shown in the 9 of Wands, and the email scandal definitely came back to haunt her toward the end (though it was ultimately resolved to her favor). It may be a small comfort, but at least Clinton can move forward knowing that she was chosen by the people.

What will the next year look like as we transition into a very new and unexpected future government?  Only time will tell.....