AUTHOR’S NOTE: As the 2024 Presidential election cycle enters its critical phase, Republican nominee Donald Trump has been trying to steer the campaign towards policy debate and away from ad-hominem invective. One of the liberal media commentators has admitted that if the vote were held today based solely on policy, Trump would most likely win.

Regardless of all the “MAGA” hysteria on one side and the dire pronouncements of “Communist infiltration” on the other, I believe that public-policy viability is the most important factor in this election from the voters’ perspective (where “the rubber meets the road” so to speak) and the candidate who seems most capable of “keeping the rubber side down” (that is, delivering on campaign promises) is the one to watch. I decided to do both tarot and I Ching readings to see which we should believe. I used the Albano-Waite Tarot for Trump’s line and the Radiant RWS for the Harris series; both were thoroughly randomized for sequence and orientation. (These decks are copyright of US Games Systems Inc, Stamford, CT.)

I looked at four aspects of the question: “Credibility” of each candidate’s stance on policy; “Achievability” of the stated goals; “Alignment (Support)” of each aspirant’s power base; and the “Outlook If Elected” for each one’s proposed agenda (a numerological trump-card “roll-up”).

Trump received the Hanged Man in the “Credibility” position. This makes me think he may have forgotten the lesson of his previous term when his supposed allies in Congress (who were in the majority at the time) “hung him out to dry” by sabotaging his goals due to fears for their own political future if they collaborated. It would appear he hasn’t changed his tune and his contrarian vision is still largely in place.

As far as “Achievability,” the Ace of Swords conveys a single-pointed argument that seems eminently logical (or at least Trump and his team “talk a good game”).

The Knight of Pentacles in the “Alignment (Support)” position suggests that the conservative Establishment (“old white male” network) will come together in solidarity behind him.

The “quintessence” card (numerical synthesis) for this row was the Hermit. It looks like Trump’s support base will stay with him only long enough to see him elected, and then it’s back to “every man for himself,” leaving Trump on his own a second time. (“Deja-vu all over again,” if you ask me, and we all know George Santayana’s warning about the insidious nature of history.)

All of the cards in the Harris line were reversed, suggesting that she is laboring under a significant disadvantage since few people on both sides of the contest truly believe she can deliver as advertised. In the “Credibility” position, she received the Emperor reversed, which might be seen as the allegory of The Emperor’s New Clothes. It reminds me of the “invisible elephant in the room” scenario and looks like an embarrassment-in-the-making. (Of course, almost all newly-elected Presidents conveniently forget their campaign pledges as soon as they take office.)

In the “Achievability” position, the reversed King of Swords looks like the vision of “equality for all” and the reality don’t mesh.

In the “Alignment (Support)” position, the Prince of Swords reversed implies that only the disaffected youth, the diehard “Progressive Liberals” and the Congressional “Squad” will be in her corner, a shaky coalition at best, especially since the “Old Guard” isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

Because I subtract the face value of reversed cards when doing the “quintessence” calculation, which can accommodate both the Fool as zero and a reversed “quint,” and I assign the unnumbered court cards “11” through “14,” the “Outlook If Elected” position came out as Justice reversed. Some might interpret it as a “miscarriage of justice,” but it probably just means that she should not expect to receive the benefit of the doubt from the electorate, who are fed up with self-serving politicians.

When I threw the Chinese coins, Trump came up with Hexagram 5 (Waiting; Nourishment) with one moving line (Line Three) producing Hexagram 60, Limitation) with no moving lines. The Judgment for Hexagram 5 (Wilhelm-Baynes translation) is:

Waiting. If you are sincere,
You have light and success.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
If furthers one to cross the great water.”

This is telling me that Trump should not expect instantaneous results in his policy make-over attempts, and may have to reach out to the opposition leadership (“cross the great water”) in order to accomplish anything. That’s a tall order for an “alpha” type like Trump, and it certainly didn’t happen during his previous term. The original text of the changing line implies that sitting on one’s hand invites being taken advantage of by external enemies. “Caution and a sense of the seriousness of the situation are all that can keep one from injury.” I once saw Trump described as “a bull looking for a china shop,” so he needs all the help he can get with that prescription for success.

The Judgment for Hexagram 60 is:

“Limitation. Success.
Galling limitation must not be persevered in.“

While the text seems to recommend “just getting on with it,” the idea behind limitation here is prudent self-restraint. The advice for Trump is to avoid overreaching and accept the inevitability of compromise. The updated text for Line Three is:

“He who knows no limitation
Will have cause to lament.“////

“. . . it is easy for him to lose his sense of the limits that are necessary.” (Did Trump every recognize any such thing?) If he gives himself over to extravagance, he will have to suffer the consequences, with accompanying regret.” (Here we have Trump as Alfred E. Neuman’s less-amusing brother: “What, me regret?”) “He must not seek to lay the blame on others” (like a recalcitrant Congress). “Only when we realize that our mistakes are of our own making will such disagreeable experiences free us of error.” Good luck with that <cues Yogi Berra and George Santayana “all over again.”>

Harris received Hexagram 37 (The Family; The Clan) from the coin-toss, with no moving lines. The Judgment reads:

The Family. The perseverance of the woman furthers.

The idea here as I’ve paraphrased it is that the strong leadership, loyalty and perseverance of a well-run family (undergirded by a commanding woman) must be carried over into the affairs of state. The media has been trying to remold Joe Biden into the “spiritual godfather” of Harris, who will bear his (suspiciously manicured) legacy of success onward and upward. The text of the hexagram concludes with:

“In the last analysis, order within the family depends on the character of the master of the house. If he cultivates his personality so that it works impressively through the force of inner truth, all goes well with the family. In a ruling position, one must of his own accord assume responsibility.”

As far as I can tell, Biden has been an “absentee landlord” in the “House of Harris” ever since he backed away from another run, so this has to be the handiwork of the political “spin-doctors.” In short, she will have to find her own “inner truth” on which to fix her policy-making sights, and then defend it against skeptical criticism. With the testimony of the tarot reading to consider, this looks like a forbidding enterprise.