For those looking for my response to Barack Obama's election as the 44th President of the USA, please see here.
Carrying on from Part 1 - but this time with the Conservatives changing their leadership between now and June 2009.
a. CONSERVATIVE PROSPECTS.
1. Polls apparent now. QUEEN OF SWORDS - "The Queen of Swords may suggest despondency or sorrow, often due to unrealistic expectations. She seeks a perfect world, so when she discovers clay feet she finds it more disappointing than most. You may need to examine your dreams and ideals to make sure they are realistic."
Changing leadership now would mean a more rational and realistic outlook from the Conservative Party and although this suggests a change would not be on the cards - they have too much, supposedly, to lose - it may also suggest Tories think that Cameron could not, as he currently stands, actually win an election. The Queen represents disillusionment now and may be a more realistic response to cards in other spreads which seem to show Team Cameron not having a very much longer shelf-life.
2. Underlying stability of campaign. KING OF SWORDS - "The King of Swords suggests it is time to start developing your mental skills and intellectual prowess in new ways. It can also mean that a figure of authority, perhaps connected with the legal profession, may enter your life."
As with Labour in Part 1, this suggests the Tories would be the ones in the know here and that they understand the potential that a poll would go decisively in their favour because of an ability to know that their previous strategy under Cameron had failed and know how to put it right. The King represents the new leadership having the initiative and restructuring Tory plans to expand their machine and put more money where their collective mouths are - that is, to make sure any lead solidified under constant battering in the Commons and in the country where it would hurt Labour most. The poll lead would be more solid and more definite because they would be capitalising on it, whereas Team Cameron has built its house "on the sandy land", as in the popular song.
3. Results of any election between now and June 2009. X SWORDS REVERSED - "This card heralds a shift of perception and consciousness. It suggests a moment of catharsis, a death/rebirth situation. Something needs to die in order to regrow."
I am always eager to keep cards upright when I spread them, because dealing with cards in a reversed aspect can be tricky when the position is also ill-dignified (for example, when it refers to an obstacle or problem, the Star reversed could suggest hopes being raised or hopes being doubly dashed, much like the phrase "I don't know nothing" being difficult to parse logically, if not communicatively). However, when they fall out of the pack reversed of their own accord, they are to be treated as such because that's Fate for you. Thus this represents not the end of the line for the Tories - but the end of the line for their adversaries. A change now would mean that Labour would be wiped out on the scale of a 1997 - reversed and that this moment in political history could go down as far into history as 1945 did as another watershed moment. At least a 100+ majority and more - IF the Tories change their leadership to take advantage of what Team Cameron is currently ignoring.
b. LABOUR PROSPECTS
1. Polls apparent now. - PAGE OF CUPS - "When this card appears it hints at changes in the emotional life. On a literal level it can bring news of the birth of a child, or it could symbolise the birth of new feelings."
Labour here are still able to prepare solutions to a change in Tory leadership, and carry forward workable solutions - after all, they are in executive authority. The insistence and depth of the Page of Cups still combines to bolster Labour's hopes enough for a poll to be a viable option. I have a feeling that the articulation of a concrete Tory plan would offer an opportunity to try and demonstrate that a left-wing programme could be workable instead. This may also explain the ambivalence of the corresponding Tory card above (a1).
2. Underlying stability of campaign. IV CUPS - "The Four of Cups describes a sense of dissatisfaction on an emotional level with one's lot in life. Even with little in reality to warrant such discontent, there is nevertheless a sense of futility or depression coming from within. This card suggests a feeling of boredom and even a refusal to make an effort to improve the situation."
The leadership change in the Conservative Party has damaged the underlying confidence of Labour and has also proved the resilience of the platform on which the Tories fought the 2005 election. This psychological aspect means that Labour, even after calling a poll based on the hopes in b1, because they believed they had the Tories dancing to their tune but the more concrete articulation of policies which have not differed that much since 2005 - thanks in part to Cam's loyalty to his own manifesto, which he co-wrote for Michael Howard, despite his attempts to "detoxify" the brand - has paid dividends for the Tories in the longer term. SImply put, the Tories are outclassing Labour where it matters - on the streets - and have wounded them mortally.
3. Results of any election between now and June 2009. THE EMPRESS - "The Empress suggests a period of fertility and abundance. This can operate on a number of different levels, relating to family relationships and children but also to all kinds of creative projects."
This card is ill-dignified because of the effect of the Four of Cups above and the intensification and reflection of the Ten of Swords in the corresponding Tory position (a3). Labour find their base but the inertia of The Empress and the negativity of surrounding cards for Labour suggests that they are caught like a rabbit in the headlights here, a sitting target. The passive nature of this card suggests that the party stagnates and gives up, failing to make a comprehensive counter-challenge to the Conservatives under new management. As the reversed Ten suggests wipeout, this is the passivity and apathy that allows it and allows British politics to move into its next cycle and/or era.
Part 3 either later or tomorrow depending on my energy levels - trying to upload some more eBay auctions to part-fund my trip to the Baltics at the end of the month so please take a look here.
