Barack Obama’s Tarot Profile – Beth Owl's Daughter Archives

With his exact time of birth in some dispute, many astrologers have had difficulty casting Barack Obama’s birth chart. This made me curious about his Tarot profile, which, happily, does not require that degree of momentary precision.

Many people don’t realize it, but based on the numerology of our birthday, there are Tarot cards that reveal our personality traits and our soul’s archetypal energy.

I have been working with this fascinating aspect of the Tarot for about ten years, and am impressed with the results. In fact, I admit that I am on a mission to encourage the public to become as familiar with their Tarot profile as they are with, for instance, their sun sign.

You can find my series of articles that explores this aspect of the Tarot on Innerchange Magazine’s original website.

There are a couple of different methodologies for doing this that I am aware of, but I follow the guidelines explained by Tarot scholar and author Mary K. Greer (who, in turn, has expanded upon Angeles Arrien’s original proposals in The Tarot Handbook, 1987).

You simply add together the numbers for the year, the month and the day of birth, then reduce the result until you get a number (or multiple numbers) between 0 and 22, which correspond to the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

Since Barack Obama’s birthday is Aug. 4, 1961, you add 8 + 4 + 1,961, which equals 1,973. You then reduce this by adding 1+9+7+3=20. The number 20 is the Judgment card. This further reduces to 2, which is the High Priestess card. So his Tarot profile (or constellation, as Greer calls the combination) is a combination of the High Priestess and Judgment cards. According to Greer’s classic work, Tarot Constellations, this profile is one of “balanced judgment through intuitive awareness.”

In Obama’s case, the High Priestess is his Soul Card. The Soul Card refers to the deep self that is unchanging in this lifetime, and which must be expressed in order to reach fulfillment of his life’s purpose. His Personality Card is the Judgment card, and refers to the personality characteristics that he is learning through his life’s experiences.

In addition, he has a shadow card, sometimes called the Teacher Card, which refers to the hidden factors that teach him his life’s most challenging lessons. For Barack Obama, this is the Justice card.

High Priestess/Judgment/Justice profile people are, in my experience, profoundly sensitive, self-aware, and possess a very rich inner life. They are dreamers, even visionaries, and are often known to be deeply intuitive. They tend to be very demanding of themselves, if not perfectionists.

While they may appear to be contradictory, even paradoxical at times, I believe this is because they are so empathetic and open to the nonverbal cues and undercurrents that other people do not notice. As a result, they shift with the flowing tides of change around them.

To the High Priestess profile, such changes may not always be logical, but are perfectly consistent. They feel no conflict, due to the deep level at which they are listening and responding to information that escapes the less aware.

The High Priestess, of course, is the controversial Tarot card depicting a female Pope. She has been interpreted to refer to the Virgin Mary, the mythical Pope Joan of the 9th century, Manfreda, a 13th century Umiliata nun who was elected pope by a heretical sect, or possibly Mary Magdalene.

Most Tarot scholars do agree, however, that the High Priestess is associated with the Moon, the Hebrew letter Gimel, and is the uniting intelligence, the “bridge that crosses the abyss.” She symbolizes the communication between the conscious and subconscious mind, and is the link in the Qabbala between Wisdom and Understanding.

She is the alchemical prima matera (first matter), the Goddess Isis, and the Virgin Huntress Diana. She is said to represent The Holy Guardian Angel, and is given the title of Priestess Of The Silver Star.

It is ironic that Obama’s bitter competitor for the Democratic nomination is history’s first female Presidential contender. That’s because his profile predisposes him to be a passionate champion for women’s issues, even a feminist, in addition to his obvious role as an advocate for minorities.

With Judgment as his Personality card, his life’s experiences have been shaped profoundly by epiphanies, sudden recognition of purpose, coincidence and synchronicity. He would almost certainly characterize his political career as a spiritual calling. Mary Greer notes that this profile is one belonging to many famous human rights activists, like Rosa Parks, Thomas Paine, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It is also common among “healers, and therapists…or gurus or religious leaders who stress the roles of death and rebirth.”

Referring to those with this profile, she writes, “You have an intuitive insight into the mass unconscious of your time, but especially your generation.” Indeed, this profile seeks to transform those around him, based on the vision and insight he incorporates into his own life.

Another striking aspect of Obama’s Tarot profile is that the Justice card is his Teacher or Shadow Factor card. People with Justice as their shadow card often are very judgmental, often disapproving of themselves and others, and yet are easily wounded by perceived criticism.

But with Justice as his Teacher card, he cares passionately about right and wrong. Fairness is of extreme importance to his decision processes, as is being in command of a vast body of information and evidence. He is hyperaware of injustice in the world, thanks to his own personal memories and experiences.

As a lightning rod for America’s racial divisions, his Justice card challenge is to deal with the problems of racism while also remaining impartial and distancing himself from being defined by them. Tapping into his gifts of the High Priestess, he truly can become a bridge across the abyss – between the past and the future. Like her, he sits between the columns of black and white.

Because they seem so self-contained, yet enigmatic, people with this profile naturally engender profound trust, and often, even casual acquaintances will confide their innermost secrets and longings. High Priestess/Judgment/Justice people are world-class listeners, and exude a sense of serene acceptance, often simply mirroring back to those around them, but seeming as if they know their thoughts. This quality of enabling people to feel heard and seen is a rare and great gift.

It is no surprise that Barack Obama has sometimes been characterized as aloof or even messianic. The High Priestess/Judgment/Justice profile is someone who walks his talk. He is deep, not easy to know, and is rarely casual or chummy. He is on a mission, a sacred calling, and is someone to whom compromise may seem like excuse-making. The energy that flows around his profile is such that he would always be deeply sensitive to the possibility of imminent, apocalyptic change. Most of all, he is very attuned to his own destiny as a bringer of profound transformation.

So.. are you interested in checking out Hillary Clinton’s Tarot Profile? Click here to read it!

Reference: Greer, Mary K. 1987. Tarot Constellations: Patterns of Personal Destiny.
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