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The Tarot of War

  
 
Jack Fear
10:51 / 09.05.04
In this Switchboard thread, I opined that Abu Ghraib torturer Pvt. Lynndie England and PoW Pvt. Jessica Lynch constituted, between them, a new archetype for our understanding of War—what I flippantly called a new Tarot card: The Soldier Girl.

This got me to thinking: that there are certain kinds of archetypes—individuals, events, movements—that seem to arise around every large-scale armed conflict, and that it might be fun (and even instructive) to create a systematic listing—a set of imaginary Major Arcana in a Tarot of War.

Ground rules: No overly-specific one-to-one correspondences—e.g., "George Bush is The Fool." Cast your nets wide, looking at the history of geopolitics over the last half-century or so, and find the patterns that recur. Multiple meanings, whenever possible. Try to create new archetypes, rather than associating events and persons to existing Tarot symbolism.

A few examples to get the ball rolling:

The Interloper: An individual or movement, often in exile or obscure in its own nation, supported by one or another of the great powers (at least tacitly) to fill a power vacuum. Upright: An honorable entity with a genuine love for its nation/people; a decent guy with a horrible job; often ineffective, but not for lack of trying. Examples: Hamid Karzai; the Republic of Taiwan. Reversed: An opportunist; interested mainly in personal power; has little or no credibility among his people. Examples: Ahmed Chalabi; Vidkun Quisling; the Vichy government.

Shock and Awe: A display of overwhelming force intended to break an enemy's will and hasten his surrender. Upright: The effective application of the principle. Example: The use of atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Reversed: A massacre; response out of proportion; backlash; the loss of civilian goodwill; the hardening of resistance. Examples: The firebombing of Dresden; Rolling Thunder; the air war in Iraq, 2003.

The Tribe: Ethnic identity, often as opposed to national identity, in a framework of international conflict. Upright: Cross-border alliances based on ethnicity. Example: Those "foreign fighters" we keep hearing about, pouring into war zones to stand with their tribal brothers. Reversed: De facto civil wars within national conflicts, as clans use the fog of war as a cover for settling old ethnic scores. Examples: Innumerable, most recently the Kurd/Arab infighting in the north of Iraq.

Other Major Arcana would be The Cleric and The Appeaser... Do you get the idea?

Good. Then go to it.
 
 
---
11:21 / 09.05.04
You British Jack? If so you'll be famaliar with this one obviously.

The Spindoctor

This could be the person that represents the governments in question to the press, the person that provides different or off the point explanations of situations in the warzone that are 'sensitive' and that if explained fully without any type of altering of the facts or diversion of attention to another area, could highly shock people and change drastically the amount of public support for teh messed up warmongering taking place.

Communications, air, mercury, fast thinking in uneasy situations, falsehood, dishonesty, control of facts, assholes.
 
 
Jack Fear
12:03 / 09.05.04
(American, actually: and we invented the term "Spin Doctor," if not the practice. Still, nice one.)
 
 
---
13:47 / 09.05.04
Wow, thats mad, i thought that was only used over here i didn't know it was American.
 
 
Aertho
20:39 / 09.05.04
I think this is incredibly interesting, but I got some questions before I dive in. Is this "war" contextually bound to the idea of "war" from year 1900 plus? Is this just for shits and giggles, or do we have a divinitory around-the-bush goal? Is this tarot application a relection of the tree from INSIDE Geburah, or are we leaving all that to the side in favor of developing an all-new all-different system?

What about cards like Treaty, or Victory... or perhaps cards like Property or Ideology?
 
 
rising and revolving
07:16 / 10.05.04
It's sounding more and more like a card game by the second.

In fact, I could just about assemble a deck by dragging cards out of games I own... which is a worry in and of itself.
 
 
grant
17:18 / 10.05.04
Our Fearless Leader - I think it was Michael Herr who called this guy "the Golden Boy" in one of his forms -- the righteous, vengeful, bulletproof warrior. The wildly popular or beloved hero who revenges wrongs against the nation. Often appears as an extension of history, with antique affectations or anachronistic qualities.
Upright: Wrongs will be righted, and the forces of good will triumph, after a struggle. Morale as a weapon, or at least a deciding factor. Example: The first image that comes to mind is FDR's "day that will live in infamy" speech, although much of Churchill's rhetoric fits the bill... and there are countless self-sacrificing, clueless-yet-heroic 1st lieutenants in war movies. Gen. Robert E. Lee maybe, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf probably, Gen. Douglas McCarthur definitely. In Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden escaping on horseback. In Apocalypse Now, Col. Kilgore with his Civil War-era Cavalry hat and neckerchief.
Reversed: Charismatic leadership obscuring true ends. A lack of questioning, a triumph of image over reality. Mind control. Example: Adolf Hitler worked very hard to cast himself as this archetypal figure. Lt. Calley, the commander in charge of the My Lai massacre. Col. George Armstrong Custer. In Apocalypse Now, Kurtz.
 
 
grant
17:34 / 10.05.04
The Ultimate Weapon -- the one technological advance that creates unmistakable supremacy in some theater of war. Excalibur, the sword of kings... the tool of death and the crusher of nations. Unexpected aid . A speedy solution to problems, but often clumsy and with unforeseen repercussions. An impossible or implausible wish, either granted or else stated as a goal.
Upright: Help is on the way from a surprising quarter. Science and the application of knowledge will defeat enemies... but often at a dire cost in public image. Examples: The A-bomb in the WWII Pacific theater. The buzzbomb in the Blitz. The biplane in WWI. Napalm in Vietnam. The Predator drone in Afghanistan.
Reversed: Unexpected failure or design flaw. Specifications are lacking a vital consideration. Dead end: go back to the drawing board. Disappointment. Examples: The Confederate submarines in the Civil War. The Sparrow and other supersonic "rocket planes" in WWII. Agent Orange in Vietnam. Depleted uranium shells (more than likely) in the Persian Gulf. Rumsfeld's "new army" in Iraq.
 
 
Phex: Dorset Doom
21:41 / 10.05.04
The Martyr -- an inspirational death.
Upright: Victory after personal loss, your example inspires others. examples: Rourke's drift, The Alamo, the Roman siege at Masada.
Reversed: a pointless waste of life, the so-called 'martyrdom' only inflames the conflict. examples: Palestinian suicide bombers, Japanese Kamikaze pilots.
 
 
grant
18:09 / 11.05.04
I wonder if this one is valid:

The View From Here -- Information passed along informal channels, generally in the form of mercurial public opinion, and generally at odds with official policy or the official version of events.
Upright: The war correspondent, uncovering a difficult truth about the situation. Possibly a whistleblower in the case of alleged atrocities. Examples: In WWII, Edward R. Murrow reporting to an isolationist America from a London rooftop during the Blitz, bombs bursting behind him. In Iraq, Salam Pax's blog and the 372nd Military Police Company's Specialist Joe Darby -- the guy who blew the whistle on Abu Ghraib. In Vietnam, photos of napalm casualties and self-immolating monks.
Reversed: The spook, doing counter-intelligence work, possibly interrogating through torture and thus clouding the picture... whether he means to or not. The rosy picture back home is untrue. Examples: In the Civil War, the Northern spectators who brought picnic lunches to Bull Run. In Vietnam, the secret bombing of Cambodia and Laos. In WWII, Hitler's irrational response to the growing disaster of the Eastern Front. In the War Against Terror, Guantanamo's "Camp X" (and, possibly, the invasion of Iraq itself). In Iraq, Ahmed Chalabi's "we will greet you with flowers" line.
 
 
the Fool
23:01 / 11.05.04
The demon Enemy. The opponent. The evil force of the other. The antithesis. That which signals the end of all you hold dear. That which you hate and wish to destroy. The figurehead of darkness, the Hitler, the Bin Laden, the George Bush, the Pol Pot, the Stalin, the Mao. The personalisation of fear. Always with us, when destroyed is reborn.

Upright - the true villian. Darkness embodied

Reverse - the lies of propaganda. media made villians.
 
 
grant
13:49 / 12.05.04
Civilian Combatants -- These are the ordinary people who find themselves suddenly in a war zone, playing the role of soldiers without actually being soldiers themselves. Not to be confused with "civilian contractors," who may or may not be paramilitary or intelligence workers, these are ordinary butchers, bakers and candlestick makers who have taken up arms to fight an invader. The underdogs, the out-of-uniform everymen (and everywomen). Unofficial and unauthorized parties who can occasionally sway the tide, both strategically and public image-wise. In fact, these forces are often extensions of (or victims of) public image and propaganda. Related to (but easily distinguishable from) The Tribe.
Upright: The partisan or resistance fighter. Vigilantism. Defense of the home. A willingness to fight to the death for patriotism, national ideals, or family ties. Massive, non-localized resistance, invisible but omnipresent. Examples: In the Revolutionary War, Washington's men. In World War II, the French Resistance & the Polish irregulars. In Vietnam, the Viet Cong. In Apocalypse Now, Kurtz's Montagnard army. In Lawrence of Arabia, Lawrence's army of Arabian nomads.
Reversed: Civilian casualties. Innocent targets, especially as used by media outlets to form public sympathy or create public reaction. Irrational disgust and fear. Pawns die for the sake of Knights and Kings. Propaganda working against its originators. Conscience as a weapon. Examples: In the Civil War, every Southern city marched on by General Sherman. In World War II, the residents of London, Dresden, Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and the concentration camp internees. In Vietnam, the victims of My Lai. In Iraq, bombing victims at the Baghdad bazaar, and possibly Nick Berg, the communications contractor beheaded by Al Qaeda.
 
 
Digital Hermes
18:39 / 13.05.04
Another idea:

CAUSE

A card representing the ostensible reason for any war to happen. Defending the country, helping other nations, possibly religous reasons as well.

Upright: Clear, moral purpose. Example: Canada's peacekeeping missions.

Reverse: Ambigous or hidden causes. The assumption of morality, but not necessarily the reality of it. Example: Both Iraqi wars.
 
 
cusm
16:33 / 14.05.04
Guerrilla Warfare

Fighting against a superior organized foe through use of disorganized hit and run tactics. Unconventional warfare practices.
Upright: Success through indirect or small strikes at supply lines, keeping one's forces hidden and striking by suprise. Cleverness and skill in strategy. Damage through attrition.
Reversed: Terrorism, suicide bombers, and similar desparate measures. Having become so much the underdog as to loose hope and embrace even the most unethical tactics. Fighting as one with nothing left to loose.
 
 
cusm
16:39 / 14.05.04
Mutually Assured Destruction

Peace maintained through threat of complete destruction of both parties, should conflict begin. Example: USA and cold war era Russia.
Upright: Peace is maintained, wisdom in avoiding conflict is seen. Peace through mutual respect of strength.
Reversed: Escalation of arms, unstable peace leading to inevitable conflict. Cold War.
 
 
Digital Hermes
05:29 / 19.05.04
I know this was never meant to be a direct one-to-one modification of existing Tarot, but with all of the cards that have since been created, do you think that might be possible? I think we've got a lot of major arcana and court cards here, at least possibly.

Just to go back to the thread summary, 'the force that gives us meaning' as War. War, some may argue, is not a constant state, rather one of constant flux, never staying in one place, much like the Fool canters from one card to the next along the major arcana, finally leaping of the last cliff, into The Universe. So to tie up this ramble into something coherent, what about trying to see if some of these archetypal forces we have created/identified can be loosely strung together into a path, or narrative?

Which isn't to say that the narrative isn't cyclical, or more moebius-like then that. Or to rule out the creation of other cards. Just wanted to see what happened if we ran further with the Tarot concept. Thoughts?
 
 
Warewullf
14:23 / 23.05.04
The Liberal
Upright: The one who resists the war. The one who sees no justification whatsoever for bloodshed. Will say whatever it takes to get one's pont across.

Reversed: The supreme waste of time. No one is listening. You will humoured, but only to a point.
 
 
Shanghai Quasar
19:59 / 23.05.04
What definition of Liberal are you going on for that? It sounds more like "The Home-Front Opposition" or something along those lines. One can be Liberal (or may even liberal) and support a given war effort, methinks.
 
 
Warewullf
22:20 / 23.05.04
Well, I meant it a sarcastic, making-fun-of-pro-war-people-who-say-"liberal"-as-an-insult kind of way.

On reflection, it does need a better name...
 
 
macrophage
22:31 / 23.05.04
Soldier of Fortune - the magazine for survivalists and corporate-miltary complex stooges alike. Viva! I don't know if you can still get it at newsagents in the UK. Who can beat the double page spread within of an atlas of the world with all wars highlighted. There's sommat like 30 odd wars a year going on that level - quite illuminating. Fuck, I talk some rubbish at times! War Without End it seems. Someone said that "War Is The Father Of All Things" - can't remember whom though.
 
 
grant
14:01 / 24.05.04
On reflection, it does need a better name...

I'd suggest either The Pacifist or Dissent.
 
 
Jack Fear
01:25 / 27.05.04
Digital Hermes: You can do what you like with the idea: for myself, I'm not looking for a functional deck, just a set of mental tools to help me contextualize and process these nightmares of history.

Online religion zine Killing the Buddha gets what I'm talking about in this look at the iconography of this Iraq war: Our Lady of Minor Hostilities.

(KtB an interesting take on the aesthetics of the Abu Ghraib photographs, as well.)

BTW: "War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning" is the title (and thesis) of a book by journalist Chris Hedges. I could only bring myself to use it by enclosing it in "scare quotes"--not becausse it's untrue, but because I deperately wish it were.
 
  
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