Print Article for : Pretty Willie My Good Thing

Your Online Guide » Arts & Humanities » Tarot Card

[P638]Pretty Willie My Good Thing

by Samantha Srillian, Sam

One of the more common means of telling fortunes and offering insights into the past and future is the tarot. Tarot cards first originated in Italy in the first half of the fifteenth century as a card game, used purely for recreation. This early game was something like the modern game of Bridge. The use of tarot cards for divination is first recorded in the early 1700s and by the end of the 18th century; changes were made to tarot cards to make them more useful for divination and esoteric meanings. Originally, tarot cards had no connection to the occult, and this link is a more modern one than the cards themselves. The specifics of the modern cards, designed for esoteric purposes, have their basis in the 19th century Order of the Golden Dawn.

Tarot cards are separated into one major arcana and five suits, namely: The Major Arcana, The Suit of Wands, The Suit of Coins, The Suit of Cups, and the Suit of Swords.

The suits are separated as well. Their points' worth and specific meanings are determined by being one of Oudlers/Trulls, Kings, Queens, Cavaliers, Jacks, or Others. Oudlers and Kings have the same value; the others from Queens to Jacks are worth one point less than their predecessors.

Despite this, the English-speaking world pays more attention to the divinatory meanings of the cards, which will be tackled in the next area.

Every card has a different meaning, depending upon what the card's suit is, and if it is part of the Minor or Major Arcana. All of the Tarot cards are numbered, so each card serves a reader with a specific numerological value which can be interpreted during divination practices. Furthermore, the meanings of the cards evolve depending upon where the cards appear in a reading, as well as what kind of card layout is used. The cards are read both singularly and together to get a complete reading. The most popular layouts are the three card spread and the Celtic Cross.

Many tarot readings are done face to face. You can find someone who reads tarot cards in your local area by searching online, checking local listings or asking at an occult bookshop. You should come prepared with a question or query much of the time, and may find that while you can gain some useful insights from a reading, it is more a perceptive tool than a truly esoteric one. Each tarot reader has their own preferences with regard to how they lay out cards and read them; however, you can reasonable expect that a more complex and time consuming reading will be more costly.

Telephone readings are generally more available than the street readings. A simple Google search will provide one with more options than one can normally find in the local streets. These readings are available for more or less £5.00 per reading.

Phone readings are generally cheaper because being online the tarot card readers can appeal to a larger audience, and through which they do not have to over charge, as there is no lack of customers.

There is, however, a drawback to phone readings: a lack of mystique. According to tarot card purists, again, phone readings are less effective than the typical face-to-face reading. Unfounded as this argument may be, it is enough to sway reading prices lower, and for those who believe in astrology, this may mean a whole lot.

This industry is largely helped by the growth of online communication. While past services have only been for local phone lines or party lines, the Internet has encouraged a large market growth in tarot card readings over the phone.

Tarot card divination may not be a real science; it may not be as accurate as some people would like to believe, but the market for tarot is ever growing through the availability of readings online and in other similar mediums. While this is so, there is still a large demand for face-to-face tarot reading because of the mystique and interactivity. A fair judgment of the industry is that it is growing in its different aspects - whether it is face to face, on the phone, or by some other medium. While society drives itself into a more scientific future, the appeal of astrology, especially in tarot cards, is still growing fast.

Or maybe you haven't. If not, here it is in a nutshell: Stocks do their best in the third year of the four-year presidential term--that is, in the year preceding the next presidential election year.

Since 2007 is the third year of the current presidential cycle--the next election will be in 2008--let's see whether there's any truth to the presidential cycle, or if it is just an urban myth.

Various studies have been done on the phenomenon, covering different time periods and using different indexes as proxies for "the market." All of the studies are in agreement. The presidential cycle is not a myth. Stocks, in fact, have historically done their best in the third year of the election cycle. They have been doing so for decades, it doesn't matter what index you look at, and the data is not even close.

In fact, the data supports recurring trends for each year of the four-year presidential election cycle, with the third year consistently being the best.

One study used the S&P 500 to represent the market and the time period from 1952 to 2003. The results were that the average annual total stock market gain has been about 6 percent in year one of the presidential cycle (that is, the first post-election year), 8 percent in year two, 23 percent in year three (the pre-election year), and 11 percent in year four. Returns from the last completed cycle just about matched those numbers. Year three of that cycle (2003) produced a gain of 26 percent and year four (2004) produced 9 percent.

Another study covered the years 1889 through 2005, also using the S&P 500 (and its predecessors) as the proxy for the market. Its conclusions were that returns were about 3 percent in year one, 3 percent in year two, 11 percent in year three, and 8 percent in year four.

The same study also looked at the data from another angle, measuring the percentage of years that the market was up for each year. The result: The market was up in 57 percent of year one's, 55 percent of year two's, 79 percent of year three's, and 73 percent of year four's.

Other studies support the strong-year-three indicator: Since 1945, the S&P has gained an average of 18 percent in the third years of election cycles, compared with an average of 9 percent in all years. Year three has not had a down year since 1939. And so on.

Clearly, there is a pattern. Does this make sense, or is it a mere a statistical accident? Do political considerations affect the stock market?

Sure it makes sense. The leading theory is that in the first year or two of a president's term, economic sacrifices are made. Painful decisions come early, such as fighting inflation, cutting back spending, and even starting wars. New priorities are introduced, fresh ideas abound. But by the third year of its hold on the White House, the incumbent administration emphasizes economic stimuli to gain favor for the coming election campaign.

Congress--no matter which party holds the White House--also wants to gain favor for the upcoming election. Presidential election years have the biggest stakes of any national election. All of the House's seats are in play, along with a third of the Senate's seats, and of course the presidency itself. Whether the Democrats or Republicans currently control the White House, each party wants to win it. So Congress wants to juice the economy too.

In essence, year three is the "setup" year for both parties to hit next year's campaign trail with their best arguments in place. The incumbent party wants voters go to the polls with jobs and a feeling of economic well being. The party out of power wants to have an economic record that they can argue is even stronger than the incumbent party's.

Will the cycle repeat itself in 2007? Well, we've had the capture of both houses of Congress by the Democrats, who will set the congressional agenda for the next two years. But the White House is still controlled by the Republicans. Does that equate to uncertainty, which is historically felt to be an enemy of a rising market? Or does it just mean stalemate, which is not usually felt to be a bad thing for the market?

Only time will tell. But in the absence of a disastrous negative event (which does not appear on the horizon at this time), or compelling negative data (as you might have if the market were wildly overvalued, which it is not), the historical pattern very strongly suggests that 2007 will be a good year for the stock market. After all, the long-term data itself covers election cycles in which there were all kinds of economic conditions and every combination of party control of the White House and Congress. The clear pattern of strong returns in year three has emerged from all those varying conditions.

Let's hope that this year three of the cycle, 2007, matches the last one, 2003, when the market returned 26 percent. That would be something that all stock investors could celebrate.

Article Source : Pg. 2

About Author

Both Samantha Srillian & David Van Knapp are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Samantha Srillian has sinced written about articles on various topics from Tarot Card, Religion and Tarot Card. Samantha Srillian is a freelance writer, as well as a naturally gifted and. Samantha Srillian's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.

David Van Knapp has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Web Development and Finances. Dave Van Knapp is the author of "Sensible Stock Investing: How to Pick, Value, and Manage Stocks," a guide for self-directed individual investors. Learn more about "Sensible Stock Investing" at. David Van Knapp's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.