Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens premières on December 18th 2015. The secrecy surrounding the film has stoked Star Wars fans into a frenzy, wondering what the film is about. It is hence a credit to J J Abrams and his marketing team that they have managed to sustain interest! Now many fans are poring over the trailers already released, scouring them for even the tiniest detail which might reveal to them the plot. I however decided not to bother doing that, but instead use a far more reliable method - consulting the Tarot.
So there I was with my own custom Tarot deck. After meditating for a short while, I made the opening invocation of The Force:
I invoke thee, IAO, that thou wilt send HRU, the great Angel that is set over the operations of this Secret Wisdom, to lay his hand invisibly upon these consecrated Cards of Art, that thereby we may attain true knowledge of hidden things, to the glory of thine ineffable Name. AMEN.
I then shuffled and cut the deck, and drew one card each to answer the following questions:
What role does Luke Skywalker play in this film?
This is a burning question amongst the fandom, principally because Luke is conspicuously absent from the publicity thus far released. The only indication that he is in the film at all has been one trailer in which Mark Hamill makes a voice-appearance in character - but Luke is not seen on screen! What has happened to him? Is he hideously deformed? Has he turned to the dark side? What what what!
The card I drew was JUDGEMENT. The real reason why Luke's role is being kept schtum is because he plays a major role in the finale of the film - hence it is being kept secret so as not to give away the film's ending. Moreover, "Judgement" suggests Luke has become an instrument of divine justice - a heavenly figure, if you will - who appears at the very end to sort things out for the other characters - burning the wicked with Fire, but saving our heroes just in the nick of time. In this film Luke will be something of a Deus Ex Machina, or a role which will be more fully developed in the sequels.
How is Kylo Ren related to Darth Vader?
Kylo Ren is a be-masked villain, with a red light-sabre, who in one of the trailers is heard saying - to the burnt death-mask of Darth Vader - "I will finish what you started?" But what is his character motivation?
The card I drew was the Six of Pentacles. Now ordinarily this means "material success," but it has a Dark Side - as in Star Wars, so in Tarot. The card represents beggars being forced to rely on the charity of a rich nobleman. So on the one hand it represents generosity to the poor, on the other it also points out the resentment that patriarchalism and fake piety can engender. Kylo Ren imagines himself as a beggar who sees Darth Vader as an unattainable ideal. He is a slave to the notion of power that Vader seemed to embody. Kylo Ren has something of an inferiority complex with regards to Vader - which only makes him all the more vicious.
What will happen to J J Abrams as a result of this film?
Page of Wands. Thankfully, good news. J J will see an upturn in his career, receiving lucrative new offers of work. He will come to be seen as a messenger or spokesman for a new generation of Star Wars fans.
What will happen to the Star Wars franchise generally?
Page of Pentacles. This represents financial success - but also new ideas in the field of money-making from films generally - e.g. through tie-ins with new media and technology. The new Star Wars film will be a step-forward for the film industry in a commercial sense, though not necessarily an artistic one.