Predicting the Super Bowl Winner With Tarot

Super Bowl season is upon us, and the classic question of odds looms above football fans near and far—who will win? This year, I’ve decided to tackle this daunting query without statistics or research, but by consulting the spiritual and using the ancient art of tarot to get to the bottom of it all.

Before I make any hasty predictions, some background on tarot is crucial in contextualizing this reading. The first documented use of tarot cards was in Italy in about 1430. Centuries later, their quintessential symbols have retained their power as spiritual conduits, enabling introspection, mindfulness and even prediction. The deck consists of 78 cards—22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. 

Major Arcana are lesson cards; their images and associated meanings are archetypal, focusing on the big picture of life and how divine wisdom can help shape a better one. Minor Arcana are no less important, though they represent day-to-day thoughts and challenges rather than broad, sweeping themes, and usually entail more “minor” issues.

The Minor Arcana are composed of four suits—cups, pentacles, swords and wands, though the exact titles may differ depending on the deck (my deck has goblets, disks, blades and wands); the four suits also correspond to four elements—water, earth, air and fire. The Minor Arcana are further categorized into court cards, of which there are 16, and numbered cards, of which there are 40. There are four court members per suit—page, knight, queen and king.

With the basics out of the way, it’s time to divulge the deck’s secrets. I decided to simplify such a lofty question by pulling a single card for each team, starting with the Los Angeles Rams. 

On behalf of this team, I pulled the High Priestess, a Major Arcana card associated with intuition, sacred knowledge and the divine feminine. She is wise and maternal, but not overly so, encouraging personal reflection with help from forces more sacred. Already this appears promising for the Rams—perhaps the divine is on their side. But the High Priestess is not effective without effort; if the Rams want to reap the benefits of her power, they’ll need to play with communication, empathy and carefulness. 

For the Cincinnati Bengals, I pulled the Hierophant, and knew right away that this reading would be a close one. The Hierophant is also a Major Arcana card, and though he is not a direct companion to the High Priestess, he holds similar but more masculine associations with spiritual wisdom and religion. The cards’ apparent similarities informed me that this would no doubt be a close match. The Hierophant does differ from the High Priestess, though, in his association with conformity and tradition, which tells me that by-the-books type plays will be integral to the Bengals during the game. 

Although these two cards were thought-provoking, they did little in predicting one winner, which was my ultimate goal. I decided to dig a bit deeper before drawing a clarifying card. 

First, I researched the zodiac signs of the two quarterbacks, Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow. Unfortunately, I hit another wall; their signs are Aquarius and Sagittarius respectively, compared to the zodiac signs associated with the cards, Cancer and Taurus. These four signs also all have different elemental associations, so I really struggled to find any meaning through star signs or elements. 

The cards’ symbols also lead to a dead end; the High Priestess and the Hierophant are strikingly similar in their poised, proper presentation, both donning robes and stern, serene expressions. I soon realized that a clarifying card was necessary, and perhaps it would be the final piece needed to complete my prediction. 

I pulled one more card to unite the two previous—Justice reversed. This is another Major Arcana, and, unsurprisingly, is associated with fairness and justice. However, the reversed positioning flips the meaning, instead signifying unfairness and dishonesty. I considered this; the Bengals are no doubt the underdogs of the two teams—their last Super Bowl appearance was in 1988, and they have never won in the two instances they made it to the big game. This is compared to the Rams, who have appeared in the Super Bowl four times previous, with two of those appearances having been within the last four years. Taking these facts into consideration, Justice reversed signified to me a great miscarriage of justice for a team that seldom sees such a glorious football season—the Bengals.

Although this card made me feel slightly more certain of a win for the Rams, I have to conclude on an uneasy note. Justice reversed may entail an unjust loss, but it might also suggest a close race, one that is finally disputed, perhaps, by failure on behalf of the administration and referees—an injustice that the NFL is no stranger to. The tight correspondence between my initial picks coupled with the broad possibilities of Justice reversed tell me that, regardless of the outcome, this will be an incredibly close game.