007 Fest 2026, Scavenger Hunt item no. 30: ‘Do a dramatic reading of a Bond character's (or your own Fest character's) fortune: this could be via tea leaves, Tarot cards, tyromancy, or any other method you enjoy.’
What Alec didn’t know when he settled in Cuba was that, just a few islands away, one certain lady could have told him quite a bit about his future—or even things he couldn’t admit about himself. Solitaire, after all, never really lost her powers. The cards still revealed many truths to her initiated heart, long after Kananga’s demise. Kananga had never been a true believer, anyway. And Alec was much of the same ilk—only listening when he had something to gain from it. Should he have turned up at Solitaire’s doorstep, she could have said many things to him, yes. But she certainly didn’t need another man of destruction in her life; nor would have Alec really heeded the cards’ warning.
Again, Alec probably never even knew about Solitaire… but someone else did. Someone who might have gone to her for advice—perhaps the first time he lost Alec, his brother in all but blood, or perhaps as he was gearing up for fratricide. James wasn’t much of a believer either, but at least he could listen. If he did pay a visit to Solitaire—the High Priestess in her small, unassuming esoterica shop in Sainte Monique—seeking truth about Alec, then this is what the cards would have answered. Unflatteringly so.
Present situation: Emperor (upright)
Wordly power. Accomplishment. Leadership. Overcoming past difficulties. Confidence. Wealth. Stability. Authority. Indomitable spirit. War-making tendencies. A go-getter. Father. Brother. Husband. Male influence. Direct pressure. Conviction. Domination of intelligence and reason over emotion and passion. Strength. Patriarchal figure. Attainment of goals. Desire to increase domination in every direction. Strong masculine development. Worthy of exercising authority. A capable person who is knowledgeable and competent. Willing to listen to counsel but follows his own convictions. An intense, loyal companion.
Influences: 4 of Pentacles (reversed)
Setbacks in material holdings. Obstacles. Opposition to further gain. Suspense and delay. Spendthrift.
Challenges: 9 of Cups (upright)
Success. Material attainment. Advantage. Well-being. Abundance. Good health. Victory.
Final outcome: Hanged Man (reversed)
Lack of sacrifice. Unwillingness to make the necessary effort. Failure to give of one’s self. Preoccupation with the ego. False prophecy. Futile sacrifice.
Theme: Queen of Swords (upright)
A sharp, quick-witted, keen person. Possibly the bearer of evil or slanderous words. May signify a widow or woman of sadness. Mourning. Privation. Loneliness. Separation.
This spread definitely speaks of Alec’s past, and specifically of where he stood just before his first “death”. Interpretation relies heavily on hindsight here—something that James, for better or for worse, now has.
Let’s start with the first, and perhaps most overbearing, card: the Emperor. It fits Alec’s personality very well, of course, but also represents a great irony in his life path. At the time of the events in Arkhangelsk, he was the Emperor. He was just what he strove for: a strong, belligerent, commandeering man. He knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it; what he believed, too. But there’s the first breach in his character: his beliefs.
The reversed 4 of pentacles reveals how unsatisfied he was with his situation back in those days. Failing to recognize that he already was the Emperor, he strove for more. Being more, having more. His position as a government agent definitely was an obstacle on his way—ethically, financially, practically—making him eager to ditch it behind and move on to his “great plan”. The card is associated with greed, and by extension possessiveness—perhaps the sign that he was also unsatisfied with his relationship with James?
The 9 of cups is supposed to be one of the best, most positive minor arcana. Then what to do with it when it appears as a challenge? It’s a card strongly associated with wishes, and we all know that irony is a strong theme with Alec. As the 4 of pentacles suggested before, he was too preoccupied with his lofty goals to realize that he already was at his peak, but the 9 of cups adds another layer to this. Alec had been too successful so far, leaving him no space to reflect and ponder whether he might be misguided. And the success streak would keep going, as James mourned him after Arkhangelsk—neither him nor MI6 suspecting Alec’s betrayal for a single second.
But there’s the thing with Alec’s betrayal: what did it accomplish really? The reversed hanged man tends to answer “not much”. While this is a card of sacrifice, its reversal indicates it was needless. Alec sacrificed his career, his standing, his relationship with James, his freedom even, on the altar of vengeance—only to self-inflict his fall from grace. Sometimes, the card can also indicate letting go of illusions, or needing to see things differently. More irony to be found here: did Alec think he was doing the former, when it was the latter that was urgently called for?
Lastly, the guiding thread: the Queen of swords. What is there to say that the card’s description doesn’t already? Alec was mourning a lot of things back then: his childhood, his parents, his people, the friendship he was about to sever, perhaps even his innocence in a way. He was already capable of evil—that comes with the profession after all—but starting then, the evil would be his own. Was “deeper sadness” part of his wish for “more”, perhaps as he’d barely ever known better?
Present situation: King of Pentacles (reversed)
Corruption. Using any means to achieve the desired end. Vice. Avarice. Unfaithfulness.
Influences: Moon (upright)
Deception. Trickery. Dishonesty. Disillusionment. Danger. Error. Caution. Warning. Bad influence. Ulterior motives. Insincerity. False friends. Selfishness. Deceit. Double dealing. Craftiness. False pretenses. Disgrace. Slander. Libel. Being taken advantage of. Attempt to take unfair advantage of a situation. An insincere relationship. Superficiality. Unknown enemies. The meeting of many divergent influences. Falling into a trap. Being misled. Failure to avoid surrounding dangers. The chance of making an error is very great. Numerous surrounding influences will combine into new pressures and impressions.
Challenges: Hermit (reversed)
Imprudence. Hastiness. Rashness. Prematurity. Foolish acts. Incorrect advice. Failure caused by result of dullness. Overprudence resulting in unnecessary delay. Immaturity.
Final outcome: 6 of Pentacles (reversed)
Avarice. Selfishness. Envy. Jealousy. Ungiving of one’s self. Bad debts. Unpaid loans.
Theme: 9 of Wands (upright)
Expectation of difficulties and change. Awaiting tribulation. Hidden enemies. Pause in a current struggle.
It would be interesting to know what Alec—now Janus—would think of being the reversed King of pentacles. Would he wear it as a badge of honor, a symbol of his material and influential success? Or would he finally understand how far down he fell, from the Emperor to a slave to his own passions? Any true stability he had, including the grounding of his relationship with James, is gone. What he has is money, a lot of it… but surely even he knows that whatever security he gains from it could dissolve in a snap. And, well, corruption also includes perversion. The inevitable outcome of associating with Xenia Onatopp? Or is it living in constant aggression? Whatever is the case, he’d likely have preferred getting the Devil in this position. Surely that would’ve given sense—panache, even—to all the evil he’s been up to in the past 9 years.
The tarot said no, as one of the most infamously negative major arcana appears next: the Moon. The previous spread was a warning to a sharp man to be careful what he wished for. The current one seems to indicate the man has become dull, if not sloppy, by persevering at all costs in his ways. Where has the Emperor’s confidence gone? Eroded by constant danger, moral bankruptcy and double dealings, not to mention how shrouded Alec has become in his illusions. Irony, again and again. His struggle for control is already lost.
Not only that, but he is afraid. Probably even more so as, suddenly, James is back in his life—leaving him with a lot to answer for. But, as confirmed by the reversed Hermit, he stubbornly refuses to address anything. His choice was made in Arkhangelsk, and any deviation is not tolerable in his—decidedly emotionally immature—mind. Better being lonely at the top surrounded by his false, expandable friends, than facing his deepest fears… or opening himself up ever again.
The final outcome isn’t clear cut here. Selfishness and strings attached are evident, jealousy and resentment are becoming pretty visible as James stands in the way—but perhaps the real answer is to be found in other interpretations for the reversed 6 of pentacles: “quarrels with relatives” and “lack of help”. There will be direct confrontation between Alec and James. But, since James isn’t at his side anymore, what will become of Alec?
If the theme carried by the 9 of wands is to be believed, the impending confrontation is going to be a last stand. A final culmination to the countless battles Alec has been fighting, both within and against the world. Something that Alec expects, possibly even desires. A fight to the death? The card does imply a pause, but not necessarily permanent. If Alec can finally allow himself an ounce of self-reflection, perhaps the worst can be avoided. If not… then somebody has to go.
And Alec’s chances, if the cards are to be trusted, are not the best.
Yes hello, Silverova here. First of all, if you're still here, thank you for reading! Second, a couple explanations:
- the tarot spread I used is this one. I wanted one that wasn't too specialized (or complex) while resembling Solitaire's iconic spread from the beginning of Live and Let Die:
- the card descriptions I've given are also LALD-related, as they're from Stuart R. Kaplan's 'James Bond 007 Tarot Book'! Back when the movie came out in 1973, a full tarot deck was released matching the card designs used on set, with this (small but fascinating) book as a companion. I'm so glad to have got my hands on that book, as it's a deadpan serious guide written by someone experienced in tarot. There's even a multilingual bibliography at the end! And while I don't own the cards (the 1970s deck is way too expensive now), you might have noticed I have a Russian edition of the traditional Smith-Waite deck—so still somewhat relevant to Bond, hehe.
