Swords Flashcards
Aces can be read as chances that lie in our environment or in ourselves. The Ace of Swords means that we have the chance now to clear things which had been unclear or incomprehensible. We have the chance to dissolve entanglements, to resolve conflicts. Basically the Ace of Swords means that now is the time to put some distance between us and our problems and look at them with a cool head and a clear mind. Out of this perspective we will be able to understand them better.
The Two of Swords mean the unpleasant doubts that creep over us if we have lost the connection with our centre, our intuition. With the intellect alone we can’t make decisions which satisfy, which feel right - even if they are right. So either we cannot hear our inner voice, or we kowingly try to drown it out and solve our problems with our head alone. But if the heart is not involved our doubts won’t disappear.
The Three of Swords are often read as lovesickness, and this is indeed one of their meanings. But the main aspect of this card is the decision that is made against the heart, a decision against the feelings. This can be the right step if our feelings want something which is harmful for us. But often we make a decision against our hearts because we are afraid of failure, of being hurt. In such cases a decision like this is very problematic.
The Four of Swords stand for a time like the numbed, exhausted, almost senseless state during or after a very high fever. This is a time in which we fall into a kind of hibernation because of the pains that we have suffererd or are still suffering. We need this time of complete passivity, of motionlessness and silence because else we couldn’t deal with the suffering. The danger is that we might remain caught in this condition even though it has long become time to get up and be alive again.
This card is one of the few solely negative Tarot cards. None of its many meanings is positive. The Five of Swords mean humiliation, wanton destruction of the whole, injuring of the innocent, violence, vindictiveness, in short: any form of perfidy that you could imagine. By the way, the card does not say whether these are things that happen to us as a victim or whether we ourselves are the wrongdoers.
The Six of Swords describe a departure into the unknown.
This departure does not happen voluntarily, at least not fully, and the arrival is anticipated with great tentativeness. Maybe this situation is a bit like the one of the emigrants who left Europe and went to America in the past centuries because they were being prosecuted because of their religious denomination. They were forced to give up their home, and they took their wounds with them on their journey. The destination was anticipated both with hope and with fear.
This card stands for furtiveness and perfidiousness. It can mean material theft or plagiarism, stealthiness, unwholesome secrets, lies, betrayal, hypocrisy, defamation and deception. The Seven of Swords do not say whether it is others treating us like this or whether we ourselves are the wrongdoers.
The Eight of Swords mean that there is a part of ourselves which we don’t let be alive. There is a part which we try to shut away. The card means that we are inhibited because we try too much to control ourselves, to inflict prohibitions on ourselves. This leads to the feeling of not being truly alive, to the feeling of not really being in touch with ourselves and the world around us. In very rare cases the card can indicate that it is necessary to restrict ourselves in this way to prevent greater damage.
The Nine of Swords mean doubt, self-reproaches, feelings of guilt, grief and worries that keep us awake at night, they stand for pondering and for the anxcious, pessimistic anticipation of things which might happen. The card stands for (inner) crisis, for fear and nightmares. In the worst case this leads to complete despair. In the best case it will in the end make us wiser.
The Ten of Swords mean a forcible, violent end. This end can be the end of a relationship, it can mean dismissal or the sudden death of a loved person. Whatever form this end has: it will be an end full of pain, an experience that we go through recieving serious wounds. The only positive thing about this is that sometimes we have to rule something off even if it is extremely painful because else we would suffer even deeper wounds. The painful end the Ten of Swords desribe does not imply that we couldn’t heal again after a time of mourning.
I tend to reading the Pages as invitations to cultivate certain mental attitudes or to inwardly prepare for certain ways of acting.
The Page of Swords invites us to prepare for conflicts, for clarifying discussions, for criticism. But he warns us of being overly fierce; we should prepare not for a fight but for a conflict for which we need objective, realistic points and not the taunts of a diatribe.
Like the other knights the Knight of Swords stands for a certain spirit, and in his case this is the spirit of discord, quarrel and threat. In situations in which the Knight of Swords is prevailing there can also be ice cold vibes or exaggerated, emotionless sobriety. The good thing about this card is that it can call our attention to a long existing conflict which we should begin to try and resolve, because else we would just keep carrying it around with us. This is the time to face the conflict with a clear head.
You can see the Queen of Swords as a woman with the following qualities or, if the the question concerns a man, as the female part of his psyche. But I tend to reading the queens as the inward side of a person (philosophy of life, attitude towards life, values, habitus, typical moods…), no matter whether this person is female or male.
The Queen of Swords is an intelligent, witty woman who in many cases has known great suffering. Mental independence means everything to her; to gain it she will even seal herself off from her feelings. This is why many people will think her cool or even cold. The Queen of Swords strives for insight and clearness; opacity and entanglements are an abhorrence to her.
She is problematic especially if she does really become cold and calculating and if she is so caught in her intellectual hights that she completely shuts out the physical and emotional reality.
You can see the King of Swords as a man with the following qualities or, if the the question concerns a woman, as the male part of her psyche. But I tend to reading the kings as the outward side of a person (job, typical ways of acting, the way the life is led…), no matter whether this person is male or female.
The King of Swords is an intelligent, reasonable, rational, pensive man. He can be very witty and adroit, which makes him a great entertainer. You typically meet him in jobs in which critical distachment, objectivity, and clear, abstract thinking are required. If you are entangled in a complicated (intellectual) problem and can go neither back nor forth, the King of Swords will help you. But he is not unproblematic. He can be undercooled and top-headed; he has great difficulties dealing with emotions - he will even refuse trying to. Also, he inclines towards perfectionism and excessive, inappropriate critisicm. That he often hurts people with his sharp tongue he does not even know.
