Tarot Cards - THE SUIT OF SWORDS Flashcards
The Ace of Swords
The Root of the Powers of Air
Upright - Total and complete change of mind. In its purest form the ace is symbolic of strongly constituted authority, and pursuit of ultimate truth. Triumph, victory and success, a rebirth and a new beginning.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Confusion, exaggeration in thought, violence, destruction and the misuse of power. Possibly death, but this depends upon other cards.
The Two of Swords
The Lord of Peace Restored
Upright - Courage, delicate and precarious balance in adversity. Differences resolved, relief, restoration of peace, truce, a weight off the mind.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Treachery, violence, willful misguidance and misleading advice, betrayal, trickery and deceit.
The Three of Swords
The Lord of Sorrow
Upright - Sorrow and extreme pain. With a positive view in end: upheaval, separation, disruption and discord. Heartbreak, tears, strife, conflict. The clearing of that which is obsolete to make way for that to come. Establishment of something better.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Spiritual and mental confusion, loss, discord, treachery and sorrow. War, breaking of a truce, quarrels and enmity. Physical or mental disorder.
The Four of Swords
The Lord of Rest from Strife
Upright - Retreat, withdrawal, peace established through arms. Rest, recovery, hospitalisation, recuperation from battle and relief from anxiety or sorrow.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Banishment, enforced isolation, seclusion, imprisonment, cowardice, depression and failure of nerve.
The Five of Swords
The Lord of Defeat
Upright - Defeat, loss, failure, dishonour, a need to curb futile belligerence, accept the inevitable and swallow pride. Negative thoughts and attitudes.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Paranoia, indecision, malice, spite or someone acting as such in your affairs.
The Six of Swords
The Lord of Earned Success
Upright - Gradual change, movement or travel away form difficulty or imminent danger. The solution of current problems. Long journeys and passage from pain. Obstacles that are overcome.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Developments that are unexpected, temporary relief from difficulties, need for continuing effort and strength. Once one obstacle is surmounted another presents itself.
The Seven of Swords
The Lord of Unstable Effort
Upright - Sudden desire and impulse. A card of caution in the face of opposition. Change of residence, job or possibly both. An indication of triumph in the face of adversity, but must be through cunning. No real progress, through lack of purpose.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Counsel and specific advice. Reluctance to carry through daring actions when necessary, failure of nerve and indecision. Surrender when victory is almost in sight. Inability and reluctance to complete what has been started.
The Eight of Swords
The Lord of Shortened Force
Upright - Jealousy, often from colleagues or family, crisis and enforced isolation, illness and oppression, major difficulties and adverse circumstances dictated by fate.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Hard work reaping little reward, frustration, despair, depression. Effort being exercised in the wrong place. Change and liberation. A moving away from a problem rather than finding the solution to it.
The Nine of Swords
The Lord of Despair and Cruelty
Upright - Deception, premonitions and bad dreams, suffering and depression, cruelty, disappointment violence, loss and scandal. All of these may be overcome through faith and calculated inaction. This is the card of the martyr and with it comes new life out of suffering.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Distrust and suspicion, despair, misery and malice. Total isolation away from comfort and help. Institutionalisation, suicide, imprisonment and isolation.
The Ten of Swords
The Lord of Ruin
Upright - Ruin, desolation, disruption, although generally this refers to a group rather than an individual. Sorrow, sudden misfortune, accidents, muggings or personal robbery. There is some cause for optimism; as the lowest point in the cycle, from now on things can only get better the worst is over.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Only an illusionary lifting of burdens or release from afflictions as suffering will continue. Sometimes death and violent and extreme change. Only temporary good fortune.
The Page of Swords
The Princess of the Rushing Winds; The Lotus of the Palace of Air
Upright - A good personal emissary, although sometimes a card associated with spying or surveying others from a detached viewpoint. A person of grace and dexterity, diplomatic and skilled in the ability to work out the true nature of things. A person who can negotiate expertly on behalf of his peers. Detachment is one of the true qualities of this figure.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - A two faced, cunning and possibly vindictive person, with an inability to grasp the nettle. A seeker of hidden weaknesses in enemies, devious and given to snooping in other people’s affairs. May be an indication of unforeseen events, ill health, or plans being overtaken by events.
The Knight of Swords
Lord of the Winds and the Breezes; King of the Spirits of Air
Upright - A clever, skillful and active person, courageous and strong, always at his best in a difficult situation. He may have a tendency to dominate and depending upon surrounding cards, his movement may be either in or out of the querent’s life for either better or worse. He is the archetypal warrior.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - The card reversed, lends itself to someone who is impetuous, sly and deceitful, fierce in action with little staying power. A starter but not a finisher of things. Quarrels may be indicated, but this depends upon surrounding cards. Application of great force and energy becomes ‘simple-minded indulgence’.
The Queen of Swords
The Queen of the Thrones of Air
Upright - A complex, courageous, intelligent woman, who may well have suffered some deep sorrow or loss. She is concerned with attention to accuracy and detail and can skillfully balance opposing factions to meet her own needs. She has attained inner wisdom and a sense of truth. The cards is one for women who have overcome adversity especially at the hands of men, to obtain a state of grace. The ability of women.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - Sorrow for the sake of sorrow. A card of wrongdoing as a reply to adverse circumstances. A deceitful, sly, intolerant and narrow minded woman, expert in the use of half truths and quiet slander. A formidable enemy due to her subtlety and sharp intellect.
The King of Swords
The Prince of the Chariots of the Winds
Upright - This king is certainly a ruler. This man is a law-maker, someone with a rational, alert and inventive mind. An advocate of law and order, and modernity to the expense of tradition. He has a tendency to be somewhat overcautious and leaves on project quickly to star on another. A man of independent judgment and an achiever in what he does.
Ill Dignified or Reversed - The probability of great disruption and contempt for the weak. An abuse of power and authority. A calculating, obstinate man, capable of utmost evil to achieve his aims and desires.
