Swords!

The Swords are probably the most difficult suit of the tarot.  They represent conflict, strife, and often times devastation and grief.  There is also a great deal of beauty in the Swords.  They represent intelligence and deep wisdom, they represent the logic we can use to create structure and order in the world in order to manifest a society where we try to make things fair. 

King of Swords/Father of Air

The King of Swords is very much aligned with the Justice card.  This is a powerful figure that uses clear thinking, logic, and language to speak the truth.  He promotes positive change through intellectual power and authority and has the smarts to get the job done.  He’s capable of moving through intense mental processes and the ideas that form are transcendent.  This is global thinking, not local – these ideas are transforming the world.

Ace of Swords/One of Air

Can you believe we’re already talking about the suit of swords?!  Time flies when you’re blogging about tarot.

The Ace of Swords represents the nature of the sword suit more broadly, especially the double-edged nature of the suit.  The Ace of Swords represents the duality of an idea and you can almost see that in the way the sword in the card is split down the middle, with one side more shadowy and the other more clear.  The Ace of Swords is about the birth of an idea.  That idea can bring clarity, as expressed through the victory crown at the top of the sword, but it can also result in conflict, as seen in the dark clouds and tight grip of the hand holding the sword.  The card calls on us to work with new ideas and see where they take us, but reminds us not to grip those ideas too tightly.  If we become married to these ideas, we’ve seen how tightly held beliefs can lead to trouble in our own lives as well as in society at large.  This is expressed much more eloquently in Root Lock Radio’s Podcast, Episode 10 – The Suit of Swords.  By being flexible in our thinking, we have the potential for even greater discovery.  The Ace of Swords is like an “Aha” moment in our thinking, and is generally characterized as a period of great clarity and insight.  It’s up to us to use that power in the right way.

VIII of Wands/8 of Fire: Lightening Path

The Eight of Wands is all about quick action.  Things are changing rapidly and nothing stand in the way of this rapid change.  

XIX: The Sun.

After the darkest hour of the Moon comes the Sun.  The Sun is one of the most positive cards in the deck!  Rejoice!  Everything is as good as it could possibly be.  Everything is illuminated and revealed in all its truth under the light of the sun.  This is a YES! card!  There’s nothing but love in this card.  How beautiful.