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. 

V of Swords/Five of Air

The Five of Swords is about winning at all costs.  This is an intense contraction card where the figure with the three swords appears smug while at least one of the defeated figures appear distraught.  The figure also has his back turned to the ocean – in order to win he needs to turn his back on his feelings.  To win at all costs means winning but hurting those we care about.  There’s a storm brewing overhead – a good indication that all is not well despite winning the battle.

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.

V of Wands/5 of Fire: The Struggle

The Five of Wands is all about the struggle.  Fives are contraction cards.  The progress we’ve made in the prior wand cards moves backwards to an extent.  In this case, there’s disagreement, competition, or conflict.