Through my studies of the tarot and other esoteric tools I have been able to reach a greater understanding of life. As a visual person, the images on the cards help me conceptualize a story about my life, each time I do a reading.
From these moments of insight and guidance I have been able o take a moment in life and expand it. It’s like I took my hands and laid them on-top of one another (a moment) and then raised one hand, creating space between my hands.
Often times we experience our lives as moments. Within each moment the compressed data file provides us a human experience. But within each moment a lot is going on.
What tarot allows us to do is take a single moment and expand our hands, so we can see all that is going on.
Within a single moment we experience…
- Emotions
- Needs & desires
- Thoughts
- Actions & words
- Cycles
As we saw within the Minor Arcana post, a story or cycle of life is happening as we travel through all four suits. Building off of one another, we follow the order of Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles for a reason.
Then as we delved deeper we uncovered a story within each suit. As a result, we can see with the tarot that in a single moment of our lives we have many stories/cycles/journeys happening all of the same time. From the bigger picture (life journey) to the smaller cycles (relationship/job/day) these stories weave together to create a moment, a life.
When we stop and expand our mind to see all the components of a moment, not only do we achieve a greater understanding of what’s going on, but this new found knowledge helps us to self-regulate. So we can choose actions and words that not only aid us in the moment, but reflect the person we desire to be in the healthiest way.
As we move through the various stories found within the Minor Arcana we can see how they build off of one another. Expanding upon each lesson and idea to cover not only all the possibilities in life but the growth we each can attain.
The Suit of Swords:
It is time to address the Suit of Swords journey. Since this suit is associated with the element air, the mind, and truth we discover the potential for pain in life. In encountering emotions, we enter a world of gray rather than just black and white. Because we each experience life in our own way, with our own cocktail of emotions.
The Suit of Swords many believe to be filled with pain and torture. For this reason, this suit can be feared or even dreaded when it presents itself in a spread.
Since the Suit of Swords focuses on the mind and truth, we learn that pain can come from truth or the lack of it. Within us, and especially within our mind, we have an entire world that has the potential to strengthen us or create an internal dialogue that leaves us in pain.
There is pain and tragedy in the world, since tarot covers the various areas of life we need a suit to express our pain. But like any card within tarot, each card has a depth of meanings.
Ace of Swords:
Our journey begins with that number one energy. Like all the other aces, this card holds potential. The Suit of Swords tells us that this ace is about the potential for victory.
Through mental clarity the Fool can achieve great breakthroughs. When this card presents itself in a spread, consider what can come when the Seeker applies their mind and stays truthful. Through truth and mindfulness we can see the situation/moments as it truly is and as a result we are in a position to succeed.
Ace of Swords Meanings:
- Victory
- Right action in the moment
- Clarity/mindfulness
- Not a time to procrastinate
- Time to act
- Mental breakthrough
- Flash of inspiration
- Relationships:
- Precursor to a situation pertaining to big or even hard truths
- Could be issues
Two of Swords:
As the story continues, the Fool moves past the great potential the Suit of Swords possesses and enters the planning stage. With a great ball of energy at his disposal, the Fool must decide what to do.
In the Suit of Wands, the Fool embarked on a physical journey. He then worked through an emotional journey with the Suit of Cups. Now he travels a new journey. With each suit we build upon what came before. The cups were an emotion based journey that was expressed not only within, but in the physical world (wands).
Now, the Fool is traveling a journey within his own mind. Learning to take his internal world and translate it into his life and the world around him.
As we see with the 2 of Swords, a power is held within our mind. The Fool is the only person with control over his internal world. What he chooses to think, perceive, understand, and choose all happens within his mind. With such power comes the need for responsibility, truth, and contemplation.
Before the Fool creates with this new energy, he must sit with things. To act too soon without considering the truth and using his mind, might lead him to use a sword prematurely and cut a loved one’s head off.
2 of Swords Meanings:
- Sit & be still
- Will need to make a choice, but not yet time
- The moon symbolizes emotions- which teaches us that in discovering emotions (Suit of Cups), they play a role in things. Influencing our decisions and life in general.
- Emotionally charged situation
- Acting on old information, denial
- Over-thinking things
- Self-chosen time-out
- Meditation
- Health:
- Mental illness
- Bipolar/manic
- Chemical imbalance
- Relationships:
- Words/actions need to be carefully considered
Three of Swords:
Sadly even when the Fool sits with the power of his mind, he can encounter pain and heartbreak. Often times the Suit of Swords is seen as the most torturous suit of the deck.
With images that depict the pain we can encounter in life, it can sometimes be hard to see other truths within these images. For example, within this image, we can see a heart stabbed. Not by one sword, but by three.
It would be easy to only see pain. Unless we pull in the qualities represented by this suit. In choosing to see this image with the concept of truth in mind, we can consider what may have led the Fool to experience a moment of pain.
Did he avoid or ignore the truth of the matter? In doing so, did he miss the warning signs? Or perhaps, the Fool saw the truth and because of this, experienced heartbreak. This time through disappointment, disillusionment, or evidence of an unhealthy situation.
Either way, there are times in life through the decisions of others or our own selves, where we experience pain.
3 of Swords Meanings: Lord of Sorrow
- Grief/sorrow
- Heartache
- Separation/disappointment
- Accepting heartbreak, in order to accept beginning of healing journey
- Heart- When red, – new pain, when orange/red- past pain or the pain is fading
- Health:
- Heart attack
- Abortion
- Stroke
- Stress
- Relationships:
- Loss/sorrow/grief
Four of Swords:
The truth is, painful moments happen in our life. When they do, we can take the opportunity to expand upon all the factors at play. In this way, we can achieve a greater level of healing.
We can:
- Understand what went wrong & make changes and different decisions moving forward.
- Identify our thoughts, perceptions, & emotions. Our needs and desires hiding within our subconscious.
- Identify dysfunction in the world & change & heal it within your personal environment.
When we choose to live a healthy, thriving life, it means we take these moments of self-reflection. In doing so, we can remove dysfunction from our lives. As a result, we begin to live a life where we don’t bring pain into our lives with unhealthy patterns and habits, but merely heal from the pain we encounter in the world around us.
Following such a massive process of not only re-living a moment of pain, but learning and growing from it, the Fool needs a break. Entering into the four’s energy, the Fool enters a new combination within the Suit of Swords. The four brings with it a calming foundational number, bringing a pause to this journey.
The 4 of Swords also brings with it the energy of Jupiter in Libra. This energy brought by these two astrological forces combine with the number four and only bring more harmony to this card. Kindness, gentleness, and a great sense of harmony and balance are the energies that come from Jupiter in Libra.
From these energies, we can see why our Fool is resting. With such sweet energies, this card offers a moment of complete and total sanctuary. After his contemplation, a little reprieve is just what he needs.
4 of Swords Meanings:
- “Hermits Repose”
- Taking a break
- Period of peace
- Giving it over to the Universe/Spirit/Divine
- Overthinking- the would’ve, could’ve, should’ve
- Living in the past
- Contemplation/recovery/recuperation
- Becoming mindful of where your mind goes
- Give yourself a mental break
- Health:
- Recuperating from illness
- Recovery (period of peace)
- Relationships:
- Mourning- should’ve, would’ve, could’ve
Five of Swords:
With his energy renewed the Fool is prepared to continue on his journey. As he encounters the 5 of Swords, we can see a victor holding his plunder (Swords) and two men walking away in defeat. Which man is the Fool?
Depending on which path the Fool took from the 4 of Swords to get here, determines which man he is. If the reading supports the victor, then our Seeker/Fool has come through the situation successful. Since this suit pertains to oftentimes less harmonious circumstances there are two factors to keep in mind.
The first is the way in which the victor succeeded. Was there manipulation, or were honesty and truth utilized? Secondly, this card can also represent success at the expense of another. Which could be as simple as earning a job that many applied for. In this case, there can only be one victor.
If our Seeker has not become the victor, this card can symbolize defeat. Was the Fool just unlucky with the job or was lies utilized (by him or another)? In either case, it is up to the reader’s intuition and surrounding cards to determine where the Fool stands.
5 of Swords Meanings: Lord of Defeat
- Empty success
- Personal attack/slander/gossip/judgment
- To the Victor the spoils (But how has the victor won?)
- No-on comes out of a battle unscathed
- A person’s mental process
- Health:
- Further battling
- Relationships:
- Trying to justify actions
Six of Swords:
Whether the Fool encountered victory or defeat, his journey is not yet over. As he progresses we can see the Fool encounter the 6 of Swords. Within this image we see a boat or ferry being pushed-out to sea.
This card is very special to me, because one of its potential meanings is that, “God has a plan.” Here we can see these travelers setting off for new horizons. Moving forward but yet their destination remains unclear within this image. All we can see is that the Fool has embarked past what he has known before.
Much of our lives has already been determined (Soul Contract). Yet the truth of these decisions can remain unclear in our lives. Even when we have an esoteric assist (numerology, astrology, tarot, etc.).
This card is a wonderful lesson about the truth of life. What we do have control over and what is out of our hands. Here we see the passengers sitting upon this seats. They placed themselves within the Ferry Man’s control, their destination unknown.
But yet these are not powerless people. They can sit or they can stand. From this thought I can pull in a lesson my mother taught me growing up. I have the option to learn the lesson or have the experience, one of two ways. Either by the 2-by-4 or the feather.
The 2-by-4 brings with it unnecessary pain. Here I go down the path already selected kicking and screaming, or in this case I’d be all wet when I fall our of the boat.
Or, I can embrace the plan. The feather will still tap me on the head, the path will still be traveled, and the ride within this ferry will still be had. But this option on how to perceive and approach this moment brings a completely different experience.
Either way, this journey will be made. The Fool’s power comes when he accepts the truth and decides what he’s going to do about it.
My final note with this card, is that the Swords carried within this ferry are the luggage the Fool has chosen to bring with him. Our own truths (denied or embraced) and all that we carry within our mind will come with us no matter where we go. There are some things you can’t run away from. Only by taking responsibility for your own internal world can you embrace the power and control you have and do something about it.
6 of Swords Meanings:
- “God has a plan”
- Time of peace and calm
- Taking swords with you- need to face problems
- Need to get out of your own way and release things to the Divine/Universe
- Journey made by/near/over water
- Health:
- Surrender
- Go for help (science)
- Relationships:
- Period of peace
- No communication
Seven of Swords:
Once the ferry has docked the Fool continues his journey over land, until he encounters the 7 of Swords. Here we can see our Fool walking away with five swords in hand.
The card has the potential to be either deceptive or healing. It will be determined by the reading, and what story is being told.
We can either see the Fool walking down his path having chosen which of his burdens/truths/pains will come with him.And in this case we can see a card of healing. Demonstrating the release of dysfunction.
Or we can be witnessing a moment of deceit. The lie in this case, is who rightfully owns those swords. If our Fool was the loser in the 5 of Swords and walked away empty handed, he could be back to reclaim these 5 swords he views as rightfully his.
7 of Swords Meanings:
- Self-sabotage
- Trickery/cheating
- What you’ve chosen to take or leave as you move forward
- Well thought-out plan
- Partial success
- Walking on eggshells
- Alone through journey- either by choice, result, or necessity
- Health:
- Chronic illness
- Needs to drink more water
- Relationships:
- Cheater card
Eight of Swords:
Truth can be a hard lesson to learn and conflict arises with truths that can’t be handled. Here we see stillness as our Fool is tied up and surrounded by truths (swords).
It is within this card that we see conflict. Not externally like in the 5 of Wands, but internally. Here fear and maybe some hard truths have frozen our Fool in place.
The Key point within this card, is that the truths our Fool faces aren’t actually capable of harming him. He can at anytime, unwrap the fears that bind him, walk past those swords, and on towards his Castle of Dreams. Seen within the back drop of the 8 of Swords image.
8 of Swords Meanings:
- * 2nd fear card of the deck
- Deer in headlights- paralyzed
- Overthinking things
- Person who uses :but: to any solution
- Self-imposed improvement
- Need to look inwards at how you got here in order to find your way out
- Health:
- Temporary illness (cold/flue/measles)
- Relationships:
- Making excuse about why you can’t change
- Feeling restricted by your own fears
Nine of Swords:
In time all fears can pass. It may have been a new lesson, self-determination, aid by another, time which changed circumstances, or other means but our Fool has passed this moment of fear. Which brings him to the next stage of his journey the 9 of Swords.
Here we can see our Fool sitting up in bed, hands over his eyes, and a row of swords hang upon the wall. The meaning or truth we find within this card, is determined by what other cards lay around our 9 of Swords in a reading.
If positive healing and completion cards lay around then there is hope. For this card symbolizes the awakening from the nightmare that has been consuming the Fool’s life. But if negative cards surround or Fool, then the anguish within his mind has reached anew heights.
9 of Swords Meanings:
- Most anguished card of the deck
- Not even sure you have a future
- Not thinking things through
- Re-playing list of choices or actions of the past
- With positive cards- waking up from a nightmare
- Health:
- Stressing/worrying about another
- With Tower/Moon/5 of Cups/Judgment- suicide
- At a dark place
- Relationships:
- Things falling a part
- Misery
- Concern for miscarriage
Ten of Swords:
The Fool has traveled on many journeys. Each adventure bringing him to new lands and horizons. This time his journey does not include the rainbow of the 10 of Cups.
Here we can see our Fool face-down on the ground, with ten swords piercing his back, pinning him to the ground. You don’t need me, to understand this card. Often times this card really does mean torment. The single ember of hope, it is always darkest before the dawn.
10 of Swords Meanings:
- “No” card
- Ruin/defeat
- Failure/catastrophe
- Back-stabbing
- With positive cards- New dawn coming/end of suffering/moving forwards towards new horizon
- Always darkest before the dawn
- Health:
- Breakthrough
- Succumbs to it
- Relationships:
- Ending
Final Thoughts:
I acknowledge that sometimes we encounter the harder/darker aspects of life. As we have seen with the Suit of Swords story arc, pain exists within the world.
Yet, I have found each card within the Suit of Swords to hint at a different path. One of Hope. So, when one of these cards presents itself within a reading, don’t panic. Look, see what story it is sharing and what path can you take to change the course of your journey?