Eight of Swords

This card depicts a woman loosely bound, her hands behind her back. She is blindfolded and is flanked by 8 swords pegged into the ground. It speaks to us of restrictions, but also of the ability to break free from restrictions.

Spartacus was a Roman slave who was sold for a gladiator. A grim fate indeed. Yet, he refused to remain captive and broke free. This encouraged other slaves to break free and to join him in the largest slave revolt in Roman history. The Roman threw everything they had at him yet he remain undefeated and in fact defeated his enemy in battle for a year. He was finally defeated through trickery and superior Roman forces.

Spartacus could have remained a slave, instead he chose to break free. In the process, he provided inspiration to many other slaves, some of whom joined him. Approximately 70 gladiators managed to free themselves when Spartacus broke free.

As he started defeating the Roman forces who were sent after them, he so inspired other enslaved men that approximately 100,000 slaves also broke free to join him in this defiant act. Spartacus somehow managed to feed and shelter his men as he led them into one battle after the next.

Although Spartacus was eventually defeated by the Roman Crassus, history remembers Spartacus, not Crassus, for the inspiration that he gave to so many slaves.

Sometimes when we break free from bad habits, or a corrupted system we inspire other people to do the same. If we can stop ourselves from accepting defeat when we are faced with restrictions that we have the ability to free ourselves from, others become inspired, reasoning if we could do it so can they!

The woman in the card who has her hands bound behind her back and who has been blindfolded can free herself. She need only want to. Sometimes we find it easier to wallow in self-pity or despair instead of taking a stand and releasing ourselves from the restrictions. When this card appears we might want to ask ourselves whether there is some aspect of our lives in which we feel bound or restricted. If so, now is the time to consider liberating ourselves instead of accepting our lot or misery. It is within our power to do so.

In closing I share with you a quote by C. JoyBell, on breaking free:

“When I was little and running on the race track at school, I always stopped and waited for all the other kids so we could run together even though I knew (and everybody else knew) that I could run much faster than all of them! I pretended to read slowly so I could "wait" for everyone else who couldn't read as fast as I could! When my friends were short I pretended that I was short too and if my friend was sad I pretended to be unhappy. I could go on and on about all the ways I have limited myself, my whole life, by "waiting" for people. And the only thing that I've ever received in return is people thinking that they are faster than me, people thinking that they can make me feel bad about myself just because I let them and people thinking that I have to do whatever they say I should do. My mother used to teach me "Cinderella is a perfect example to be" but I have learned that Cinderella can go fuck herself, I'm not waiting for anybody, anymore! I'm going to run as fast as I can, fly as high as I can, I am going to soar and if you want you can come with me! But I'm not waiting for you anymore.” 

Two of Swords

A long time ago, when it was still believed that the world was flat, there lived a man named Ferdinand Magellan. Like the figure on the two of Swords card, Magellan needed to make a choice – blindfolded in a sense – with no guaranteed outcome. A choice that would require a huge leap of faith, given the times he lived in.

Magellan decided to sail around the world, without any knowledge of what may await him or his crew. To not do so, I imagine, would have been to choose an almost certain fate in mediocrity.

Against all odds this man Magellan convinced a crew to join him as he set off to become the first person to circumnavigate the earth.

He and his crew were met with many challenges. Most of his crew did not survive this dangerous mission, and yet, they chose to face the dangers of the high seas, and the possibility that they might fall off the end of the world, in order to challenge themselves and change the world as they knew it.

All choices have consequences, and today’s card reminds us of this. When faced with a choice we seldom have guarantees regarding the outcome, but we do know that all choices have consequences.

The consequences for Magellan and his crew was that many of them would not make it, many would die in the attempt. But, Magellan made it, he succeeded in being the first person to circumnavigate the world, a victory that would not have been possible without a huge leap of faith on his part, and a willingness to face whatever consequences arose from his choice.

Our daily choices may not necessarily be as dramatic as Magellan’s was, but we occasionally find ourselves in positions where we really do not know what the outcome of our choices might lead to. It is at times like these that a leap of faith is needed as well as a healthy understanding that we need to be prepared to live with the consequences of our choices.

The figure in the card is blindfolded, she is flanked by two swords, a decision or choice must be made and she cannot begin to see the outcome of either. Yet, the only way out of breaking this deadlock is to take the plunge and chose one or the other. Even the wrong choice is better than no choice.

If we think that we do not really have choices to make every day, consider this:

After we choose to get out of bed in the mornings, we choose to either approach our day with dread or desire. How do we choose to project ourselves onto our world today? Do we tackle the less-desirable or difficult tasks that we have left for last, or do we get them out of the way first? Do we choose to live in appreciation of the beauty that surrounds us, even on the subway or in the concrete jungle of our cities? Do we choose to frown or smile at strangers. Have you ever noticed how much better that first cup of coffee tastes in the morning when you sip it with a song in your heart rather than a black mood stifling your thoughts?

If nothing else, today’s card reminds us to make conscious choices though our day, without guarantee of reward or outcome. One never knows what a difference even a small positive gesture can make to someone who crosses our path, however briefly. Like Magellan’s it may even change someone’s world for the better.

In closing we could do as William Blake suggested in Auguries of Innocence: We could choose to:

To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

Ace of Swords

The Aces are often seen as beginnings and gifts, receiving a gift or chance as it were. Having a gift, and not using it is futile, but it is also important to know that once we have done what we must with the help of this gift, we should return it to the world.

The Ace of Swords is reminiscent of once such gift that was given to a man named King Arthur of Camelot. In some legends it is told that the Lady of The Lake gave it to him, in others that he extracted it from a stone.

This legendary sword was named Excalibur, attributed with magical powers that protected King Arthur when he went into battle. Legend tells us that whomever possessed the Excalibur sword and scabbard would not bleed or suffer from a wound inflicted upon them.

Armed with this sword Arthur created a world called Camelot, with all its lessons, legends, magic and myth. 

At some point he lost the scabbard, it is said that Morgan Le Fey stole it and threw it into the lake, never to be seen again. With the scabbard lost, Arthur was eventually wounded in battle. He died from these wounds but not before he returned the sword named Excalibur to its rightful owner, the Lady of The Lake. He had completed his mission, used the gift given to him in a manner that was righteous and good, and when the time arrived he returned it to the world by giving it back to the Lady of The Lake.

Arthur was given an opportunity to make a difference when he was entrusted with Excalibur. Once he was done he did not keep the gift out of greed, he gave it back to be given to the next worthy recipient.

Similarly when we are gifted with an idea, for example, we should not keep it to ourselves, instead we should give it back to the world – the Universe – so that the next one can take the idea and improve on it. Thus we become part of the natural evolution of this gift.

King Arthur could have held onto the sword and not done anything with it, instead he created a world called Camelot. A world that taught and still teaches many lessons, and is still kept alive in legend and magic.

Likewise, the gifts we receive should be shared with the world. A baker does not grow his own wheat he adds value to the gift of wheat that is grown by another hand.  So too a racing car driver does not build the car, instead he makes it fly…

The lesson in today’s card is to remind us to honour the gifts we receive. To not jealously possess them for ourselves alone but to share them with the world, to recognise that by passing this gift along to others we are keeping it alive, and becoming a part of the natural evolution of the gifts we receive.

The Buddha said “The greatest gift is to give people your enlightenment, to share it. It has to be the greatest.”

Nine of Swords

A figure sits upright in bed, her face covered with her hands. Above her, in the dark, hovers nine swords. Her legs are covered with a quilt that is decorated with red roses as well as the zodiac & other planetary symbols. The wooden bed has a carving of two figures, one on the attack and another on the defence.

This is a card that conjures images of nightmares and fears. However, the swords that are suspended in the air above the figure suggests that these fears are all still “up in the air” nothing is concrete or solid yet. Perhaps many of the fears that cause her sleepless nights are conjured and not quite based in reality. However, be that as it may, fear itself is a very real thing, as most of us are only too aware.

The roses motif on the quilt as well as the planetary and zodiac symbols speaks of secrets, and in this case the secret lies in knowing what our strengths and weaknesses are, for in doing so we learn about who we are. Once we understand our weaknesses we are better equipped to take practical steps to address these, and in some cases we are even able to turn a former weakness into a strength.

In the card the fearful figure sits in darkness, as she imagines all these swords above her. It is therefore necessary for us to move from the darkness of the unknown by admitting our weaknesses so that we are able to turn them into strengths or at least so that we are better prepared when faced with challenges. An honest self-examination is needed where aspects of ourselves that were formerly in the dark or a “secret” can be revealed and dealt with appropriately. Once we know ourselves we can cast a light on things that were previously in the dark, and gain clarity and understanding. In the light things seem a lot less threatening than what they can seem to be in the dark.

The two figures carved into the bed further reinforce the need for us to choose whether we will allow our fears to dominate us, or whether we will dominate our fears instead. If we allow our fears to rule us while we are shrouded in darkness we will surely succumb to our nightmares. Instead, we could be the other figure in the carving that is proactive and dominant, the figure that represents having overcome his fears and faced his weaknesses along with his strengths by throwing the cover of secrets off and closely examining himself with honesty and courage.

The astrological symbols on the quilt shows us that there are many aspects to ourselves that we still need to discover and understand. But, in understanding these lies the comfort of self-knowledge and preparedness. Just like a warm quilt offers comfort and shelter on a cold evening, self-knowledge offers clarity and the comfort of confidence in our abilities to face challenges that may come our way. But most importantly, by learning who we are, we dispel illusions that can create darkness around us so that we are always surrounded by the light of knowledge. It is then less likely that we will have sleepless nights, conjuring fears based on the unknown that can torment us and cause us to become fearful and weak.

Once we have eliminated the dark and seen that there are no swords hanging above our heads,  we can relax and get a good night’s rest knowing that we are well equipped with self-knowledge of our strengths and weaknesses. It is then that we can draw the quilt of comfort over us as we prepare to rest.

“Men soon the faults of others learn


A few their virtues, too, find out;


But is there one—I have a doubt— 


Who can his own defects discern?”


Sanskrit Proverb

Three of Swords

The imagery on the Rider Waite Smith card shows a heart impaled by three swords. Sharp as they enter the heart, and blunt as they exit. The suit of Swords refers to the realm of thought, or the intellectual realm.

We have all experienced how our sharp reasoning abilities can become dulled and blunt when we allow our emotions to dictate our thoughts, particularly if we become obsessively emotional about something.

The 3 swords impaling the heart has been interpreted by many other tarotists to mean a love triangle. Today I’d like to play with that interpretation a little.

When considering the heart one can hardly do so without reference to Cupid, the cherubic archer of Valentine's Day. This myth of Cupid reads like a faerie tale:

Once upon a time there was a king with three daughters. They were all beautiful, but by far the most beautiful was the youngest, Psyche. She was so beautiful that people began to neglect the worship of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. Venus became very jealous of this girl who was a mere mortal, and asked her son Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with a horrible monster. When he saw how beautiful she was however, Cupid dropped the arrow meant for Psyche and pricked himself with one of his own arrows instead, thus he fell in love with her.

After many trials and tribulations, and much heartache, much of which was metered out by the angry and vengeful Venus upon Psyche, the tale ends with Cupid and Psyche marrying and Psyche becoming a Goddess herself. Venus thus eventually accepts their union as the admiration of mortals is no longer drawn away from her by another mere mortal.

In this tale we see the destructive elements of this love-triangle when Venus can no longer reason without her emotions getting in the way. We see how jealousy and anger blunted the sharp reasoning abilities of the Goddess Venus, and how her desire for revenge on the beautiful Psyche results in the one she loves, her son Cupid, falling in love with her nemesis, Venus’ revenge resulting in heartache for him as much as for Psyche. We see how Venus’ love for Cupid and her loathing of his lover Psyche, are closely interwoven, reminding us that there is a fine line between love and hate.

There is an Arabic proverb that says: “Love sees sharply, hatred sees even more sharp, but jealousy sees the sharpest for it is love and hate at the same time.”

We are reminded that the heart is a universal symbol that renders us all equally vulnerable. No-one is immune to it. Even the cold-blooded and seemingly indestructible cannot escape this vulnerability. It is no co-incidence for example that the one way to slay a vampire is by driving a steak through its heart.  Everyone is vulnerable to love. Love however cannot be experienced without allowing our vulnerabilities to be exposed to one another. Therefore, nobody is immune to heartache and disappointment either.

We would do well to consider how our thought and reasoning processes can be dulled and blunted when we allow our emotions to overrule our common sense, or when we act out of vengeance from a place of hurt, as we often lack control of our thoughts that are no longer sharp in such situations.

Thus the moral of our story today is that we should carefully consider how our angry and sometimes jealous words wound not only our perceived enemy, but how we and those whom we love are drawn into and affected by the pain we often sharply measure out.  Few have said it better than Def Leppard who sang: “Can’t stop the hurt inside, when love and hate collide.”

Seven of Swords

This card often conjures feelings of being robbed or cheated out of something. However , today I’d like to focus more on the intent of the character in the card who seems to be doing the cheating or robbing.

Loki, from the Norse tradition, is the god of thieves and mischief. In one myth he tricked Hod who was blind, into killing his beloved brother Balder, son of Odin, with a dart made of mistletoe – the only plant which had not sworn to never harm Balder. The imagery on this card is reminiscent of the wiles of Loki, and particularly prevalent on the face of the main character as he sneaks away in mischief.

In the seven of Swords card, we see a figure tip-toeing away; silently carrying away swords that clearly do not belong to him. It is apparent from further examination of this card that the scene is one of a jousting tournament. Tournament tents colourfully displaying their competing flags stand in the background. In the distant background a circle of knights stand together discussing the tournament in preparation of the competition. The scene is set for knights to display their skill and strength in this most important tournament. As was customary, the knights would bring their squires to such events. Medieval squires were the servants of the knights, in their training to become knights themselves. It was a very noble profession to be a knight, and a privilege to be a medieval squire, as that meant, more often than not, a potentially promising future if trained and knighted.

Back in the card, one can almost hear the squires of the various knights, hard at work in service of their masters to ensure that all the preparation are taken care of and that they have been thorough in their duties towards their knights.  The squires – like all squires of the time – are young and still need to prove themselves. They are in the service of their knights who will eventually train them to become  knights too. It would be self-defeating and self-destructive for these young squires to risk their entire future by being derelict in their duties towards their knights. Nothing could be more important to a young squire than  to ensure that all his master’s needs and expectations are taken care of, and that he has been diligent in his duties towards his benefactor.

Our attention is drawn back to the predominant figure in the card, that of the squire who is carrying away the very swords needed by the knights to perform their duty at the tournament. Judging by the expression on the face of the mischievous squire, he is not concerned at all with the consequences of his trickery! He has a self-satisfied grin on his face that tells us he finds the situation rather funny. A practical joker, that’s what this squire seems to be. Loki in all his mischievous glory. Which is all good and well, but how will the knights react when they discover that their swords have been misplaced, hidden or stolen from them? How will this impact on the tournament itself, that is kept waiting, while the tools of the trade are missing? Can you imagine the fury of the knights as they suffer humiliation at being disarmed? The fear of punishment and loss of future opportunities that potentially face the other young squires as their masters and knights look to them when it is discovered that their swords have been stolen, is almost tangible. Yet, it seems our irresponsible squire has not considered the impact of his practical joke on those around him, or himself. It seems that not a moment’s thought was given to the despair and confusion that this situation would cause for the knights, their squires and the tournament hosts. The severity of the situation is entirely lost on this squire.

This card reminds us that we should be mindful of how our actions may aversely affect others, even if our intent was not to harm. It cautions us to take responsibility for our actions, and to recognize when we have inadvertently hurt others simply because we weren’t paying attention, or because we didn’t consider the potential consequences of our actions.

When we do things that cause others pain, we cause ourselves pain.  When we do things that cause us to work against our own hopes and dreams we are self-sabotaging. Consideration of others happiness and welfare is paramount in our quest for self-development, but, as with so much else it all begins with the relationship we have with ourselves.