SWORDS / AIR / WORDS

11/21/2019

Swords:
Air; Thoughts; Speech; Decisions; Plan; Plots ; Gossip; Wisdom; Listening; Doubt; Certainty

ace of swords

The Ace of Swords is the infinite potential for all manner of thought & speech. Swords represent the tongue; both are double edged. The thoughts & words we put out in the world have an uncanny way of coming back to affect our lives. Therefore we must think before we speak- & choose our swords carefully.

two of swords

This is the Moon (High Priestess) in Libra (Justice). A woman sits holding two swords. If we understand swords represent thoughts & truth, then we see the picture depicts someone of two minds, unable to make a clear decision. Usually we articulate our desires & intentions about what we want to happen next in our lives based on our perception of pleasant vs. unpleasant past experiences; but what if we don't have a clear perspective of what's behind us? What if our hindsight isn't 20/20? "Those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it." If we remember the Moon actually represents the High Priestess, keeper of intuition, secrets & cycles, & the Justice card represents karmic balancing within relationships, then we see there is a cycle occurring; a relationship pattern remerging; but the woman does not understand what has already happened, therefore she can't determine one way or the other whether to perpetuate or end the cycle.

Real Life Application: You grew up in a household where your mother made excuses for your father's imperfections. She covered up his bad behaviors & exalted his choices, even when his actions clearly didn't match her words. In college, a guy you're dating often shows up later than planned, sometimes missing dates altogether. He's usually apologetic & you forgive him easily. Perhaps too easily. When he doesn't apologize, you find yourself making excuses for him. After college, you make plans to move to your favorite city for graduate school. Shortly after you tell your boyfriend, you wind up unexpectedly pregnant even though you've always been careful with birth control. As soon as you miss your period, he proposes. Should you have the baby & marry him? Have an abortion & move? Have an abortion & marry him? Keep the baby & move? Nothing is going the way you planned but is that... bad? Is this just... life? He loves you... right?

three of swords

This is Saturn (the World) in Libra (Justice). Now the relationship karma comes full circle & we understand what our intuition was trying to tell us. But it's too late. We are stuck in a situation we didn't want, but that we had to experience in order to know WHY we didn't want it. When we are open to our present reality, life flows through us. When we are accepting of ourselves, our choices & our circumstances, our heart chakra is wide open. But when we close ourselves off to our current situations because we wish they didn't exist, our heart chakra closes. Because we'd rather things not be the way they are, we cut off the energy within us that is fueling the situation. In order to kill our present circumstances (or at least our awareness of them), we die inside.

Real Life Application: Your father rarely said out loud, "I love you," to you, your mother or your siblings. Instead, he demonstrated his love through working hard, paying rent & keeping food on the table. As an adult, you fall deeply in love with your girlfriend, but she has trouble understanding the depth of your feelings because she expects fairytale romance & affection but that isn't your way. She breaks up with you, believing you cold & uninterested. You remain friends. You witness as she starts dating a man who is extremely romantic & demonstrative, but manages to never pay for anything. She is sure he loves her, however, so she marries him. Over time the romance between them fades but he still manages to never pay for anything. She comes to redefine love in terms of actions rather than words, & realizes you loved her all long. But its too late, & you both suffer a life of heartache as a result.

four of swords

This is Jupiter (Wheel of Fortune) in Libra (Justice). You live by the sword, you die by the sword. What goes around comes back around. Keep living. The Wheel of Fortune turns events around in relationships so that we can see the other side. The four of swords gives us perspective, by allowing us to see things from the other side. If our words & actions hurt others, fate brings us situations that make us feel the way we've made others feel. If we felt the words & action of others hurt us, fate brings us situations that cause us to act similarly to those we've condemned. Thanks to the Wheel of Fortune, everyone will find the words & thoughts they have put out into the world, pointing back at them.

Real Life Application: As a child, you were always in your mother's room. You wore her makeup & put on her clothes. One day you ripped a dress she never wore, & you didn't think you deserved her rage (since she never wore it). Years later, your daughter ruins a dress you've kept since high school because it reminds you of happier times. You get so upset - its like she's murdered the last bit of your youth! Suddenly you get the urge to call & apologize to your mother. She is appalled that you'd yell at her sweet grand baby over a stupid dress. Unexpectedly, your mother apologizes to you.

five of swords

This is Venus (the Empress) in Aquarius (the Star). This card is tricky. If we look at the Empress as our creative principle & power of manifestation, & we see the Star as expressing our innermost desires for peace & healing- then in the five of swords we're seeing someone determined to get what their desires met at all costs. Notice the swords in different positions - two up, one down, two on the ground. If swords represent words, then what this person has chosen to say & not to say, has left the other two in the picture with no choices to speak at all. They have been disarmed.

Real life application: An intuitive woman whose been hurt before & has learned to interpret patterns of behavior as a defense mechanism, senses her husband is cheating. She's confronted him about her suspicions before, but without proof the accusations remain unfounded & easily denied. One night after he falls asleep, she goes through his phone. Instead of waking him up when she finds the evidence, she emails it to herself secretly & pretends not to know what she knows. In the morning she asks him a series of questions that gives him one last opportunity to tell the truth, but again, he denies everything. She leaves for work & checks into a hotel afterwards. She is done. When he calls that night wondering where she is, she emails him her proof & asks for a divorce. There is nothing left to say.

six of swords

This is Mercury (The Magician) in Aquarius (The Star). Two people are huddled in a boat with no luggage. Wherever they are going, they appear to have nothing except the clothes on their backs. The boat is guided by someone standing behind them, As bad as things may seem, these people are being guided, led, protected, assisted in their hour of need. The fact that this person is behind them indicates they may be someone from their past. Sometimes we make relationships that, unbeknownst to us, are a blessing to our future selves. One of the people huddled in the boat appears to be a child. Regardless of negative circumstances- whether deserved or undeserved - innocent ones are always affected. This is why, even in the midst of executing our five-of-swords strategy, we must also speak words of protection over everyone involved.

Real life application: You're a cop & you've been working undercover within a secret organization. There is a young boy affiliated with them & you know if he's around when the group gets busted, it will ruin the rest of his life. You want to protect him but you don't want to jeopardize your work. You come up with an excuse to keep the boy far away when the shit goes down. He's upset you lied & betrayed the organization, but also grateful you saved his future.

seven of swords

This is the Moon (High Priestess) in Aquarius (the Star). If we remember the High Priestess is the keeper of cycles & the star is deep healing after difficulty, then we see the 7 of swords is someone who finally realizes what they've always wanted- it just took calamity for the clarity to rise. Likely, whatever they said they didn't want is what they later discover they actually DO want. This is why this person's feet are going one way & their head is going another way. This person is inconsistent; they say one thing & do another. There is a circus in the background; this person's antics are entertaining & no one takes them seriously. But the one being laughed at doesn't mind at all; they are simply delighted to find their truth.

Real life application: You're a psychiatrist & part of your job includes prescribing mood altering drugs. One of the side effects of the drug is suicide & after your 5th patient takes their own life, possibly as a side effect of medication you prescribed. You publicly denounce mood-altering drugs sold by the pharmaceutical industry, effectively ending your career. You begin educating yourself on herbs & & other natural remedies. Your loss of status, respect & income makes you the laughing stock of your peers; you don't care though, because for the first time in your life, you feel like a real healer.

eight of swords

This is Jupiter (Wheel of Fortune) in Gemini (The Lovers). If we see the Wheel of Fortune as fate & the Lovers as an individual quest for a united identity, then we understand that the eight of swords is someone being helplessly turned on their path toward self-discovery. This person is being faced with the truth of who they really are versus who they thought they were. They are also being faced with the mental constraints that keep them struggling against being grounded in their current reality, closed in by their OWN choices & decisions. Even though this predicament is uncomfortable, it brings you exactly to where you need to be in order to reflect on who you truly are. When one confronts their choices, they also have to confront their identity.

Real life application: Because of your critical upbringing, you have zero confidence in yourself. Your low self-esteem becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, & you realize you've done nothing to make yourself proud. You lose your job & are forced to live with your parents. They berate you, dropping your self-esteem even further. One day you realize their degrading voices sound exactly the voice in your head that's been belittling you all these years. The voice also sounds like your former employers, old friends & ex-boyfriends. You confront your parents, explaining how the way they've spoken to you has shaped the way you've spoken to yourself, & allowed others to treat you. You aren't blaming them for your choices, but you are recognizing that you made the choices you did based on how you felt about yourself, & you're finally clear regarding their role in that. The very act of acknowledging your truth & interrupting their narrative makes you feel stronger. Standing up for yourself instantly garners your own self-respect, & begins a new journey of self-love & new, healthy choices.

nine of swords

This is Mars (the Tower) in Gemini (the Lovers). If we think of the Tower as raw power & the Lovers as the unified self, we see the nine of swords is someone lamenting the fact they are holding themselves back by refusing to express who they really are because it would require destroying certain relationships, or at least downgrading their significance. This person is so charged up with the thoughts & words flowing that they aren't expressing, that they literally can't sleep at night. The more this person suppresses their desires, the more they are overcome with the thoughts of them. They've become a prisoner of their mind.

Real life application: A teenager has been raised with one religion but has been secretly studying another. The secret religion makes much more sense to the teen but she knows her parents would consider the mere discussion blasphemy. The more the teen hides who she is becoming, the less she likes herself for lying about it. She then resents her parents for making her lie. She finds solace for this specific issue in her new religion, which makes her love it even more- which starts the downward spiral all over again.

ten of swords

This is the Sun in Gemini (the Lovers). If we think of the Sun as clarity & the Lovers as a unified self, then the ten of swords is someone with complete & total clarity regarding who they ARE & who they ARE NOT based on the complete experience of their former self. It is this old self that lies dead, with every thought, word & confirmation about why that old man cannot live, lodged firmly in his back. This picture looks bleak, but we're seeing someone dead to who they used be, ready to be reborn & rise anew.

Real life application: You're a recovering alcoholic with two years in AA. You're spent the appropriate time alone & you're finally ready to date. You've been seeing a nice person & taking things slow. One night at a restaurant you run into someone you used to drink with, who has clearly not gotten sober. This person wants to catch up & gives you their card. You throw it away in the first trash can you pass. Hellll no.

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