Tell My Tarot
Tell My Tarot
Suit of Swords meaning
The suit of swords in the Minor Arcana represents mind, decision-making, spirit, and accuracy. In the early, French Marseille tarot deck, the sword suit was depicted by a pike or scimitar, called a pique in French. One of the undeniable uses for the sword is its use as a weapon, and it’s capability to do violence. In the cards, however, it is a metaphor for the discerning mind, the mind that penetrates issues and ideas the way a sword penetrates a body. Rather than settle for the superficial, the sword dives in straight for the root of life and pierces it. Such frankness can cause hurt, but also brings about freedom from mental slavery. Each thought is a sword when freed from the mire of a sleepy mind. The clear headed person holds within herself an army of knowledge and wisdom, and this can be used for good or evil. Without conscience, knowledge can be used to dissect, calculate, and judge cruelly.
To explore the suit of Swords in detail
The characteristics of Swords cards
In their negative connotation, swords can indicate that a person is undergoing psychological disturbances, a difficult transition, or a feeling that their ideas about who they are and how the world works no longer hold true. They may be experiencing deep sadness, trouble with beaurocracy, and an overall feeling that life is a letdown and their efforts are fruitless. The sword is also a tool one can use to sort through a chaotic conundrum, hacking way the weeds of stale ideas and exposing the lifeblood of true insight.
Swords also represent maturity or great achievement, for example, when a person is knighted. Even today the Queen carries on this practice, knighting people for their achievements, such as an artist or musician. Knighting is a rite of passage marking the apprentice”s crossover from amateur to master. The sword is a tool that takes time to weild skillfully. It can be used recklessly, engendering drama and discord, or genuinely to bring about peace, harmony, and understanding.
Swords slice through the air travelling to the target, so air is the element associated with this suit. Its association with this element further teaches us that swords are spiritual and powerful, magical and mutable. Ancient theories note that air is calm nearer to the heavens but, closer to earth, it is wetter and can even become violent and stormy. Storms pull houses off foundations and force us to surrender, cancelling our plans: the brute forces of nature. Wind makes signs shudder, flowers lose their petals, and horses neigh. It thrashes all without regard for status.
Air connects us: it the medium through which all our human senses function. It carries smell, the light we see with, the space between us and what we touch or taste. It is the main medium through which we hear each other speaking or music playing. It is also the pure substance connecting all beings, travelling distances. It enlivens fire with its oxygen, carries the light through which plants grow, penetrates the smallest gaps and dries up impurities. Like mind, air can be furious or settled like a silky Hawaiin breeze. Therefore, the suit of swords represents both the ferocity of mind and spirituality as well as the clarity and peacefullness arduous study and concentration can bring.