Swords (tarot)
(Revision as of 14:41, 31 Mar 2005)
Part of the Thoth Tarot series.
Swords are one of the suits in the Thoth Tarot deck.
The four suits of the Tarot are: Wands, Cups, Swords, Disks
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The Court Cards
Knight of Swords
- Title: The Lord of the Winds and the Breezes. The King of the Spirits of Air.
- Astrology: 20° Taurus to 20° Gemini
- Element: The fiery part of Air
- Tree of Life: The Path of Shin
- Description:
- Interpretation: "[H]e is the wind, the storm. He represents the violent power of motion applied to an apparently manageable element... He represents the idea of attack. The moral qualities of a person thus indicated are activity and skill, subtlety and cleverness. He is fierce, delicate and courageous, but altogether the prey of his idea, which comes to him as an inspiration without reflection. If ill-dignified, the vigour in all these qualities being absent, he is incapable of decision or purpose. Any action that he takes is easily brushed aside by opposition. Inadequate violence spells futility."
Queen of Swords
- Title: The Queen of the Thrones of Air
- Astrology: 20° Virgo to 20° Libra
- Element: The watery part of Air
- Tree of Life: The Path of Mem
- Description: "She is enthroned upon the clouds. The upper part of her body is naked, but she wears a gleaming belt and a sarong. Her helmet is crested by the head of a child, and from it stream sharp rays of light, illuminating her empire of celestial dew. In her right hand, she bears a sword; in her left hand, the newly severed head of a bearded man."
- Interpretation: "She is the clear, conscious perception of Idea, the Liberator of the Mind... The person symbolized by this card should be intensely perceptive, a keen observer, a subtle interpreter, an intense individualist, swift and accurate at recording ideas; in action confident, in spirit gracious and just. Her movements will be graceful, and her ability in dancing and balancing exceptional. If ill-dignified, these qualities will all be turned to unworthy purposes. She will be cruel, sly, deceitful and unreliable; in this way, very dangerous, on account of the superficial beauty and attractive ness which distinguish her."
Prince of Swords
- Title: The Prince of the Chariot of Air
- Astrology: 20° Capricorn to 20° Aquarius
- Element: The airy part of Air
- Tree of Life: The Path of Aleph
- Description: "The figure of this Prince is clothed with closely woven armour adorned with definite device, and the chariot which bears him suggests (even more closely) geometrical ideas. This chariot is drawn by winged children, looking and leaping irresponsibly in any direction that takes their fancy; they are not reined, but perfectly Capricious. The chariot consequently is easy enough to move, but quite unable to progress in any definite direction except by accident. This is a perfect picture of the Mind... In his right hand is a lifted sword wherewith to create, but in his left hand a sickle, so that what he creates he instantly destroys."
- Interpretation: "A person thus symbolized is purely intellectual. He is full of ideas and designs which tumble over each other. He is a mass of fine ideals unrelated to practical effort. He has all the apparatus of Thought in the highest degree, intensely clever, admirably rational, but unstable of purpose, and in reality indifferent even to his own ideas, as knowing that any one of them is just as good as any other. He reduces everything to unreality by removing its substance and transmuting it to an ideal world of ratiocination which is purely formal and out of relation to any facts, even those upon which it is based."
Princess of Swords
- Title: The Princess of the Rushing Winds. The Lotus of the Palace of Air.
- Astrology: Rules a 3rd Quadrant
- Element: The earthy part of Air
- Tree of Life: The Path of 32-bis
- Description: "[S]he appears helmed, with serpent-haired Medusa for her crest. She stands in front of a barren altar as if to avenge its profanation, and she stabs downward with her sword. The heaven and the clouds, which are her home, seem angry."
- Interpretation: "She brings about the materialization of Idea. She represents the influence of Heaven upon Earth... The character of the Princess is stern and revengeful. Her logic is destructive. She is firm and aggressive, with great practical wisdom and subtlety in material things. She shews great cleverness and dexterity in the management of practical affairs, especially where they are of a controversial nature. She is very adroit in the settlement of controversies. If ill-dignified, all these qualities are dispersed; she becomes incoherent, and all her gifts tend to combine to form a species of low cunning whose object is unworthy of the means."
The Small Cards
Ace of Swords
- Title: The Root of the Powers of Air
- Tree of Life: Kether
- Description:
- Interpretation: "[T]he primordial Energy of Air, the Essence of the Vau of Tetragrammaton, the integration of the Ruach... There is indeed, a notable passivity in its nature; evidently, it has no self-generated impulse. But, set in motion by its Father [Fire] and Mother [Water], its power is manifestly terrific. It visibly attacks its objective, as they, being of subtler and more tenuous character, can never do. The card represents the Sword of the Magus (see Book 4, Part II) crowned with the twenty-two rayed diadem of pure Light. The number refers to the Atu; also 22=2 x 11, the Magical manifestation of Chokmah, Wisdom, the Logos. Upon the blade, accordingly, is inscribed the Word of the Law. This Word sends forth a blaze of Light, dispersing the dark clouds of the Mind."
From Book 4 (Ch.7 "The Sword"): "...the Magick Sword is the Reason...the analytical faculty... The Sword, necessary as it is to the Beginner, is but a crude weapon. Its function is to keep off the enemy or to force a passage through them—and though it must be wielded to gain admission to the palace, it cannot be worn at the marriage feast... The aim of the Magus is to destroy his partial thought by uniting it with the Universal Thought, not to make a further breach and division in the Whole."
Two of Swords
Three of Swords
Four of Swords
Five of Swords
Six of Swords
Seven of Swords
Eight of Swords
Nine of Swords
Ten of Swords
 | Tarot | Thoth Tarot | Tarot & the Tree of Life |
| Major Arcana: The Fool - The Magus - The Priestess - The Empress - The Emperor - The Hierophant - The Lovers - The Chariot - Adjustment - The Hermit - Fortune - Lust - The Hanged Man - Death - Art - The Devil - The Tower - The Star - The Moon - The Sun - The Aeon - The Universe Minor Arcana: Wands | Cups | Swords | Disks |
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