Misc Qs: Swords suit and deck handling

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 21 Jun 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Dystopian	21 Jun 2002
Hi, I have some questions that I hope you wonderful people can answer: 1. Is the Swords suit a negative suit? I have the book "How To Use Tarot Spreads" by Abraham and the card interpretations for the Swords suit are all rather negative. 2. What accessories are available to protect and store my deck? I'm looking for a good case/pouch for carrying my deck around. Anyone thought of using card sleeves (those used in gaming cards)?

Kellinator	21 Jun 2002
Hi Dystopian! As for the Swords, remember this is just me and others may disagree. Swords are the suit of challenges as well as mental processes. I know many of us, myself included, tend to cringe when we come up with a lot of Swords, and it's the suit with the most negative cards. But I wouldn't say the whole suit is negative. Several of the cards have positive elements (2, 4, 6, maybe 7), and even the 10 suggests a new beginning after the ending. The Swords aren't always pleasant, but we learn and grow through them. Does that help? As for deck storage, I'm getting bags from www.tarottotes.com. Many people on Aeclectic make their own bags. I'm sure card sleeves would work also if you can find them in the right size. All best, Kellinator

tigerlily	21 Jun 2002
The Sword is traditionally a "gloom and doom" suit, probably because Swords are associated with death (they're weapons, after all). I don't know if the traditional Marseilles does even acknowledge elemental associations with the suits, so if there *is* no Swords-Air connection, associating a weapons suit with all sorts of misfortune comes quite naturally. The elemental assignments may have come up with the Golden Dawn and their decks (Rider, BOTA, Toth) - I don't know this for sure, though. Anyway, Waite concentrated on the Majors and disregarded the Minors as fortunetelling crap ;), so he didn't bother to give any new meanings to them and just listed the traditional interpretations. Unfortunately, the illustrations of Pamela Smith refelct those meanings, and as a result, you have still lots of misery in the Sword cards. If you associate Swords with Air rather then death, then the suit covers all mental activities, your thoughts, communications, even your convictions and your philosphy of life. I don't think that being able to think coherently and logically is a bad thing; and since my view of the Swords differs so much from the traditional meanings, I find it increasingly difficult to read with Waite-type decks. I have returned to decks of the Marseilles type, because every single deck so far that emulates the Rider deck is just mindlessly repeating Smith's scenes for the Minors. It's really annoying! If someone decides to design a new deck, shouldn't they put some thought into the cards instead of copying them? There's more to a "new" deck than just a different art style! Ok, rant is over LOL!

Greenelin	21 Jun 2002
Hi - yes, viewing Swords as mental processes rather than "doom & gloom" is very helpful. The suit's reputation is negative becase, after all, most people don't like to think very much . . . In the delightful double meaning Tarot usually conveys, though, think of them also as weapons, a point made by another respondent to your query (I'm so sorry, fellow respondent, I forgot your name! Please forgive me!). Particularly when they are reversed, the Swords can mean that one is stuck in over-mentalizing, or just in a rut, treading round and round the question without solving it. (The two and eight would obviously be exceptions to this.) The Courts in the suit can stand for very intelligent people, but I work in the mental health field, and sometimes when reversed they have described one or more of my clients very accurately. I've also seen them describe people you would just rather not encounter even briefly - you know, the ones who wear their nastiness on their sleeve. The two, eight, and ten, in reversal, are wonderful cards to see if the querent has been struggling with a problem or issue and hasn't arrived at a workable solution. They are cards of freedom from old thinking patterns. So, when a Sword comes up - think mind and brain, and even philosophy, but not doom and gloom! Best wishes, Lin

Umbrae	21 Jun 2002
Swords are not negative. They represent our ego’s, the thinking mind (although we would all get along much better if we did not think). The thinking mind creates and deals with obstacles (real and imagioned). I go to my local Metaphysical shop and buy deck bags. Lovely lined cloth bags with double drawstrings to keep my decks from getting the ‘uglies’ in by briefcase. Some folks like wooden boxes for their cards, but I find they are too big and ‘clunky’. (Tigerlily...GOOD rant)

Greenelin	21 Jun 2002
Ooops. Okay, accessories: pine box silk bag yaddayadda. The theories behind the silk is that silk provides "magical insulation" from vibes of whatever kind, thus protecting your deck from random stuff until you take it from the bag and expose it to your Querent. Silk bags as such are quite difficult to find, and very expensive when located. I make my own, either from thrift-store silk clothing whose design pleases me, or from favorite silk blouses which have suffered a direct hit of tomato sauce. Sleeves or pockets make very good "starting points" for your bag. I happen to practice Wicca, so there's a whole clearing process I subject the clothes to, as well as a good handwashing in cold water; I'll be happy to share it with you if you like - you don't need to be Wiccan to use it. I've never uncovered the rationalization behind the pine box to store the cards in or the pine board to read them on. Pine has definite energies, but I've never found specific and strong energies of protection allocated to it, and in fact that is not my experience of the wood's energies. Being as I am a thrift-shop maven, I go there and purchase, for a buck or two, any old box that pleases me. Its shape is really what I look for, because once it gets home with me, it's going to be re-covered with more silk. I use a natural glue, but that's the Wicca stuff again. Believe me, many other commercially-made glues work just as well and smell lots better. So girl, my advice is, find something that pleases you and make what you want of it!

Major Tom	21 Jun 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae Swords are not negative. They represent our ego’s, the thinking mind (although we would all get along much better if we did not think). The thinking mind creates and deals with obstacles (real and imagioned). (Tigerlily...GOOD rant) Can't argue with this. }) Give your cards respect. Other than this you cannot go wrong.

mondk	21 Jun 2002
Hmm...I use a velveteen bag with a drawstring for my dragon tarot deck, but it already has a hole in the bottom of it. I have kept my other decks in their little cardboard boxes and I tote them all around in my Pentacle designed cloth bag. I take them virtually everywhere I go in case I bump into someone who may want a reading. I even take purple mini-candles and their holders with me everywhere in my "all-purpose" bag, LOL. I suppose I'm a bit eccentric huh? Oh well, it works!! Blessings, Michelle

MystiqueMoonlight	22 Jun 2002
Swords doom and gloom, perhaps! Well if you consider the rut we sometimes put ourselves into thinking too much and over philosphying.... No I don't think that this suit necessarily means doom and gloom I am going with Umbrae on this one. Being an air suit traditionally (some follow the idea of it being a fire sign though) the swords usually represent that of the mind, imagination and mental stimulus. As for storage, perhaps you should allow your cards to advise you as to what is the best mode for them. Next time you go shopping around take your deck with you and I bet you'll find that perfect something to keep them in. There is no hard and fast rule about this.

The Misc Qs: Swords suit and deck handling thread was originally posted on 21 Jun 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.