Just How Sharp Are Those Swords?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 May 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Satori	25 May 2004
The 2, 8 and 10 of swords give me the funniest visceral response sometimes. I see them and almost chuckle. The 2 and 8 are like a pair of sisters to me. The 8 of swords wants to be rescued but whenever I see this cards it seems like she has a clear path forward, just do something, move your butt! I have never gotten this card and thought it was desperate. The 2 of swords seems happy in her self-imposed isolation. She is the only one who can let others in, and she is far from menacing. More like a thorny rose, if you brave the pickers there is something worth experiencing beyond. Even with the 10 of swords I think, jeez, are you dead yet? Or, I've fallen and I can't get up! Am I just missing something, am I too optimistic and don't like/want to see the sword energy or do any of you sometimes see the swords less seriously than they seem to be?

MeeWah	26 May 2004
elf: I sometimes see them similarly. Ace-Swords:Get the point already! 2-Swords: Sh*t or get off the throne. 3-Swords: Self-pity is an indulgence few can afford. 4-Swords: When are ye going to wake up & smell the roses (or other)? Out to lunch (as in not all there). All around clueless. 5-Swords: "By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes." From Shakespeare's "Macbeth", Act 4, Scene 1 6-Swords: The shore (grass) on the other side is always greener but watch out. 7-Swords: Tiptoe through the tulips... 8-Swords: See no evil, hear no evil, etc. 9-Swords: It's all in your mind. 10-Swords: Get a life!

Staramber	26 May 2004
The swords aren’t that sharp to me, they're blunt. They tell of problems without using euphemisms. But most of them show hope and a lot of times they aren’t as bad as some people make them out to be. To actually answer your question I agree with you. I still get a slight feeling of dread when I have to explain them in a reading though… Edited for clarity.

Imagemaker	26 May 2004
I always see swords as one's own stabbing thoughts. From the Zen perspective, we create all our own suffering by choosing craving and attachment. If we can observe what we're thinking/craving and decide (choose out of awareness) to let our expectations go, we release self-torture with anxieties and desires that cannot be. Easier said than done, but worth working on. When I get swords, I look at what the thought patterns are around a situation.

Satori	26 May 2004
All of these are great Mee Wah! I particularly like the 2!

Satori	26 May 2004
staramber I know what you mean about explanations... That 10 of swords looks dire to the layperson, so to have to weave a believable explanation around it is sometimes tricky. Imagemaker, I like what you said about stabbing thoughts. Like the prick of the conscience too. This is something to meditate upon...I thank you.

mj07	26 May 2004
hee hee, funny stuff! I know, sometimes you can't take them seriously. BUt there are other times when for some reason they look downright dangerous, especially the Ace!

Staramber	26 May 2004
Quote: Originally posted by elf staramber I know what you mean about explanations... That 10 of swords looks dire to the layperson, so to have to weave a believable explanation around it is sometimes tricky. The Sharman-Caselli deck has the sky clearing in the background as a little reminder. I tend to focus on that. Incidentally I just did a reading for a friend on MSN and he got the nine, six, and eight. Luckily he couldn't see the cards.

Satori	26 May 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Staramber The Sharman-Caselli deck has the sky clearing in the background as a little reminder. I tend to focus on that. Incidentally I just did a reading for a friend on MSN and he got the nine, six, and eight. Luckily he couldn't see the cards. Poor guy, nightmares, sleepless, going nowhere fun and all in knots... Hopefully you found something positive?

dolphingirl	26 May 2004
I don't find the swords all that terrifying like some people do. for me I find that the 3 of swords - gonna stub my toe or hit my elbow of something it ususally just means a minor ach or pain to me. Or else that I am feeling sory for myself and depending on where it lays in the reading it either means a- it is ok to feel sad sometimes and let the feelings out or b.- quit being a baby and pick things up and get on with life :) 9 of swords- your being a wory wart and blowing up your problems way out of proportion. 10 of swords- In my deck I made it so that you can't tell visually whether the swords are actually through you or just around you. This card means to me that I am feeling stabbed in the back (whether true or not this is how I feel) or I feel naked in a situation and not able to cope with things.

InvisibleSoul	30 May 2004
Oh yes! The over-exaggeration of the 10 Swords always cracks me up! :P

Umbrae	30 May 2004
On one hand, I’ve always seen the swords to be as sharp as you choose them to be (not being facetious here). Then again…looking at the 10 – Pratesi’s Cartomancer (1750), Eteilla, Mathers, Golden Dawn, and Waite, all see this as either ‘the most dire’, or second to the 9. Toning down the ominous seems to be a later-day sort of thing…not all the cards can be sunny…

The Just How Sharp Are Those Swords? thread was originally posted on 25 May 2004 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.