Conquering The Court - Page Swords

willowfox said:

I suggest that you look to see how some Chinese fighter stand in a defensive pose, anyway some martial art styles are very similiar to dance, full of very flowing and fluid movements. There is a difference between styles, some are soft and yielding and others are hard and aggressive.

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We are going off topic here but I am pretty familiar with Chen Style Taijiquan, I worked under Master Chen Zhonghua, the international flag bearer and one of his disciples is, in modern terms my instructor(soft & hard). When I was young I was involved in some of the arm-stick styles of kung-fu. A friend of mine owns a Dojo here, Shorin-ji Ryu style(he has one of the highest ranks in Canada) but he is very familiar with Shotokai. I only point this out because I feel we would be wrong to suggest anything about this page as martial,this fellow,with the sword, is not. Find me a single picture showing something resembling that stance and you will convert me willowfox.

That said, this is only my opinion based on what I know, and I prefer to agree with you willowfox as what you have to say is generally straightforward and correct but I can not here.

EDIT:I am ready to move on to the coins, I have added quite a bit to my journal here for swords.Thanks everyone, this is a great study group.

The crowned one said:

Find me a single picture showing something resembling that stance and you will convert me willowfox.

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Unfortunately, I have no picture to offer, I can only say what I have seen, for both staff and sword fighting. The weight of the body is placed on the back leg, in this case the left leg while the front leg is slightly extended in front, ready to move forward against the opponent when the sword is brought down in an arc, a slashing blow against the opponents upper body and head, while the weight of the body still rests on the left leg for stability.

There is every chance that Smith never saw this but she is trying to depicted a fighter, okay he is still young and learning, but the fact that he is carrying a sword indicates to me that he will use it if provoked. I think Smith has done a very nice job of painting a young lad with a sword, slowly learning the art of swordsmanship and developing into a brilliant martial artist like the knight is.

Listening and observing

Enchanted said:

Just recently I saw the RWS Page of Swords as listening. The way his left ear is pushed outward, like he was really trying to hear something. As advice, I took that to mean listen more, or really learn to listen well.

I've also seen him as being observant or indicating a need to be more so. Try to see the bigger picture all the way up there in the clouds, a bird's eye view as such.

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Enchanted, I am always delighted with your intuitions and observations in the tarot - and these are two choice intuitions and observations! Thanks

willowfox said:

The Robin Wood has him/her charging the opponent but I have always liked the way he has been portrayed in the RWS deck, it gives the idea of a person thinking before acting whereas the Wood tarot shows him to be acting without thinking. I wonder which is the more correct? I have seen other decks that suggest the the page is a reckless person as well. What do you think?

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I remember the Robin Wood - I don't have it with me here. What is possible is that the page has thought - quickly - and we see him acting.

Fudugazi said:

I remember the Robin Wood - I don't have it with me here. What is possible is that the page has thought - quickly - and we see him acting.

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But RWS has him contemplating the situation and not acting, the complete opposite.

The Robin Wood is only a recent purchase for me, so I haven't used it very much at all. But there strikes me something so much more joyful about it than the RWS, and other ones just look a bit sneaky, for example the Victorian Romantic Page of Swords, looks a bit snooty to me and like he is planning something shifty, or thinks he is better than. This might sound weird but he reminds me of a mini-Valmont (John Malkovich) in the film Dangerous Liaisons. That is very much a shadow side of this Page of Swords, that sneaky, gossip and slander type qualities.

In the Robin Wood Page of Swords, I am drawn to the fact that her knee looks a little red, after all she is joyful leaping down what looks to be quite a steep hill. It makes me think that she has fallen over and got a bit of grass burn, but picked herself up and kept going, she looks so purposeful. She also has what looks to me like a telescope type of thing, from way up on the top of the hill, she has spied her target and off she goes, no matter what. Perhaps it is about truth... she has seen it, or got a glimpse of it and now she goes to pursue it.

And thanks Fudugazi! BTW your initial post describes my Aquarian 3 year old niece perfectly. She's a smart little cookie! She'll certainly let you know if she thinks you are wrong. Actually, this more joyous Robin Wood Page of Swords reminds me of her, as she charges off around the garden, I'm always saying slow down, you'll fall over. LOL

willowfox said:

But RWS has him contemplating the situation and not acting, the complete opposite.

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Not its opposite - its complement.

I think both sides exist within the swords suit - thinking and acting - and in the page, both sides are in their infancy. So it doesn't really surprise me to see varying interpretations.

Fudugazi said:

Not its opposite - its complement.

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So what would you say is correct, that the page thinks before acting or acts before thinking?

willowfox said:

So what would you say is correct, that the page thinks before acting or acts before thinking?

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I think that as he is still learning to balance action and thought, he will actually do both - he is not yet fixed. One day he'll charge all out like the future knight that he is, the next he will think first (perhaps because he'll have fallen on his face the previous day!). Like all pages, he represents the suit - but unformed. The Knight of Swords will have learnt to think and act at the same time - think on his feet. The page is learning that art, but also learning the art of delaying action when delay is called for.

As Enchanted wrote, his appearance can be an incentive to listen and observe - but not to suspend action.

I feel that if you accept Swords as communication... you not only have to accept the active element of communication, such as speaking and writing, you also have to consider the passive elements, listening, watching. This Page wants to learn, and you can learn an awful lot by listening and looking at body language, for example. More than words, these things really do read between the lines. While it maybe passive, in that you are not active, you can bet that brain is still ticking over, and very active by listening and watching. Perhaps this is why in some decks he is quite still, in a sense of motion, but can't you hear that mind ticking?