4 of swords as fears?

Forest_Floor said:

What could the 4 of swords mean as fears? (It was in a relationship reading) Someone who is afraid of being forgotten maybe? It's sort of tricky to understand this one

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The thing about this 'Fears' position is that it carries an assumption which may not apply to the reality of the situation: What if the person inquired about has no fears about this relationship -- because they aren't actively thinking of it lately and/or it doesn't actually exist outside of the querent's own thoughts/desires? The 4S is a card that often seems to appear when there's no deep, mutual connection or notable "relationship" to speak of; it's very much a self-focused card, not about relating at all. If there ever has been a real-life connection with this person, I'd suspect that it failed to satisfy and was put on ice by him/her, removed from focus and essentially dropped, even "ghosted" -- maybe quite a while ago. Context should definitely be considered.

IndigoWaves said:

The thing about this 'Fears' position is that it carries an assumption which may not apply to the reality of the situation: What if the person inquired about has no fears about this relationship -- because they aren't actively focused on it at all and/or it doesn't actually exist outside of the querent's own thoughts/desires?

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Absolutely! This is the problem with trying to ascribe psychological qualities to any card in a reading. Perception is notoriously unreliable in trying to second-guess someone's "thought-or-feeling-based" objectives or intentions. This is why I don't use specific "conscious" and "unconscious" positions in my spreads, letting those aspects play out in the subject's prospective actions and reactions in context with the other cards. I'm more interested in what they're likely to do rather than what they might think.

Back on topic, applying that thought to the 4 of Swords, they're likely to "do nothing" and just think about it.

Barleywine said:

Back on topic, applying that thought to the 4 of Swords, they're likely to "do nothing" and just think about it.

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I'm inclined to think that this person is focused on his/her own separate life, not any relationship with the querent (even if one does or did exist)... Inactive because there's no real interest or investment.

Why do a tarot reading if there's nothing to fear?

IndigoWaves said:

The thing about this 'Fears' position is that it carries an assumption which may not apply to the reality of the situation: What if the person inquired about has no fears about this relationship

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Kinda unlikely, don't you think? I mean, if someone is *asking* the tarot for advice in this situation, then there must be some concern (fear). Why bother asking the tarot about a relationship, a job, a move, if it's all exactly as you want and you're happy as a clam?

So, here's a relationship and the person has some questions about it, some things they're uncertain about. That certain equals some fears to me. Fear of losing the relationship, or the relationship going badly, fear that the relationship isn't working and they might have to end it, fears about how the person if they're not acting happy and they haven't said what's making them unhappy.

So, I think there's always a likelihood that a sitter "fears" something in regards to a relationship if they're doing a tarot reading about it. And the 4/Swords is often a card about being alone with thoughts, which could be fears that you didn't want to dwell on, but have the time and leisure to do so.

Forest_Floor said:

What could the 4 of swords mean as fears? (It was in a relationship reading) Someone who is afraid of being forgotten maybe? It's sort of tricky to understand this one

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Fear of being bored.

Thirteen said:

Kinda unlikely, don't you think? I mean, if someone is *asking* the tarot for advice in this situation, then there must be some concern (fear). Why bother asking the tarot about a relationship, a job, a move, if it's all exactly as you want and you're happy as a clam?

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Not every relationship read about/presented here is one that actually exists or is mutual, though... Overly hopeful inquires about "potential" relationships and wished-for revivals of long-dead connections do happen quite a bit (and determined digging may be required to unearth the situation's reality). That might not apply in this case, but I had a pretty strong feeling that it does, and such scenarios do seem to spawn the 4S fairly often.

I should clarify that this card/position came across as attempting to read the supposed fears of someone desired by the querent, rather than the querent's own fears... And that this person may not be involved deeply enough with the querent to be "fearful" -- or even thinking about a connection with him/her, at all -- hence the self-focused 4S. (If this view doesn't fit, of course, the OP is welcome to dismiss it.)

Always remember to interpret a Tarot reading to the question asked (although a question was not stated - perhaps this should be a requirement on Aeclectic ). This was a "relationship" reading, and from that, I can infer she is having some concerns about the health of the relationship or perhaps where it is heading. And, as I stated previously, in relationship readings and in the position of Fear ... the Four of Swords often refers to separation from someone.

Also, with the different opinions listed here there should be the acknowledgement of the valid but different approaches to Tarot reading. I am a intuitive, and as such, I approach the cards from that perspective ...

Haven't read the replies here, but I will add some bits. 4S can represent a type of restlessness that has to do with people who are highly introverted, who work in fields or in jobs (or in social circles) that require them to be more extroverted than otherwise they personally require. So could be a person who has to engage in constant face-to-face communication and having to forego "breaks" from mainstream society. Can also be someone who never sleeps because of constant chirps, tweets and bleeps that come to them by way of the modern carrier pigeon, aka, cell phones and technology... they want to disconnect from society, even if it's just hiding in the toilet or otherwise being rendered "useless" to the outside world... "I'm too tired, go away"

I'm not really a true introvert, but at work I didn't like to socialize with coworkers because of the very distracting drama of young people, so I would focus on socializing with customers which I thoroughly enjoyed. This is fine during the holidays, but other times of the year it was quite boring. I would help a few customers it felt like, then the rest of the workshift felt largely unstimulating. Come home and had to let that part of my brain "unwind", so I wasn't get the best sleep... so I got this card for the constant state of fighting for rest. My job was boring, I was filling unfilled, so my sleep didn't seem hardly "worth" the effort. In fact, I was regularly sleeping later hours during this time period because I was constantly restless at home.

4S can also be that you are afraid you will never find peace. It's a more sardonic version of a Star Rx I think, in terms of actual "peace"... had to do with more man-made/terrestrial problems, rather than more spiritual loss. i.e. the spirit may be the suffering, but probably more because of man-made issues. For example, people weary of the daily media cycles and political stuff going on in our country... or whose main concerns are not spiritually-related, that is they are in good with God, but because they are high-minded spiritually, they just feel like they are constantly living in-between the trials and tribulations of life... yes this is the "duty" they have to life and society, but it's wearying to be this way constantly and maybe they worry there will never be more to their life than work and sleep.

I think of 4S as the rest between battles, literally. So getting off work at 11pm, only to go back at 8 and slog through. Fearing that eventually you will become so weary in health/mental that you may end up in 4S permanently.... at least until you "revive" yourself. So could be symbolic of a work-a-holics internal mindspace ... they crave sleep constantly, but they don't ever tell anyone, because to say they want to sleep may mean they hate work too... and for some that's all they have.

I've always liked Aleister Crowley's title for this card: Truce; "a refuge from mental chaos, chosen in an arbitrary manner." In a relationship I can see it as representing a "demilitarized zone," an uneasy peace because both parties are tired of confrontation but neither one is ready to offer an olive branch. The "arbitrary manner" makes me think of one partner picking on "every little thing" the other one does just to keep roiling the waters. It could also mean one party avoiding the other by figuratively hiding in the first hole that presents itself, as a defense mechanism to preserve sanity. Crowley also says "It argues for convention," suggesting that the two parties just saw away at one another drearily over ordinary arguments with no real fire under them.

IndigoWaves said:

supposed fears of someone desired by the querent, rather than the querent's own fears...

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You're right that if Person B doesn't even realize that Person A exists, they're unlikely to have any fears about their non-existent (to Person B) relationship. And if I were to do such a reading, I probably wouldn't use a spread with the position of "Person B's" fears in it. After all, what Person A really wants to know is how Person B sees them, what Person B thinks and feels for them. And that's really all that Person A is after, so why bother with Person B's "fears" position.

But I'm presuming that this position is for the sitter, not the fears of the other person in the relationship. And whether the sitter is asking about someone they're in a relationship with or just hoping to be in a relationship with, they're certain to have some fears. Even if those fears are only "he/she doesn't know I'm alive."

Which, come to think of it...might be exactly what the 4/Swords stands for. The fear that the other person doesn't even know they're there.