Butterflies in the Swords Court

sweet_intuition

Has anyone noticed the number of butterflies "hidden" in the court cards in the suit of swords? It kinda gives a whole new spin to looking at the cards... the Queen doesn't seem like such a biatch, while the knight seems kinda flirty and the king seems a lil chirpy with those "subliminal" butterflies.

Think about it
 

Fulgour

many interpretations

Hello :) Sweet Intuition! There are butterflies,
crescent moons, and sylphs in abundance...

In the attachment, they are shown in their
natural Zodiacal order, rather than asuming
the King is 'higher' than the Queen...

1st Cardinal - Queen
2nd Fixed - King
3rd Mutable - Knight
and
4th Waning Crescent Moon in Libra - Page ;)
 

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sweet_intuition

Hey Fulgour

Thanks for posting that. And you solved one major issue I had with the RWS courts. I always felt the king was fixed and the knight was mutable and not the other way around (as some books and sites mention).

What is your take on the butterflies?

Also, has anyone noticed that the butterfly at the bottom of the queen's throne kinda resembles two heads that have been cut off and laying face up?
 

Elnor

I think it's because the butterfly is a symbol of transition... it starts as a grub or caterpillar, and emerges out of a cocoon of its own making into the air and light.

I like to think that the beauty and fragility of its wings shows the positive aspect of air, opposed to the ruthless man-made steel of the sword.

Because I suffer with depression, I know too well how the negative workings of my mind can turn upon me like a weapon...I like to think that the butterflies show me that there is an alternative to this mental self-injury... learning to meditate and practice positive visualisations has given me some really good insights into dealing with the 'negative' aspects of this suit! (Putting it into practice is another matter...:rolleyes:)

Another symbol I associate with Swords is the feather- there are lots of birds up in the sky of all the Court Cards.

Elnor
 

Dulcimer

Mundanely, butterflies are age-old symbols for 'thought'.
And also of that particular kind of personality which is unable to linger long on, well, anything for too long.
Very air-type (speaking as an air-type ;)).

Keep in mind that the nature of the events in this suit are, like its element, transient.
 

Nevada

Symbols don't have set meanings. They can have multi-layered or overlapping meanings, and some mean different things to different people or in different cultures. Interesting paragraph at Wikipedia regarding symbols:
The psychologist, Carl Jung, who studied archetypes, proposed an alternative definition of symbol, distinguishing it from the term "sign". In Jung's view, a sign stands for something known, as a word stands for its referent. He contrasted this with symbol, which he used to stand for something that is unknown and that cannot be made clear or precise. An example of a symbol in this sense is Christ as a symbol of the archetype called "self".
So, yes, butterflies can have to do with transformation, since the caterpillar wraps itself up in silk and later emerges as a butterfly. But they are also distinctive for their relatively large, colorful wings, which makes them an obvious symbol for the air element. They also appear to drift on a breeze at times, and to have not a care in the world, so that causes us to think of them as symbolizing happiness and contentment, and in some cases freedom. They do something called "mudding" in which they land on damp earth and suck moisture out of it to sustain themselves. That might cause us to think of them as resourceful and adaptable. They're also a sign of the warmer season, of an abundance of flowers that will become fruit.

Because they can have so many meanings, context is important when interpreting symbols. For the butterflies in Swords cards, I like that saying, "Thoughts have wings," or the poem, "To Althea from Prison" by Richard Lovelace. We are always free in our minds, no matter what is going on with our bodies. That is, as free as we allow ourselves to be.

Our thoughts also, if left to themselves, have a tendency to meander as a butterfly does, from flower to flower.
 

Gazel

Another symbolic content of the butterfly is the Soul.

I have always associated this with the butterflies in the Swords Court - especially in connection with the Queen.

Through her life experience and wisdom she is making soul, or she is able to mend the hurts of your soul, but this can be a tough process. And through that process she is able to set the soul and spirit free.
Hope this make sense.

Gazel
 

Yasmin

Silly question--but I'm having the hardest time finding a butterfly on the Page's card.

Regardless, I enjoyed the thread--not sure I'd have noticed otherwise! Thanks!