Two of Swords (Rider Waite Tarot)
First Impressions
A blindfolded woman sits uncomfortably on a stone cube before a night-lit sea. She holds two unwieldy and heavy-looking swords angling up and out of the scene. She holds them awkwardly, uncomfortably, with her hands crossed at the wrists high up on her body. It looks really uncomfortable; I imagine her struggling to hold them steady, swords wavering and waggling as she shifts uneasily on the hard seat and strains to keep them aloft.
This card is, to me, one of the unhappiest cards in the Tarot. The Nine and Ten of Swords, even the Three and the Tower, are to me needlessly melodramatic and too much. It’s overkill. Kings topple screaming from a lightning-struck tower, swords pierce a richly red valentine heart, figures weep in the dark or lie impaled by many long-bladed swords. Overkill. But along with the Five of Pentacles, the Two of Swords is a card that (however unhappily) hits all too close to home. It’s the picture of worry, and being immobilized by that worry, being too frozen by self-doubt to move or to know what to do at all.
The woman on this card wears a long and shapeless white gown like a nightgown, giving her a damsel in distress appearance. Her hair is dark and perhaps short, but it’s hard to tell because the white blindfold over her eyes holds it back. The swords she holds look long and heavy - battlefield swords, not dressy or ceremonial ones. No wonder her face, or what can be seen of it below the blindfold, is so unhappy. Her feet are planted far apart under her gown, legs spread, perhaps the better to brace herself to hold her awkward burden. Her seat is a white or light gray cubic block of stone or marble, and looks uncushioned and hard for a seat. The floor is of the same material and runs flat and smooth to a double horizontal line just behind the cube. So, another strange card.
And what’s behind this stage, the other side of where a curtain would be? On the surface it’s a peaceful scene. A dim blue-gray sky with a small and pale yellow crescent moon. A calm body of water (I suppose it could be a lake, but I tend to think it’s the sea) with an island in the middle distance and rippled closer to shore from the presence of rocks and shoals that rise above the surface. It reminds me of the reefs and shallows that are so treacherous to ships close to shore. If a rescue attempt were to be launched by sea for this poor beleaguered maiden, it may not end well.
The picture I get, the visual story that comes to mind when I view this card, is of an opulent 1920s Eastern seaboard style mansion on the water’s edge. A melancholy young woman, discontented with the night’s festivities in the ballroom within, wanders out to the wide marble veranda that overlooks the briny-smelling shore. Heedless of the music and the gaiety that sounds behind her, she sits on a decorative marble block at the edge, sunk deep in her own private worries. So deeply inward is her focus turned that she takes no notice of ocean behind her. The gentle sounds of the ocean tide on the rocky shore disguise the stealthy sound of an approaching boat. Is it bearing her knight in shining armour? An abductor or persecutor? A rescuer or other source of relief? That’s part of the story that is yet to be told …
My overall impression is that of worry, tension and isolation. And I’m strongly struck by the family resemblance between the maiden here on the Two of Swords and her fellow Two, the High Priestess. The parallels in this, between the two figures and their situations and surroundings, are definitely worth a closer look.
Creator’s Notes
Waite says the following about the Two of Swords:
Waite said:
A hoodwinked female figure balances two swords upon her shoulders.
”Hoodwinked”, not blindfolded. An interesting choice of words, I think. It makes me think of one who is being deceived. The wool pulled over her eyes, so to speak. And are the swords really resting on her shoulders? To me it looks like their crossbars might just barely graze her shoulders, but that would be all. So I think they aren’t supported, that she’s bearing the bulk of the weight if not the full weight with her bare hands. And so high up on her body, her centre of gravity has got to be thrown way off as well.
Others’ Interpretations
In
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, Waite said this card means:
Waite said:
Divinatory Meanings: Conformity and the equipoise which it suggests, courage, friendship, concord in a state of arms; another reading gives tenderness, affection, intimacy. The suggestion of harmony and other favourable readings must be considered in a qualified manner, as Swords generally are not symbolical of beneficent forces in human affairs. Reversed: Imposture, falsehood, duplicity, disloyalty.
Well, I don’t know
what Waite was on when he wrote that! Tenderness, friendship, harmony? The only part that rings true is what he has to say about not being “symbolical of beneficent forces in human affairs”. No kidding.
Joan Bunning says:
Bunning said:
On the Two of Swords, we see a young woman who has put a barrier of swords across her heart. Her rigid posture tells us of her struggle to keep her feelings under control. She is fending off any approach from the outside. "Nothing comes in, and nothing goes out," she seems to say.
The Two of Swords is about the barriers we put up between ourselves and others and those we create within ourselves. Internally, we block off emotions and refuse to feel them. We avoid looking at the truth and pretend that everything's OK. We think one way, but feel another. In countless ways, we divide off parts of ourselves and try to maintain them even when we know they need to be reconciled.
In readings, the Two of Swords often appears when you are not willing to accept some truth about yourself or the situation. What are you really feeling? Are you resisting tender feelings because you might be hurt? Are you furious even though you're smiling? What are you refusing to look at? Notice the blindfold on this woman. She can't look at the truth or even acknowledge that there is trouble.
The most common barrier is a closed heart. When we cut ourselves off emotionally, we sever the connection that allows our love to flow outward. Sometimes this action is necessary, but it always comes at a great price. Every time we close off our heart, we find it more difficult to open again. Another barrier between people is a deadlocked situation. When two parties are set in their positions - cut off from each other - there is a stalemate. To break it, the "opponents" must come out from behind their swords and listen to each other. The lesson of the Two of Swords is that barriers are not the answer. We must stay open if we are to find peace and wholeness.
Closed heart. The hands crossed over the heart chakra, roughly. And what about when we see the Three of Swords that follows? Is that what comes of having your heart closed off, or just the opposite?
Symbols and Attributes
As the duality (Two) of the element of Air (Swords), this card embodies both the choice and duality of Two and the confrontational and intellectual aspects of the suit of Swords. So I see this meaning difficult choice, or being torn. Two is also the number of the High Priestess in the Major Arcana, and there are a lot of similarities between the two. More on that later.
Astrologically this card is connected to the planet Moon in the zodiac sign Libra. Well, the Moon’s not
really a planet kind of planet, but you know what I mean. Pamela Colman Smith really beats us over the head with visual cues for this association. The crescent moon in the sky, the balance of the two swords like scales. And look, even the way the crescent moon hangs, unusual and not what you typically see in the night sky, looks like the balancing crossbar of a set of scales. And there are visual similarities, family resemblances, between the Two of Swords, the High Priestess (linked to the Moon, and card II or 2) and Justice (linked to Libra, card XI = 11 = 1 + 1 = 2).
Libra, the Scales, is an autumnal sign that falls from near the end of September to October, beginning just after the autumnal equinox and ending before Samhain. Covering much of the harvest season (at least, in my part o the world) it is a harmonious sign that is ruled by the planet Venus. Libra’s influence brings aspects of balance, negotiation, striving for perfection. It is a dignified and harmonious influence. When Libra’s Airy aspect meets the Watery and intuitive Moon, I see this as representative of spiritual and emotional harmony. But Waite makes the point of cautioning us, or perhaps that’s reminding us, in
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot that
Waite said:
The suggestion of harmony and other favourable readings must be considered in a qualified manner, as Swords generally are not symbolical of beneficent forces in human affairs.
Well, Swords are generally a suit of conflict and strife, of arguments and words that wound. So the best I would hope for in terms of emotional harmony is a stalemate or an uneasy truce. There is balance, even peace (the esoteric title is even the Lord of Peace Restored, after all), but not for long and it may be uncomfortable.
The woman, her setting and her situation are all very reminiscent of her fellow “2”, the High Priestess. Both have crescent moons and what may be nighttime skies, both have oceans behind them. And some have pointed out that while the High Priestess wears a cross on her breast, the Two of Swords “crosses” her chest with her hands. There’s even a passing resemblance to Lady Justice (as the eleventh trump she also reduces to another “2”). they all sit straight and erect on uncomfortable blocks or thrones of stone or marble, facing directly forward with serious expressions. The High Priestess and Lady Justice both shield themselves from their surroundings by curtains or veils behind them; lacking this luxury, the lady in the Two of Swords wears a blindfold that may serve the same purpose.
But specific to the lady in this card, in the Two of Swords, she wears white. This is the colour of purity and spiritual truth. But it also blends in with the stone bench on which she sits. And this reminds me of the way the High Priestess’ gown becomes flowing water at its hem. As a card of the Watery Moon, this illustrates how totally she is one with her element. And the Two of Swords? As a Watery planet’s influence in an Air sign, this meeting with the stone that is indicative of Earth lets us see that she is more than just physically uncomfortable. She is completely out of her element. And this would account for her unease in more than just material discomfort. Her blindfold shields her view of the external world; she has nowhere to look but inward. But it also means she refuses to see what it right under her nose; it speaks of deliberate blindness and disillusion. Being deprived of her sight, she must rely on her other senses and her intuition. She’s back on to the sea; even if she could see, it’s as if she’s deliberately turning her back on her emotions. So without her sight, and ignoring her intuition, what is she going to do?
The more I look at this, the less I get the damsel in distress vibe. This isn’t some persecuted maiden, no Andromeda chained to the rock, she’s not in any real peril as I always viewed her counterpart in the Robin Wood Tarot to be (in that deck the tide is rising and waves crashing all around her). No, she’s made a martyr of
herself, she chooses to sit here like this.
The cubic seat she perches on is a stable seat, speaks of the material world and security. Is her position more secure than she realizes? Or is this something for which she wishes? I tend to think the former, as it is her base, that on which she sits.
As she crosses her hands, she covers or protects her heart chakra. I see this as protecting her emotions, shielding herself from hurt. The fact that these protective hands clutch a pair of long swords makes me think she’s really defensive! These swords in her hands represent fear or worry and sorrow or anger in an even but precarious balance. She’s working hard to protect herself from hurt, but can’t do so indefinitely. Why can’t she manage them? Well, they’re really big and overly long swords. Not manageable ones like the one offered in the Ace, or picked up by the victor in the Five. And she’s not holding them practically with a good or stable stance, it’s not a position she can sustain. Even with the stable cube on which she sits and the wide planted feet, she’s still struggling. What could she hope to accomplish with these implements? So far as I can tell, they’re just for show. She can wave them threateningly and warn anyone approaching to bugger off, but if they ignored the warning there’s not much she could do. They’re too awkward to wield with any level of effectiveness. They’re so long they extend off the edges of the card so that the points aren’t even fully visible. Are they sharp, a weapon she can use? Or are they blunted and just for show? We don’t know. In extending her woes and her defensiveness outward from herself like this, she’s unable to see how effective it might be or what the outcome could be in the end. She makes me think of Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh’s pessimistic donkey buddy, who was followed around by a little rain cloud in various cartoons. She’s exuding misery and tension, and it surely follows her around.
The water means reflection and the depths indicate the unconscious. But the depths are shallow here. Is it low tide? Is her energy, her reserve of strength and defense at a low ebb? Or is it turning, will things be looking up soon? There are rocks that represent things she may be trying to block or suppress. But they still come to the surface and obstruct the free flow of emotion. You can avoid the shoals forever if you’re skilled at navigation, but it doesn’t mean that they aren’t there. And if you drop your guard for even a moment …
WHAM! You’ve run aground. I think she’s at a low point. I believe that her spiritual and emotional reserves are so low that her unconscious levels are equally shallow. She’s got nothing to draw on, no emergency tank.
And what about that island in the distance? I wonder if it’s meant to be the same distant shore to which the people are ferried in the Six of Swords. Is it something for her to strive toward, or is it simply something else that comes between her and the open sea, something else to block or stifle her emotions?
The sky is a mixture of the blue of instinct and the unconscious (a sign to trust her instincts, listen to her intuition), and the gray of neutrality and achieved wisdom. And the crescent moon in it? Those in the know tell me it’s waxing, which means cleansing and new beginnings. Hopeful, healing ideas for this card and its unhappy central character. Of course, it might just be yet another illustration of the Moon influence in this card.
This is another of Pamela Colman Smith’s stage cards; note how the ocean and the night sky are behind the boundary. This is an example, though, I think more of what Isabel Kliegman called “separation cards”. Because there’s a divide, an isolation between what’s on this side of the line and what’s on the other. She’s cut off from her emotions, her intuition, and this physical divide only serves to underline that.
My Interpretations
To me, the Two of Swords is a card about being so afraid to get hurt, especially in light of past hurts or current tensions, that one cuts oneself off from feeling anything. Deliberately blinds oneself from seeing or experiencing that around one, turns away from emotion and intuition, ignoring that which rises above the surface of the unconscious. And that’s not natural, and it even feels unnatural. That’s why it feels so unsteady and precarious a position to hold.
Twos are cards of choice; and this woman has a choice to make too. She’s made it, has chosen this uncomfortable truce that leaves her blindfolded and deaf to what her unconscious has to tell her, and now she’s bound to wonder if it was the right one. When this card comes up, I think it’s a caution. Put down those swords, take off that blindfold and turn around. Have a good look around. Remember where you came from: breathe the night air, dip your toes in the water, trust in your own judgement and come back to yourself.
