Thoth
Card name: Prince of Swords
First impressions
A violent looking man with green skin half sits in a chariot. He wields a sword in his right hand – rather wildly; it is almost over his shoulder – and in his other hand he has a sickle. He wears a golden helmet with a young-looking head as its crest. IN the same hand as he holds the sickle (the left) he holds the reins of the chariot, which lead to yellow discs - the wings of three children – they look rather like fat cupids. They too are green. There are four reins – one child has them attached to both wings. Behind the Prince are more gold discs – two of them look like wings too; a third like the back of the chariot. In front of him is a green disc with a yellow crystal in its middle. The card is covered with clear “white” crystals – all over the background, but the lines of them also overlay the image itself.
From the Book of Thoth
(repeated section from the Princess, for completeness):
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FOUR DIGNITARIES
The relations between these Four Elements of the Name are extraordinarily complex, quite beyond the limits of any ordinary treatise to discuss; they change with every application of thought to their meaning.
For instance, no sooner has the Princess made her appearance than the Prince wins her in marriage, and she is set upon the throne of her Mother. She thus awakens the Eld of the original old King; who thereupon becomes a young Knight, and so renews the cycle. The Princess is not only the perfect Maiden, but, owing to the death of the Prince, the forsaken and lamenting Widow. All this occurs in the legends characteristic of the Aeon of Osiris. It is hardly possible definitely to disentangle these complications, but for the student it is sufficient if he will be content to work with one legend at a time.
It is natural that the Aeon of Osiris, the regimen of Air, of strife, of intellect, should be thus confused; that its symbols and formulas should overlap, should contradict each other. It is impossible to harmonize the multitudinous fables or parables, because each was invented to emphasize some formula that was regarded as imperative to serve some local or temporal purpose.
The Princes represent the Forces of the letter Vau in the Name. The Prince is the Son of the Queen (the old King’s daughter) by the Knight who has won her; he is therefore represented as in a chariot, going forth to carry out the combined Energy of his parents. He is the active issue of their union, and its manifestation. He is the intellectual image of their union. His action is consequently more enduring than that of his forbears. In one respect, indeed, he ac quires a relative permanence, because he is the published record of what has been done in secret. Also, he is the “Dying God”, redeeming his Bride in the hour, and by the virtue, of his murder.
PRINCE OF SWORDS
PRINCE OF SWORDS
This card represents the airy part of Air. With its particular interpretation, it is intellectual, it is a picture of the Mind as such. He rules from the 21st degree of Capricornus to the 20th degree of Aquarius.
The figure of this Prince is clothed with closely woven armour adorned with definite device, and the chariot which bears him suggests (even more closely) geometrical ideas. This chariot is drawn by winged children, looking and leaping irresponsibly in any direction that takes their fancy; they are not reined, but perfectly Capricious.
The chariot consequently is easy enough to move, but quite unable to progress in any definite direction except by accident. This is a perfect picture of the Mind.
On the head of this Prince is, nevertheless, a child’s head radiant, for there is a secret crown in the nature of this card; if concentrated, it is exactly Tiphareth.
The operation of his logical mental processes have reduced the Air, which is his element, to many diverse geometrical patterns, but in these there is no real plan; they are demonstrations of the powers of the Mind without definite purpose. In his right hand is a lifted sword wherewith to create, but in his left hand a sickle, so that what he creates he instantly destroys.
A person thus symbolized is purely intellectual. He is full of ideas and designs which tumble over each other. He is a mass of fine ideals unrelated to practical effort. He has all the apparatus of Thought in the highest degree, intensely clever, admirably rational, but unstable of purpose, and in reality indifferent even to his own ideas, as knowing that any one of them is just as good as any other. He reduces everything to unreality by removing its substance and transmuting it to an ideal world of ratiocination which is purely formal and out of relation to any facts, even those upon which it is based.
In the Yi King, the airy part of Air is represented by the 57th hexagram, Sun. This is one of the most difficult figures in the book, on account of its ambivalence: it means both flexibility and penetration.
Immensely powerful because of its complete freedom from settled principles, capable of maintaining and putting forward any conceivable argument, insusceptible of regret or remorse, glib to “quote Scripture” aptly and cunningly to support any thesis soever, indifferent to the fate of a contrary argument advanced two minutes earlier, impossible to defeat because any position is as good as any other, ready to enter into combination with the nearest element available, these elusive and elastic people are of value only when firmly mastered by creative will fortified by an intelligence superior to their own. In practice, this is rarely possible: there is no purchase to be had upon them, not even by pandering to their appetites. These may nevertheless be stormy, even uncontrollable. Faddists, devotees of drink, drugs, humanitarianism, music or religion, are often in this class; but when this is the case, there is still no stability. They wander from one cult or one vice to another, always brilliantly supporting with the fanaticism of a fixed conviction what is actually no more than the whim of the moment.
It is easy to be deceived by such people; for the manifestation itself has enormous potency: it is as if an imbecile offered one the dialogues of Plato. They may in this way acquire a great reputation both for depth and breadth of mind.
Images and Symbolism
Frieda Harris says in her essays:
The Prince of Swords = the airy part of Air.
This card typifies the Intellect. The Prince is seated in a chariot drawn by child-like fays.
Also:
Prince of Swords.
The prince conveys two ideas, one simply hail, the other the restriction of the scientific outlook, which uses but limits the imagination which is shown in the harnessed fays.
DuQuette says that there was an earlier version of this card, which was “gentler”. The geometrical wings of the prince are enclosed in bright yellow bubbles of air. The children pulling the chariot are random, doing whatever they like, so that it cannot go in any particular direction. (This, he says, is a perfect picture of the mind…)
He sees the prince as like a madman whose brain creates, only to destroy – he creates with the sword in his right hand and immediately destroys his creation with the sickle in his left.
“Crowley heaps great praise upon the pure intelligence of the Prince of Swords, but he cannot avoid discussing the futility of thinking about thinking!”
The Prince’s helmet is gold, signifying Sun and Tiphareth. Snuffin says that the child’s head in the crest – like the one the Queen has – symbolises the Ruach, and that the child is also an attribution of Tiphareth. He agrees with DuQuette that the sword creates and analyses ideas, while the sickle destroys them Air of Air means that the prince is purely intellect; he is full if ideas but cannot manifest them before losing them. He says the chariot is pulled in random directions by fairies (as thoughts) rather than children. Frieda of course covers both in one of her descriptions. Snuffin describes them as degradations of man – as the Kerub of Air (attributed to Aquarius.) The Prince’s wings and those of the fairies, as well as parts of the chariot, are yellow – for Air. The bodies are all green – Aleph (air) in Yetzirah (air) – Air of Air. The front of the chariot is a yellow diamond in a green disc – the diamond, too, represents air; it also has 8 sides, suggesting Hod, Mercury and the Intellect.
Banzhaf describes the diamond as a double pyramid, a geometric construct representing analytical perception, symbolising the left side of the brain - the rational half.
He then goes on to refer to and quote the Nobel prizewinning biochemist, Ilya Prigogine:
“Our whole world actually represents a nonbalanced system. One single current that links its power with another current can become strong enough to rearrange the whole pattern. The path that it chooses in this unstable condition is unpredictable, spontaneous, presumably creative. It is ere that the deterministic laws collapse. This is the “solve et coagula” (dissolve and bind) of alchemy.” This card Banzhaf describes as expressing the intellectual approaches to the new paradigms of the Aquarian age.
Meaning (cribbed from Wasserman)
Prince of Swords. Represents the airy part of air. A young man, purely intellectual, full of ideas and designs, domineering, intensely clever but unstable of purpose, with an elusive and elastic mind supporting various and contradictory opinions. He slays as fast as he creates. III-dignified: Harsh, malicious, plotting, unreliable man; a fanatic.
DuQuette
Full of ideas and thoughts and designs, distrustful, suspicious, firm in friendship and enmity; careful, observant, slow, over-cautious, symbolizes Alpha and Omega; he slays as fast as he creates.
If ill dignified: harsh, malicious, plotting; obstinate, yet hesitating; unreliable.
Traditional meanings – From Thirteen’s book of meanings:
KINGS
Kings. Although they come last, they really should come first, as Kings are where the Court Cards start. They are the fire - their element - the passion, the driving force. This is why Crowley has them as knights riding on horseback, rather than sitting passively on a throne. Kings are filled with energy, moving, leading, generating.
The thing to remember with the Kings, however, is that while they are powerful motivators, they are still "in the crown" - in the head. They can move mountains with their enthusiasm and energy and light a fire under almost anything. But they can't make it real all by themselves.
What they can do, like the Emperor is motivate, plan and command. The Queen is the one who will make it real, and the Knight/Prince will take it beyond the castle walls. But without the King, it won't happen at all. Thus, Kings in a spread can indicate motivation, a beginning or start of something.
As actual people, Kings stand for men (or women) who are leaders, planners or have high aspirations; they dream of having the best "kingdom" in the land. And they expect loyalty, especially from family and friends. They are men (or women) of influence and power; others come to them for advice and, being Kings, they're usually stubbornly sure that they're right.
King of Swords
As Motivation: Motivated to come up with ideas or argue points. Motivated to find solutions, solve problems or find better ways of doing things.
As an Adult Man: Call him "The Judge". His kingdom is the kingdom of high ideals. Loving, friendly, but distant, the one thing everyone says about this man is "He's Fair." Likely a lawyer, judge, musician, politician or architect, he is a patient, careful man, with very high ideals. Though he's objective and smart enough to see both sides of an argument, he has strong beliefs, which he expects his family and friends to follow.
Not that he isn't a good father; he can be kind, playful, a loving and faithful husband. He engages his children in stimulating dinner conversations, urging them to think for themselves, debate and research. But though he treats his wife and kids fairly, acknowledging when they are right, he does not put family first like the King of Cups. Ideals come first, and he can be unforgiving of the family member who is weaker or more "human" than he. If his own son or daughter committed a crime, he'd judge them the same as any other criminal, and sentence them the same as any other criminal.
Thus, his own fairness leaves his family feeling less than special to him and, at the same time, less able to make mistakes.
This King has the most brilliant mind, one that, like a master chess player, can see many moves ahead, and take into account a dozen different factors and elements. This puts him above and sometime beyond his subjects. They may not always understand why he decides as he decides, but he does so with the highest ideals and best intent. Which is why he will not budge when it comes to upholding his decisions, not even for his nearest and dearest.
Though he can be viewed as cold, distant, harsh, even cruel, he is, at his best, able to see very clearly how his judgments will affect everyone in the present and future. He is the one that everyone, even the other Kings, go to when they need someone to make the hardest and most far-reaching decisions.
(I include Thirteen’s meanings here, but the way, as while someone else was adding them to her Thoth posts, I found them enlightening in context, even though the descriptions are way different !)
My impressions (appearance of the card):
The green man made me thing at once of the Green Giant – and that isn’t helped by the fact that his helmet is rather like a pompom hat, and he looks as though he is wearing “athletic clothing” ! I feel irreverent here - but this card very much doesn't work for me. It
looks to me like a kid having a tantrum and trying to control the other little kids. I do mean looks. I fully realise that is not what is portrayed – but still.
My take (what I make of it/what I might see in a reading where I drew it)
Power, possibly misused. That ties into Thirteen’s remark: “he will not budge when it comes to upholding his decisions, not even for his nearest and dearest.” He wants his own way. It may not even be the best way – but it’s his. I’d watch out for a power struggle, and try to stay out of the way.
