Reoccurring 4 of Swords: What's it trying to tell me?

FemaleRonin

Hello,

So before I begin, I want to just state that I am still a novice, and new to posting here as well but frequent the forum for guidance daily. Now, the trouble I'm running into is when I get cards that seem to keep popping up again and again, even in various readings on different subjects, because then I start to realize OK, there's something I'm not getting and or a message not being understood correctly.

Right now I am being haunted by the 4 of Swords. Now I understand the meaning of this card as: Resting, Meditation, Calm before and or after the storm/battle, break, retreat, temporary isolation to get ones mind right and work thru stressful/painful events. A time out that must be taken in order to win the overall battle bc our bodies and minds can only take so much abuse or stress or pressure before it just shuts down completely. So, this card being that reminder that hey the first quarter is over and it's now time to regroup and replenish outselves before the next inning. So use this time wisely bc it won't last long.

For the past month or so now, I've began noticing it's presence in all my different types of readings from my own personal daily draws, to some of my love readings (different questions and one reading was even done by an outsider who did a reading for me as well), even for health/spiritual readings and it's gotten to the point where it literally is jumping out of my deck or at the top of my deck even after throughly shuffling and "washing" it. I can see how it's meaning could refer to myself but I thought I was doing just that; Remaining calm, introspective, trying to make sense of recent painful and shocking upheavals I've experienced and even some health issues I'm working on. Still though it seems to be more and more "in my face" as each day passes.

Is there another meaning I'm not understanding and or aware of? I also see this card as almost a mix of the Hermit and the Hanged Man, both having a message of stepping back and away from situations and others to gain a different perspective on things. Maybe I'm still doing TOO much? Or possibly my mind is still too preoccupied with various worries and past stresses and pains and not enough healing is actually taking place during this retreat?

Probably worth noting I've tried to do a couple spreads around the 4 of Swords card itself but they haven't helped even after I thought I knew the significance. Yet alas it keeps appearing and usually always in the same position to represent myself (Significator).

I'm sorry for the novel of a post and hope my question and background info is clear enough to understand too.

Thank you in advance for any and all insight or opinions/suggestions!
 

LeFou

Both the number and suit are Yang (active, grasping, goal-oriented, outward-focused). But when we achieve "completion" (one of the meanings of 4), then there is rest, calm, relaxing, fulfillment. Everything that needs speaking (Swords = words, mental) has been spoken.

In RWS, the figure is a knight, laying in the cool, peaceful basement of a church. Some say the stained glass window shows the knight's dreams. In any case, Yang has reached completion and thus yields to Yin, its opposite. But there is a moment just before the yielding, where we hold on to what is past.
 

kx5

Hello FemaleRonin and welcome :)

Since the card keeps coming up as your significator, it would make sense to look within yourself, see whether the energy of the card identifies with your emotional world, your behaviour. Is there something you are passionate about these days? Considering that the figure in the RWS deck is praying, are you religious?

Then, think abour your near future, are you making great plans for something, are you aniticipating something fervently, is something important you've been waiting for about to reach completion? Have you, for instance, taken an exam whose results you're eagerly waiting for? Are you pregnant, even?

This card may not necessarily signify a pause after a storm, but suspended animation generally, something that is waiting to gain firm ground to arise, maybe without your knowledge, eg a virus. The 4 of Swords shows a period of passiveness and stagnation, being in a dormant state, waiting for the time to rise again.
 

Tigerangel

Are you using the same deck alot?

Just a though that came to mind while reading you post, maybe it's the deck that wants a rest, sometimes I feel we can overwork a deck and it will try to let you know in the only way it knows how to get the message through.

Maybe trying a reading with another deck and see if it still keeps reoccurring for you, but from what you posted I think you have already got a good handle on the meaning of the 4 of swords.
 

Padma

Are you using the same deck alot?

Just a though that came to mind while reading you post, maybe it's the deck that wants a rest

Had the exact same thought when I read the question! Are you asking the same questions over and over...? It may also be the tarot telling you to give it a rest, stop asking the cards, stop being passive, wake up, take control of your life...
 

Thirteen

Decks need time off, too

Had the exact same thought when I read the question! Are you asking the same questions over and over...? It may also be the tarot telling you to give it a rest, stop asking the cards, stop being passive, wake up, take control of your life...
I'd say the same. When you do a lot of readings—especially if they're on the same or similar topics—the tarot *itself* gets tired.

Perhaps, femaleRonin, it isn't you that needs the rest, but your deck? ;) it's asking you to give it a few weeks off before getting back to work. That may include time off from daily draws. Sometimes, when we start out as readers, we do readings about everything down to what to have for dinner. The tarot isn't there to tell you what to do, like a parent guiding a child. It's there to help you make informed decisions, as an adult leading their own lives.

Putting it another way, you wouldn't want someone to always be giving you spoilers about your favorite television program, telling you what's going to happen rather than letting you see for yourself, right? The deck might feel it's better if you live your life with some surprises, rather than always having to know what's next.
 

Grizabella

I don't believe a deck has any spirit of its own to need a rest but I do think it very well could be that the 4 of Swords shows you need to take a break and not be so intense with your study. It sounds like you're doing a lot of readings and that can actually make us go on mental overload after awhile. Especially when we're new to the cards.

When I was still new, I didn't know what to ask questions about because my life wasn't exactly a social whirl. And added to that, I'd read again on a subject because I thought I might not have read the cards right the first time I asked my question on the topic.
 

laurence

My 2 cents:

Maybe It indicates that you are obviously in a 4 of Swords state and you just need to carry on this way by using relaxation, introspection, meditation and so on in the most productive manner. Make sure you take benefit of this period rather than just being passive because the 4 of Swords can just delay problems instead of making us think seriously about them. I mean if you don't use this energy in a productive way, It can be a waste of time.
But It could simply mean that you need to continue using the 4 of Swords energy the same way a bit longer.
 

Amanda

...I can see how it's meaning could refer to myself but I thought I was doing just that; Remaining calm, introspective, trying to make sense of recent painful and shocking upheavals I've experienced...

It's this -- you're trying too hard to make sense of something; you cannot adequately compartmentalize a situation in your life... it doesn't "fit" anywhere logical. I think it's not going to make sense or fit neatly anywhere in your brain, so you're going to have to file it away as its own unique experience, and kind of just honor it for whatever it was to you.

When I was reading through your commentary here on this card, the song "Dilemma" by Nelly came to mind:

 

FemaleRonin

That's an aspect I wasn't aware of, thank you!

Both the number and suit are Yang (active, grasping, goal-oriented, outward-focused). But when we achieve "completion" (one of the meanings of 4), then there is rest, calm, relaxing, fulfillment. Everything that needs speaking (Swords = words, mental) has been spoken.

In RWS, the figure is a knight, laying in the cool, peaceful basement of a church. Some say the stained glass window shows the knight's dreams. In any case, Yang has reached completion and thus yields to Yin, its opposite. But there is a moment just before the yielding, where we hold on to what is past.



That's actually something I wasn't aware of with this card (Yang aspect) I think that's actually a part of the issue for me..I haven't been trying to hold on to the past necessarily, I've honestly just been trying to work things out mentally, and quickly at that, in hopes that if I work thru it quickly enough I can just get back to "living" again.

Wow, thank you for helping me to understand that as well!