2 of Swords - blocked emotions???

Joan Bunning says that the 2 of Swords can be about blocked emotions:

"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."

It can? Do you agree? I find that a bit odd as it's a Sword card. Blocked communication, speech etc...makes more sense to me. A closed off heart? Yes, in the RWS deck the swords are crossed over her heart...but it's still a swords card. Has anyone ever had it come up for someone who is blocking his or her emotions?

What so ever is in our hearts are reflected in our interactions with one another. 2 Swords could indicate that even in our communications / verbal interations our focus or articulations are evidentily not 'external' in focus.
I believe our hearts can become closed as a result of barriers we create between ourselves and others this card also indicates not looking outward, not having an 'external' focus. I have encountered people like this, no matter what you are talking about the response is internal, for example, one might say "the weather is nice today!" and the reply might be, "I am allergic to the sun" or "It is too hot for me, I can't stand this..." and it goes on from there until the entire communication becomes a conversation about what is going on inside of them. It is not a unbiased or outer sharing even in communicating about the weather.

JennyM said:

Joan Bunning says that the 2 of Swords can be about blocked emotions:

"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."

It can? Do you agree? I find that a bit odd as it's a Sword card. Blocked communication, speech etc...makes more sense to me. A closed off heart? Yes, in the RWS deck the swords are crossed over her heart...but it's still a swords card. Has anyone ever had it come up for someone who is blocking his or her emotions?

Click to expand...

It also makes me think of situations where a person says they love you, but never expresses in communictions with you. That is evident when it becomes apparent that few conversations concern anyone else well being.

Jenny-

I had a professional tarot reading a few months ago and the overall card for my ex came up as 2 of swords. I took it to mean a "stalemate" situation with her--which the 2 of swords also can be. However, the psychic/tarot reader told me in that case, the 2 of swords meant that my ex has blocked/turned her back on her emotions (the woman stands with her back to the body of water in traditional RWS-based cards), and is unable to allow herself to "feel", instead using her mind (swords) to block her heart. He said the 2 of swords is someone who doesn't want to get "deep" into their emotions, instead turning their back on their feelings. I could attest to that about my ex...and I think it makes sense in similar scenarios with the 2 of swords. Of course, this card has other interpretations, but this is apparently one of them.

GA

I love that Goddess! It's a different perspective for me.

GoddessArtemis said:

Jenny-

I had a professional tarot reading a few months ago and the overall card for my ex came up as 2 of swords. I took it to mean a "stalemate" situation with her--which the 2 of swords also can be. However, the psychic/tarot reader told me in that case, the 2 of swords meant that my ex has blocked/turned her back on her emotions (the body of water is behind woman in traditional RWS-based cards), and is unable to allow herself to "feel", instead using her mind (swords) to block her heart. He said the 2 of swords is someone who doesn't want to get "deep" into their emotions, instead turning their back on their feelings. I could attest to that about my ex...and I think it makes sense in similar scenarios with the 2 of swords. Of course, this card has other interpretations, but this is apparently one of them.

GA

Click to expand...

Fearful emotions

The 2 of swords sometimes also means that one of the parties is fearful of examining their emotions about the issue surrounding themselves and the other party, the core topic that has arisen between them - afraid of letting their defences down, and communicating in a loving manner with the other party - fearful of being chastised by the other person whom they love perhaps and because they are themselves struggling with the conflicting emotions within them : the emotions of both love and fear intermingled - they want to communicate but are afraid, for whatever reason and therefore close down emotionally to avoid the pain - both denial and avoidance is present when the 2 of swords appear - wanting to maintain the status quo by not talking through or ignoring the rough spots, the important issues that beg negotiation and communication - thereby maintaining a semblance of outward harmony only ~

Tavia said:

The 2 of swords sometimes also means that one of the parties is fearful of examining their emotions about the issue surrounding themselves and the other party, the core topic that has arisen between them - afraid of letting their defences down, and communicating in a loving manner with the other party ~

Click to expand...

This is interesting because when I drew the card and asked for clarification I received

9 Wands
and
5 Swords, reversed

This tells me that the issue is fear...and someone is engaging in defensive behavior because of it.

You know, when people first started reading the cards and had no books to go by, I think they just read what their intuition told them to read about each of the cards.

Then someone wrote the first book and we got bogged down in all the technical "this suit means this and that suit means that" and "ill-dignities" and "these two added together relate back to the yadda yadda major" off we go-------analysis paralysis set in.

Each card means what it says to you, basically. Never mind that "swords is supposed to mean the intellect and not the emotions". It means what it means in the context of the reading you're giving.

I'm glad this question came up because this has been on my mind a whole lot lately. I've been thinking about the first people who decided to use tarot for reading the cards-----oh, what the heck! Let's call it what it was--------for telling fortunes, which is what morphed into what we now deny is fortune telling---and what the spirits of those first readers must think of all our goings-on. I'll bet they're all giggling behind their hands and rolling their eyes at our pomposity.

If you have a reading where the two of swords seems to mean something you've learned it doesn't, I'd go with what your first instinct is telling you.

Lyric said:

If you have a reading where the two of swords seems to mean something you've learned it doesn't, I'd go with what your first instinct is telling you.

Click to expand...

I agree; however, I also feel one must have a starting point...something learned (in whatever way) about the cards' meanings.

It's like what our old language teachers always told us. It's fine to break the rules of grammar to make your point in any thesis...but first you have to understand the rules of grammar.

Yes, but who made the rules? I don't think there were any rules to begin with, and that's what my point was. "Who said so?" in other words. I think we'd feel a lot less confused about all of this if we remembered that in the beginning, there weren't any books and rules. There was just instinct, imagination and intuition. So if two of swords means blocked emotions to you, when normally the books say swords aren't emotions, then go with what the card says to you and don't worry about it.