balenciaga said:
I read the 4 of Sw as "cutting oneself off", as self-imposed exile. Whether to spite, to retreat, to contemplate, whatever. If it comes up repeatedly, then this is the person's way of handling stress - retreat from the action.
Good interpetation--and it dovetails very well with Elnor's example. The "I need my space," argument--which can go either way, a partner who really needs a "room of their own," or one who uses it as an excuse to duck out of responsiblities.
There was a thread a while back about the origins of the Rider-Waite card, with the man on the coffin. Evidently, knights going on crusades would often have a crypt made for themselves before they left...just in case. If they returned alive, they would lay in that crypt, not only to meditate and recover, but to contemplate on the fact that they could have died, and, by the grace of God, did not.
Which brings up another thought on the "obstacle"--if a person of faith and goes in for regular prayer/meditation (even Yoga), vs a person who isn't into that. Likewise, if one partner has been in the military and seen action and the other has not. I certainly would not be surprised to see this card come up for someone with PTSD, or who was in some sort of therapy for that.