Baroque Bohemian Cats - 9 of Swords

[GryffinSong]

This is such a lovely version of what's generally thought of as a very dark card.

A soft gray tabby sits up in bed holding a sword with both paws. Her nightgown is an elegant white, and her expression looks thoughtful, a little sad, and perhaps a little worried. I could see this card as a potential suicide, depending on the context of the reading, although that idea just occurred to me.

I happen to have had a rough week this week, and drew this card earlier in the day. I felt it so strongly ... the disappointments, worries, sadness of the week. One of the things I love about this deck is how soft the message is. She looks terribly sad, and yet the setting is so lovely and soft that I'm able to actually sit still long enough to hear her message. No running away from this card's message. This beautiful tabby invites us to sit at the edge of her bed, gently take the sword from her paws, take her soft paws in our hands, and talk through her troubles. The fact that the rest of the swords are in the foreground, lining her bed, only means that we need to fully step into the card, into her world and around to the other side of the bed in order to comfort her.

This card doesn't just tell a story. It invites the search for a solution.