Mary El Tarot - Two of Swords

[Bat Chicken]

http://www.mary-el.com/swords1.html

My immediate thought looking at this card is that it feels like a contradiction. The two Japanese swords crossed over wings that make me think of the cherubim of the aces. In front of both is a locust with its wings expanded. The background looks like a swarm of locusts bringing to mind the Biblical plagues – a plague from the air. The story is one of no compromise and yet the card seems to suggest an urgent need for compromise.

A final thought – the twos are Chokmah on the Tree of Life. The feeling of stalemate in this card, the confronting of the swarm and the wings of the cherub blocking the way may represent the limits of intellect to access higher planes? Just an idea…

Thoughts?

[hazlit]

Originally Posted by Bat Chicken

My immediate thought looking at this card is that it feels like a contradiction.

Same here. It feels like there is a kind of morphing in process, the light winged creature in the foreground seems to flicker momentarily into the dark winged creature underneath in a kind of pulsating flutter; somehow, both are pinned by the swords (reminds me of one of those pinboards at museums, where butterflies are pinned for display), prevented from becoming one or the other. Almost like they are held in place eternally, shape shifting from light to dark, dark to light - this seems to create a third butterfly-ish entity in the top third of the card. Brings to mind the Osho Zen deck's title for this two - schizophrenia. Shaping, re-shaping and re-shaping yet again. Nothing concrete here, nothing fixed, with the exception of the intersection of the swords (which prevents the whole thing separating off and flying away).

There's an owlishness about it too... formed by the markings on the slim horizontal wings. Hooded. The owl that looks through, almost cross-eyed, totally focused, totally detached.

And I hear-see a constant buzzing too, when I look at this card. It's quite hypnotic and feels enormously ancient.

Hopefully my inadequate words impart honour and respect for this magnificent image, it's a beauty!

hx

[RavenTree]

Originally Posted by Bat Chicken

http://www.mary-el.com/swords1.html


The story is one of no compromise and yet the card seems to suggest an urgent need for compromise.

A final thought – the twos are Chokmah on the Tree of Life. The feeling of stalemate in this card, the confronting of the swarm and the wings of the cherub blocking the way may represent the limits of intellect to access higher planes? Just an idea…

Thoughts?

I got the feeling of stalemate as well. The two sailing ships in the background are as far away in the image as they can get while still being in the card. That combined with the two down-pointing swords connected at the pommels brought the word impasse to my mind. It could mean being at cross-purposes, strife. Maybe even retreat or realizing common purposes. I like the eeriness of this card. (:

[flying black kat]

When I look at this card I find myself wondering if the red dot is a form of a singnal warning others of its kind about danger. Danger of what has happen to it.

This danger to me is being caught, in the process of being mounted, and getting ready to becoming a living display of the one who caught it.

Having its life force slowly, painfully, and cruelly drained away. All the while knowing it will never see anyone it loves again. Let alone be able to share its knowledge or joy of simply enjoying its life.

It took me at least 5 times of looking at this card and putting it away and the rest of the deck as well because it was a hard card to deal with. The first time I looked at this card, I felt nothing but pain from the card. This suite of swords can really be cruel.

To me the sailing ships look more like stones placed so that if the creature starts to be able to lose its bonds they will be stoped, before they can be totally loosened.

Another form of cruelty.

Kathy

[missy]

Metamorphosis. Butterfly. Opening into sadness and the blue of emotion. Raw emotion (blue). Energy (red).

The card has a sadness about it. Like the life force (the red) is being drained from it. Does the red represent blood? (Red could = Blood, or life force, or energy, or action, or war, or instability, transformation)

The blue seems to indicate serenity, or peace. Blue could = emotion, sadness, inaction, peace, death, stability

Possible interpretations:

The butterfly wishes to stay at peace but is getting dragged into war
The butterfly wishes life but faces death
The butterfly wishes stability, but faces change
The butterfly is in a period of inaction and is being forced to act
The butterfly is undergoing a period of transformation and change.
The butterfly is at peace. Ignore the war that is erupting.
etc.

[Debra]

Holy moly. Looking at this again, I think it's a grasshopper! Look at this! http://www.123rf.com/photo_10840304_...ping-path.html It's a royalty free picture, I've attached it too.

Grasshoppers hatch from eggs and molt when their skins get too tight--they don't do the whole crysalis thing like butterflies. They can wipe out a field, they can be a plague to farmers.

[missy]

Originally Posted by Debra

Holy moly. Looking at this again, I think it's a grasshopper! Look at this! http://www.123rf.com/photo_10840304_...ping-path.html It's a royalty free picture, I've attached it too.

Grasshoppers hatch from eggs and molt when their skins get too tight--they don't do the whole crysalis thing like butterflies. They can wipe out a field, they can be a plague to farmers.

Well. *That* ... yikes.

[missy]

Debra, I was doing all of that read intuitively, but I did just look in Marie White's book and she did mention the word "locust" which is in keeping with grasshopper. I'll leave mine ... since it's intuitive ... but that is fascinating!