Roots of Asia Tarot - 10 of Swords / Ten of Swords

[Dee Ell]

There doesn't seem to be a general open thread for this card right now!


So I got my very first deck the other day (Roots of Asia) and looked through all the cards and then decided to pick one to meditate on/study and I picked... the 10 of Swords:

http://www.albideuter.de/html/die_wu...asiens_59.html
(Obviously very different imagery than the traditional portrayal of 10 of Swords)

So I read through all of the closed threads as well an open one in the RWS forum on the 10 of Swords and found some very interesting things:

I did a whole Tarot & Emotions research project in part precisely because of the strong emotions evoked by the Swords.

Here are the words picked most often for the Ten of Swords:
hopeless (x15)
overwhelmed (x12)
despair (x11)
exhausted (x5)
hatred (x5)
pity (x3)
apathetic (x2)
fear (x2)

Someone in another thread (closed so I can't directly quote them) wrote:
"To me the 10 of Swords is a the card of a person who has been burdened with unbearable psychological wounds. This card is about pain, and the swords represent events that are still stuck in the psyche. This can indicate someone who is so in pain that they are emotionally crippled. Things not obvious at first glance that may be deeply buried, even to the person themselves."

The reason I found the discussions so fascinating is that I suffer from chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which has also contributed my anxiety and severe depression for nearly 30 (!!!) years of my life.

The list that Teheuti provided in her study of emotions with the cards is pretty much like a DSM list (except for hatred) for PTSD and depression...

(I would like more than anything to have this card signify "The End" (as so many people say the 10 of Swords signifies) for me, but I guess after such prolonged, intense suffering for so many years, it's a bit difficult to believe.)

So aside from wanting to share that info that has been buried in other closed threads from 2002, I am also curious what other's current takes on 10 of Swords are, and specifically in relation to someone suffering from chronic PTSD (it's different from Post Traumatic Stress, which goes away).

And further - for a newbie like me if there is a specific spread someone recommends doing for seeing how to move forward from this... (my interest in tarot is just for personal study/improvement)

 

[Nymshi]

Science Tarot has a take that fascinates me, although one I've personally yet to experience, and that is uncertainty. That if you see swords as air and mental, then the ten is something pinned, dissected, and analyzed well beyond the point of recognition. That in trying to come to an absolute conclusion, all you've managed to do is obliterate the thing you were trying to pin down. Thus there is a limit to how far something can be broken down and how much can be definitively known.

It relates somewhat to the ten being anything but an ending, because...in a way it isn't. The issue being analyzed or struggled with hasn't been neatly resolved. It is over simply because one cannot progress any further.

 

[Dee Ell]

Definitely an interesting take, except if you look at the card I posted a link to, it doesn't fall at all into the traditional imagery of being "pinned" down like you would normally see - in fact it's pretty much the exact opposite... but as I said, definitely an interesting perspective to consider for other decks.

 

[caridwen]

This is what you linked to:
Not Found

The requested URL /html/die_wu...asiens_59.html was not found on this server.

 

[Dee Ell]

This is what you linked to:
Not Found

The requested URL /html/die_wu...asiens_59.html was not found on this server.

Weird. Looks like this site is maybe redacting the link. Here's an attachment with the image:

 

[Haley]

The 10 swords can also indicate the lowest point in a cycle, so things would have to look up from this point because they cannot get any worse. As someone with PTSD you may let the opinions of others weigh heavily upon you. Try listening to yourself instead. I think that is what this card could be saying to you.

 

[Dee Ell]

The 10 swords can also indicate the lowest point in a cycle, so things would have to look up from this point because they cannot get any worse. As someone with PTSD you may let the opinions of others weigh heavily upon you. Try listening to yourself instead. I think that is what this card could be saying to you.

PTSD doesn't really have anything to do with other people's opinions - it has to do with the body's physiological response to trauma, which is taken to an extreme.

But your comment about "the lowest point in a cycle, so things would have to look up from this point because they cannot get any worse" was what I was talking about when I said "I would like more than anything to have this card signify "The End" (as so many people say the 10 of Swords signifies) for me, but I guess after such prolonged, intense suffering for so many years, it's a bit difficult to believe."

I appreciate you taking the time to give your input however

 

[caridwen]

I think the Roots of Asia is based on Buddhism rather than 'traditional' tarot so am not sure how useful it is to compare it to traditional interpretations.

Having said that, it looks like a Phoenix or some kind of rebirth. That could be spiritual with the bird acting as a metaphor for spirit. Birds are also representative of freedom. Swords are air and therefore thoughts. So freeing yourself from thoughts. Also perspective as the bird flies above the swords and is larger than the swords. The thoughts become small in comparison to spirit.

I would see this as very positive.

 

[werewolfmoon]

I have a couple of thoughts about the ToS. To me it can be, 'the darkest hour before dawn,' on the card in some decks, the man has been stabbed by the swords and is bleeding but in the background the dawn is breaking, the worst has happened and now things will get better.

The Tens are about too much of everything, in this case thoughts, I get this card a lot and it relates, in my case, to overthinking things and putting too much time and energy into things, people and events. My deck tells me off regularly for doing this.

Also, 'the long, dark tea-time of the soul' (Douglas Adams) that long period of time either on a Sunday or at Christmas when lunch has been eaten, presents have been opened and you are feeling overfull and bored, there is nothing on the tv and relatives are annoying you.

 

[ana luisa]

Before anything, what does the image say to YOU ? Is the bird frightened ? Is it going to face the swords or fly away ? Who threw these swords at it ? if you had another card following this one (in time) , what would have happened to the bird and the swords ? What's behind the bird? If answered, these questions will give you a much better understanding of what is going on with the card.

To me,besides the usual negative interpretation, the Ten of Swords sometimes shows up as a card of RELEASE. Have you ever gone through a bout of intense pain for hours and then, when the medication quicks in you finally manage to relax your muscles, curl up and, although sore, have some rest ? This is what I mean by release. It is possible that this bird was caged and it's finally gained freedom.