Ace Of Swords

Keywords: Achievement through great force.

Here we have a hand, holding a large Sword which has the crown and wreath of success on top of it.

Whenever you reach the Ace, it indicates success. You have dealt with all the cards which have come before the Ace, have overcome them and have emerged victorious.

The Ace of Swords shows that this victory has come about through great force of your own.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Two Of Swords

Keywords: Balancing two situations, making a decision.

On this card is shown a woman who is blindfolded and is balancing two Swords on her shoulders. The water in the background again indicates the subconscious mind and the need to go into yourself for the answers.

The two Swords symbolize that the thinking process must be a balancing of two situations.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Three Of Swords

Keyword: Disappointment.

On this card is a heart, pierced by three Swords. As in Numerology the number Three represents enjoyment and pleasure, with the Swords piercing the heart it would mean that pleasure has come to an end and for this reason, this card means disappointment. I have found no other way to interpret this card.

However, this is one place where psychology comes in. At various points in our lives all of us go through disappointments. When you see this card, don't make it seem as if "the roof is falling in." It is probably just one of the many disappointments that we all must face in life. An example may be that you plan a picnic outing and it rains.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Four Of Swords

Four Of Swords

Keywords: Period of ease, a situation that existed before may come up again, hospitalization.

Here we see a man at rest and for some reason he has chosen a coffin for his resting place. However, this is not a "death" card, but indicates a period of ease while you are waiting for the next event in your life.

Although I have not been able to find out why, there are several cards of the Minor Arcana which have titles, and this is one of them. It is called "Rest After Strife".

I look at this card as a "time period" and usually feel that it means a month of ease before events start up again.

The cards are also assigned Astrological meanings and this card is designated as "Mercury Retrograde". Many times I have found this card to mean a situation which occured in the past will come back up again. As an Illustration of this, let's say there was a period of time when you were having trouble with your boss. If this card appeared in your House of Work in a reading, it could mean the trouble could start again.

As the man is lying on a coffin and at rest, another meaning of the card can be that hospitalizition may be required.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Five Of Swords

Five Of Swords

Keywords: Partial success, theft, inner disruptions.

The man in the foreground appears to be the victor, for he is in possession of all the Swords, while the two men in the background are walking away in defeat. Many see this card as indicating success, but I feel that it means an "unsuccessful victory". Look at the dark grey clouds and the choppy sea--there is no "Sun" shining on the victor and I find it indicates only partial success.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Six Of Swords

Six Of Swords

Keywords: Going into a new situation, leaving something hehind---,trip.

Here we have a family--man, woman and child--in a boat. The water behind them is choppy, the water they are going into is smooth. They are leaving a difficult situation and heading into "smoother sailing".

This card can also represent a trip.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Seven Of Swords

Keywords: Problem, theft or stealing, partial success.

In medieval times opposing armies set up large camps and this is the scene you see in the background on this card. The man is in the act of stealing Swords from the opposing forces, and has five of them in his possession, but he is leaving two Swords behind. This card can indicate "theft", but, hopefully, this is not an everyday occurence.

It can also mean "problems" and you will learn the combinations that are used to indicate this. You have some of your Swords (thinking problems) in hand, and are looking over the others.


(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Eight Of Swords

Keywords: Feeling of being bound or restricted, a small time period of no activity, temporary illness (flu, a cold).

Here you have someone who is not only tied up, but is blind-folded as well. If you look closely you will note that she has one foot on the Earth and the other in the Water. She is the minor octave of the Temperance card of the Major Arcana and must go within her conscious and subconscious to find the answers. She will remain "bound" until she works out the answers to her problems within herself.

This feeling of being bound or restricted can also indicate a temporary minor illness such as a cold or the flu.


(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Nine Of Swords

Keywords: Worry and confusion, hospital bed.

Here we see a woman sitting up in bed, which also appears to be a coffin. She is holding her head in her hands, and the picture indicates that she is experiencing a great deal of worry and confusion. If you look closely at the cover on the bed you will see all of the Astrological Signs, which symbolizes that everyone experiences these feelings at some time. Often this worry and confusion is about someone else, not the person doing the worrying.

The card can also represent a hospital bed. Whether being in the hospital bed is caused by illness or as a result of the worry and confusion will be indicated by the other cards present.


(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Ten Of Swords

Keywords: Ending of a matter, illness, possibility of surgery.

This card portrays a man lying on the ground with ten Swords in his back and blood around his head. Although your first thought when seeing this card will be "an ending", it does not necessarily mean the ending of a person. Rather, it usually indicates the ending of a situation. When you encounter this card in a reading, it usually signifies the ending of the matter you were discussing.

Another meaning of the card would apply if you are discussing someone's health and other cards indicate there will be a period of hospitalization. In that case this card could indicate surgery for the querent, or the person under discussion, as Swords are knives, and knives cut.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Page Of Swords

Keywords: A child, a message requiring thought.

During medieval times the Pages at Court were young children. For this reason, all the Pages of the Minor Arcana can represent children in a reading. As in the Knight of Swords card, there is activity shown in the background, in the trees and clouds behind the Page. As Swords represent the thinking process and the Page represents a message, this card means "a message requiring thought". The Page has his head turned away from the Sword--the message has been delivered, now some thought about it must take place.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Knight Of Swords

Keyword: The fast coming or going of a matter.

Notice the "action" and movement" in this card. Look at the Knight, who is leaning forward, as if charging. The trees are swaying, as if in a stiff wind and the clouds have the appearance of scurrying quickly across the sky. Everthing about the card indicates "fast action". It represents the coming or going of a matter. If it is a message, it will come "by air". What is "coming or going" will be indicated by the cards around this one.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

The Queen Of Swords

The Queen Of Swords: Gemini, Libra or Aquarius Key

Keyword: A woman, usually one who is alone.

The Queen of Swords in a reading usually represents a woman with the qualities of the Air Signs, or it can stand for any person who is alone. She may be a widow, divorced, or someone who is alone in thought, word or deed.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

King Of Swords

King Of Swords: Gemini, Libra or Aquarius Key

Keyword: A man, usually one involved with the law.

The King of Swords may be a lawyer, a person connected with the government, a policeman, or someone connected with the legal field in some way. If the other cards indicate that this is not a person in the legal field, then it may represent someone with a fixed idea. Unless you are talking about a legal matter, the card will generally represent "just a man" who has the traits of the Air Signs.

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Swords And Astrological Air Signs

Swords

The Swords are symbolic of the Astrological Air Signs. They represent our thinking process and, also, activity. This means that once you have gone through the thinking process on a subject, you will do something about it.

Astrological Air Signs

Gemini, Libra, Aquarius

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Tarot - The Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana

The general belief concerning the Minor Arcana is that it came into existence long after the Major Arcana, but, once again, the scenery and dress of the figures portrayed on the cards are reminiscent of the medieval period, and most scholars feel they were added to the deck during that time.

The Minor Arcana consists of four "suits", each consisting of thirteen cards. These cards add to the details of the "story" which the cards of the Major Arcana tell in a reading. The suits are: Swords, Cups, Wands, and Pentacles.

As you did with the Major Arcana, place each card in front of you, read the explanation which is given, study the keywords, look at the picture on the card, and let the picture tell you its' story, as well as reading the explanation/meaning in the printed text.

The meaning of each card will be given in the posts which follow, with the exception of the Kings and Queens of each suit. Each suit represents one of the Astrological "elements": Earth, Air, Fire and Water and the three Signs which are included in each of these divisions. The meaning of the Kings and Queens is shown by the Astrological Sign which they represent. When we say that they represent these Signs, do not take that literally. If you have any knowledge of Astrology you know this means they can have the characteristics of these Signs, but does not mean the person it refers to must be of that Sign.

For example, if the King of Swords comes up in a reading, this does not mean that the person the card refers to must be a Libra, Gemini or Aquarius person. What it does mean is that the person referred to will have the traits associated with these Signs.

As a rule, the Kings represent men and the Queens represent women. There can be exceptions to this general rule, but time and practice will teach you to recognize this deviance when it occurs.

Here's another hint that will make reading the cards easier for you. When you encounter the Knights and Pages in a reading, think of them as "messengers". The suit they are in will show you what kind of message it is and how it will arrive.

We will begin with the Swords. Remember, place each card in front of you, read the meaning given, study the keywords, study the card. An example of what is meant by "study the card"--look carefully at the King Of Swords card. Notice the sumilarity to the Justice card of the Major Arcana. Both cards deal with "legal matters", the Justice card with the matter itself, The King of Swords, as a general rule, with a person involved with those legal matters--a lawyer, policeman, government official. Note the colors of the King's robe, cape, crown. Study his throne and the markings on it. Study the card until you fully understand how this card represents "legal".

(Updated 2007. All rights reserved.)

Black And White Are Not Colors

SEEING BY REFLECTED LIGHT

Do you have a favorite color? Is there a color that repels you? Do you feel affected by the colors around you? If yes, then most likely you can alter your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual conditions and conditioning.

By scientific definition, light is electromagnetic energy that is produced by the sun in different wave lengths. When these light waves bounce off of objects and hit our eyes, the waves create a sensation of light. Everything we see is by reflected light.

The pyramid or prism, reflecting the seven colors of the rainbow are only a small fraction of the entire spectrum. Low frequency light waves register in the brain as red. Violet is the result of high frequency light waves.

When light waves are mixed, the colors absorp and reflect at different speeds and intesities with each color having its own properties of absorption and reflextion. All the colors when mixed together will create white light.

Colors do and will affect different energies of the body which is exactly what our bodies are made of. An entire system of vibrating atoms and subtle energies. An ever-changing energy system that is affected by and affects the energy around you.

The seven colors of the rainbow resonate to the seven colors of the wheels of energy or "chakras" which create an electromagnetic field or what some call your "aura". Each chakra also resonates to the music scale C to B. C being the root chakra and B the crown.

Because each individual is different and unique from each other in experiences and because the colors absorp and reflect at different speeds and intensities, it is expected that while working with your chakras, your experiences will also differ slightly.

Knowing more of the color wheel, how to mix the colors and knowing the characteristics of chakras, you can change not only your moods and energy field but your very existence as well.