Musings on the Celtic Tarot: Swords

Suit of Swords--Celtic Tarot, Davis  

The first thing I notice about this suit is the arcing of lightning or electricity and its various manifestations throughout. You can see the first stirrings of it on the tip of the sword in the Ace, then the big spark jumping between sword tips in the Two. It's gone in the Three, but beginning to whirl up again behind the swords in the Four, goes a little crazy in the Five, shoots a clear steady beam in the Six, becomes a full on power storm in the Seven, then is pretty much gone in Eight, Nine and Ten. The background of those cards also appears a deeper red. Why? Looking closer, you can see that there is a ball of energy in Eight, a few glimmering pinpoints in Nine, and a few even smaller ones in Ten. Curious...what could it mean?





The companion book is particularly helpful in seeing a meaning in these cards, but as always, I am guided by the RWS, and will only depart from it if forced. I have read and re-read the Swords section of the companion book but feel I must go out on my own with some of these, although the companion book does offer some true gems which will be considered.

The Ace of Swords is sheathed in a pentacle (not sure why, the book suggests it's a symbol of the 'wheel of life'), interwoven, so it doesn't fall out. Its tip pierces or stirs some sort intellectual or mental energy. 'The querent is confronted with the source of his or her own wisdom--or lack of it,' says the companion book (written by Helena Patterson). What a great line! If the Ace of Wands is pure potential energy, and Ace of Cups is pure love/emotion, then Ace of Swords must be wisdom at its source. Fantastic.

Two of Swords is distinctive in the frame that binds the swords together. Such a frame doesn't appear in any other sword card. These two swords have an arc of electricity sparking between them--a connection. Harmony or agreement, however uneasy, is indicated here. Alliance.

Where's the pierced valentine of traditional RWS decks in 3 of Swords? Nowhere to be seen, and I for one am glad, because I get a bit tired of that image.  The card still denotes a break up or disruption of sorts--the large sword splits or disrupts the alliance of the two crossed swords. A split. The large sword is also dominant, so suggests a force from outside that is causing problems or dominating in some way. The knotwork behind the big sword emphasizes its dominance. Something has happened, something has changed. That something is represented by the big sword.

The traditional image of the 4 of Swords is of someone at rest. Here we have four interwoven swords with a soft swirl of energy uniting them or surrounding them, suggesting a gentle force holding them together, even protecting them. The book offers the idea that the swirl looks like a swastika, symbol of the energies of the universe, but I don't see it. It just looks like swirl to me. To me, it's the swirl that is most important, as it makes me think of being enveloped in a duvet or wrapped in a bit of cotton wool. A time of rest, however temporary.

How do you get victory and defeat from this 5 of Swords? There's a lot energy sparking in this card, which the book describes as 'pure rage'. I can see how you could get anger and violence from the appearance of those sparks, and there is a dominant sword who is the victor or aggressor, but the sense of defeat is merely assumed, because I don't see any hint of it in the card. You just have to know that the bitterness of defeat is in there.

Six of Swords is a favourite card of mine in most decks, depicting as it does someone moving on from troubled times to new horizons. The configuration of the swords suggests an orderliness and lack of confrontation (because they aren't crossed--but then, they weren't crossed in 5 of Swords either. But of course in 5 of Swords, the battle was pretty much over and a victor was featured so...)--Let us say, there are no winners or losers in this card. That's all over with here. All the swords are the same size, all in alignment. It's the clear beam of light that's important, a sharp path that has pierced through. I don't see any significance in its emanating from the third sword onto the fourth sword. Do you? It's the beam that's important--a way out has become clear.

In the Seven of Swords, a dominant sword weaves its web of deceit or its wiles or what-have-you, over the other six swords. It creates a bright, blanketing light that moves all around the swords. Now that's spin!

Then in Eight of Swords, a complicated bit of Celtic knot work is locked in by the eight swords. No way out, so the pattern just turns in on itself continuously.

I struggle to see nightmares or negative 'tapes' in Nine of Swords, but if you think of swords as a form of communication, you could see the smaller swords as self-talk. 'Talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk' ---stabbed suddenly across with a great big sword that pierces a spot of light. Boom! There are two matching spots of light above the swords and they're asymmetrical--could it be some sort of indication of an unbalanced state of mind? This is the only card speckled with random blobs of light. More out-of-kilterness, then.

What, no one stabbed in the back for the Ten of Swords?! The only menace I get from this card is the prospect of ten gleaming, sharp swords hanging on a wall. Say you went to someone's house and they had ten swords hanging there like that. You'd feel distinctly uncomfortable, wouldn't ya? That's a lot of pointy stickers, there. Lots of potential for pain, not much room left for escape. Good lord, imagine you were in someone's house and this display of swords suddenly dropped down in front of the doorway! Okay, maybe I've watched too many Hammer horrors lately. But still. It's menacing!