tarot swords – Just the Tarot

Nine of Swords

This card shows an individual sitting bolt upright in bed, face buried in her hands, with nine swords lining the wall behind her. This is a card of waking up in the night screaming in terror. It represents the sudden, conscious realization of the bad results of power games and aggression.

The swords on the wall appear to be locked together, hilt to hilt. They’re like the bars in a jail cell, showing that there is no escape from the consequences. The patches on the quilt are embroidered with the signs of the zodiac, suggesting the bad karma of many lifetimes coming to fruition.

To put it simply, this is a card of your chickens coming home to roost. The negative energy that the individual has put out into the world is coming back to bite her in the ass.

Reversed: The anxieties, fears, and bad karma are gradually fading away.

EXAMPLES: Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Future. Suddenly realizing that you’ve really screwed up, there are consequences to pay, and you’re all alone.

Getting a wake up call that you’ve been acting like a real jerk and your friends and lovers have all walked away from you.

Eight of Swords

A woman in a red gown with her arms heavily bound and a blindfold over her eyes is surrounded by eight swords planted firmly in the ground. A castle rises behind her and oily water lies at her feet.

Obviously, this is a nasty assed card and you shouldn’t expect any positive meanings for it. The subject is completely immobile and helpless, bound in place by the powers that surround her and blind to what has caused her dilemma. There is really nothing she can do to help herself because she doesn’t even understand how this happened to her or why. This isn’t just about being a victim; there’s also a lot of denial and refusal to face reality.

Reversed: The forces that restrict her will gradually loosen their grips, but there are still hard times ahead.

EXAMPLES: The alcoholic who just got busted for his fourth DUI but refuses to get into recovery.

The abused wife who insists that her abuser, “really loves her,” and is going to change.

Seven of Swords

A man with a mocking grin on his face is seen sneaking away from an encampment bearing five swords in his arms while two swords remain thrust upright into the ground.

This card hearkens back, therefore, to both the five of swords and the two of swords. The same sort of merciless, sadistic power games are being played as in the five of swords, but there is an element of secrecy, concealment, and being underhanded about his malice. The individual is causing just as much harm but doesn’t want others to know about it.

Swords represent power and he is literally stealing someone else’s power from them. As a result of it he is leaving them power-less, locked into the same state of stalemate as the two of swords and no longer able to function.

Reversed: The person doing the stealing and deception is about to get caught. His or her behavior will be revealed and the problem will resolve.

EXAMPLES: The employee who is constantly undermining her supervisor with malicious gossip.

The, “friend,” who is gossiping about you behind your back and destroying your credibility and reputation.

Five of Swords

A grinning man gathers up fallen swords while one person walks away from him and another person has his face buried in his hands, as if crying. Storm clouds gather over a stagnant sea.

Trouble, arguments, strife, perhaps degenerating into physical violence. This is a card of extreme power games where the only objective is winning despite the pain and injuries that are being caused by them. There is an element of merciless sadism and mocking to the central figure. He fails to understand that people are disgusted and hurt by his actions and that they are literally leaving him alone. If the card represents the questioner, he needs to take a serious look at the damage he’s causing to the people around him. This may also represent a seriously spiteful person causing pain in the questioners life.

Reversed: The troubles are leaving the questioner life, perhaps because he or she has made the decision to just walk away from it.

EXAMPLES: The bully, school yard or otherwise. This is the person who enjoys inflicting pain just for the sake of making other people suffer. A petty sadist.

The so-called, “friend,” who is constantly making sarcastic, hurtful remarks about you and undermining your self-confidence and sense of self-worth.

Two of Swords

This card shows a robed and blind-folded figure, arms crossed, holding two swords in perfect balance. A sea or lake in the background appears to be totally still, perhaps stagnant.

The main thing to note with this card is the stasis, the lack of motion and movement. Even the sea is motionless. Swords are about power and aggression and in this case the power is frozen in place and any progress is stalemated. Two opposing people, ideas, or forces are equally strong and nothing is moving or changing.

In a marriage or romantic relationship this could indicate two people who are locked into an emotional power struggle. Neither party is willing to compromise or empathize with the others feelings. In fact, the blindfold on the figure indicates that they may not even be able to see or comprehend the other person’s feelings. The relationship isn’t ending but neither is it growing or thriving. It’s become all about the power rather than love.

The quarter moon in the sky indicates that the stalemate may last about a lunar month before any changes can be expected.

Reversed: Things are finally moving and changing. In a relationship it may indicate that one party has decided to leave.

EXAMPLES: Your friends who are constantly bitching at and about each other but are completely unwilling to consider ending the relationship.

Being locked into a business relationship with someone who refuses to listen to your ideas for improving the business.