The Swords Suit

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The Swords Suit

The Symbol:

The final Suit of the Minor Arcana is the transmissive Air element, represented by the Sword. To understand the logic behind the choice of this symbol, one has only to look at it: a sword is a phallus crafted for combat. Its sharp blade slices through the insubstantial air and penetrates to the heart of the matter, giving you the upper edge. Battles have been won or lost, agreements made or broken, by the strength of the Sword.

The Swords Suit rules those arenas that are combative, sharp, penetrating, and interested in winning the upper edge — conflict, reason, the mind, and communication. Any matter decided by the Sword (or by conflict, reason, and communication, for that matter) by its very nature is impermanent; it takes constant vigilance to maintain a superior position. Is there perhaps a higher Path that transcends the inherent transience of the Sword?

If you look at the hilt of your average sword, you will probably see that it forms a cross. In his text on the Grail myth, Frater Achad calls this the Sign of the Cross, “from which the creative Word issued at the birth of the dawning universe.”

According to Achad’s Qabalistic interpretation of the Parzival story, we begin our Quest for the Grail (Understanding) with the Sword of Reason, a lesser skill that is needed until we transform it into the Holy Spear of Will and Wisdom (Chokmah). Only with Wisdom (in contrast to Reason) may we regain awareness of our True Selves, which in turn enables us to directly perceive truth without the fallible structures of inference and deduction.

For detailed information that includes individual card interpretations, you may purchase a copy of the book, The Kingdom Within Tarot, by clicking here.

Scroll down for links to full color images of the Swords Suit from our deck.