Tarot's Four of Swords - “Practicing Stillness”

4 of Swords from RWCS

Life can make you crazy and conversely, you can make your life crazy.  It’s an art to know when to take action on something and when to let it lie.  The four of swords asks us to gear down and ease our frantic mindset by sinking into silence and stillness. It is only in these states of tranquility that can true wisdom can enter our minds.

The suit of swords deals with ‘daggers of the mind,’ or in science fiction parlance, ‘monsters from the id.’ A classic depiction of the four of swords shows us a knight, or nobleman resting in much the same pose as a figure atop a tomb from the middle ages. His hands are clasped as if in prayer, representing his supplication and request for Divine guidance. Three swords hang suspended over his head and torso. They hover above three chakras points: The third eye (ajna), where his intuition, or psychic connection lives; his heart chakra, (anahata) where he feels and expresses his love and lastly, above his solar plexus (manapura) where he houses his personal power, fear and anxiety. These swords represent the areas where obsessive thought patterns can root themselves and make us miserable.

Our knight’s eyes are closed and he lays death-like with the

4 of Swords from "The Wizard's Tarot"©
by Corrine Kenner and John J. Blumen

fourth sword resting below him as a decoration on the side of the slab. This fourth sword represents a mind at rest, heedless of the day to day travails suspended above our hero in the conscious world.  Below, in the world of the subconscious, or the meditative state, all is tranquil.  

Stillness is not a natural state for most of us.  Sometimes it makes us so antsy that we take on other projects simply to avoid the stillness in our own mind. Tarot’s four of swords challenges us to still our minds, our emotions and fears in order to reach that serene place inside each of us that connects us to Source and holds our inner wisdom.  You can’t hear a whisper in the middle of a maelstrom, though. The answers we seek come in the silence of our souls and through our ability to hear inner wisdom through our connection to the Divine.

In readings this card indicates a need to rest and recover, to draw in and quietly prepare for actions to come, as well as to contemplate reality past emotion and ego. Use the four of swords to help guide you as you sort through life’s difficult situations. Taking time of rest and recoup makes you stronger in the long-run.

LADY ORACLE


Vive La France!

The Ten of Wands - “Overwhelmed and Under-Appreciated”

Ten of Wands - taking on just a
tad too much. from Ciro Marchetti's
"Legacy of the Divine Tarot"©

Burdens – yours, your family’s, your friend’s – even the rooster down the road wants a ride.  You shoulder responsibility as if it’s an olympic event and you’re going for the gold. Perhaps responsibility isn’t your personal kryptonite.  Perhaps you run a marathon of events from the time you wake until the time you sleep. Perhaps you don’t sleep well, because your brain never shuts off enough to allow uninterrupted slumber. In any event, you have become the 10 of Wands.

The Ten of Wands shows up in a reading to make you pause and confront the areas of your life that are over-burdening you.  The ability to deal with multiple activities, emotional responsibilities, or even a hyper-creative mind differs from person to person.  So when the Ten shows up, it doesn’t matter if you’re used to competing in a decathlon of events, at the moment you’re simple taking on too much of the world.

Here’s the thing about Ten of Wands people: They always

And there's the neighbor's rooster bumming a ride!
6 of Clouds from "OSHO Zen Tarot"© by Deva Padma
Not the Ten of Wands, but still a good depiction!

challenge themselves to take on more, to be more and to rise above.  If someone took three or four of the wands from the shoulder of the wand bearer, he’d quickly replace them and still look around for wand number eleven.  What is needed in the wand bearer’s life is balance, not more activity.  The most useful skill to have when you feel overwhelmed is to practice silence.

Go inside into the silence like #9
The Hermit from "Steampunk Tarot"©
by Barbara Moore and Aly Fell

In moments of high stress, cut down on noise pollution in your life where ever possible.  Unless you’re disguising outside sounds, turn off background noises in your home – even if it’s ambient music.  Get alone. Sit quietly, meditate or read.  In short, learn to relax in as much silence as you can gain.  If you can’t relax at home (that’s another problem altogether) go somewhere that provides you the opportunity to let go. Try a park or a meditative garden – a massage at a spa. Turn off the radio in your car.  Commercial radio chatter is the devil. Seriously.  The key to unwinding and releasing wands is found in providing yourself with whatever insulation you can in an intrusive world.  In the silence you will hear what your true questions are and in time, you will be given their answers.  Once you have answers, it’s a simple mater to put down a wand or twelve.

LADY ORACLE

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Reading Event and Tarot Trunk Show!  Saturday, October 26th from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at "Word for Word Books and Espresso" Old Town St. Helens, Oregon!