Drawing these two cards as a focus might cause many to run screaming from the room. The images in the RWS are bleak. The ten of swords shows a person sprawled out in a pool of their own blood with ten blades protruding from his back. The three of swords shows three swords cutting through the centre of a heart. Even the weather is dreadful! Traditionally, these two cards often represent sorrow and ruin. And, as luck would have it, they were the two focus cards I drew for myself over the past 72 hours. Those who know me personally know that I would never be so fatalistic.
Using a system I was introduced to by James Wells, I’m taking a different look at these two challenging cards. Swords represent intellect and cognition. This suit is linked to the element of air and thus speaks of communication, ideas, concepts, and information. The three places these concepts under scrutiny by forcing us to define and detail our communication, ideas, concepts, etc… and then the ten asks us to pause before acting.
It might be that some new idea or information needs to first be dissected and then sat on and contemplated. It might also be that communication is unclear, at time specific and detail-oriented and at other times loose and vague. When contemplating these two cards, I asked myself:
- What message am I putting out there?
- Am I really listening to myself or to others?
- Have I stopped to look at all perspectives?
- Do I have or am I providing clear insight?
- Do I need to press my pause button before I open my mouth, press send, put pen to paper, etc…
Combine the two concepts represented by the three and ten of swords and see what questions come to mind.
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