THE SUIT OF SWORDS

When Mordreth Boehm asked me to write an article on the Suit of Swords for The Magician - the Journal of the Guild of Australia I was excited, this would be my first published article on the tarot in a magazine. A very sword like endeavour. The fact that it is an Australian magazine really delights me. I have been intrigued by how my deck is travelling the globe, reaching so many places I have not visited in person. I feel as if I am taking flight through Tarot de St. Croix, meeting and connecting with others through my deck. Here is a portion of the article I wrote for The Magician:

THE SUIT OF SWORDS 
by Lisa de St. Croix

The suit of Swords has lessons to teach, sometimes cutting through confusion in a decisive strike. People often have a question or problem in mind when they do a reading. The Swords are very clear in their answers. They ask us to step up and claim our power, to be just, noble and courageous. The Swords direct us to use skills such as analyzing, planning, organizing, making choices and communicating with clarity. 

The phrase “Know Thyself” is inscribed at the Oracle of Delphi. Intuition is the driving unconscious force that is an inner knowing. It is the ability to cut through illusions to reveal a sixth sense. Trust this quality and it will protect you. The suit of Swords also guides us through the mental realms of dreams, symbols and visions. 

Swords represent the intellect. Our thoughts enable us to be inventive. An idea is a seed that has the potential of manifestation. In Magical circles the athame, a type of a sword, is used in ritual. It has the power to set boundaries and to create symbols of magic.

Air is the element associated with the suit of Swords. Both thoughts and air are invisible to the eye and yet ever present. The word “inspiration” literally means to breathe in. The basic breath happens without conscious awareness yet if we turn our thoughts toward breathing we can slip into another dimension. Many meditation techniques use the breath as a tool to reach enlightenment, to connect us with the Divine or to control the mind. Deep breathing is calming. Holotropic breathwork is a type of therapy that can aid the healing of the psyche. 

The symbol of the Sword means truth, justice and valor. In England a great honor is still bestowed in the Knighting ceremony, laying a sword on the shoulder of exceptional men and women and naming them Sir and Dame.

When Isis’ beloved Osiris was cut into fourteen pieces, Isis traveled far and wide to reassemble him. When he was whole the Sun God Horus was born from their union. Think of the fourteen sword cards combining to form a story that contains the different pieces of the psyche, once understood, these pieces have the power to create miracles. The tarot reveals, guides and teaches.