Some-times what we feel traps us, is just an illusion. If we change our mindset we can step out of the cage and fly free. We could make up stories why we need to stay in our misery or we can recognize that there is an alternative. We can find a way out if we choose.The viewer looking at this card might think; trapped bird. However Raven is a highly intelligent bird, it might have hopped into this circle of swords knowing full well that it could exit. The vast, open desert contrasts with the illusion of a cage.
When I painted this card I recognized my obsessive thinking about some family dynamics - I saw my limitations quite distinctly. The following morning I awoke to a whole new way of looking at the situation and suddenly I felt free. The mind can spin around or it can find new pathways. The Eight of Swords is a card of empowerment, of moving beyond our limitations into the vastness of eternity
