II. SWORDS

Upright: Taking the time to make tough choices wisely, balancing perspectives, trusting intuition, using intellect, and allowing things to grow before moving too quickly

Reversed: Impossible decision, becoming stagnant, inability to see past one’s own emotions, neglect, losing one’s self to overgrowth or decay

A woman stands like a statue on the waters of a swampy lake. At her feet, she holds two swords pointing in opposite directions. Blindfolded, her gaze aims downwards toward the soft light of seven candles floating with her in the water.

The swamp has long been considered a vicious place, not suitable for the building and farming required for human comfort. The swamp, characterized by its molding stillness, is also an entity of inherent change. In some regions, it comes and goes with the seasons, but in all swamps there is abundant life in a constant shimmering kaleidoscope of overlapping biodiversity.

The woman here has a choice to make, a difficult one. Blindfolded, the situation before her is unclear. She is only guided by the vague lights of the seven candles before her. The swords are her intellect, the water her emotions. She must wield both the power of her mind and intuition to make the right choice. Making the choice too soon, she risks not reaping the full benefits of a mature thought process. Taking too long, she risks her options outgrowing her abilities and withering with time.

Though a decision may seem black or white, keep in mind that there are almost always more paths than it seems. Consider the number seven: the sum of the spiritual number three and material number four. Seven, a prime number. Seven, the number of notes in a scale, the number of days in a week, the number of colors in the rainbow and number of deadly sins. The moon phases last approximately seven days, and a woman’s hormonal cycle follows suit. Seven, the number of variety, distinction, change and abundance. Seven cannot be divided by two, one must remain.