A Personal Journey Through the Tarot: Swords
Thought
Our experience of life is a direct result of how we think. Every thing that happens to us is filtered through and interpreted by our mind. Our point of view is so influenced by our attitude that a bad mood can spoil a perfect day while a good mood can lighten the darkest of times. This suggests of course that if you want a different experience of life all you need to do is change your mind.
Our beliefs and assumptions about life are given to us by those who have raised us. That little voice nagging in the back of our minds is very rarely our own. The first step in changing your mind is to recognize these limiting assumptions and the nagging voice as not being in authority. It is possible to not only question them but to also remove them. This is how to reclaim your mind as your own.
The Suit of Swords appears to be quite defeatist when looked at in a linear manner. It starts out all right but ends in angst and despair. But the Swords in the Tarot are double edged so can fall both ways. When we move backwards through the suit we see a journey that suddenly becomes more familiar. The journey of the black sheep that has a different philosophy than that of the tribe they were raised in. Feeling bound and defeated by the ideals of the tribe the black sheep lies awake at night suffering anxiety and horror. Realizing the bonds of these attitudes are too restrictive they decide to leave. They are blamed for destroying and stealing happiness from that which they try to sneak away from so instead they move boldly and whole heartedly away. Every time they try to reconcile with the tribe arguments abound until they come to the realization that their health is at risk if they don’t completely cut ties. The heart ache over the loss is inevitable but eventually they find peace for themselves in the face of the chaos that was their tribe. A new attitude has been achieved.
Today I contemplate the Suit of Swords and think about all I went through to carve out the life of my own choosing. Learning to be the master of my mind has lead me to a place of peace and clarity.
