This is the second installment of the Weekly Tarot Card. You can read the first installment, ‘Observation and Description’ here.
Yesterday we spent time getting to know the layout of the 2 of Swords. We looked at the description of several decks, and hopefully you spent time observing and recording what you noticed about the 2 of Swords in your own deck(s).
Today we move on to getting inside the head of the 2 of Swords through meditation. This is your opportunity to delve into the card and explore what it means to you. What you pick up through this meditation is your own personal experience that will contribute to your personal understanding of the card.
Preparation
Find a comfortable and quiet place where you can keep a pen and paper near you, and ready to write what you find. If you are not a writer, or aren’t in a position to be able to write, making a video recording or a voice recording is just as good. Just try to avoid typing your responses during this exercise. You can transfer your findings onto a computer later, but not during the exercise.
Be sure to put your devices on silent or on Airplane mode so as not to distract yourself. If you prefer meditative music while you do this, try to avoid streaming anything, as any advertisements might disrupt this process (unless you have paid accounts).
Pick the 2 of Swords from the deck you intend to work with, or all of the decks. This meditation is for your connection with the card, and your developing understanding.
Meditation
Close your eyes and allow yourself to breathe. As you inhale, feel the parts of your body expanding with the breath, and focus the pure white energy entering your Throat Chakra in the at the base of your throat. As you breathe in, it glows a rich blue, growing brighter. As your Chakra brightens, you feel yourself opening up, ready for any messages that are for you to take in.
As you exhale, let go any tension you’re holding. Relax your shoulders, your neck, your tongue, your toes, your fingers. Mentally move through the body and notice anywhere that is clenching, pressing, tightening, and let relax those parts.
Breathing in, draw in the white light, feeling the vibrant blue of your Throat Chakra brighten. It gets brighter and brighter with each breath you take, and you feel connected to the flow of Air, reading to bring and deliver your thoughts and voice.
Cross your arms over your chest, raising your hands to touch the opposite shoulder. Feel the expansion of your chest as it fills with air with each breath. As you breathe in you, notice the scent and taste of salt in the air. With the next breath in, you begin to hear seagulls. You realize you are on a beach, with your back to the sea. You can’t see, but you can hear the gentle lapping of the quiet, drawn-out tide.
Your arms feel heavy, and your fingers are wrapped around the hilts of two long swords. You could panic—you don’t know what to do with the swords, and if you swing them around to put them down, you could hurt someone, or you could hurt yourself. But you don’t panic. In fact, as you feel a light sea breeze rustle your hair and clothes, you are open to the messages on the wind. You feel calm, and centered, knowing that if you are open enough, and listen, you’ll know what to do.
Allow yourself to listen.
When you are ready to finish the meditation, draw a deep breath in, and feel the release of the tension of the two swords. Exhale and bring your arms back down to your lap. Breathe in against and notice the sensations of the seaside slipping away, quieting as you were moving away from it, until you can no longer hear it.
Breathe in a third time and when you exhale, open your eyes.
Pull out your journal or recording device. Take time to jot what you notice, what you feel, what you think. Spend as much time doing this as you want, fill as many pages as you’d like. After you’ve recorded, or before even, do something to fill your creative desire. Paint, sing, play music, write, draw, create.
The suit of the Swords resonates with ‘I think.’ Spend time thinking about your experience, about the figure in the 2 of Swords. Look at your own card, and consider why it is she can’t put down the swords. Ask yourself what’s stopping her. What would she do next if she were to put down the swords?
If you’d like to read more card meditations, you can visit the meditation page here.
The Decks Used
The Aquarian Tarot in a Tin by Italian-born, American-raised David Palladini, was published originally in 1970 by U.S. Games Systems Inc, and then republished again in 2016 in a smaller size. Named after the Age of Aquarius, the Aquarian Tarot is a midieval depiction of the Rider-Waite Tarot system. The images are closer, and thus might give the impression of being more character-based rather than relying on symbolism. This intimate deck provides a stark reflection of the human condition in it’s journey through the tarot.
Faerie Tarot by Nathalie Hertz, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc, 2008. Hertz is a French artist, and the creator of several other beautiful tarot decks. The Faerie Tarot was ‘inspired by the flora and fauna of the French countryside,’ and ‘invites you to see the world in a delightful new way…blending fantasy, whimsy, and nature.’
Impressionist Tarot by Arturo Picca (artist) and Corrine Kenner (author), published by Lo Scarabeo in 2015. This deck takes works of classic impressionist paintings and recreates them to fit the meanings of the tarot. It pulls from works of Edonard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gough, and Paul Gauguin. A truly beautiful deck, especially for those who have interest in the art world.
Prisma Visions Tarot by James R. Eads, 3rd ed., published in 2016. The deck itself is beautiful, though perhaps not for the beginning tarot reader. The suits all fit together to create a master picture displaying the energy and progression of the suits. The figures and images flow from one card to the next, showing movement within the stationary cards.
Rider-Waite by A. E. Waite. The deck used in these photos is currently out of print. I won’t say much about this deck, as it is fairly standard and probably one of the most produced decks. It serves as a standard for many tarot readers and artists, depicting classic images relating in part to the original playing cards that tarot developed from.
The Spiral Tarot by Kay Steventon. With turn-of-the-20th-century style art, this deck takes from the classic Rider-Waite deck and brings it up to the late 1800-early 1900’s, a time of industry and contemplation for the western world as it moved forward into a more technological era. I am a little biased toward this deck as it’s been my main deck for 15 years. The cards are thick with additional symbolism that can be tricky to pick out of the traditional Rider-Waite, and adds layers of Greek myth throughout the Major Arcana.
Thoth Tarot by Aleister Crowley (designer and author) and Lady Frieda Harris (artist), published by U. S. Games Systems, Inc., in 1978. This deck takes from most esoteric imagery, and requires the reader of the deck to have deep, initiate knowledge of the symbolism used. There is nothing within the cards that is without meaning. However, on a more surface level, the deck draws from Egyptian symbolism and from the style of the Marseille Tarot (mostly seen within the Minor Arcana). For those looking for deeper understandings of the universe, I recommend this deck. I would caution that this deck is highly advanced, and might be avoided for the budding reader.
Vampire Tarot – by Nathalie Hertz, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. in 2000. As mentioned above in reference to the Faerie Tarot, Hertze is a French artist who gained her notability through the publication of her tarot decks. The Vampire Tarot was a bestselling deck upon its release, and plays on more gothic symbolism, providing more jarring interpretations to allow for the accepting of negative forces within the world to compliment the positive forces. The deck brings together myths and legends in the form of vampires, which ‘gives tarot readers a macabre passport’ into the world of divination.
