SWORDS · King

King of Swords

Principle applied. Steward of thought, law, strategy. The gift is a fair cut; the cost is being right when rightness is lonely. Include the cost in the ruling.

ELEMENT: air
NUMBER: Court — steward: principle applied, the cost of being right included in the office.
MODE: Steward — the quality held for others
SYMBOLS: a seated figure with a sword at the vertical, a ringed hand, the law as posture · butterflies in the throne, ideas that once moved and are now office · a stern, tired clarity, not cruelty as a hobby · a grey sky, air's king does not need good weather to decide

UPRIGHT

+ethical leadership
+a mind that can hold a system
+speech that can end a harm
−tyranny of the correct
−feeling treated as error
−a king who cannot be revised

IN LOVE: Honesty as devotion. Do not put the beloved on the stand. If you are with this king, ask for the person under the ruling.
IN WORK: Judge, architect, the final draft. Your office is needed. Listen to Queens and Pages before you lower the sword.
IN SELF: You can be the adult of the mind. Put the sword down at table. Being right is not a hearth.

REVERSED

The ruling is corrupt, cruel, or absent — a king who will not decide, or one who decides as a weapon.

Blocked — the upright current exists and is dammed.
Shadow — the unused face of the card.
Excess — the current is overplayed.

Blocked King of Swords abdicates thought. Excess King is all verdict. Shadow King loves the sword more than the people it was meant to protect.

PAIRS WELL WITH: Justice The Emperor Queen of Swords The Hierophant
TENSES WITH: Queen of Cups The Fool The Hanged Man Five of Swords

WHAT WE WILL NOT SAY ABOUT THIS PLATE

an older stern man will decide your fate
logic over feelings, always
you're heartless