Swords · VIII
Eight of Swords
A cage made mostly of thought. The work is to notice which swords are yours, which are the world's, and which are theater. Mastery is the first small step, not a speech about freedom.
- ELEMENT
- air
- NUMBER
- Eight — work and mastery: bound among eight, a castle in the distance.
- SYMBOLS
- a standing figure bound and blindfolded, eight swords around like a cage · the bindings loose enough that a step is still possible · a castle on a far crag, a life still happening outside the ring · wet ground, a puddle at the feet, feeling seeping into the mind's trap
UPRIGHT
- +naming a restriction accurately
- +the beginning of unbinding
- +patience with a situation that is tight and not eternal
- −identity as the bound one
- −refusing help because the cage is familiar
- −calling every limit oppression, including gravity
- IN LOVE
- Feeling trapped in a bond or in a story about the bond. Check the knots. Some are real. Some are narrative.
- IN WORK
- A job, a contract, a fear of exiting. The castle is still there. One sword is often an opening if you will turn.
- IN SELF
- Your mind is very good at fencing you. That skill can be used the other way. Move a foot. The puddle is information.
REVERSED
A knot loosening — or the bind gone fully interior, no longer even visible as eight swords.
- Blocked — the upright current exists and is dammed.
- Internalized — the drama is inner rather than worldly.
Reversed Eight of Swords often begins release. Blocked Eight cannot see the loose rope. Inner Eight is a private prison with excellent architecture.
- PAIRS WELL WITH
- The DevilTwo of SwordsThe StarStrength
- TENSES WITH
- The FoolThe ChariotThe SunAce of Swords
WHAT WE WILL NOT SAY ABOUT THIS PLATE
- the only prison is your mind
- just untie yourself, it's easy
- you're choosing to be a victim