78 Weeks of Tarot: 2 of Swords

[Trogon]

For information on what these threads refer to, see this thread;

 

78 Weeks of Tarot - Informational Thread

 

The above linked thread gives suggested dates for the cards as well as links to the individual topics.

 

Some of us may be working through the study in a different order and using different decks. If you have general questions or comments regarding the 78 Weeks of Tarot study group, please post in the topic in the above link.

 

Have fun.

[Bookworm]

Deck: Fairytale Tarot

 

Card name: Two of Swords

 

First impressions:

 

A beautiful but sad (and cold, from the looks of it) dark-haired queen or princess sits on a throne in the air, looking down, her long blue skirt billowing out over a transparent mountain. Her arms are crossed over her chest, her hands reaching up towards her shoulders. In her left hand she holds an apple. Through the transparent mountain, you can see village buildings. Behind her on a distant hilltop is a castle. The sky is partly cloudy.

 

I don’t know this story, but it must have something to do with being unable to move.

 

After reading the story:

 

I’ve added this new section, to put down what I feel are the correspondences between the card image and the story, before I read what Karen has to say about it. The tale follows two narratives. In one, a prince is tricked by a troll into setting the troll free, disobeying his father’s wishes. He is supposed to be killed for this, but, just like in Snow White, he is taken into the woods and set free. He becomes a herdsman for a second king.

 

In the second narrative, the beautiful daughter of the second king, who is being plagued by too many suitors, decides to find a worthy husband by sitting on top of a steep and slippery glass mountain and having the potential suitors try to ride up. No one can, until our gallant herdsman, assisted by the troll, claims her.

 

I can see this relating to the 2 of Swords in that the princess is stuck on her glass mountain until the right person comes along. By herself she is unable to move on with her life. One way to think of the 2 of Swords is being unable to make a decision because all the options seem bad. I guess this could pertain here – she wouldn’t go up on the glass mountain if she could think of a different way to resolve her situation.

 

From the book:

 

Keywords: Taking control at some cost to yourself; holding back the world; putting up a defense against attack; freezing yourself in space and time, at least for a while

 

Is the Princess being protected or is she imprisoned? She has decided to isolate herself. It’s her way of taking power and control of her own confusing situation.

 

One theme of the story is control. When this card comes up, think about the balance of power and control – sometimes the woman who sits isolated does so of her own free will, at other times she is forced there by circumstances. It’s a card that can imply either restraint or manipulation or both. In a positive context, it can mean an active decision to step aside and block attacks or intrusions – mental or physical – that you’ve felt subjected to.

 

The original story:

 

The Princess and the Glass Mountain,” from The Swedish Fairy Book, edited by Clara Stroebe

 

Traditional meanings (from TarotElements.com):

 

Balance and harmony; inner peace; calmness; agreement; compromise; meditation; consciousness; right thinking; deciding on a choice; applying logic; calm amid instability; mental stability; serenity; peace; becoming unbalanced; discord; disagreements; mental blockages; a wrong decision; peace shattered; emotions winning over logic; feeling confused about a situation; lack of clarity.

From 78 Degrees of Wisdom, by Rachel Pollack:

 

The woman’s eyes are deliberately closed. The swords represent anger and fear and they are ready to strike anyone who comes close. The woman’s position is rigid and uncomfortable.

My impressions of the card/story combination:

 

I feel like a learned something from Karen’s commentary: the idea of this card being about the balance of power and control. Of course the idea of balance makes complete sense for a two. And the idea of Swords being about control makes sense too. I also like the idea of this card as being about “holding back the world.” I guess I just never really understood this card before.

My take (what I make of it/what I might see in a reading where I drew it):

 

I hope I remember Karen’s ideas about the balance of power and control when I see this card.