Knives are sharp. Knives cut, and in doing so permanently change the shape/look of things. This is the intent of a blade. The knife also sends a message that its holder is not someone to charge towards haphazardly.

I am no expert when it comes to blades or using them. In the Tarot, Swords make up a suit that signify the element Air.

A blade is focused to a point. A blade is not designed for use without thought. A blade does a job no other tool can pretend to do. A blade separates exactly where it is aimed/intended and does it as quickly and effectively as possible…I didn’t say “comfortably”.

Intellect, Reason, Focus, Decisive Action, Change, The Will, I relate as qualities of Swords in relation to the Tarot.

I am someone who is full of emotions. I always have been. As I have developed as a person I’ve come more into learning the faculties of mind. My process of learning about the mind seems sometimes like sticking my finger in an electric outlet. Opening to the faculties of mind is something that comes with that inevitable power. Raw power is just that, and in opening to it I have to learn how to manage that day to day. There is no romantic reality where I just receive power already controlled in the most ideal way for my current circumstances (ie. gift-wrapped software update). I have to always be aware of how I’m doing so as to know what I need and how to take care of myself based on what resources and information are present at the time. I have to be fully engaged and in-tune with my present environment…grounded in reality, so as to not get carried away. Breeeeeaaaattttthe, and ground that focus in the here and now.

No one goes out with sword and pretends they don’t have one.

Coming back to the blade. A sword is a sword and it is as good to the person only as good as the person is with the sword. How do we know how good we are with the sword? We have to address things that require the use of it. This is how we learn how good we actually are with anything. A sword is a revealer of the truth. Avoiding the truth helps no one.

People can only get so far with the things they portray. When push comes to shove, skill takes us further than any words, titles, or beauty. There is a limit to what “stuff” can do for us, but a spirit that is continually learning how (and being refined by) the work with their mind has much fewer limits and is liberating itself from beliefs and habits that life is somehow owed instead of lived. Can you see the difference in people who live these ways?

For me, the Sword says “Are you mentally preparing? Are you aiming? Can you envision what you want to move towards? What are you focusing on? What is worth focusing on?..Stay focused there. Stay focused. It is time to prepare and also act in the moment based on that truth you know right now. Don’t overthink it. It can be easy to be carried away by the activity of the mind and emotions, but focus your point to the direction you wish to go, and you will get there. Do not be distracted from your goal.”