Knight of Swords (Reversed)
Knight of Swords (Reversed)
From The Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite:
Knight of Swords - In full course, as if scattering his enemies.
Divinatory Meanings: Skill, bravery, capacity, defense, address, enmity, wrath, war, destruction, opposition, resistance, ruin.
Reversed: Imprudence, incapacity, extravagance.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swords12.jpg
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We are met with the Knight charging from right to left, though the card flipped reverse so the visual flow is then left to right. This heavy cavalryman makes his charge in a desert environment, and given the heat retaining nature of full armor, is most likely a foreign invader.
The Emperor dispatches his forces to conquer the external world and bring it all to heel, but in his fear rushes quickly without proper thoughts or preparation. The thoughts the Emperor does have are bent towards the subjugation through force of feelings, instincts, intuition, all things emotionally based. The result is weakness and folly.
Charging headlong into enemy lines far from home outfitted for a very different battlefield leads to a breakup of the charge and the Knight turned up on his head, the weight of his own horse crushing him underneath. Granted, even light cavalry flounder in better climates when following foolish orders issued from the dreadfully stupid.
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From The Tarot of A.E. Waite and P. Colman Smith: The Story of the World's Most Popular Tarot, by Johannes Fiebig with essays by Robert A. Gilbert, Mary K. Greer, and Rachel Pollack
I will use this text to expound on the minor symbols of the Knight of Swords.
"The open visor: A sign of openness or carelessness. Fixed expression, ready for a fight. A picture of intention, of a person's capacity to focus their thoughts on something and to channel energy. Also the courage to show one's true face, to reveal oneself."
Given our situation the open visor is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
"Red birds: Birds symbolize a soaring mind as well as love and eroticism. The color red corresponds with the knight's ardent agitation. If he acts recklessly, he can be cruel and indiscriminate. If he knows what he is doing, his vigor can do great good."
Our reading shows reckless abandon, and cruelty and indiscriminate slaughter follow in his wake. Any eroticism shown is lust for war and slaughter of the innocent.
"Butterflies: The metamorphosis of the caterpillar to a butterfly is what preoccupies the knight. The desire for change, salvation, and a truly fresh start is certainly a powerful factor - just think of all the novels, films, and other stories that are successful due to a redemptive and hard-won happy ending."
The Emperor's desire to change his realm manifests as baptism through war. He promises his subjects constant struggle in comparison and companion to his own struggle and fulfills that promise by sending after Death itself. Nothing will come of chasing Death but Death.
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The Charge of the Light Brigade
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
I
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
II
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
III
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.
IV
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
V
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
VI
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45319/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade
From The Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite:
Knight of Swords - In full course, as if scattering his enemies.
Divinatory Meanings: Skill, bravery, capacity, defense, address, enmity, wrath, war, destruction, opposition, resistance, ruin.
Reversed: Imprudence, incapacity, extravagance.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swords12.jpg
-
We are met with the Knight charging from right to left, though the card flipped reverse so the visual flow is then left to right. This heavy cavalryman makes his charge in a desert environment, and given the heat retaining nature of full armor, is most likely a foreign invader.
The Emperor dispatches his forces to conquer the external world and bring it all to heel, but in his fear rushes quickly without proper thoughts or preparation. The thoughts the Emperor does have are bent towards the subjugation through force of feelings, instincts, intuition, all things emotionally based. The result is weakness and folly.
Charging headlong into enemy lines far from home outfitted for a very different battlefield leads to a breakup of the charge and the Knight turned up on his head, the weight of his own horse crushing him underneath. Granted, even light cavalry flounder in better climates when following foolish orders issued from the dreadfully stupid.
-
From The Tarot of A.E. Waite and P. Colman Smith: The Story of the World's Most Popular Tarot, by Johannes Fiebig with essays by Robert A. Gilbert, Mary K. Greer, and Rachel Pollack
I will use this text to expound on the minor symbols of the Knight of Swords.
"The open visor: A sign of openness or carelessness. Fixed expression, ready for a fight. A picture of intention, of a person's capacity to focus their thoughts on something and to channel energy. Also the courage to show one's true face, to reveal oneself."
Given our situation the open visor is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
"Red birds: Birds symbolize a soaring mind as well as love and eroticism. The color red corresponds with the knight's ardent agitation. If he acts recklessly, he can be cruel and indiscriminate. If he knows what he is doing, his vigor can do great good."
Our reading shows reckless abandon, and cruelty and indiscriminate slaughter follow in his wake. Any eroticism shown is lust for war and slaughter of the innocent.
"Butterflies: The metamorphosis of the caterpillar to a butterfly is what preoccupies the knight. The desire for change, salvation, and a truly fresh start is certainly a powerful factor - just think of all the novels, films, and other stories that are successful due to a redemptive and hard-won happy ending."
The Emperor's desire to change his realm manifests as baptism through war. He promises his subjects constant struggle in comparison and companion to his own struggle and fulfills that promise by sending after Death itself. Nothing will come of chasing Death but Death.
-
The Charge of the Light Brigade
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
I
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
II
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
III
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.
IV
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
V
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
VI
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45319/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade