Llewellyn's Complete Book of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot

by Sasha Graham

  Reversed: Imposture, falsehood, duplicity, disloyalty.

  Three of Swords

  Lord of Sorrow—Saturn in Libra

  Waste, waste, waste,—but the voice in the waste of the sea!

  The dread, sheer height of an empty night! And the heart—Ah, the heart in me!

  I know here the deep is wider, I know of a gloom more dread—

  O the waste and the night of the heart, when the star from the heart has fled.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  Thunder cracks and lightning strikes as the card of betrayal appears. The Three of Swords is a simple, powerful card expressing heartbreak. It is visually stunning, graphically gorgeous, and a popular tattoo icon. A blood-red heart floats in the air. Three swords pierce the heart with exactitude and precision. Cumulus storm clouds surround the heart. Rain falls in thick sheets. The Three of Swords is one of the scariest cards of the deck. The Three of Swords can tear the heart to shreds, and it usually does.

  In relation to our personal life, it suggests discovery or participation in a duplicitous love triangle. The betrayal of friendship tears at the heart. Family members attack our jugular vein. Gleaming swords plunge into a scarlet heart with perfect symmetry. The surgical perfection of the damage suggests the heartbreak is intentional, therefore making it all the more painful. It is the betrayal card, especially in terms of a love triangle. The beauty of this card resides in the wound letting in the light. It is the ability to feel pain and discomfort, which is marked by holistic deep love and compassion on the other side.

  Christian iconography portrays the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the heart of the Virgin Mary, as a heart pierced by swords. It is a common devotional image. A devotional image is religious depiction used for prayer or contemplation. It is akin to the use of tarot as a contemplative practice. The sword piercing Mary’s heart suggests deep compassion for humanity and is called the “Mother of Sorrows.” The Three of Swords extends past our personal grievances and transgressions and becomes the place where we feel compassion, heartache, and despair for the state of the world, the horror and compassion for a human tragedy in a specific place, such as famine, crimes against humanity, and natural disasters.

  The number three is a reminder of the threefold nature of energetic return. What we put out returns to us three times in strength. Keeping this thought in mind, the card’s message becomes obvious. Reacting from heartbreak’s essence could result in hateful, horrid actions. Scary deeds and words are often expressed in the midst of excruciating pain. Crimes of passion occur when the individual reacts to the pain in their heart. The law of three reminds us to wait until the heartbreak subsides and the emotion subdues before we react.

  Waite copies his definition practically word-for-word from Mathers’s pamphlet The Tarot: “Separation, Removal, Rupture” and the Book T’s “disruption, interruption, separation, quarrelling; sowing of discord and strife, mischief-making, sorrow and tears.” Waite states, “All that the design signifies naturally, being too simple and obvious to call for specific enumeration.” Waite posits you will learn everything you need to know about the card by gazing and reflecting upon it. The same is true for each card in Pamela’s deck.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Removal, absence, delay, division, rupture, dispersion, and all that the design signifies naturally, being too simple and obvious to call for specific enumeration.

  Reversed: Mental alienation, error, loss, distraction, disorder, confusion.

  Four of Swords

  Lord of Rest from Strife—Jupiter in Libra

  Good-Night; the hour is late, the house is cold,

  The fires have smoldered down, the lamps are spent,

  And all the visitors that came and went,

  Sleep—which I also need—doth now enfold.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  The Four of Swords reflects rest, repose, and the calm inner sanctum of the mind, no matter the issue at hand. The space of this card offers restoration and sanctuary for the weary soul. The card’s advice says relax. Don’t worry. It will remind a fervent heart to take a break. Sleep. Things will look and feel better tomorrow. The balance and stability acts in direct opposition to the Nine of Swords. It is a carefully arranged and orderly thought process.

  Silence prevails in a peaceful tomb residing in a stone-gray chapel. A single sword is carved into the coffin. Three swords hang above the figure who rests in effigy. A colorful stained glass window lets in the light. Pamela’s peaceful Four of Swords is an effigy or funerary sculpture of a fallen knight. He rests inside a tomb or in the corner of a sacred cathedral. This placement suggests a sleep as deep as death, rich and full; as Shakespeare’s Hamlet says, “To die: to sleep;/No more; and by a sleep to say we end/The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks/That flesh is heir to, ‘tis a consummation/Devoutly to be wish’d.” The heartache referred to can be seen in direct correlation of the pain of the preceding Three of Swords. The storm clouds have passed, the feelings felt, and time is now for sweet restoration. The card evokes the yogic savasana, or corpse pose, a restorative position. Corpse pose is as important as the extremely physically challenging poses because balance and regeneration are as important as flexibility and strength.

  The Four of Swords is a rest well earned and evokes its esoteric title, “The Lord of Rest from Strife.” The three swords upon the wall point to three specific chakra points on the figure below: the third eye (intuition), the throat (communication) and the solar plexus (love). The chakra points carry additional hidden Masonic meaning. The story of Hiram Abiff is told to Masons and used as an example of integrity. King Solomon’s Master Mason refused to share his Masonic secrets with a murderous group of thieves. He was struck in the head, throat, and chest, slain in cold blood for his silence. His story is also referenced in the Three of Pentacles.

  The Four of Swords draws parallels to Arthurian and Knights Templar legends. Sacred burial sites harbor the secrets of the dead. Many temples and churches are constructed on sacred, ancient Pagan holy grounds.

  The stained glass window holds additional hidden meaning. Jesus lays hands on a kneeling follower. A halo looms around the Christ figure’s head. The word PAX is written on it. Pax is the “kiss of peace” bestowed upon disciples and objects in the Christian Eucharist. It is named for the Roman goddess of peace, reflecting the historic layers of religious institutions. The halo is a symbol of divinity adapted from ancient sun gods. This tomb, like many sacred sites, is likely placed right on top of an older, ancient religion.

  Waite is straightforward in his explanation: “The effigy of a knight in the attitude of prayer, at full length upon his tomb.” His understanding derives from the Book T, which states, “Rest from sorrow; yet after and through it. Peace from and after war.” No matter the situation at hand, you will have respite. Additionally, the number four will always express the stability of the suit; in this case, the stability of the mind.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Vigilance, retreat, solitude, hermit’s repose, exile, tomb and coffin. It is these last that have suggested the design.

  Reversed: Wise administration, circumspection, economy, avarice, precaution, testament.

  Five of Swords

  The Lord of Defeat—Venus in Aquarius—Stage Card

  Awake, revolving many troublous themes,

  Because of thee I suffer, and in dreams

  Am darkly haunted.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  Razor-sharp gray clouds race across the sky. Three figures appear as if upon a stage. The figure in the foreground holds three swords and turns his face in profile. Two swords lay at his feet. A middle figure stands between the two. The third and final individual rests his face in his hands. A water body is painted on a scrim, and a distant mountain range is seen.

  The Five of Swords is the ultimate drama. A terrible fight has broken out. A clear w
inner, loser, and mediator is seen. The consequences are real, events are set in motion, sentiments have been made. They can’t be taken back. Perhaps you were too truthful or just plain cruel. Maybe you were the victim of aggression. A nasty text was sent to the wrong person, and now you are busted. The group nature of this card infers bullying in groups or people ganging up on one another. The man collecting the swords holds a devilish advantage. He takes pleasure in what has been taken by force and caused pain to another. He delights in another’s pain.

  The Five of Swords reminds you of the power of your words and the impact you can have on others. It is as if the three heart-piercing swords have become human in the Five of Swords card. The suggested metaphor becomes literal. The smallest figure in the background foreshadows the despair of the Nine of Swords. The water’s surface and clouds reflect an agitated energy. The karmic implications of the card remind the reader that participating in aggressive acts will inevitably result in you standing in each of the character’s shoes. Why cycle through any of these stages? Take the high road, release the ego, and dissolve any energy leading to such disagreements.

  Fives in the tarot always present a challenge. Waite wastes no words, saying, “A disdainful man looks after two retreating and dejected figures. Their swords lie upon the ground. He carries two others on his left shoulder, and a third sword, in his right hand, points to earth. He is the master in possession of the field.” This aligns with the Book T’s definition of the card as “failure, defeat, anxiety.”

  Pamela, forever true to her theatrical roots, creates a scene of Shakespearean drama and strife. The card, being in the suit of swords, asks if the reality of the situation is as terrible as it appears in your mind. Are you assigning more manipulation and ill intent than actually exist? Perhaps the situation has nothing to do with you at all.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Degradation, destruction, revocation, infamy, dishonour, loss, with the variants and analogues of these.

  Reversed: The same; burial and obsequies.

  Six of Swords

  Lord of Earned Success—Mercury in Aquarius

  Or far in some land remote—

  Perchance unfriendly, at least unknown—

  Picture the bliss and vision alone;

  Here let anchor a stranded boat.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  The Six of Swords is the card of literal or figurative journey. Passage, crossing, and movement radiate as two figures are ferried across the water. Their faces are hidden. Six swords are stuck at the front of the boat. A distant shore is seen. The water is calm. The weather is still. The appearance of this card often implies “better times lie ahead.” The rippled water on the right of the boat and the smooth water on the left reflect the transition from trouble to smooth. The imagined depth of the water and river can be viewed as the emotional depth of the relationship. The card reflects a literal move, such as the purchase of a new home or relocation to a new city, state, or country. It can reflect moving forward and making progress with a child. The appearance of the card also suggests traveling and vacations.

  The RWS deck contains many cards reflecting a journey, but the Six of Swords is the only card suggesting movement with other people. It is assumed that the figures in the boat are mother and child. This suggests a journey with loved ones. Is the boatman a father or partner or has he been hired? Each interpretation tells a different story of escape.

  A mythic sense envelops the card. It echoes moving into a new plane of existence or to the underworld, netherworld, or otherworld. Charon, the Greek ferryman spirit who transports dead souls over the River Styx to the realm of Hades, haunts the image of this card. According to the myth, dead souls paid Charon a single coin for their passage. Funeral rites included placing a coin in the mouth of the corpse during burial. Corpses without money or plagued by improper burial rites were doomed to wander the riverbed. The implied message reminds the reader to prepare for movement into the unknown. Do not dwell in a single place for too long. The Six of Swords is a deep, eloquent card, no matter if the implied trip is metaphorical, joyful, or painful.

  Of all the minor arcana, six cards carry implied separation and hierarchies between people. Each card shows a single figure towering over the rest. The separation suggests authority and

  positions of power, even a caste or social system whereby people are organized via external attributes. The nature of the minor arcana plays out in the progression on the number, growing bigger, larger, and closer to its final goal of complete manifestation in the ten. In a Kabbalistic sense, this progression is the movement from one Sephiroth on the Tree of Life to the next until it becomes manifest in the material world.

  The esoteric title of the card bodes well as “The Lord of Earned Success.” Earned success is always more rewarding than a simple or easy success. Both the Book T and Waite’s Pictorial Key suggest this card is “journey by water.” At the time and date the RWS deck was published, overseas travel could only be made via ship. Commercial air flights did not exist. Passage via boat or steamship held poignant meaning for travelers depending on the reasons, class, and level of comfort on their ship. The Titanic disaster struck three years after the publication of the RWS deck. A journey by water could mean days or maybe weeks or months at sea.

  Waite notes that “the work is not beyond his strength.” We never confront an obstacle, issue, or challenge that we do not have the power to overcome. In this sense, the card speaks of greeting challenges. This will bring us assured success. It is a reminder that we have what we need at our disposal. If we allow our challenges to transform us, we learn and grow from them. Like the figures in the boat, we will move toward new lands, arriving in a vastly different place. Our personal and spiritual evolution will continue to push past boundaries we can scarcely imagine.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Journey by water, route, way, envoy, commissionary, expedient.

  Reversed: Declaration, confession, publicity; one account says that it is a proposal of love.

  Seven of Swords

  Lord of Unstable Effort—Moon in Aquarius—Stage Card

  O sevenfold Cosmos, to the sevenfold man

  Responding, set thy veils aside:

  Thine inner self confide,

  Thy deep-draw plan!

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  The Seven of Swords reflects trickery or betrayal. Are you trying to get away with something? Are you cutting corners at work or school? Have you recently stolen something? Are you snooping behind someone’s back? Do you harbor obsessions over things other people have? Do you crave things that are yours alone? If we read the appearance of this card as a betrayal, it invokes the Trickster archetype, exemplified by the Magician card, as someone who defies convention and disobeys traditional rules. When has this type of behavior worked in your favor? Lemon yellow saturates the card. A man wearing a crimson fez hat carries five swords in his hand. Festive tents with open flaps fly cheerful flags behind him. A gathering of individuals or soldiers crowd a campfire in distant silhouette. The man looks behind him as he tiptoes away.

  Waite mentions the swords left behind: “the two others of the card remain stuck in the ground.” This is what is no longer needed. The Seven of Swords can be understood as the editing card, the action of removing what is no longer needed. This may equate to cleaning out the closet and proofing manuscripts or papers. It can apply to life-changing events and ridding yourself of old habits and things that no longer serve you. Looking through this lens, the two swords behind the figure represent things once serving you but what you no longer need—behaviors, objects, people, relationships, and ideas that are better left behind.

  The figure moves of his own volition. It suggests independent gestures, moving without the validation or opinion of others. You are finished checking in or seeking approval. At the same time, you may feel timid and have the instinct to hide your actions or
wait to surface until your deed is done. In all matters, this card suggests you move quietly, without fuss, broadcast, or fanfare. Not everything you do needs to be broadcast on social media. Your own approval is most important.

  The figure steals away. The background soldiers suggest rules of law are ignorant of the figure’s subterfuge. He moves with five swords, as sharp as his deception, in his hands. The silver blades might slice an apple or pear in half, yet he gently holds them in his warm, soft hands without a single cut. The figure’s posture moves in three directions, reflecting future (where he heads), present (where his chest and solar plexus face the reader), and past (the direction he looks back at). The posture echoes a yogic seated spinal twist known for cleansing properties and aligns with the card’s interpretation of editing, cleaning, and taking away only what is needed.

  The card is an obvious derivative of the Sola Busca Seven of Swords, where a Roman figure steals away with swords. These swords are also benevolent, as his posture embraces them but they do not pierce or slice his skin. The esoteric title is “The Lord of Unstable Effort.” This suggests the plan may not work and accounts for the subversive quality of the card. Waite does little more than describe Pamela’s playful illustration. He offers no esoteric clues.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Design, attempt, wish, hope, confidence; also quarrelling, a plan that may fail, annoyance.

  Reversed: Good advice, counsel, instruction, slander, babbling.

  Eight of Swords

  The Lord of Shortened Force—Jupiter in Gemini

  The knots which bind our souls are such

  As earthly ties would strain and start;