Eight of Swords

The suit of Swords tends to put people off a bit...and yeah, some of the cards are a little scary looking (the Nine and Ten in particular).  I thought I would choose one of them to examine this time.

A word about the suit of Swords first.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, each of the four suits is commonly associated with an elemental dignity, as follows:  Wands=fire; Cups=water; Swords=air; Pentacles=earth.  In Tarot, air (and, consequently, the suit of Swords) is associated with precision, intellect, judgment, harshness, strife, and confidence, among many other things.  As with all the suits, the Swords in general have both positive and negative connotations.  The whole point in the appearance of any card is to enlighten, and I think that's the best way to view the Swords.  Their message in any reading is meant to show you either what you can use or what you can overcome.

The Eight of Swords shows us a woman, loosely bound, mostly--but not entirely--surrounded by swords piercing the earth. The key here?  Her prison is largely self-imposed.  She is capable of releasing herself from her bonds and blindfold and making her way around the swords at her back and sides, but at that moment she is choosing not to.  We see here excuses, rationalizing, justifying something that might make your life easier but not necessarily better.  Often the most beneficial path is the most difficult.   As much as we know this, who doesn't want to try and take the easy way and avoid/ignore what we know we need to do? I think this card is an excellent example of enlightenment: get over the excuses, take a hard look at reality and do what needs to be done.  Sure, the message can sting a bit, but the outcome will only make us stronger and offer greater insight into and knowledge about what we can truly accomplish.