Liber T: Tarot of the Stars Eternal - Four of Swords - Truce

WolfyJames

You can see the card here: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/wolfyjames/decks/libertbig/swords04.jpg

Just like the Four of Swords of the Thoth, we see on the card the four cards and the flower in the middle.

In Scion's notes, Ibn Ezra says: "A man whose face resembles that of a horse, with a bow and arrows in hands.

A centaur appears indeed on the card of the Liber T on the right with a bow and arrow.

Again in Scion's notes, Agrippa says: "In the third face ascendeth a violent man holding a bow, [...] and also another man holding bread in one hand and a cup of wine in the other, the signification of these is to shew wicked lusts, sports and gluttony."

There is also a woman on the Liber T on the right holding a cup of wine and bread along with a wolf/jackal/wild dog with her.

While Agrippa has nothing good to say about what the woman is holding I'd say on my side that they are peace offerings the woman is holding, trying to do a truce with the centaur who is obviously up to no good. She is not defenseless though since she has the jackal with her who can protect her in case she is in danger. With the centaur being a bestial violent race in general, the truce won't last long for sure, the woman is just buying time.

If this scene is reminiscent of a moment in mythology, I really don't know.

Apparently, the reptilian being in the back is the god Ophionius. What does he do on that card?
 

Goat of Mendes

WolfyJames said:
Apparently, the reptilian being in the back is the god Ophionius. What does he do on that card?
Ophion / Ophionius (the name literally means serpent) was one of the old Titans. He and his wife, Eurynome, ruled Olympus for a while but their rule was only temporary. They were overthrown by Kronos/Cronus and his wife Rhea and sent to Tartarus.

Over time Ophionius seems to have become fused together with Typhon and mythic Dragon symbolism. I seem to remember something about a link between Ophion, Leviathan and the Dragon of Revelation, "whose time was short".

That seems to fit in nicely with this card because there is nothing permanent about the 4 of Swords.

Ophionius is linked to the ophidian vibrations and the serpant power, Kundalini. This would seem to fit in with some peoples view of the Book of Revelation not as a book of apocalyptic prophecy, but a highly symbolic description of Kundalini Yoga.
 

Goat of Mendes

WolfyJames said:
While Agrippa has nothing good to say about what the woman is holding I'd say on my side that they are peace offerings the woman is holding, trying to do a truce with the centaur who is obviously up to no good. She is not defenseless though since she has the jackal with her who can protect her in case she is in danger. With the centaur being a bestial violent race in general, the truce won't last long for sure, the woman is just buying time.
That was pretty much my initial reaction to the scene. The woman riding the wolf does seem to be making a "truce" with the warlike Centaur, who has lowered his bow.
But this is a swords card and thus double edged. The Centaur is the symbol of Sagittarius, whose arrows are aimed at spiritual targets. A possible link here with card XIV Art and the Great Work of Self Transformation. In this case the woman may not be what she seems. This points to the other meaning of this card, standstill and stagnation.
 

WolfyJames

After a while I've come up with other things about the Four of Swords.

First, the centaur could be our wild shadow that we have to acknowledge and tame and make peace with.

Second, the centaur could be a repressed desire/need that we try to ignore or fulfill indirectly but that the card shows up to tell us that this needs to be addressed for the well being of the soul.
 

czarner

Chiron?

It's occured to me that the centaur here could also be interpreted as Chiron, the Wounded Healer, representing the need for respite to heal the wounds from the Three of Swords.