Pearls of Wisdom - Knight of Swords

Rede Seeker

Where to begin - The central figure is the mounted Knight, but his surroundings are ominous. He's at the edge where land and sea meet. There is no beaten path, so how he got there is a Mystery, but consistent with the 'can do' spirit of Knighthood. Our Knight is piercing a cloud with his sword; lightning is the result. Is he trying to conjour a storm? His expression is intense - he knows what he is doing. His horse has reared onto it's back legs, front legs in the air. The Knight sits securely in the saddle none-the-less.

The sky is ribbons of red, blue, and purple. A full, pearl-like moon sits high in the sky and looms large upon the scene. There are curly-clouds, white and pastel blue/purple in color. These are not storm clouds.

Water (lake or ocean) is placed on the left side of the card. Waves are beating against the shore. There is no strip of flat beach, no transition buffer zone between land and sea. The waves crash against the earth, the farthest wave sends sprays of water-mist into the air. But that mist flows back into the sea, it does not splash onto the land.

The land the mounted Knight is on could be a cliff or high point. There is no apparent horizon, just the ribbons of sky-color behind it. The grass under his horse's hooves is rich, thick, and green.

The Knight wears golden armor. He is clean-shaven. His shield is oval with a pointed bottom. The symbol on the shield is difficult to interpret. It looks like a paint brush not a sword or dagger. There are blue and red ribbon flourishes forming a 'V' around the symbol.

The horse wears a stripped blanket - red and gold with green trim and fringe. It wears a golden mask. The reins and bridle are green with green fringe.

There are gold shelves in the upper corners of this card. A crystal horse-head rests on the left shelf; a dagger with circlet of pearls rests on the right shelf. A red banner with a symbol similar to the one onf the Knight's shield hangs from the shelf. At the base of the left column is a sword wrapped in vines and the Knight's helmet. The Knight's shield rests at the base of the right column. Vines climb up both columns, reach the shelves and grow across the lentil.

The Rune Uruz is etched on the left column. Uruz is the Rune of Vital Power and Will. It is also a Rune of Formation. What is the Knight trying to do by piercing the cloud? He is at Land's End, there is no where for him to go but back...or is there?

Traditionally, the Knight of Swords is read as a warning. Elementally, four elements are represented:
Air - the clouds
Water - the waves
Earth - the ground beneath his horse's hooves
Fire - the lightning

Spirit may be represented by the Golden Armor.

Our Knight has the will to do well, but may lack the ambition/spark of creativity necessary to make his desires reality. In the cool of the Night and by the Sea, he is forcing fire from the sky. It doesn't quite make it to the earth, though.

Our Knight may be over-reaching himself and his resources to make things happen.
 

Sulis

Rede Seeker, thanks for the beautiful description of this card.

This is the guy who rushes in where others fear to tread. I love the way he seems to be on the edge of the land, just about to go over the edge.

He is Fire of Air, all action and thought, an idealistic type who enjoys a good argument or debate and will fight his corner for as long as it takes.

This is a knight who any fair maiden (or anyone else for that matter), wants on her side. I can't say that I've ever read the Knight of Swords as a warning but I can see how he could be read that way, I just don't tend to think of him as particularly negative unless the context, the spread and the other cards point that way.

I see this guy as heralding change, swift, quick change or movement.
I also see him as an excellent communicator who (as I said before), likes nothing more than a good debate or argument...
He is prone to losing interest quite quickly - fire and air don't stick around too long but whilst he's there, he'll give his all.

I love the way he is piercing the cloud and actually seems to be creating the lightning..
This is certainly someone who is difficult to ignore.

Edited to add an image of the card.
 

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