outcome: King of Swords (rx)

Hey dear AT folks,

So, I've done this spread for a friend and I'm dickering over the King of Swords (rx) in the outcome/where you'll be part (card 8).

Background (and why this card fits): she's an academic considering leaving higher ed after she finishes her thesis and moving towards more creative projects.

I think the KS is showing that departure from the rigid logical and dogmatic lifestyle of scholarship but also cautions that she'll need to make up her mind and exercise some decisiveness. I read it RX as not exercising the the normal ability to make clear decisions.

Since the thread deals with addressing thoughts/emotions/actions that are obstacles, it feels like a weird card to pull for that position and I'm floundering a bit.

Any insight is appreciated

Edit initially linked the wrong spread :/

Know thyself

rx cards often indicate something blocked. The outcome card in this spread is where the person will be after they've done all this stuff, and I'm not so optimistic that this person will be as happy as they think. She may find that all she's done in leaving academia is blocked her considerable mental abilities. And the King/Swords rx also suggest that she's going to want to find a way to turn that card right-side-up. Putting it another way, if you thrive on crossword puzzles, then spending your days drawing with crayons could bore you to tears.

Personal example: I've taken music and painting classes. They were fun, but I'm not a musician or a painter, and I didn't learn much, nor did these classes do much for me. Don't get me wrong--I'm glad I took them. But I'm a puzzle solver myself, and my creativity stayed pretty much dormant in both of those right-brained situations. When I took one requiring my left-brained puzzle solving abilities--creativity took over and I skyrocketed.

Know thyself. The cards seem to think that your friend will not find these creative projects as stimulating, fulfilling or productive as your friend hopes they'll be. And she might discover that her genius isn't at its best outside of academia.

Thirteen said:

rx cards often indicate something blocked. The outcome card in this spread is where the person will be after they've done all this stuff, and I'm not so optimistic that this person will be as happy as they think. She may find that all she's done in leaving academia is blocked her considerable mental abilities. And the King/Swords rx also suggest that she's going to want to find a way to turn that card right-side-up. Putting it another way, if you thrive on crossword puzzles, then spending your days drawing with crayons could bore you to tears.

Personal example: I've taken music and painting classes. They were fun, but I'm not a musician or a painter, and I didn't learn much, nor did these classes do much for me. Don't get me wrong--I'm glad I took them. But I'm a puzzle solver myself, and my creativity stayed pretty much dormant in both of those right-brained situations. When I took one requiring my left-brained puzzle solving abilities--creativity took over and I skyrocketed.

Know thyself. The cards seem to think that your friend will not find these creative projects as stimulating, fulfilling or productive as your friend hopes they'll be. And she might discover that her genius isn't at its best outside of academia.

Click to expand...

Thank you for this. Agreed. I also wonder if this card doesn't also present a gauntlet being thrown down, a challenge to learn how to make better and difficult choices because I wouldn't think of the RX King as the most sound decider.

She's developed her intellect to it's highest level of functioning, she can now acquire more information but she's basically mastered the intellect and how to use it. Rx as an outcome it's merely saying that she is now deciding to leave the intellect alone as a development focus and put her focus elsewhere.

If she is wanting to be creative then what she needs to do is develop her emotional state and whichever cups court you pull will tell you where that part of her is at in it's development. Did you have any cups courts in the spread and if so in what position?

I do not see this as a negative thing, she's attained the King Of Swords level of development intellectually, putting it aside now will do no harm at all and is in alignment with her desire to now do something creative.

I agree with Thirteen,

I am in academia myself and if I would have get a rx king of swords as the outcome if I decided to go in art (for living), I would seriously consider feeling bored at some point.

This rx king of swords could represent her mental potential blocked. Sure, she must like art (as I do!), but having a hobby and doing it as a job are two very different things.

You could also see that rx king of swords as not taking a rational decision here. Could it be possible that she is having some obstacles on her way right now that have lowered her motivation? Is she doing her mid-graduate studies crisis? The path can be quite long to get at the end of graduate studies. You use so much your rational side that at some point, you can also do an indigestion.

When I was really fed up by my PhD, I would paint to escape in an imaginary world.

tarot_quest said:

I agree with Thirteen,

I am in academia myself and if I would have get a rx king of swords as the outcome if I decided to go in art (for living), I would seriously consider feeling bored at some point.

This rx king of swords could represent her mental potential blocked. Sure, she must like art (as I do!), but having a hobby and doing it as a job are two very different things.

You could also see that rx king of swords as not taking a rational decision here. Could it be possible that she is having some obstacles on her way right now that have lowered her motivation? Is she doing her mid-graduate studies crisis? The path can be quite long to get at the end of graduate studies. You use so much your rational side that at some point, you can also do an indigestion.

When I was really fed up by my PhD, I would paint to escape in an imaginary world.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I really feel there's a mixture of all of these things happening. Both she and I are in literature and she writes creatively. Though it's a transition, it's not a huge jump to make. The spread itself dealt with what her current mental/emotional/and action obstacles are and how to learn the lessons and over come them. The king fits, I think, in a sort of "now you have to deal with this issue, because you're ready" type way. I'm seeing it as she can't even handle that issue until she fixes this other stuff that's standing in her way.

Absynthe said:

She's developed her intellect to it's highest level of functioning, she can now acquire more information but she's basically mastered the intellect and how to use it. Rx as an outcome it's merely saying that she is now deciding to leave the intellect alone as a development focus and put her focus elsewhere.

If she is wanting to be creative then what she needs to do is develop her emotional state and whichever cups court you pull will tell you where that part of her is at in it's development. Did you have any cups courts in the spread and if so in what position?

I do not see this as a negative thing, she's attained the King Of Swords level of development intellectually, putting it aside now will do no harm at all and is in alignment with her desire to now do something creative.

Click to expand...

I see a lot of this in her, and I'm wondering if the King is coming up because it's more of a reflection of her headspace right now. I agree that these thoughts you're showing are totally present, and already present for her. I really appreciate you giving me this perspective.

Easing into a new mindset

Absynthe said:

Rx as an outcome it's merely saying that she is now deciding to leave the intellect alone as a development focus and put her focus elsewhere.

Click to expand...

But there are so many upright cards that could say that better, don't you think? Hanged-Man (turing focus literally upside down/elsewhere), 4/Swords (taking a rest from mental activity), Fool (letting go of the rational side of the mind and opening up the fun side), etc. Getting King/Swords rx, instead, doesn't seem to me to be merely leaving the intellect alone. It seems to be aggressively blocking or rejecting it. Which, as you say, might not be a bad thing, but it does strike me as an extreme reaction—rather like, as tarot_quest suggests, someone who's been at work so long, all they can think about is a vacation where they do all the things they couldn't do at work.

It's said, however, that when you go on vacation, it takes a while to settle into that vacation. You don't leave work and suddenly you feel free; you stay in work mode for a while, easing out of it as you ease into the vacation. I think the King/Swords rx is suggesting that switching off the intellectual side isn't the same as switching on the creative side (I can speak from experience here, having stared for hours at a blank screen waiting for creativity to come. It rarely comes when called). In short, she can leave work, but her focus is not going to be on her vacation right away, because the mind, body and emotions have to switch over. So if she's expecting her creative side to appear as soon as she's free of academia, she might be disappointed.