Mythic Tarot - Ten Swords

rwcarter

Athene intercedes on behalf of Orestes, who lies on the ground curled into a fetal ball. She holds an upright sword in her left hand while nine swords form a barrier between Orestes and the Furies. She holds her right hand up as if to say “Stop!” The sun rises in the background, pushing away the dark night.

Overview
  • an ending accomplished through the judgment and fairness of Athene
  • despairing and exhausted, one feels like there’s no hope in sight and can’t see that their suffering is over
  • reaching the end of something and feeling like there is no hope left and only disillusionment and disappointment to take into the future
  • seeing something at last as it truly is and recognizing that there’s nowhere further to go
  • impartial reflection and the careful deliberation of the human mind (in this case through a jury) is what truly redeems one from one’s worst and most insoluble problems
  • family curse as inner conflicts that have been passed down through the generations, where parents have been unable to face conflicts honestly and the children suffer until insight is gained
  • the proper and inevitable completion of a process that began with new ideas and perceptions
  • being freed of some deep-seated and ancient problem that’s been forced to the surface and that one’s suffering has released and redeemed
  • the way is cleared for a fresh start
  • the necessity for a clean break that takes all possibilities into consideration because to ignore anyone or anything could leave the way open for further destruction
Random Thoughts
  • the end of a “dark night of the soul”
  • new beginning
  • being at the end of one’s rope
  • someone intercedes on your behalf
  • the sins of the father are no longer visited upon the child
  • that which your tormentor has used to torment you can be used to keep your tormentor at bay (the swords the Furies held in the 9 constrain them in the 10)

The keyword/phrase I came up with in my workbook on 14Mar92 was "resolution".

Rodney