Shadowscapes Study - King of Swords

Dara

King of Swords. A king watching vigilantly over his kingdom, ready to enforce and rule, with logic, intelligence, and swiftness. Keirsey personality association of this card would be "Fieldmarshal" who mobilizes.

Out of all the court cards in Shadowscapes, this is the only one that displays something remotely like sitting on a throne (although I do not think it is a throne at all, he still sits on it as such). His hair swirls into an image of the sun and his wings swirls into the image of the moon. This symbolizes his mastery of truth, regardless of the illusions or delusions that manifest.
He mobilizes birds that materialize out of the air like smoke.
He holds a sword that most resembles the sword displayed on the Ace of Swords (not the very same, but comparatively the most similar than any other Sword card), which indicates that he can wield the element of air and its attributes to the fullest, in its most purest form.
The Vitruvian Man in the corner symbolizes "the blend of art and science, of the symmetry in the human body and in the whole of the universe." (Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, Shadowscapes Companion Book)
The two crows are like the crows of Odin, that go around the world and come back to share their vision with their King. The owl on the sword is a symbol of wisdom. It is the familiar of Athena who was a master of strategy, tactics, wisdom, justice, and courage.
The king has a foot resting on top of a skull. No very sure what this may mean but I think it could mean he is above the cycles of life. Kind of portentous. It could mean mercilessness or fearlessness.

One thing I wish is that Stephanie would have zoomed up on the King himself and get rid of some of the empty space above him.
 

thirdlibra

King of Swords. A king watching vigilantly over his kingdom, ready to enforce and rule, with logic, intelligence, and swiftness. Keirsey personality association of this card would be "Fieldmarshal" who mobilizes.

Out of all the court cards in Shadowscapes, this is the only one that displays something remotely like sitting on a throne (although I do not think it is a throne at all, he still sits on it as such). His hair swirls into an image of the sun and his wings swirls into the image of the moon. This symbolizes his mastery of truth, regardless of the illusions or delusions that manifest.
He mobilizes birds that materialize out of the air like smoke.
He holds a sword that most resembles the sword displayed on the Ace of Swords (not the very same, but comparatively the most similar than any other Sword card), which indicates that he can wield the element of air and its attributes to the fullest, in its most purest form.
The Vitruvian Man in the corner symbolizes "the blend of art and science, of the symmetry in the human body and in the whole of the universe." (Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, Shadowscapes Companion Book)
The two crows are like the crows of Odin, that go around the world and come back to share their vision with their King. The owl on the sword is a symbol of wisdom. It is the familiar of Athena who was a master of strategy, tactics, wisdom, justice, and courage.
The king has a foot resting on top of a skull. No very sure what this may mean but I think it could mean he is above the cycles of life. Kind of portentous. It could mean mercilessness or fearlessness.

One thing I wish is that Stephanie would have zoomed up on the King himself and get rid of some of the empty space above him.

One thing I find with this deck is that sometimes, the empty holds siginificance regarding the character's intent. In this case, I think it is there purposely to show how much he lives in his head - he's quite physically grounded in posture, and zooming in to crop out the top might keep him too much in the earthly realm, as opposed to in mental airspace.

I really like this card, the balance in dark and light sides of him shown. Rather like someone with a dark past, who still strives to follow the light path. The ravens are echoed in the shadowy wings - often to me reading as someone who has taken lessons from their darker pasts or shadow aspects of their personality, and learned how to apply those lessons into their current life.
 

nroy03

king of swords stepahnie pui-mun law deck

I can't find if there is a meaning in the shadowscape deck by stepahnie pui-mun law when cards are reversed. I am looking for the meaning of the king of Swords.

Thank you
 

CoffeeBlood

his dark past made him wiser and he knows better than making the same mistake again. he also knows how to recognize bad situations - it appears as if 2 of the birds in his wings started to fly ahead of him, and there is a 3rd one trying to escape as well. because he's seen the situation before, he is now calm. he will deal with this problem better because he is both wiser and calm.

at times, his dark past is trying to take over his now more positive thoughts - see the faint shadow birds at the top of the card. his wisdom helps him making amends with the troubled past.

the skull under his foot represents him accepting his dark past, and dark side - his wings are rather dark, and behind him. the owl came to him to give him wisdom. he realized he has a dark side too, but he will not let it define him [or he won't let his past define him]. he's overcome the past because he is strong.

what i don't understand is why did Stephanie chose to put the Vetruvian Man there. there is something i need to study more..