ANCIENT EGYPTIAN STUDY GROUP - 5 Swords

rwcarter

A woman casually leans against a cabinet. On the cabinet are two vases and an apple (?). A cloth is decoratively draped over the front of the cabinet, but we can still see one of the cabinet doors, which has an Ankh hanging from its handle. She stares towards a man who leans against the window for support as he looks out of it. The cabinet represents that which is hidden or concealed.

The ankh is a symbol of power. Its presence on the handle to the cabinet suggests that she had powers hidden away that he wasn't expecting.

This card turns the battle of the sexes on its head. Unlike in the 7 Wands and 3 Swords where the man appears to have the upper hand, here the woman (who is traditionally thought of as the "weaker" of the sexes) clearly controls the situation. Although he is ostensibly bigger and stronger than she is and he had four swords to her one, she appears to be the winner of the fight that has just occurred.

The woman casually holds the only intact sword in the scene. The other four swords, which presumably belong to the man, lie broken on the floor. The broken swords represent aggression and hostility that have been brought to an end. They also suggest weakness, powerlessness, being dominated and being defeated. They indicate bad decisions and faulty intellectual processes.

This depiction suggests that brains will be victorious over brawn and that skills will win out when the other person possesses an unfair advantage. Other scenarios that popped into my head are:
  • a business negotiation where all the counter proposals were shot down by the person with all the power
  • one who has underestimated their opponent and suffered the consequences
  • one who is overconfident in their own abilities
  • one who hasn't adequately prepared for some challenge and then lost

Rodney