The Wild UNknown Tarot - II Swords

Sulis

2, long, thin, black swords are balanced on their handles in the bottom corners of the card. The blades point towards the top of the image and cross about 2/3 of the way up. Between the tips of the crossed swords is a black circle surrounded by orange fire - it almost looks like a fireball travelling towards us.
The background is dark and the area around the ball of light is much brighter.

So this imagge makes me think of quite a few different possibilities;
It could be a ball of fire flying towards the reader with the 2 swords crossing to act as some sort of block or protection, balanced there, ready to knock the danger out of the way.
The other thing it makes me think of are chopsticks, as if the 2 swords are delicately holding the flaming orb and are cautiously bringing it towards us.. This is a decision that can't be rushed, care must be taken - we don't want to drop that flaming ball...

2s are about choices, balance, things coming together, things moving apart.
Swords are about problems and struggles, the mind, thoughts and the spoken and written word so communication.

This card for me is often about balancing opinions, weighing things up and eventually coming to a decision. It's a 2 so it's related to The High Priestess; it's that pause where we take the energy offered in the Ace and decide what to to with it. There's a lot of balance in this image; the 2 swords are balanced and the glowing orb is balanced between them - it's a temporary state that can't go on for very long, a decision has to be made. Because it's a Sword / Air card I think it advises us to use logic rather than emotions to arrive at that decision.. The crossing of the swords also makes me think of this use of logic rather than emotion - in the RWS card the lady has the swords crossed across her heart, not letting emotions in.

In Thoth based decks this card is labelled 'Peace' and so it's about balancing thoughts or 2 opposing sides, maybe a stalemate is involved, a time when neither side is winning, neither option is winning out so nothing much is happening and there's a temporary peace, a moment of balance.
The swords are crossed and as well as being defensive that could also mean a conflict, a difference of opinion or 2 options that really do clash..

The idea of the fiery ball flying through space towards the reader who is hiding behind those swords and getting ready to deflect the ball away is also something that may fit in a reading... The querant could be guarding against being hurt by making sure that they stay logical and keep their emotions out of things..

I'd love to hear what anyone else has to say about this card. It's one of those images that to me seems really powerful and I'm sure there's loads in there that I'm either not seeing or just not seeing right now...
Is t a flaming ball or something else? An eclipse maybe or a black hole.... Why's it black???? So many questions...
I love the way these images get deeper and more complex, the more I look at them..
 

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slfrank67

i like your idea that it is a flaming ball, this had not occurred to me before you suggested it. it allows for a more practical interpretation in a reading, i think- the chopsticks analogy is a great alternative.

when i first saw this card i thought it was an annular eclipse of the sun. temporary. an eerie suspended darkness- i read that the birds stop chirping during eclipses, too, so there is a silence for a pause. i can see how that would relate to 'peace' a la Thoth... i can't shake the ominous feeling here, though. then again, IV. the Emperor has the same blackened sun. the connection is not immediate for me, on this. will have to think about it a bit more
 

Sulis

I think it looks a lot like an eclipse too and I like what you've said about the possible meaning - it really fits...
The quiet during an eclipse, the temporary nature of it and the ominous feeling - I think before people really understood what was going on that people thought of solar eclipses as being powerful omens that something bad was about to happen... The calm before the storm..
Thanks slfrank67, my brain registered that it looked like an eclipse but I didn't expand on that idea at all... It seems really obvious now that you've said it ;).
 

Karrma

I just had these two cards up in this deck, as I drew the Emperor in a reading about self/selflessness. I was not able to get much about the card specifically, noted what I thought was an eclipse, and then saw that the 2 of Swords had the same, so had them out.

I have been in a total eclipse once in my lifetime, and it is unforgettable. The shadow rushes towards you at the speed of the earths spin, about 700 miles per hour where I was. The earth turns dark, the birds stop singing (they really do, it is eerie quiet) the streetlights turn on. This lasts 8 minutes, and then the shadow moves away.

More specifically, it is where the moon and the sun are balanced for a few minutes, where the moon has a chance to overpower the sun. Why is it the moons diameter and distance makes it almost the same size as the huge sun with further distance? It is a fantastic co-incidence if it is. An eclipse is a balance or turning point, we can never hold it. Why is it in the 2 of swords? Can we really capture peace? is it a balance point between two things that at this moment have equality?

There is also the symbolism of a cross. The moon crossing the sun. The swords crossing each other. And the hilt of a sword forms two crosses.
 

crystalwings

I love all of your takes on this card. Mesmerized by this picture the more I gazed the more the whiteness stood out to form a white shadow of a person’s head and shoulders. Looking down the crown chakra, the back circle became the pineal gland calcified causing a block between the divine and ourselves. The swords became scissors black and unseen waiting for the moment they can surface and cut through the block, allowing us to once again hear our divine self…
 

Pixna

The first thing I recognized when I viewed this card was the eclipse. To me, it meant that things would or should be in a holding pattern. Wait. Pause. This will pass. The light will eventually be restored.

I see the crossed swords almost like crossed arms, indicating "Stop" or "Wait." If the swords move toward each other, they would be like scissors, slicing the sun or eclipse.

My interpretation of this card is that now isn't the time to act or argue or take a stand, but instead to wait it out. In time, clarity will come. In time, the eclipse will pass and light will return.

This card actually makes me feel (rather than think) the message that it brings. Its simplicity speaks volumes to me. I find it to be an incredibly intuitive image.
 

Sulis

My interpretation of this card is that now isn't the time to act or argue or take a stand, but instead to wait it out. In time, clarity will come. In time, the eclipse will pass and light will return.
Thanks for this Pixna, this really helped me to get a grasp of this card and it's message.