DruidCraft Study Group - 4 (Four) of Swords

GoddessArtemis

I really like this card. It's rare that I see this card in any other deck and like it. But this card has a very solemn yet dignified look to it.

The Druidcraft 4 of Swords shows an older man, dressed in an earth-colored loincloth, sitting on the gigantic roots of a massive, towering tree on top of a hill. There appears to be a road to the man's right...it's coming up the hill. We can't see where it leads, but it is there. It is almost as if he has climbed up that hill and is now silently pondering many a subject. Perhaps, he is contemplating taking that road back...or he may just have seen that path for the first time, and is wondering if he should brave it and try it out. Either way, he needs time to collect his thoughts (swords) first.

He is carefully balancing a sword on its blunt side across his lap...while three other swords are propped up next to him, points up, as the man looks into the distant with a quietly thoughtful (or pensive) look on his face. The sky in the distant shows an orange glow, signifying the sun setting on the horizon. Time is passing...the sun is setting...and the man may well have been sitting there all day. He has a very serious, yet peaceful look on his face. His hands are clasped in front of his mouth in a thoughtful pose, and you can almost hear the "Hmmmm" going on inside his head. He obviously has a lot on his mind. He is also looking to the left of the card (the reader's left), which tends to imply that he is looking back on things past...and wondering where to go from here. Will he pick up the swords and take them with him down the path? Will he leave some behind? He isn't sure himself, so he is taking time out in solitude to find out.

This card often signifies a period of contemplative silence. The man isn't just taking a time out to rest or sleep (as in most RWS-based decks), but he is actually sitting there thinking...if less intensely than in other Swords cards...but he is nonetheless giving some subject a great deal of thought. One sword is resting on his lap, as if it's being weighed. This might reflect his taking a time out before acting on his thought. He may not be sure how to use that sword yet, or if he should pick up another one of the other swords instead. The three swords next to him...well...they all appear to have different handles, which makes me think...he has several things to contemplate, and he is taking his time doing just that...one thought (or sword) at a time. He is weighing all of his options.

In readings, I have often had this card come up when tarot is trying to tell me that something is 'on hold,' or that there is a 'temporary break' in action, or possibly an inactive 'truce' of sorts...until further thoughts are put into action. I also have had this card come up in timing questions, when I'm wondering when something may occur, and when this card comes up, more often than not, I've come to learn that it means...it is not possible to give that answer, since things are 'on hold' and no further information is available at this time. The fact that this card is also a FOUR (4) reaffirms it's temporary, yet stable quality (referring back to the stability of The Lord or Emperor)...but, as we know with all fours, they can't last forever. Things will change, other thoughts will come, but for now...things are at a standstill until further thought has gone into something...or until everyone has had time to catch their breath. "Time out," this card says. Take a break.

Lovely card. It is one of the most quiet, yet emotionally rich cards in this deck.

GA
 

Little Baron

I like your ideas, GA.

Often, in other cards, you get the idea that someone is being forced to take a break or to rest. But here, it is as if he has made the decision for himself.

When I look at the card in other packs, it feels as though the change is forced or that someone will run themself into the ground or illness if they do not stop soon. But here, it is almost like a 'minute to yourself'. Taking yourself away, even if it is just for the small amount of time that it takes for the sun to come up or set, so that you can have a moment to yourself - to breath, to consider, to meditate, to gain a little understanding, to think about your 'thought for today', to relax. It might be five minutes in the garden with a cup of coffee and a cigarette in the garden while the kids are watching tv, a little nap in the afternoon inbetween jobs, finding five minutes to reply to an email, to consider the pros and cons of moving in with your boyfriend or just half an hour to shut EVERYTHING out. And that big tree is secure, like The Lord. You can take this breather. You are not going to lose your job, the kids are safe.

Rambling a bit now. But you catch my drift, yes? What I am saying is that it seems to be a considered pause, rather than one that is forced on one. Considering the road ahead. And I agree that here, it feels more temporary than in a lot of decks.

LB
 

Mystic Leo

Yes I like what you both have to say LB and GA.

When I see this card I see this man in a very contemplative
mood, doesn't seem to have too many worries by the expression.
When I see that sky in the background, it just seem to say
tomorrow is a new day!
 

WalesWoman

I hadn't thought of the direction he was facing as "in the past' before, but it makes sense, especially with the three swords pointing upward, that something that has caused some sort of anguish is the operating force.

It seems like it's time to let the sun go down on the issue, give it a rest, "to sleep on it" before taking any sort of action. I've also seen it as mulling or even stewing a bit... it could be trying to create a balance of thought with emotions... intellectualizing the 3 swords and how they came to be, etc.

Brooding is another thought that comes to mind, dwelling too much on what created the situation rather than doing anything about it... since the 3 swords are pointing upwards, they are still in force, still able to cause pain, disappointment, wounding...

The tree and placement of the swords made me look up the 3 Swords card... it seems like the same tree, only the "heart" rock is shattered in 4 swords. So perhaps the foundation for the 3 Swords no longer holds... has been broken... and now it's time to contemplate what happens from here.

So as advice I might see this as it's too late now to do anything... tomorrow is another day.
 

Arania

I get the impression of a warrior, who has now taken a break and abandoned all his armour and most of his weapons, but cannot completely escape who he is, so he keeps one sword at the ready. Yes, he is thinking a lot, but in the end he will not move on a enw path but return to his profession, strengthened by the introspection.
 

caridwen

I don't get the impression of this card as one of rest. I get the impression of a type of brooding anger, of someone mulling over past slights, hurts and arguments and thinking of ways of getting their revenge. I see this card typically following an argument or hurtful comment that the querent is thinking about and making themselves angrier as they think.

The three swords leaning against the tree represent hurt and relate to the Three of Swords. The Fourth sword rests on his knees as though he's thinking of the best way to use it in order to better his revenge. His eyebrows furrow in concentration and cold contemplation.

We then see him in the Five having sought his revenge and the outcome of that.
 

Arania

Good interpretation, will keep it in mind.
 

MysticalMoose

I like this cards ....he seems to be "waiting"..... is he waiting for the tensions & pain of the 3 of swords to clear/diffuse a little before resuming his task/way forward. He seems to be having some thinking time, getting his head together for the struggles that may be ahead, he has his sword on his lap ready ~ but for now he is content to gather his thoughts & maybe consider where he/things went wrong in order to maybe take a different tack next time...
 

GenoviaJ

I don't have this deck but I recently got this card in a reading and it spoke volumes to me. After the hurt, pain or disappointment of the 3 of swords this middle age man is sitting underneath the tree, perhaps returning to contemplate and commune with the tree- as he absorbs the wisdom of the tree. I do not see the Sun setting, I see the Sun rising in the midst of this communion.
This is what trees know about loss- and maybe its the lost experienced in the 3 of swords and absorbing that wisdom in the 4 of swords that creates the victory/loss in the 5 of swords. In the 5 of swords the man puts his foot down..no more mind games.

So what is the wisdom of the tree? The tree knows that there is no lost in loving only gain. The tree knows how to yield to the weather and the elements in order to survive. The tree knows that it is the act of loving that replenishes it, not the outcome of loving another. The tree expresses its love in cycles, it blossoms ripe with seeds, fruit or flowers in the spring and offers its love to the entire universe. Some will eat it fruit, some will find hope and experience love from the sight of its flowers and even the insects will be filled with love, joy and anticipation at what it bears as it expresses love to the universe. But the tree knows that its love is also fragile, its flowers are easily bruised and will wilt in just a short time. The fruit that it offers is only edible for a short time- even tough it took a tremendous amount of time to bear its fruit. And what happens with the offering is not taken? The fruit falls to the ground, and rots at its feet. The flowers fall and wither at its roots- but the tree does not experince hurt or disapointment, the tree understands that all the fruit at is feet and the withered flowers at is roots will replinish the soil and be useful for the next cyle. Life continues and the tree yields each time.
So...perhaps in the 5 we see this person yielding to the other person with the knowledge of and wisdom of the tree now firmly in his mind.

What do you think? It s a beautiful image - I love it and I remember seeing it before, very vaugley. I didn't realize it would come to mean so much to me.