nisaba
http://grannyjonestarot.blogspot.com/2011/12/two-swords.html
Today I'm going to discuss the Two Swords. Almost everything is paired in this card, as you'd expect. High up in the centre of the image is a dark purple-black cloud, looking as much like a bruise - and possibly a bruised ego - as anything. The edge of the sun is struggling to peep from it, and send out its optimistic rays. Always remember - those optimistic rays are there!
On the left, we have Granny Jones herself, walking away from the centre of the card with a raised red Sword in her hand, looking over her shoulder with a scowl. On the right we have a young, blonde man also with a red Sword - a smaller one - also walking away from the centre of the card and casting a glance back, but looking worried or fearful, not angry.
Granny is accompanied by a cat, its back arched in anger. He is accompanied by a dog, slinking away in fear with its tail held low. In the background on the left, Granny's side, is a leafy tree. On the background on his side, the three snow-capped Mountains of Difficulty, in the shorthand of this deck. Between the two humans on the ground are two crossed white flags of surrender, waiting for one of them to reach down and pick one up.
With its title and its two crossed flags, this is truly the card of two individuals who are at an impasse, who have "crossed swords with each other" as the cliche goes. If we view it literally, we see the aftermath of two people who have been unable to resolve a difficulty - as this card has indicated in many readings over the years - and who are about to stop playing nice, and escalate it to the next level, a level of verbal violence that the card symbolises with physical violence.
When this card comes up in a reading, I tend to counsel the client that now is way past the time of suppressing their thoughts and feelings - if they do so, there will be hell to pay. Now is the time of putting down the sword of their anger (or fear), grasping the flag of truce, and getting the other person to talk to them, to listen to how they feel in the situation, and express their own views. A compromise is still possible before the situation escalates to open hostility, but someone has to take the first step, even if it means seeming to lose ground.
I often ask them, too, how they are actually feeling in that situation or about that other person. Do they feel outraged about the original matter (not the other person), or do they feel a little bit anxious? Which side of the card do they see themselves on? If they are anxious, given the mountains on that side of the card, they might be setting themselves up for a fall, their moral stance might be a little bit weak, they may have to rethink their position anyway.
If they are just determined and perhaps angry they might well be on the side of "right" and "victory" (the leafy tree), but the other character in the card is far more important than a background detail. Can they really afford to lose a friendship or spoil a family relationship just because they are right? To people in both positions, I'd suggest putting down that red Sword, and picking up that nice, peaceful flag, and opening a dialogue. The rewards are well worth the initial appearance of weakness.
Often, though, the card is not about an external situation or an interaction with others. What if this whole stand-off is happening within yourself, about a course of action or deeply embedded in your emotional life? What then?
When people feel the energy of this card at a circumstantial crossroads in their life, I get them to speculate about the different directions they can go. Which one makes them feel most weak and fearful? Simple - take the other road.
When people are not facing a decision, then I read this card as them being at war with themselves. People are unique and individual - there are millions, perhaps billions of different ways people can hate themselves (the left side of the card) or doubt themselves (the right side of the card). The only think such people will have in common with each other is that on a deeper level they will be unhappy no matter how much superficial joy there is in their lives, and they will be uncomfortable in their own skin.
I actually read it fairly similarly. They need to find the inner parts of their life where they have substantial self-doubt, and heal themselves, They have to find parts of their inner world where they have substantial self-loathing, say goodbye to the past, and move on into the future having learnt from their past mistakes what not to continue doing in their lives.
It is always possible to find harmony with others - but someone has to be brave enough to grasp the nettle first. It is always possible to find inner harmony - though sometimes it is very difficult - and again, it is a matter of being brave enough to confront yourself, find what needs to be resolved, and do the necessary work.
The first, last and main thing this card tells me, is that it is time to make peace right now.
Today I'm going to discuss the Two Swords. Almost everything is paired in this card, as you'd expect. High up in the centre of the image is a dark purple-black cloud, looking as much like a bruise - and possibly a bruised ego - as anything. The edge of the sun is struggling to peep from it, and send out its optimistic rays. Always remember - those optimistic rays are there!
On the left, we have Granny Jones herself, walking away from the centre of the card with a raised red Sword in her hand, looking over her shoulder with a scowl. On the right we have a young, blonde man also with a red Sword - a smaller one - also walking away from the centre of the card and casting a glance back, but looking worried or fearful, not angry.
Granny is accompanied by a cat, its back arched in anger. He is accompanied by a dog, slinking away in fear with its tail held low. In the background on the left, Granny's side, is a leafy tree. On the background on his side, the three snow-capped Mountains of Difficulty, in the shorthand of this deck. Between the two humans on the ground are two crossed white flags of surrender, waiting for one of them to reach down and pick one up.
With its title and its two crossed flags, this is truly the card of two individuals who are at an impasse, who have "crossed swords with each other" as the cliche goes. If we view it literally, we see the aftermath of two people who have been unable to resolve a difficulty - as this card has indicated in many readings over the years - and who are about to stop playing nice, and escalate it to the next level, a level of verbal violence that the card symbolises with physical violence.
When this card comes up in a reading, I tend to counsel the client that now is way past the time of suppressing their thoughts and feelings - if they do so, there will be hell to pay. Now is the time of putting down the sword of their anger (or fear), grasping the flag of truce, and getting the other person to talk to them, to listen to how they feel in the situation, and express their own views. A compromise is still possible before the situation escalates to open hostility, but someone has to take the first step, even if it means seeming to lose ground.
I often ask them, too, how they are actually feeling in that situation or about that other person. Do they feel outraged about the original matter (not the other person), or do they feel a little bit anxious? Which side of the card do they see themselves on? If they are anxious, given the mountains on that side of the card, they might be setting themselves up for a fall, their moral stance might be a little bit weak, they may have to rethink their position anyway.
If they are just determined and perhaps angry they might well be on the side of "right" and "victory" (the leafy tree), but the other character in the card is far more important than a background detail. Can they really afford to lose a friendship or spoil a family relationship just because they are right? To people in both positions, I'd suggest putting down that red Sword, and picking up that nice, peaceful flag, and opening a dialogue. The rewards are well worth the initial appearance of weakness.
Often, though, the card is not about an external situation or an interaction with others. What if this whole stand-off is happening within yourself, about a course of action or deeply embedded in your emotional life? What then?
When people feel the energy of this card at a circumstantial crossroads in their life, I get them to speculate about the different directions they can go. Which one makes them feel most weak and fearful? Simple - take the other road.
When people are not facing a decision, then I read this card as them being at war with themselves. People are unique and individual - there are millions, perhaps billions of different ways people can hate themselves (the left side of the card) or doubt themselves (the right side of the card). The only think such people will have in common with each other is that on a deeper level they will be unhappy no matter how much superficial joy there is in their lives, and they will be uncomfortable in their own skin.
I actually read it fairly similarly. They need to find the inner parts of their life where they have substantial self-doubt, and heal themselves, They have to find parts of their inner world where they have substantial self-loathing, say goodbye to the past, and move on into the future having learnt from their past mistakes what not to continue doing in their lives.
It is always possible to find harmony with others - but someone has to be brave enough to grasp the nettle first. It is always possible to find inner harmony - though sometimes it is very difficult - and again, it is a matter of being brave enough to confront yourself, find what needs to be resolved, and do the necessary work.
The first, last and main thing this card tells me, is that it is time to make peace right now.
