A lithe, active figure holds a sword upright in both hands, while
in the act of swift walking. He is passing over rugged land, and
about his way the clouds are collected wildly. He is alert and lithe,
looking this way and that, as if an expected enemy might appear at
any moment.--A.E. Waite
The Page of Swords asks you to embrace a difficult situation
and meet its challenge. . . . In meeting these challenges, you are
encouraged to use the tools of the Swords suit - honesty, reason,
integrity, and fortitude. . . . This Page suggests that a problem or
dilemma may come your way that will really be an opportunity for
growth. . . . The Page of Swords can stand for a child or
"young-at-heart" adult whose relationship to you at present involves
issues of a Swords nature. Some examples might be truthfulness,
ethical behavior, discouragement or matters of the mind. This
relationship is also likely to be troubled or difficult in some way
in keeping with the challenges of the Swords suit.
The Page of Swords can also represent a mood of intellectual
stimulation and excitement. Children are playful and spontaneous, and
as a child, the Page of Swords encourages you to have fun with mental
activities of all kinds - learning, exploring, and researching. Relax
and enjoy the world of thought your mind can open to you.--Joan
Bunning
The princess of swords lives by her ideas and principles. She is a
"stirrer-upper," an iconoclast. She may not have suffered enough in
life to be merciful or tolerant of her elders' little weaknesses and
hypocrisies. If dumb complacency sets in, the princess will be the
one to uproot it. If there is a cause, the princess will be the
firebrand at the lead, or the conspirator behind the scenes.
Because the princess expresses herself in action rather than words,
she is a silent type. Her nature tends to draw secrets from people.
In friendship, she is a reliable confidant; otherwise, she is an
excellent spy or agent provocateur.--Jean Huets
The Princess of Swords represents a fresh intellectual clarity which
shakes everything up. She has just demolished the old altar, which
explodes, sending clouds of smoke, rubble and ash into the air. When
intellectual and spiritual renewal meet the element earth, the altars
of old ideals are destroyed, and the smoke will soon settle, leaving
room for clarity.
Every change, every inner conflict you experience sends smoke and ash
(emotions and moods) flying into the air. But the Princess of Swords
does not allow the dust, caused by the destruction of the old and
useless, to cloud the clarity of her vision! She uses her sword to
sweep away moods and disruptive thoughts which arise. She is resolute
and aggressive, dealing well with practical issues, particularly when
they include contradictory paradoxical elements.
The Princess of Swords represents an extremely rebellious person who
is not to be intimidated either by the established or the sanctified.
Because she rebels in the name of clarity, openness and truth, she is
prepared to destroy anything repressive, anything which prevents a
full experience life, including all moral codes. Her "no" to
repression is rooted in a deep "yes" to herself and existence. We can
compare her actions to Jesus' throwing the moneylenders out of the
temple.--Gerd Ziegler
The Princess of Swords represents the earthy part of Air, the
fixation of the volatile. She brings about the materialization of
Idea. She represents the influence of Heaven upon Earth. She partakes
of the characteristics of Minerva and Artemis, and there is some
suggestion of the Valkyrie. She represents to some extent the anger
of the Gods, and she appears helmed, with serpent-haired Medusa for
her crest. She stands in front of a barren altar as if to avenge its
profanation, and she stabs downward with her sword. The heaven and
the clouds, which are her home, seem angry.
The character of the Princess is stern and revengeful. Her logic is
destructive. She is firm and aggressive, with great practical wisdom
and subtlety in material things. She shews great cleverness and
dexterity in the management of practical affairs, especially where
they are of a controversial nature. She is very adroit in the
settlement of controversies.
If ill-dignified, all these qualities are dispersed; she becomes
incoherent, and all her gifts tend to combine to form a species of
low cunning whose object is unworthy of the means.--Aleister
Crowley
The Page of Bats is a spy, and a Halloween mystery is brewing, as
storm clouds and bats hover in warning. Undaunted by challenge and
eager to prove herself, the intuitive Page sets forth across the
rough terrain fully equipped with the necessary spy gear in her bag,
and even a pair of X-ray spectacles in her hand.
Driven by her desire to discover the truth, whatever it may be, she
is agile, perceptive, careful, and discreet . . . and not afraid to
use her X-ray spectacles to see through any mystery at hand. If you
have something to hide, you may want to get out of her way. If the
Page of Bats is you, more power to you!--Karin Lee
As the earthy part of air, the Princess of Swords is the symbol of
earthy, practical learning and the skills that have developed in us
through our evolution from the earth.
We learn the ways of the past as children at our parents' feet; as we
grow and see how they do things we often find ourselves imitating
their ways. In this woman's culture, traditions arise directly from
her natural environment. Many times, however, we face new challenges
and new problems that our parents never had to face, and we have no
tradition to guide us. We then use the amazing adaptive power of the
mind and our practical, common sense to guide us.
. . .
When the Princess of Swords appears in your reading, it may indicate
a conflict posed by the struggle between tradition and invention. You
may want to take a new and individual path, but the patterns of your
past are holding you back. This card speaks of the struggle within us
for courage to take the future into our hands and to step onto the
road with the tools we need, tools from both past and present, to
change the outcome of history in any small way that we
can.--Alexandra Genetti
For sources, see the
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