In the RWS deck the two of swords depicts a blindfolded woman. She is dressed in white. She is seated on a grey bench and is holding two swords with her arms criss-cross on her chest. The swords are balanced, neither one higher or lower than the other. Behind her is the sea or a body of water with rocky outcroppings and what appears to be an island or higher ground meeting the sky. The waning moon appears in the upper right of the card. Swords are about air, power, strength, thoughts and intellect. Additional keywords include choice, decision, ideas, belief, action.
If the two of swords turns up in a daily draw for you it may mean you are facing a decision. The two of swords suggests objectivity can be a help or a hindrance. Balance is part of the issue. The two of swords, in part is about wanting to make a choice that is objective but also comfortably resides within each person’s vision, daily life and understanding of self. It also suggests that there is a struggle between wanting to change and actualizing change in your life. You may struggle to make a decision as you can see so many possibilities that the idea of choosing one leaves you overwhelmed. Choosing one option fills you with thoughts of regret, or worry as to whether or not you are choosing the one you need to.
Can you access both head and heart? Can you trust your intuition? What are the long and short-term outcomes of each choice? Have you ever made a choice that you wholeheartedly embraced? One that you were only half sure of? Is it OK with you that there may be some sort of ambiguity around every choice we make? What experiences are you hoping for? What do you want to avoid?
Although it seems as though some choices are particularly overwhelming or difficult, one can be “blindfolded” and still use the power of the sword (intellect) to think things through. No one can see all the outcomes with complete clarity. Circumstances, timing, and random events may impact what we choose.
I’ve wondered if the craggy places in the picture are where the mind stops to ponder. Are they representative of a stone in the path? What happens when we encounter the stone in the path? Do we step over it? Around it? Walk right ahead without worrying about whether we’ll trip or stumble? What are the pitfalls of each decision? How much time is the decision worth? Are you a person who labors over each and every decision? Are you one who just slices through the details and moves forward without much thought? Not advocating for one way or another. Merely observing that each of us has a style for working through decisions. Knowing what yours is can help you either take some decisions more seriously or lighten up.
When making a difficult decision I find the image of tossing stones across a pond helpful. Thought of as a ripple effect, can you consider each choice you might make as tossing a stone? What are some of the possible ripples that might appear? We give ourselves the power of the sword in thinking this way. Each ripple allows us to consider the consequences of a choice. How far out can we consider the choice?
Sometimes the idea of not having a grip on the possible consequences causes a sort of situational inertia regarding making a choice. Thinking before acting is the power of using and choosing wisely. What decisions are you facing? What helps you choose?
SpiritnSoul 