FREE Tarot Readings

The "Fours" in the Tarot Deck are the cards that begin to define situation and set relevant boundaries. These incorporate order and structure (but not repression of expression or self-discovery).

The theme of the Four of Swords is "taking time out". This could be in the form of time off work (such as a holiday), or simply meditation, or changing focus to other matters for a while.

This card may be interpreted more specifically as "sorrow over intellect" (e.g. in The Complete Illustrated Guide to Tarot, which mentions retreat from pain or struggle in order to rest or heal). Some decks illustrate a church as the setting for this card because to some people a church can represent a place of healing. However, this is not true for everyone and other decks (incl. e.g. the Robin Wood Deck) use similar imagery in an outdoor or more natural setting.

Keywords summarising the possible meanings of this card include:

• Convalescence
• Contemplation
• Meditation
• Recovery
• Rest; A restful (private) place
• Seclusion.

Remember that all of the Swords cards in the Tarot Deck have some energies in common. These include, for example, the overall association of the suit of Swords with academic or philosophical thought, intellectual pursuits, truth, and clarity. For further information, also read about the Suit of Swords in general.

Some texts include meanings for "reversed cards", which apply when the cards are shuffled in both order and orientation. This doubles the number of possible "cards" in the deck from 78 to 156. (In terms of the probabilities of obtaining results by chance alone, it is not a simple doubling as once a card has been drawn it cannot be selected again in the opposite orientation in the same reading.)

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