The Swords acknowledge the Masculine energy of Air. Swords rule the realms of knowledge, communications, unconventional tact, the truth and the revealing of it. Negatively it can be seen as anxiety, over-thinking, beating yourself up, and manipulation.
Meaning
In a Tarot reading it calls for discrimination, diplomacy, logic over emotions and stresses the need to communicate. They often come up when you feel anxious about a situation, and why you would be on the edge of glory in the form of a spiritual break through, or discovery of a hidden truth. The biggest lesson to learn from this Suit is to be careful with your swords, or they may be held against you.
[get it? Swords is just words with an S?]
The best word you can use to describe the swords is anxieties. Strife, the power of thoughts and words. The Swords remind us that quarrels of our minds can be overthrown with logic and communication. These are situations we should approach with diplomacy as opposed to force.
Psychological
While negative in nature, they can indicate to us the qualities in life that make us miserable and how to avoid them. It opens the opportunity to question why you feel this way and at what cost. Normally, the nightmares of this card are partially self-inflicted but there are indications that deception and manipulation that can’t be done alone. Not everyone has good intentions, and without this Suit we’d never know if trouble was on the horizon.
Misery
When the Major Arcana cards The Fool, The Magician, The Lovers, Justice and The Star show up in a reading the influence of the swords are amplified. Whatever is plaguing you could seem like a terminal illness when misery is a curable disease. All it takes, is flipping on a light.
Searching for meaning
Intellectual pursuits, the search for a broader truth. Swords symbolize the journey of the human psyche, and the ailments that plague it. As the cards progress, you can see different mental afflictions, including the stages of Grief.
Mental Struggle
If you see many cards from the suit of swords in your reading, it can show a battle of the mind. That everything you are thinking, and feeling is all in your head, you are avoiding reality. It can mean you are living in your mind. It can also say that you are in control of your own reality in a way. Our thoughts can translate directly into reality and make even blessings seem like a horrible catastrophe.
Advice
The easiest way to deal with the swords is to look at situations logically. There are logical solutions to every problem; we must look at these problems are obstacles as opposed to catastrophe. While heart break and sorrow are just unpleasant facts, they do not have to be ever present.
Do not be afraid to face the truth. In the end, you control your actions and reactions. Shock the world, and yourself by having the logical and unexpected solutions to complex problems. This battle is one of your own, but you do not have to do it alone.
