Four of Swords

 From the first look, the four of swords has a bit of a somber energy to it. A tomb with three swords above and one on the tomb, and the sculpted figure of the knight laying on top of the tomb, his hands praying upon his chest. Above it is a stained glass window, featuring a scene of someone presenting a holy man with a gift or offering. The tomb room, ostensibly in a church, has a very old world vibe to it and is ultimately indicative of a place of peace and rest. 

Taking a look at the symbolism in the card we notice a few things... first the image on the stained glass window symbolizes a blessing, a gift bestowed. The brightness of the stained glass adds to the vibrancy of the blessing bestowed, often making it one the first things noticed in the card. The tomb and the sculpture of the praying knight both symbolize going inward, solitude, reflection, prayer, some sort of turning inwards to reflect. The knight on the tomb is laying down, indicative of rest, relaxation, letting go of external stimuli.

This card is a call to go inwards and find the peace within to help guide you upon your way. To find resolution to life’s queries, we must first find silence and peace within, knowing that quiet voice of guidance will steer us into the best direction. Too often we get caught up in the loud sounds of our ego, get distracted by it, and end up in peril or at the very least a stickier situation than we bargained for. Are you familiar with the experience of “jumping the gun” and acting on emotion? I think we all have some moments where we aren’t relying on our innate wisdom and instead we let our emotional reaction take over. 

The 4 of swords is reminding us that cooler heads can often prevail, especially if we are taking the time to internally reflect. As we learn to process our emotions, in a healthy way, we find that the answer is often quite obvious, but our loud ego had blocked us from hearing the wisdom of our heart/mind. This card begs the question, “am I thinking things through carefully or am I simply reacting out of emotional overwhelm?” Do not hesitate to reflect on this question alone, when the 4 of swords appears in your reading. 

We all have the ability to respond without reacting or over reacting, only we must cultivate this ability steadily and frequently, for it isn’t something most of us naturally default to. 

One way of helping the gauge our reactivity is to simply focus on our breath. Are we barely breathing? Are our inhales short and rapid? Are we holding our breath? All of these respiratory responses lead to activation of the sympathetic nervous system, AKA fight or flight. I bet you can guess how our emotional reactivity would be in this state.... probably not  very calm. I mean at this level you’re dealing with some reptilian brain wanting to run from the threatening predator energy.... guaranteed highly emotional and somewhat volatile.

In order to access the opposite nervous system response, parasympathetic, we need to take conscious control of our breathing by slowing it down and elongating the exhales. This forces our nervous system to understand the threat is gone and we can start pumping out some feel good chemicals, slow down the heart rate, and eventually allow our mind to relax so we can investigate our situation from a place of present mindful awareness. 

Our mind is inherently powerful and our heart is inherently wise, and when the two work in unison a whole new awareness guides your path of experience. One of quiet contemplation, not unlike that of the entombed man on the 4 of swords.