My Inner Focus card today is the Knave of Swords. The image on this card shows a man wearing a helmet, an unbuttoned shirt, a belt under his shirt, and shoes; no pants. There is a sword scabbard attached to his belt, and he holds the sword, point down, leaning on the hilt with his left hand. Behind him is a naked woman; she is looking over his shoulder with her arms wrapped around him, one hand on his upper chest and the other gripping his penis, with his right hand gripping her wrist. Her right leg is wrapped around his right thigh. He is smiling, and her eyes are open wide. In the background is a stairway leading up to a door that appears to go outside. The key phrase for this card is: pleasant surprise but check for misleading information which might hold you back.
My Outer Focus card today is the 5 of Chalices. The image on this card shows a woman sitting on a chair with a man kneeling at her feet. The woman's clothes are in disarray, with her breasts showing. One of her knees is up and the man kneeling before her has one hand cupping her bare heel and the other on her shoe; he looks like he is trying to convince her to allow him to remove the shoe. She has her head turned away from him and her hand up with her palm facing him as if to say stop; her other hand is pulling the bottom of her dress down to hide her pubis. The key phrases for this card are: try new ways of loving, seduction, awakening, and fetishism.
In the Decameron Tarot, the Knave holds the position usually held by the Page. Yes, the word "knave" does have a bit of negative baggage (a knave is seen as a rogue, a scoundrel, or an unreliable or dishonest person; in playing cards the Knave is represented by the Jack, usually imaged as a young prince). I don't see the Knaves of this deck as children, but rather more in keeping with the Jacks of the playing cards. The Knave of Swords, therefore, would be seen as a Prince, someone with authority that he might not be ready for, someone who is still a student even though he has a higher rank than the Knight.
Our Knave of Swords looks like he has a dilemma: this naked woman has wrapped herself around him and he is not sure if he is okay with that. She is holding his penis, and that feels good. But his sword, while the point is grounded, is a reminder of his responsibilities. He has her wrist in his grasp, but his grip is loose, as if he might allow her to continue. I am reminding myself that the suit of Swords has to do with the workings of the mind, and perhaps today I need to be wary of pleasures that distract me from planning for my day. Discipline can certainly be boring, but it is a necessary skill. While the woman in the image on the Knave of Swords is a bit more insistent than the man in the image on the 5 of Chalices, that card also hints at being convinced to do something I believe I shouldn't, but that I am not protesting too strongly. Of course, the seduction of the 5 of Chalices does not appear to be luring the woman to ignore her duties, but ignoring ethics and morals are dangerous, too. However, not being open to trying something new can very often lead to stagnation, not something we want in either the workings of our mind, or in our soul. As always, we need to look before we leap and understand that there are consequences, always.
No comments:
Post a Comment