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tarot of the old path-knight of swords
In the Thoth Tarot, the Knights are the Battle Kings, and the princes are the Sons of the King. Traditional Tarot has always used the Knight as the Prince of the deck. Therefore, the Knight of Swords in traditional tarot, is the Prince of Swords in the Thoth Tarot.
The Tarot of The Old Path- Knight of Swords, is dressed in yellow battle armor, yellow being the color of the element of air. The oak leaves blowing in the wind also support this air imagery and in the language of flowers, oak leaves stand for bravery.
His sword reflects the 4 mystical element colors: Red for fire, blue for water, green for earth and yellow for air.
This knight moves forward with great determination. The circle of chains around his helm implies great mental strength, giving him the mental strength to tackle any of life's problems.
Hence the meaning of this Tarot Cards is about a career minded person who will sacrifice anything to achieve his goals. A young man or person, who is confident of success. One who is bold, fearless, and brave. A defender of all that is good.
Tiphareth-the Sixth Sephiroth and the Four Princes
The Princess are the Son of the Queen and King, thus they are governed by Tiphareth, The Son/Sun of God.
The Princes are activated by the Queen and King, adding to their complexity as they have no motive power of their own. They are a force, but a stable one, as they are being pulled along in their chariots.
The Figures of the Arch Fairies (Elementals) are the Lion, Eagle, Man and Bull. These are the Four Kerubim of Qaballah. They are very ancient symbols for the elements of multiple religious belief systems. Not only appearing as Gods of the Assyrians, the Four Animals in the Old Testament vision of Ezekiel, they also are the four symbols of the Christian Evangelists
In the vastness of Kether, the Primordial Elements radiate into Tiphareth, becoming the united rulers of the elements that are individually expressed in Tiphareth. Anthropomorphically personified, The Princes are the balance of the Four Elements in Tiphareth. Being the most refined aspects of the Solar- Personality, the Four Princes are the Elemental Kings in ourselves.
It should be no surprise then that the princes can be taken in any direction by Divine Will. Thus, the forces of the Prince of Wands may be applied with Justice or cruelty; the unconscious flowing motion of the Prince of Cups may be subtle and artistic; or it may be evil. The rational mental activities of the Prince of Swords may produce ideas that are either creative or destructive and finally, the material qualities of the Prince of Disks may cause growth for good or evil. The Grounding Element for the Princes lessons are the Princesses, who rule the earth from the Northern quadrants.
thoth-prince of swords
The Prince of Swords is also called the Chariot of the Winds, Prince, and emperor of the Sylphs and Sylphides.
Zodiacal, he is the last Decan of Capricorn and the first two Decans of Aquarius.
He is Specific Air of Primal Air. The Element Air is Mind, so this one is like the mind itself, which can love thought alone, and not care what it does. Specific Air is self-consciousness while Primal Air is the Universal Unconscious, the Parent of Consciousness.
The Golden dawn card had two fairies pulling the chariot but in the Thoth Tarot card of the Prince of Swords. These fairies are shown as spheres of light in front of the Chariot, accompanied by three winged children who are pulling it. Implying that, this chariot may be pulled capriciously and/or mischievously in any direction, imitating the Mind itself. Also, there is significant Yesod-Moon symbolism here in that this is a card of Mind, Mind being the birth mother of all form.
In the right hand, the prince is swinging the Sword of invocation and creation and in his left is a sickle which immediately destroys that which is created. With childlike innocence, the Prince of Swords wields his Sword of Geburah. The logical mental processes of the prince has reduced the Air (mind) into geometric symbols that represent no real plan but are demonstrative power of undefined purpose.
The last decan of Capricorn and the first two decans of Aquarius (The Prince of Swords rules the zodiac from the 21st degree of Capricorn to the 20th degree of Aquarius), assigned to this card implies, affection, kindness, and a good heart, as well as a mind divided. The Two halves of one mind are shown as Sword and Sickle.
Once again, the Prince of Swords represents the airy part of Air whose mind is as air and therefore directed by "outside influences" such as the heat of passion and the coolness of pure coldness.
This is the Archetypal personality of the intellectual, pure mind, as such the Prince of Swords is dressed in woven-full armor of definite device. His chariot is composed of geometric ideas. Unharnessed wing children draw this chariot "who are flights of fancy" and may go any-which way they like, as the reins are attached to passing geometric ideas. This is like the knowledge of Euclid expounded upon by an idiot, whose argument takes any twist and turn it wants to, and yet be "rational". Thus, the chariot is easily moved but unable to go in any definite direction---except by accident.
Hence, this Prince represents pure intellect without direction supplied by the Will/Spirit. Nevertheless, the Prince of Swords is crown by a Child's Head, for there is a secret Divinity here that is linked up to Tiphareth (the Son of God), but usually, if this personality thinks in terms of the divine, one believes they are above all others and suffers from the righteousness of a fanatic.
Since the logical process of the Prince of Swords has reduced the Air to many diverse geometric patterns, they reduce the power of creative mind, as they have no definite purpose. This is symbolized by the Sword in his right hand (willingness to create) and in his left hand a sickle, which destroys what he immediately creates. Being that his thoughts require no practical effort, he is purely intellectual, full of ideas that tumble over one another in a mass of ideas unrelated to each other. He has all the apparatus of the Mind, intensely clever, admirably rational, thought in its highest degree, but unstable of purpose as even his own ideas are approached with his indifference. He knows that any idea is as good as another and can rationally persuade an Eskimo into buying a “walk in freezer” even though nature has already provided one! By removing the substance of an idea, he can place every idea into an ideal world of ratiocination....it always looks good on paper no matter how impractical it is to build!
Being that ratiocination is purely formal, even the very facts that promote his ideas are ignored so that his ideas become baseless and unreal.
This person seems immensely powerful because of their unsettled principles which enable them to put forth any argument without regret or remorse; like an insane-used-car salesmen from hell. The Prince of Swords personality is glib to quote scripture, cunningly supporting any thesis without because he supported an opposite thesis earlier in his bombast. He is impossible to defeat because any position is as good as another and ready to enter combination with the nearest element available. He really doesn't care if his or her ideas are detrimental to life, the idea is its own purpose! His/her momentary Vision is more than anything else!
These elusive and elastic people are only of settled mind, if mastered by the Greater Will and Intellect of Spirit as in the 6th Sephiroth on the Tree of Life known as Tiphareth-Beauty, which is the Divine Child in manifestation. The Chaotic nature of Pure Mind, where any thought will do, must be controlled by the Understanding Mother of All form--- as Force for its own sake is utter destruction of all life. Without the Understanding of the Divine Creative and its purpose for life, these personalities become faddists, fundamentalists, fanatics, devotees of drink and drugs, humanists (those who believe that mankind is the center of the universe----all else can cease to exist) and bible thumping theologians. But even in such directions there is no stability, and they wander from cult to cult, vice to vice, supporting fanatical convictions for the sake of whim. It is easy to be deceived by such people as they manifest great potency of thought and are often described as having great depth and breadth of mind. As in all readings, the surrounding cards will show the dignity of this card.
There is, however, a bright light here when Pure Mind aligned with Pure Spirit, ideas can become living image. Pure Spirit does not reside in religion...that chaos of ideas belongs to the idiots that praise God for creating life while their fanatical ideas destroy it all around them. The Purity of Spirit that is Life itself, that resides as the Great Ocean of Mother Creatrix all around, in and through us....AS US! So once again, "above all things know thyself", is necessary here. I Am Love and all around me Love is expressing itself as another way of being. We belong to each other, and not to ideas that separate us from each other. Ideas have no purpose unless applied to the unification of Life---for that is the Great Work of the Spirit-collective. Egocentric Ideas make God in their own image, while God-makes us into its image! Hence, it is obvious, that to know God is to know thyself!
As a person, The Prince of Swords or Knight of Air personality is purely intellectual:
- Overflowing with ideas that tumble over each other in a mass unrelated to practical effort.
- This is a brain that won't quiet itself down long enough to focus well on one thing.
- Intensely clever, admirably rational, with high degrees of thought, yet unstable of purpose.
- There is in this Prince of mind, and indifference to their own thought, as any idea is worth exploring, but not for too long.
- By reducing every thought to ratiocination, this personality has removed all substance from thoughts, making them formal and fantastical, as they no longer relate to any facts; even those upon which the thoughts are individually based.
- Thus, this person is completely free from settled principles and is capable of conceiving and putting out any conceivable argument without the clutter of remorse or regret.
- This is a mind so glib that it can forget the contrary argument it produced minutes before and go sallying forth with a new argument.
- These people often become faddists, cultists and devotees of drink, drugs, theologies, humanitarianism or music and religion, but without stability.
- The querent feels the need to release creative and intuitive thought while cutting through any barrier to this release.
- There is a tendency to think too fast so slowing down the thought process is advised if success is to be achieved.
- The querent is showing the tendency to be overly rational, missing the subtle emotional points that would heed success in communication.
If the querent is able or has achieved the ability to focus their thought, they are committed to acting out their ideals and philosophy in their own lives; not really caring about how others do it, as they put incredible energy into supporting or examining particular beliefs.
- They often present a magnetic personality that is extravagant, careless, and excessive.
- Ruthlessly brilliant, they can have good business judgment. There is a combative nature here that is courageous, turbulent, and skilled in the war of wits.
If ill defined:
- Hastiness.
- Shortsightedness.
- Destructiveness.
Thank you for your interest, comments, and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper.
