The Tarot of Eli, LLC-Minor Arcana- The Starman Tarot- 10 of Swords & The Thoth Tarot- 10 of Swords-Ruin

#tarotqabalahthothelitarotstrickingly.com

I must evolve.

The Starman Tarot- 10 of Swords, depicts a card that was traditionally a prone body pierced with 10 swords, a brighter version of a decision is made, and there is no going back. As shown with many mythologies, the Great Mother is birther and destroyer, simply because there is no creation that doesn't follow destruction. We can call destruction, transformation, to somewhat lessen the emotional impact; However, the worm is destroyed to create a butterfly. Even the creation of our Universe began with a "Big Bang". This is probably why the background of this card is the face of the Creatrix. The foreground of this card depicts a man pierced by ancient Celtic Swords. However this is not an end, for his Soul or Djinn Splits off of his ruined body, with enough power to shoot lightning from his hands, stopping and destroying the falling swords. All a great artistic metaphor that shows tragedy as the vanguard of a more powerful creation.

When a life throws us a knock out blow, we can't avoid its full force, and there is no time for grief, sorrow and/or regret. We must accept full responsibility for in the instant of this crisis or fall backwards into a tragic and less magic life where the fickle finger of fate keeps poking us in the chest.

In his art, Davide De Angelis calls the black shirted figure, a Genie, which comes from the Arab word Djinn, inside, hidden within each of us, like a magic lamp, is a Genie, but it only shows its magic power to the personality that is curious and worth enough to find them. In each of us is a powerful Spirit, who knows how to create from destruction, a new and more powerful creation, but denial, hides such a one from our "I"s. Hence, our true creative power can remain hidden from us and others, locked deep within the Homo Sapiens Sapiens, a hidden star behind dark clouds of suffering and misery. It is like the Buddha story, where he entered a cross roads and spied a old woman, dressed in rags, sitting head bowed in the dirt, a dirty begging bowl in front of her. She was emitting soft moans and groans, and slowly rocking back and forth, as if her pain wouldn't let her rest. Buddha watched her for sometime and noticed a ox cart driver stop his prodding of the bull and drop a copper into her cracked and dirty bowl. Buddha ask him "What has happened to her?", The cart driver said, " About 3 yrs ago, her child was killed at this very cross roads, as he was run over by an Ox Cart". Buddha turned to her and lifted her up off the ground, grasping her rags and making her look him in the eyes, and said," I suggest that you find someone who hasn't lost a loved one." He then let her go, standing, bewildered, yet no longer moaning. Buddha had opened her eyes to a task, a purpose that was a direct offshoot of her tragedy.

Even little children loose a favored pet, be it a turtle, fish, cat or dog, and the tragedy of that loss is just as real as our losing a loved one or even dying ourselves. Therefore, deep within, hidden by a mask of fear, and sorrow, is our inner Buddha, awaiting the time when we stop blaming, pointing, and insisting, that its "someone else's" or something else's fault that we are knocked down by the unexpected loss and surrender to the power within. Before, we met, had or befriended or even loved them, we were just fine, independent and capable of making way in life, loss hasn't really lessened us in any way. We must thank them for sharing time with us, letting then go,and stand and keep sharing time with others. We are many. None of us has experienced what others haven't. So "If you wish to speak to me, you must stand, for I will not kneel to your weakness", is not only a statement from my mentor when I was a young distraught seeker, but also a statement of the Inner Buddha from our heart to our suffering gut-mind. Tragedy, if often the precursor to powerful change. Where we as Spirit, take over for the wounded body. Where the Djinn within, strides forth and says, "It is about time you surrendered to me, for happiness is a magic Genie within and not found in the outer world of chaotic illusions of "have and have nots".

The Starman Tarot-1- of Swords, represents that sudden shock or jolt which pivots one between full responsibility and drifting off into darkness. Hence, be ready, to choose responsibility and rebirth at that instant. Readiness means practice and preparation. Give up the blame game, a delusion of fearful children, Practice being the Action of response, i.e. responsible. For the Spirit is Action and the body is Reaction; a reaction programmed in by species, media, culture and society. I Am Spirit, the magic Djinn who operates my Avatar body, many die, and from their death, I make more advanced and empowered ones. Call me Spirit or Soul, call me Spook, call me "god", but I Am hidden within you by the delusions of blame, and fear, awaiting a time when you accept action over reaction. I Am Life, alive is what you are.

Ah, the paradox of the swords! This card indicates a new hope, a new direction born out of ruin and despair. The 10 of Swords card represents a mental conclusion, long sought, that has been a mental struggle which has rent asunder our plans and left us in an insomniac’s mental paradigm. One may have reached a conclusion that things are just not going to work out in two areas of their life;

1. Things of the heart (lower half of the image) as shown by the pierced heart
2. And areas of finance as shown by the balance scales at the top of the card.

This realization may cause one to experience a deep fear of "things not Working out" which only insures that they don't.

The Astrological sign of this card is Sun in Gemini. Individuals who have their Sun in Gemini, are very gifted at synchronizing paradoxes, polarities, and/or oppositions. Thus they are able to look at all aspects of a situation, balancing the positive and negative aspects. This facility also can produce a deep heart-felt fear about the issues of finance, relationships, and creative initiative.

With powerful facilities of any kind, we have the Great Creative Pendulum of the Imaginative Mind that can swing from positive motion to negative motion right at the apogee of creative endeavors. When we are powerfully imaginative, we must also exercise powerful digression concentrating our thought on what we are doing rather than what we fear to do, thus avoiding the negative swing right when we can see successful endeavor looming in the near future.

As stated, astrologically this card represents the Sun in Gemini and is the most destructive card in the deck. However; many astrologers state that, “The stars impel, they do not compel." This simply means that we are not slaves to our destiny, but have the inner-spiritual capacity to considerably improve our earthly life. Choices are to be made and a change of perspective is always possible, created out of the dust of fallen dreams.

Qabalistically, 10 of Swords represents Malkuth (Physical World) in Yetzirah (Astral World). The divinatory meaning of this card is ruin, death, failure, disaster. This is more of a death card than the Key 13-Death trump, which is more of a transformational card than a physical death. The reason the 10 of Swords can be more of a death card is that it is the Physical World influencing the Astral; the Astral being the foundation of the physical world where dreams become reality and some of those dreams we most fear are nightmares of ruin. Major arcana are more subjective, and therefore, less objective than the minor cards.

What makes this card so very destructive is not ruin itself, but rather the fear of ruin which doesn't allow us to move-on and therefore, voluntary change our destiny.

The Swords arranged in a Tree of Life format, shows us a break in the connection of "as above so below" which indicates our survival and/or instinctual mind has closed itself off from the Higher Self of Spirit and wallows in its own fantasies of fear. There is destruction of relationships, ruin, death, disaster, complete disruption and failure, maybe even fearfully dancing in the almost gleeful-pain as the irresponsible personality begins laughingly plotting the destruction of happiness in others who it blames for its failures. Not a great card. However, it is also a harbinger of Great Change.

The Angels of the Decan, are Dambayah and Menqal.

The Ten of Swords is Malkuth in Yetzirah, the Astral World. [For more information on angels, see Crowley's books: 777 and Book of Thoth]

To reiterate; for Material things, this is the most destructive card in the deck and most people dislike seeing it in a spread; However, those who know and use the Tarot as an instrument of Divination, understand that as in Astrology, "the stars impel, they do not compel".

Since, by focusing our thoughts, we have the capacity to improve our life-motion, we should do just that, for we are not bound by emotion, they are "emoted" from our minds. We can change the motion of energy (emotion) by changing perspective. Ethically this is no less moral than resigning a position when one sees a work related disaster on the horizon. What moral is broken, when one is told by the cards," That if you walk in the street you will be struck by a motor vehicle", and that person now chooses to walk on the sidewalk instead? Divination helps us make focused choices. We should use the capacities we are given, as we are not Slaves of any destiny outside of our own making. Even the Beginning and the end of things, have been decided by the Soul that operates them. When the soul has experienced what it has chosen to experience in a physical form, it often leaves it to go back into the earth so that the planet won't die.

However, this destiny control, requires us to "Above all things, Know thyself", and to be an Active Personality, Rather than a personality made by environment and/ or a reactionary presence that is controlled by peers, or cultural definitions, which then assures our destiny is that of Ruin, as our performance is always "after the fact".

The 10 of Swords Ruin, implies, the Horse is already out of the barn, and closing the door after blaming the door or the horse, is applying a Band-Aid to a gushing artery, not a solution. Something that our governments are slow to learn.

It's best to focus on what you are thinking, pay attention! For your thoughts create no others, nor their definition, as your thoughts are the operating fulcrum of your Life-Motion, they create your destiny! For a fulcrum to operate efficiently, a rigid base is a necessity. Thus, as in a "personality", which is a mechanism of the Mind, if the mechanical (personality) Fulcrum (thinking) must devote most of its energy trying to hammer out a permanent way of movement (overcome negative thought), while trying to overcome the counter motion of a "wobbling base", i.e. an uncertainty of Self, the outcome for proper performance is bleak indeed. This is the message of the 10 of Swords.

Again, I cannot overstate the necessity for "Above all things, know thyself"! Each of us must understand, that by thinking ill of ourselves or of another, we only supply our body with ill thoughts that confuse our performance and ruin our destiny! However, 10's are notoriously short lived, as they are an end of a cycle, and soon a new cycle begins, So a 10, can also mean, the pain you are going through now is on the mend, especially if you are recovering from a physical or mental injury, where your movement has suffered a "ruin", but by focused perspective, you are aiding your recovery. A 10 is 1+ 0=1, which is the number of Kether, on the Tree of Life, thus a cycle of the Tree ends, and a new one "down the Tree" begins. We are Descended Masters, for we have traveled far across a galaxy, from the Photon Solar Core, to here, a small blue planet on the end of a arm of a spinning galaxy, just so we can be a more condensed experience of Self, of I AM. The Sun acts, while the Earth reacts.

The 10 of Swords card reminds us that with positives comes negatives and when thrown during a divination it indicates:

• The Divinatory meaning of the 10 OF SWORDS is ruin, death, failure, and disaster. Since this card is in MALKUTH (Earth) it is more of a death card than Key 13-DEATH, of the Major Arcana. DEATH, key 13, is more of a situational death, a transformation, whereas, #10 of Swords- Ruin, is a "personal disaster" waiting to happen. When and if this card shows up in the "house and Home" or "Beneath" you position in a Celtic cross reading, go get a thorough physical checkup from your doctor and focus on your physical and mental health. You need a "personality tune-up" and it’s time to pay attention to how you perceive the world.

Also:

• That in the next 10 weeks or 10 months, we will have the capability to experience resolve negative thinking about both finances and things of the heart. Especially our fear of ruin about relationships with Gemini people in our life (May 21 to June 21).
• One will feel fears of things not working, or “I know this is not going to work" and are cautioned not to believe them and just concentrate on what you desire to happen.
• There is a positive here to understand, and that is just when we are about to achieve our goals, great fear of not achieving them shows up. So when that fear is experienced, one may now know it as a positive sign that a little more effort is needed to "get over the hump" towards successful pursuance of your dreams.
• When fear of ruin is seen as a stepping stone, its debilitating effect is greatly reduced and we are almost there; where ever "there" may be.
• Swords reminds us of the conundrum of the mind.... that if you think with great self-power, you can also be powerfully self-destructive. This is the paradox of the Artistic personality.
• Knowing that these moods of creative joy swinging into heart felt fear only means we are a very creative thinker, can help us to avoid being a victim of our own powerful oracle that is imagination.
•  Within 10 days, 10 weeks, or 10 months, choices for a new beginning may be seen, depending on how long we fear or hold on to the past.
• Transcending one’s old patterns, does require a ruin of the past patterns so this card can also represent the realization of ruin if we continue on with the patterns of the past.
• It can also represent ailments of the heart and depending on the cards around it, a visit to your health practitioner is advised.
• It is good to remember, that however much doom our thinking is immersed in, our future is fluid and can change in a moment just by shifting one of our operational patterns. We have the Power of Spirit, which is to identify and transform identity, moment by moment. This card tells us it is time to do so!

There really isn't a reversal nor ill definition of the Ruin card or Starman 10 of Swords, as it is ill defined already. However, if the surrounding cards are all positive, it means Ruin has been avoided by proper personal choices.

Thank you for your interest, comments and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper.