The Tarot of Eli, LLC- Minor Arcana: The Starman Tarot- 8 of Swords & The Thoth Tarot- 8 of Swords-Interference

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I use what restricts to expand.

The Starman Tarot- 8 of Swords, visually explores the sensation of feeling powerless and weak. This feeling can be all consuming, as we see no possibilities available to us to influence a situation or relationship. As the mummy in the Sarcophagus, we feel bound by the restrictions the emotions and mind imposes, devoid of hope and all choice obfuscated. Here, we are being asked to explore the restrictions in our lives, and ask our spirit how these restrictions can become a catalyst for expansive creativity and directed purpose.

Interestingly, the lady "mummy" isn't desiccated by death, so she is alive and bound using the art of Kimbaku-bi (the beauty of tight binding), the Japanese art of restriction. While also being encased in an Egyptian Sarcophagus and her exit from that also blocked by 3 ancient Celtic Swords, piercing the wood, while outside 4 more swords are stuck in the beach surrounding the Sarcophagus, any one of which, is an interference to her motion. One would think this to be upsetting, yet she seems calm, as if this encasement and binding has forced a conscious surrendering, becoming a trans-formative moment of peace and introspection. The eighth sword, is in the background, off shore and in a leaping fishes mouth. According to Davide De Angelis, the butterflies around and above her head symbolize the trans-formative peacefulness.

Yet oddly and what may seem counter-intuitive, we have the crows or ravens above and on the Sarcophagus, one with a red feather, as if it was the messengers of death and the Egyptian Goddess Maat, who weighs souls against a feather, to see if they are unburdened. Then in the sky, we see some kind of metaphysical UFO's hanging in the air during sunset as if they were jewels of creative intelligence resonating with golden potential. Above them is a blue sky filled with alien calligraphy. Granted, this artistic prerogative, yet death is also a transformation, where spirit releases the body to carry on the organic cycle of transforming life to more life, by death and Spirit then absorbs all that is learned by physical experience, expanding self-awareness and liberating a new personality into manifestation. For Spirit is both "here and there", so one just drops an organic covering, naked to introspection, so that they can make a more advanced fabric of awareness that we call Life.

The crux of the matter is this, feeling trapped by situations and circumstances can force something important to shift. As if releasing a butterfly from the encasement of an cocoon, were a restricted worm has become a liberated and expanded being.

When thrown during a divination, the Starman 8 of Swords implies:

• Explore the realm of restriction and how it frees you.
• The Power of surrender. 
• Freedom is a state of mind.
• Become a catalyst for transformation.

If reversed:

• Staying stuck.
• Too much expansion and not enough structure.
• Trapped in an endless cycle of repetition.

The Thoth 8 of Swords-Interference, is representative of the 8th Sephira -Hod on the Qabalistic Tree of Life, which is called Splendor. Splendor signifies lack of persistence in intellectual and matters of contest. Splendor, is cosmetic and has little depth of character. However, ruling this astrological Decan, is Jupiter in Gemini, thus good fortune may attended even weakened efforts. However, Gemini has its own contest, which is constantly interfering with the Will.

Hence, THE 8 OF SWORDS- Interference, is also called The Lord of Shortened Force. As this card is attributed to Jupiter in Gemini, placing Jupiter's natural expansiveness in determent in Gemini; The Duality of Gemini affects Jupiter's positive energy scattering half one way and half the other.

Here, Hod is in Yetzirah, the Astral World.

The angels of the Decan are, Vemibael and Yehohel.

Because of the desire to go one way than the other, the shortened forces of Jupiter are scattered, erratic and unstable. This is indeed an interference when trying to focus one's consciousness on a goal. Yes it can be an intense and positive beginning, but it soon loses momentum in misdirection.

Crowley illustrates this in his 8 of Swords, as two strong and long main swords, being crossed (as in Crossed-up) by 6 short swords of different designs (scattered thoughts). The shorter swords also imply, shortened force, narrowness and restriction. There is a definite lack of persistence in intellectual matters and of contest. Jupiter's natural good fortune still attends even the weakest of efforts, yet the will is constantly thwarted by interference.

This constant distraction of the intellect is also shown by the 6 crossing Swords between two major Swords signifying too many different thoughts to consider at the same moment and confusing the conscious and unconscious.

The Thoth Deck 8 of Swords, is also in the Suit of Air, which blows wherever it may. All of this contradiction well displays the mental conflict that comes from splendorous displays of intellectual thought. In such a shallow display, the faux intellectual must constantly babble on with gaudy words and hollow concepts that have very little mental "nutrition". This is a common disease of the human brain that prods our personalities on with a shot gun blast of thoughts, scattering our intellectual strength so that our thought is too weak to go the distance. This dysfunction servers the “slave masters” well. Many of us are taught, that to be ignorant or incorrect, is bad and the brain wishes to be good and well liked, so it does everything it can to impress other brains, hoping for a "pat on the back". This tends to "narrow and restrict" the mind, so that all we hear are the echoes of many thoughts rattling around in our tinny head. It is not that such a person is "closed minded" it's just that there is such a cacophony of rapid fire thoughts that the person's brain is closeted in mental noise. Such mental interference often assaults the individual's moments of mental repose; sleeping and meditation becomes a contest between will and brain making both sleep and meditation weak attempts. Here, the "forest can't be seen through the trees".

The aforementioned lack of focus, requires us to add correctional software to our brain's programming; one such correctional software package, is the study of the Gnostic Qabalah where "above all things, know thyself" is the foundation focus of I AM. Rather than, "thy peace is made by the acquiring of more things" which only produces impoverished thoughts based on " I don't have so I must have".( In the study of Yoga, the Sanskrit word for this impoverished thinking is Neti-Neti, which means “Not this-Not that”.) The solution to mental fuzz, is focusing on one thing at a time and to stop seeking happiness as if the accumulation of things will cure this dysfunction. This may sound easy, but requires intense sensual intimacy with love of being and in love of what you are doing. So if you are peeling a banana, focus only on peeling the banana, the best peeling you have ever done until this time. It is really that simple. Just place all your attention on what you are doing, this is a form of meditation and helps control interference.

There is also outside interference attempted by others in what we do or in what we feel to be true about ourselves or achievements. Sometimes even planetary alignments can interfere with your daily balance; However, these can easily be overcome by ignoring the "nay sayer's" and focusing totally on what you are trying to achieve. If planetary forces interfere, such as frequency or gravitational interference, a good Prana Yama breathing meditation will strengthen your magnetic field and thereby, lessening any astrological interference, as well as, strengthen your will to ignore the interference and carry on. This practice will also help us stay focused while in the outside worlds daily noise, being not distracted as we preform excellently.

When the 8 of Swords is thrown during a reading, the querent will or has, experienced:

• · For 8 weeks 8 months or since they were 8 years old, narrow and restrictive thought.
• · Shortened Force and petty thinking.
• · Too much force applied to small things, too much attention to detail, at expense of principal and/or more important points of thought.
• · There is a tenancy to admire wisdom, yet applies it to small and unworthy objects. The querent may experience great ease in some things, counterbalanced by equal disorder in others and is often impulsive.
• · There is a fondness of giving or receiving money, or presents promoting a generosity without a strong feeling of affection.
• The Positive side of this is that change, no matter how resisted, will soon come anyway.
• · The Good Fortune of Jupiter, will show up.
• · Stop wasting time and proceed with change, your scattered efforts will not stop it, only interfere with your wholesome transition. 
• · The mental dissolution or loss of faith in situations or ideas, is a sure sign of progress beyond the old.
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When ill-dignified by the accompanying cards, the above qualities produce:

•  Malice.
•  Pettiness.  
• Domineering qualities.
• Feeling trapped or ashamed, are the beginnings of recognizing the need for change, and moving on ward with your life.
• Experiencing confusion, and a feeling of being trapped, isolated by oppressive ideas.
• A certain amount of fear of change, of moving out of a binding or restricting situation.

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