My Love Affair With the Tarots
The Court Cards: Ways of Courting Power
Page of Swords
How precious is our Page of Swords!... See how delicately he grasps the hilt, and with both hands?
In all the court cards for swords, there is a sense of impending [I want to follow with the natural cliche, “doom”, but shall resist it.] activity. It’s in the clouds, the trees, the birds, the ribbon in his hair being held aloft. Something is going to happen. Again, the reader must compare one card with the others (and I’ll cover each of these in the cards-to-come.
Here, the clouds here are distant and for the most part, separated. You can almost feel the wind, but it is more a westerly wind, with the fragrance of the tropics. The trees are tossed by the wind, but distantly. There is a multitude of birds, but they are together, highflying and distant.
Clearly, we have a Page-in-process. Here, he is beginning his apprenticeship in earnest. He is leaning toward the Squire (remember I opined earlier that Pamela Smith’s and Arthur Waite’s intention for the Page was more an amalgam of the historical Page and Squire. While he has not yet learned the posture of the warrior, this is a real sword he holds so lightly in his hands. It is more like he is practicing his moves as in a ballet. Yet (if you have your…
