TAROTFour of Swords
Upright
A time for relaxation or recuperation for future events.
Rest after fighting the good fight.
A period of peace after a time of conflict or hard effort.
A time spent away from your problems so you can identify them without becoming emotionally attached.
Intuition
This is a difficult card to read when the reading is for someone else. It can mean an emotional problem is reaching a period of peace... or is about to blow up!
There is a need to tease out a rather delicate past before you can move on with the future.
Reversed
Charging ahead without pause to rest.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Failing to pause after a period of high activity or emotional stress.
Causing stress and discomfort by concentrating on your goals at the expense of everything else.
Astrologia
Growth and abundance in relationships. A time to recuperate. Diplomacy with compassion. Increase in knowledge and general prosperity. Can occasionally prioritize a veneer of harmony over deeper problems; a bandage misapplied to emotional wounds.
Four of Swords
After the difficult decisions and emotional upsets of the Two and Three of Swords there is a need for calm contemplation, recuperation and regeneration. Other might think you have gone to sleep or even died but you are still hanging in there, and getting the energy and a plan together to start moving forward again.
There is a need for calm contemplation, recuperation and regeneration.
The Four of Swords shows a fallen warrior. He has done his duty defending against difficult odds but has fallen or become seriously injured.
An army with such casualties would pause to regroup and refuel, because moving forward would mean a much harder battle ahead and probably complete defeat. Yet people will continue to attempt advancement when the battlefield is their personal life!
This card suggests that like any sensible general, it is often better to wait, plan, refocus and replenish.
The fallen warrior
The fallen warrior on the card is not any specific figure but the shield suggests he is Spartan.
Description and Symbology
We see a fallen warrior in a darkened room, still wearing his armor and with his helmet on his chest. It is not clear if he has died or is resting and recuperating.
There are three swords on the wall suggestive of the mental effort used to get here.
The final sword lies near him. It is the sword he used in his last battle and symbolizes his focus and mental energy during this battle. It can also suggest that he was overwhelmed and without support or moved too far ahead, as the other swords sit away from this one.
At the top of the card we see a window through which light floods in. This symbolizes the world outside and the future. It can also represent redemption, a divine blessing, or final peace and the path the soul of the dying warrior will take.
The fallen warrior
The fallen warrior lies either lifeless or recuperating after a fierce battle. In either case the strength has now gone from him. He lies in a darkened and quiet room. If he was fighting for peace he now has it. Perhaps not the way he intended.
The three swords
Three of the swords are placed on a wall behind the warrior. They represent the mental energy he used to get to his last battle. That there are three of the four swords in this position suggests that it was a difficult and arduous task.
The remaining sword
The remaining sword lies by the warrior, suggesting it is what he used in his final battle. This is numerically less than the other three swords, suggesting he failed because he had already expended most of his mental energy and had very little left to give during the battle.
The window
The light from the window symbolizes the world outside aka the future. It can also represent redemption or a blessing from the divine, or final peace.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
You are emotionally drained by an unresolved argument or situation within the relationship.
To quell the high emotions will be difficult but distance or time apart will work well.
If that is not possible, you will need to attempt the harder task of removing the emotional you from the equation and stop adding fuel to any fires
You have moved past a recent emotionally draining part of your relationship and depending on whether you have defused the situation or let it boil over, will soon either start a period of calm and emotional separation whilst you repair or move on, or have done nothing and the problem will soon get worse, ending in separation or much more emotional turmoil.
Whatever the path taken the card strongly suggests making decisions with your head and not your heart.
Pressures and deadlines at work, poor decision making or issues with personalities are causing a stressful situation.
It is time to take a break from career. If that is not possible then you will need to create a clear barrier between work and life, and spend time doing things that reduce the stress in the life part.
An emotionally draining part of your career started some time ago and will soon complete in either your taking a break or moving on, or the problems have not been addressed and getting worse.
In either case you should consider what you really want for your career and do so with a rational mindset rather than continue to take part in a blame-game or taking sides.
There is no other way to say it - you need a break! Time to recuperate and time away from whatever is currently causing you stress and emotional situations.
Whatever you do though, be honest with what it causing the problem and make sure it doesn’t find its way into your break. So turn of that phone, go alone if you have to, and enjoy the quiet pleasures to get back to the real you.
Problems in other parts of your life will either be resolved or reach an emotional conclusion soon, depending on how they were addressed. Either you have set in place steps to successfully emotionally disconnect and reappraise, or the problems will soon reach a climax.
Whatever the route the important thing is to reduce stress and emotion by leading with your head not your heart.
Stresses caused by career, relationships or something else have left you out of shape and now is the time to take some time out. A more important task during that break is to emotionally detach yourself from the emotions and consider real goals. What do you really want out of life and is the current path working? What needs to change? These are difficult questions and will need some time to think through.
The final part of an emotional drama in other parts of your life will now reach its conclusion. Either there will be a period of peace or the final episode of the drama, packed full of emotion.
Whichever happens, remember to take a longer view. What do you really want and who do you want to be with you when the dust settles?
Although this card is not specifically about finances and money, it can have an effect if you get the order wrong!
The card points to emotional issues that you need to step away from and consider away from their grip and with a clear-headed, non-emotional mindset. Once you have gone through that it may then be a good time to look at finances. If money is the root of the emotional problems then you will need to get the emotions out of it before you start fixing it. Money and emotion rarely mix well!
This card is not specifically about finances, but an emotional roller-coaster you have been riding will soon end. This will be either via a period of calm or a final emotionally charged break-up.
It is best to pause any financial plans until this plays itself out.
If that is not possible (i.e. money is the cause of the emotions!), a level headed and rational approach will work best.
Yes. A time to put your life in order.
Indeterminate. Best to wait until a current emotional situation plays out before committing to anything new.
Reading the Card
The upright card
The upright Four of Swords warns against burning out or spending so much time on one area of your life that you make yourself ill. You may also be causing other areas of your life suffer or you may be inadvertently ignoring other important things in your life.
The card suggests taking some time out to take time out of your daily routine and think about what works for you in the long term.
The card also asks you to consider stepping out of long running emotional situations, environments or people in your life by making some distance and then assessing them dispassionately.
More than anything the card asks you to decide what is actually important to you. It is fine to kill yourself for something you believe in, but don’t martyr yourself so someone else can tick off a to-do on their list rather than yours.
The reversal
The reversed Four of Swords signifies the result of the upright card. Either:
- You have (or will soon) take heed of the need to take time out from a grueling task or relationship and have stepped back from the emotional problems for some clear thinking. You have chosen the correct path, and now the recuperation can begin.
- You have not (or soon will not) take heed of the same need. You are already emotionally exhausted and your decision will cause you to burn out.
Card Design Process
The main task of this card was to create something in keeping with the rest of the deck. Instead of a knight from the middle ages we have a fallen Spartan.
Final Words
The Four of Wands is concerned with the ending of an emotional period in your life. Either it will end in a period of separation from the emotionally charged situation and allow recuperation or moving on, or the problems will reach a final and emotionally charged ending.
Either way, the card suggests leading with your intellect and not your emotions. Your emotions may have got you into the situation and now your rational mind needs to make plans for the future.
