4 swords 78 doors meaning. Four of Swords Card at a Deeper Level

Imprisonment
Tomb
Rest after a battle (and before a new battle)
"The knight takes a breath and asks God for help"
Truce
Reflection
Inner Knowledge
Astrological equivalents: Cancer, Moon, Mars, Jupiter in Libra,
Saturn in the 5th house as a symbol of a break in creativity or in the 6th house as a symbol of illness, also Saturn in the 12th house.
Mystery of the IV or XII house, monastery of the spirit, partly VII house
Requiem (Rest)

General value in the layout

This card signals a time-out like a referee on the field. Her main message is the pointlessness of fighting at the moment. Forcing events or confronting other people is now not only inappropriate, but also practically impossible. All attempts to dramatically change the existing order of things will lead to nothing. This card always involves a delay.
The Four of Swords is a card of peace and detachment; it absolutely excludes vanity. Its main meanings are solitude and isolation, exile and retreat, respite and temporary care. There is no progress in business. Her main advice is to use this time to rest, reflect on recent situations, regain strength and health, and plan more wisely for the future. This card responds extremely accurately to a state of incapacity - in a wide variety of meanings and manifestations, from subtly psychological to completely medical cases.
The Four of Swords is considered to be, if not “bad,” then “not particularly good” card. The reason for such an assessment is most likely that the consciousness of Western man is generally very vain, the state of inaction and contemplation is alien to him and has a depressing effect on him - what kind of prostration is this? Our consciousness as a whole is focused on more or less productive activity, circulation in the flow of events and activities, accelerating the progress of things, it constantly requires some kind of “action”, like a squirrel in a wheel.
Each Arcana brings its own experience and its own lesson. In this case, it is the experience of a squirrel that has fallen out of a wheel (sometimes literally into sediment). For most people, this is displeasure and shock, and only in rare cases is this card rejoiced as an opportunity to detach, collect thoughts, be alone with oneself and take a breath. This is a precious respite, a much-needed time-out now, a granted refuge from the hustle and bustle, even if the person himself painfully experiences them as an exile, what is called retreat. But those who find themselves in the midst of hard work usually perceive the Four of Swords as manna from heaven. It is not for nothing that in the old days this card was called “the small mercy of Swords” - they are at rest. This is planning actions in hermitic solitude, preparing consciousness for a new round.
The Four of Swords is a card of stagnation, interrupted activity and forced rest. In this meaning, it resembles the Hanged Man card, but its difference from it is that it is associated with specific events: the obstacles or difficulties pointed out by the Four are usually simple and understandable, and overcoming them does not require us to overturn all the foundations of life. This position is akin to illness, which is also one of the meanings of the card. We are forced to interrupt our active activities and take a break. Whether we suffer or try to use this pause to sort ourselves out depends only on us. At the same time, it is clear that we can use a pause to work on ourselves, but we would hardly arrange it for ourselves of our own free will.
The Four of Swords is neither a passing nor a random card. This is always a strong sign. Often it falls out after a period of confusion and stress, when a person simply needs to “comb his hair,” rest, recharge, take care of himself (and ideally, go on vacation). It is timely departure from the field that allows one to return to it, and the Four of Swords makes it clear that what is most needed now is solitude and calm. But for a person, this state often turns out to be unplanned, and therefore is perceived as an annoying dependence on circumstances.
The card says that since there is nothing in the outside world now that would be worth the efforts of the questioner, it makes sense to wisely use this period for internal integration and restoration. The surrounding maps will also give a lot of information about what preceded it and what will follow.
According to the Four of Swords, there is confident thinking, planning of future actions with external passivity, in more rare cases - a couple of sleepless nights over some project, when others disappear “from the radar screens”. Sometimes the card indicates that the questioner is faced with some kind of problem that he will have to think carefully about, using all his mind and life experience.
Traditional meanings of the Four of Swords are exile, imprisonment, exile, also refuge, refuge.

Personal state

Meditative and inert. Perhaps the person is simply sick or tired, and therefore lay low. But it can also be calmness, useful reflections alone, a creative break. “Productive exile”, which becomes a period of recuperation and preparatory work for the future, deep thinking through issues.
The Four of Swords person may seem constrained and awkward, alienated and depressed, exhausted and weakened, he is characterized by physical and emotional isolation, the need to protect himself from the outside world.
Abstraction from problems and vanity, avoidance of corresponding emotions, return to oneself (especially in conjunction with the Hermit). Contemplation, solitude, restoration of internal balance. Meditation (its forms can be very diverse), relaxation, spiritual practices. In this card, a person moves away from pain and struggle to rest and heal. Like all Fours, it carries an impulse to stabilize and stop. The Four is preceded by the bitter Three of Swords, so most likely this is a recovery from a fair amount of stress, pain, fear, confusion, something that has exhausted the soul and body.
This card has a special relationship to churches and temples. It can describe the state of a person seeking redemption, forgiveness, communion, sincerely repenting, pondering his past life and developing a main line for the future. This card “loves” people who have battle incarnations in their karmic assets and who now live an emphatically quiet life, with an emphasis on the water trine of houses in the horoscope. In this regard, the images of the Waite deck are striking in their “hits”. The wave, on the crest of which the soul had once been, subsided, and for a time he was left without strength and without an active desire for a goal. It is characteristic that the halo of Jesus on the stained glass window, under which the knight rests, contains the word PAX - rest, peace. Yet Pax is not Requiem aeternam. This is rest, not death. This is the mystery of forced peace in solitude, self-knowledge and renewal through silent inner suffering. Temporary sleep of the once restless soul, latent period (“sleeping beauty”).
I can’t help but remember Anuka’s words at Peggy Guggenheim’s grave in Venice: “Here rests Peggy Guggenheim... Yeah, rests... Knowing her, he’ll rest and still give everyone a hard time!” This is the mystery of the Four of Swords.

Four of Swords Card at a Deeper Level

This is one of the cards that shows that internal state of consciousness when the “sword” of various activities has been waved - it’s time to think about the soul. In astrology this is the 12th house. According to the XII house, a person contemplates and comprehends past experience and his place in the world, and his external activity is noticeably limited so that nothing distracts him from this vital activity.
He is given a place and time to be alone with himself, to see the true essence of past situations and to prepare for future events and experiences. The XII house is a place of healing old wounds, atonement for karmic debts and atonement for karmic crimes (it is not for nothing that the previous Arcanum is the Three of Swords, the Lord of Pain caused to us or caused by us). This imprisonment can be internal, spiritual, or maybe external - the Four of Swords is one of the strongest indicators of hospitalization and imprisonment.
Well, Prison, Hospital, Monastery - this is exactly how the XII house is described in ancient astrology. A forced long pause, “imprisonment”, a monastery of the spirit - you won’t leave until you pray. The higher forces “put it down” for the sake of peace, tranquility, restoration and purification of consciousness, in order to prepare for a new chapter of life. The symbolism of the Arcana is often perceived quite negatively; a person makes unsuccessful attempts to “open the ring”, “break free”, but that was not the case.
The true obstacles are inside, external circumstances are only a reflection of this. Both the Four of Swords and the XII house symbolize a powerfully protected magical space. It is not for nothing that it was given to a person from above, and it is not for nothing that it is so well protected - the soul goes through the science of its own suffering here, it is a tomb and a cradle at the same time, a place of accumulation, concentration and transformation, a very important transformation must take place in this enclosed space.
Let us remember the previous Secret - this is the Three of Swords. In the Four, relief from suffering occurs, grief heals itself, cosmic consciousness concentrates on the main problem of the individual, the main pain. It is this that locks a person in order to avoid premature defeat (and the ego can be indignant and protest). Whether we accept the lesson of the Four of Swords in full or insist on early release will determine what our role will be in the next Arcana - the Five of Swords. Will we be the one who wins the coming battle because we have gained spiritual maturity and strength, or the one who is defeated due to the unpreparedness and recklessness with which we hastened to get involved in a new fight (or drama).
On the Arcana we see a knight lying on a gravestone with his hands folded in prayer. The three swords above him correspond to the fourth, fifth and sixth chakras - in accordance with Masonic tradition, their points point to the head, throat and heart, which correspond to the places where the builder of Solomon's Temple, Hiram Abiff, was wounded. These three chakras also correspond to those mentioned in the traditional formula of repentance for sins: cogito, verbo et opere (“in thought, word and deed”). Jupiter in Libra teaches mercy and justice, harmony and impartiality in assessing current events, in a word, everything that our hero lacked so much in the past.
On a metaphysical level, the Four of Swords symbolizes constructive action, and not at all inaction. The hermit, locked in his cell and immersed in introspection and prayer, is not at all idle - he is very busy. By the way, we all know very well that in a state of intense internal busyness (focus on some thought or feeling), external busyness is unproductive - everything literally falls out of hand. This is “work in the hour of rest” - an internal search in the silence of the cell. The symbolism of the card is such that the attention of the person lying is drawn to three swords (spiritual, divine: they can also be interpreted as the “Three of Swords” - suffering experienced or caused in the past, perceived mistakes), and the fourth sword (earthly force) remains inactive.
In the space of the Four of Swords, a person passes some kind of exam to himself. At the level of Mercury, the stabilizing Four of Swords contains the entire pattern of the cause-and-effect structure of the world. Everything is conditioned by thought. The same causes have the same consequences. The card indicates a connection with an internal mentor, a guide (one of the roles of Mercury is a psychopomp, “guide of souls”), mediumship, access to some important energy-information channels. This is a retreat, a “planet in exile,” the need to reason, work through, and plan. This imprisonment must be used to come to one’s senses, analyze the experience and enter a new phase without repeating previous mistakes.
It is believed that the card corresponds to the third decade of Libra, which most fully represents the Libra idea of partnership - the idea of harmony in human relationships as an analogue of higher laws. This decade is characterized by the concepts of justice, goodness and morality, as well as calm optimism, a sense of humor and an attentive attitude towards people. This decade is ruled by Jupiter, who bestows those born in this decade not only with the above-mentioned advantages, but also with agreement (the case when only social norms serve as the criterion for judgment and the principle “as above, so below” is taken too literally).
This decade is also inclined to see only the highest harmony in the world, often turning a blind eye to the fact that the truth has not yet come to the world, and in order for it to become truly humane, one must work hard. Representatives of this decade, in order not to become a traitor to their own ideals, need to listen more often to the inner voice of their own conscience, but in order not to repeat the path of Don Quixote, they must specifically comprehend the implementation of their ideals. After an unsuccessful attempt to reach the number Three at the level of matter and, having “landed”, or more precisely, slammed onto the ground, the Force (understood metaphysically) finds an acceptable compromise in the form of a reliable and practical Four.
It is, of course, limited, but at the moment this does not really matter, since we are talking about a temporary respite before a new throw. At the level of the Four of Swords, a kind of rest occurs, a healing after the struggle of delusions associated with the Three of Swords. The ideal, of course, has not been achieved, God could not be brought to Earth, but the idol has already been sculptured, and the primary sympathetic connection between the deity and his earthly reflection has already been established. This is a moment of centering, clarity, spiritual cleansing, restoring balance.

Advice: don't bother, don't worry, calm down, lie low. Take care of yourself, stop and regain your balance. Give yourself a rest. Critically reconsider your goals and plans, weigh your strengths again. Refuse from active and disorderly actions, from spending any resources - monetary, nervous, and so on. Now more than ever, prudence, caution, and savings are needed. It is useful to conduct self-reflection to heal emotional wounds. The tranquility and hermitic period of life are shown. “Taste the silence,” take time for a break, and finally get some sleep. At the right time everything will happen by itself.
Warning: It's not time to sleep! Delay is like death. Sitting (lying) with folded arms will impoverish life to the point of indecency. At the same time, the card may indicate the need to pay close attention to your health in order to avoid serious problems in the near future.

Professional situation

A break in business, a time out. Calm. Vacation. Retirement or resignation. Temporary refusal to fight for a place in the sun. Trying to speed things up and break through anything is useless. This card is a clear indication to freeze plans, refrain from starting new things and projects, and leave everything as it is. In modern tarology, two peculiar negative meanings are attributed to this card. The first is economic crimes (embezzlement, theft). The second is the lack of a real risk assessment when planning projects, underestimation of economic aspects, and financial losses due to ill-conceived decisions. If the question being asked is in any way related to this, they can be taken into account.
Exhaustion, professional burnout.
With external inaction, the card may indicate a period of intense internal work and careful planning, night vigils and reflection. To think through the situation and plan future actions, you need calm and solitude, a temporary refusal to participate in the race. Taking a philosophical position in relation to the enemy is coolness, refusal to fight, use force, self-isolation from some situation. Rest, wait, take a sober look at things, refuse “bloody interactions”, and take initiative when you are powerless to influence anything at the moment. On the one hand, this is undoubtedly exhaustion and resignation, expulsion and retreat, recognition of a fiasco and inability to control the situation. On the other hand, this may be a completely conscious position of non-interference and neutrality.
This card resembles a revolutionary in exile. Lenin in Shushenskoye. "We'll take a different route." What was done before was not entirely effective; if you go the same way again, you will find yourself in the same situation again. But careful planning will provide benefits in the future. This is work whose results may come later. But “Shushenskoye” still needs to be met - the meaning of the card may also manifest itself as expulsion, failure.
Forced stop of the project for the sake of accumulating resources (in this sense, the Four of Swords should not be confused with the Ten of Swords - this is not the end). Stuck case.
This is a situation of inaction, inertia, forced to sit with folded hands, no dynamics. On the other hand, this is recovery from clearly unhealthy behavior and the leitmotif of this change is economy of energy and caution. The card clearly indicates the need for a recovery period after the situation that has just passed (symbolically - the Three of Swords). This time should be used to think things through and develop a wiser approach. The map also contains a warning: do not expect a return to previous heights - they turned out to be not very good. If you strive for the same thing again, you risk once again finding yourself in the same unpleasant situation, and even worse (Five of Swords).
Sometimes the card indicates working alone, self-employment, and often night work (mostly passive, such as being on duty).
It is often an indicator of unemployment and may indicate receiving help from employment consultants, lawyers, etc., especially when surrounded by corresponding cards.
At the same time, it is believed that the card indicates those types of work and business that rely on accurate calculations and require good technical, mathematical or economic abilities (for example, bookkeeping and accounting).

Financial and housing situation

Detachment from problems related to money and property. The card is especially indicative if it is known that the person has financial responsibility. Waiting for better times, freezing during a crisis. Material losses.
At the same time, the card is often credited with good economic thinking and the ability to make correct, informed decisions after careful analysis. Among its meanings there are such as: great knowledge concerning material issues and the ability to use them to increase wealth; using accumulated experience to improve the financial situation; the ability to manage one’s property, correct calculations, realistic assessment of profits and losses, prudence and foresight, economical actions; a decision made after careful analysis of available information.

Personal relationships

This is a card of temporary loneliness, temporary detachment and temporary hermitage. These are temporary phenomena, but as a rule they are very long-lasting, and you should not expect them to end soon. The card can describe three qualitatively different states: 1) voluntary stay in one’s personal space, a time-out that a person took himself to put himself in order; 2) forced isolation, when he objectively lacks the ability to change anything; 3) internal confinement, for which a person cannot find an explanation; it is as if he is fenced off from the world by a glass wall, which he is quite tired of, but for some reason it turns out to be impossible to break through, and at this stage such is the will of karma.
And karma, as we know, is rooted in the past deeds of the soul. Sometimes the card indicates that the past has very great power over a person (and we can talk about both the events and attachments of this life, and about more distant times and connections). He professes solitude and refrains from building relationships because he resides there, and the ghosts of past feelings visit his soul like guests on Solaris. Sometimes this is the coldness of “got burned by milk” - a person is paralyzed by his fears caused by past difficulties in relationships, disappointments, pain, betrayal (as a rule, this requires some additional indications in the layout, and the Devil, the Tower, the Five of Cups are certainly indicative, Three and Five of Swords).
He gave up, abandoned his feelings, “buried himself alive.”
But he didn't die, and he shouldn't have said never. It's not forever, even if it's for a long time. This is exhaustion from stress, failures, quarrels with a partner. At the same time, the Four of Swords makes it possible, after a breakup, to more calmly evaluate the relationship and the decisions made then. The Four of Swords gives time to think and warns: until a person analyzes and rethinks his past actions, the future will remain “under lock and key” for him.
Through the Four of Swords, in silence and outer silence, the restoration of the tormented soul takes place, the healing of wounds by the almighty healer - Time. However, other healers can also help - for example, an intelligent psychotherapist. Being alone, a person rebuilds. He will build relationships differently when the time comes for this. Banzhaf writes, “This period of turning inward can lead to a beautiful, peaceful union, to the formation of a space in which both partners have the opportunity to express their feelings.” This pause in personal life, during which nothing happens, is essentially heart surgery under anesthesia, followed by recovery, the realization of a certain lesson.
Lack of sex, refractory period, inexcitability, exhaustion. “Nothing is happening,” a forced pause, something very earthly remains inactive, full of “half past six.”
This is an indication of a “living corpse” type of relationship - it seems to exist, but there is alienation and coldness. Problems are not even discussed. The breakup is coming without a scandal (due to the lack of emotions necessary for a scandal).
Some authors indicate that this is a truce map. Well, for a relationship where people are used to arguing and getting physical, this may very well be the case.
This card may indicate a lack of any feelings, a reluctance to take initiative and take any steps forward. The position on it is, to put it mildly, passive.

Health status

Long-term illness, or even hospital stay (in general, this card is an indicator of hospitalization). Loss of mobility for some reason. This could be an attack of radiculitis, a serious operation, paralysis, or coma. Surrounded by clearly negative cards (and if the essence of the issue suggests such a risk), it can also indicate death (traditional meanings are “coffin, grave”).
Complete exhaustion of strength.
According to the Four of Swords, there is an early phase of motherhood, when the woman herself has not yet fully physically recovered from childbirth, and is completely absorbed in the baby (“dead to the world”).
Recovery period. Peace after illness. Rest (passive and solitary). Slow recovery. The Four of Swords can be considered a card of healing - but one that happens little by little while the person is in prostration.
Occasionally, it may indicate depression and suicidal tendencies, as well as damage, a clear energy-informational disturbance leading to loss of vitality.

Reversed Four of Swords card

Sometimes a card carries a positive meaning of the end of a protracted isolation - this is a good indicator for a person to whom the Four of Swords has more than once shown itself in an upright position. But this doesn't happen so often. The period of peace and quiet is coming to an end; ahead is the need to return to current affairs. This could be a release from prison, recovery after a long illness.
Resumption of actions, return to previous interests, but more often than not, all this is untimely. The best that this card can give is a very restrained and cautious movement forward (which can be valuable after a period of complete stagnation), and this must be correctly understood. The Reversed Four of Swords is not the Chariot! Its progress is comparable to the progress of a patient who managed to be discharged from intensive care, and is already able to walk to the toilet on his own. Everything is learned by comparison, and the possibility of such a walk could be a global breakthrough.
Delays, lags, laxity or confusion of thoughts, inability to mobilize oneself for something. This is similar to the feeling of a person who is suddenly pulled out of meditation. Something is interfering with the much-needed rest right now, giving me no rest.
Insomnia, bad dreams.
Short illness.
In the reversed position, the Four of Swords card means an untimely action and warns that actions must be very careful and planned. It’s time for a person to stop and think, but he rushes into battle, driven by the desire to restore what was lost. “The right action at the right time in the right place with the right people... leads to the right results” - the reversed Four of Swords symbolizes neglect of this principle. Sounds Cancer and the planets associated with it - Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars. Mars in Cancer is in decline, so the action seems to freeze, go deeper, and turn inward. The moon symbolizes restoration and motherhood. Jupiter, symbolizing the protective hypostasis of fire (the bright grave), in the inverted Four of Swords can give such a negative manifestation as tyranny.
Greed, envy, selfishness, petty jealousy can upset plans and cause minor failures.
Traditional meanings are foresight, restraint, economy, wise management, gradual replenishment of losses, will.

Manifestation of the Four of Swords card in combinations

- awakening to activity
- emphasis on quiet rest, detachment, contemplation, the need to work on oneself in solitude
With a Hermit - going to a monastery (maybe to the inner monastery of the spirit)
With the Wheel of Fortune - incomprehensible rapid events
With the Hanged Man - a radical decrease in activity, a huge emphasis on redemption, spiritual restructuring
With Death, Ten of Swords - a possible threat to life, a dangerous disease
With the Tower, Four of Pentacles - prison.
With the Eight of Wands - the move will be made, this card weakens the influence of the Four of Swords
With the Ten of Wands - taking on an exorbitant load undermines health and will end badly
With the Knight of Wands (for a woman) - will be abandoned.
With the Four of Cups - contemplation, solitude, risk of depression
With the Six of Swords - a very funeral combination, the meaning of refuge and refuge (it is possible that the latter).
With the Eight of Swords - life abroad (again, there is a connection between the 12th house and emigration).
With the Seven of Pentacles, it enhances the importance of reassessing one’s activities and comprehending the results achieved.
Reversed with the Empress, Death, Tower - danger of ruin.
Inverted with a Star - prison.

Archetypal correspondences

Cemetery
The interior of the temple (in which tombstones were often located, for example, Temple Church in London)
Film by Andrei Tarkovsky “Solaris”

The Four of Swords is a card of stagnation, interrupted activity and forced rest. In this meaning, it resembles the Hanged Man card, but its difference from it is that it is associated with specific events: the obstacles or difficulties pointed out by the Four are usually simple and understandable, and overcoming them does not require us to overturn all the foundations of life. This position is akin to illness, which is also one of the meanings of the card. We are forced to interrupt our active activities and take a break. Whether we suffer or try to use this pause to sort ourselves out depends only on us. At the same time, it is clear that we can use a pause to work on ourselves, but we would hardly arrange it for ourselves of our own free will.

Job

Stagnation. The matter cannot move forward because our strength has dried up. There is no point in continuing further, because the “resistance of the material” and our weakness can together lead us to complete collapse. In such situations, we need peace, rest, a pause, and maybe even the help of a doctor or consultation with a psychotherapist. Only when we have regained our strength, having been, for example, on vacation, can we again take on the solution of a problem that seemed so hopeless. And then we will be surprised to discover that things are going smoothly, like clockwork.

Consciousness

It is likely that we have given our intellect too much stress, and now it cannot connect even the simplest two thoughts. We stumble over obstacles that we would have easily overcome before, and we see no way forward. If we ignore the card's warning and still try to painfully continue working, this can plunge us into the abyss of despair. Instead, we need to finally take the long-needed break and surrender to the joys of life in order to forget about our problems for a while. To think that we are “losing precious time” is the greatest absurdity: we would lose more time, dragging in our current state along the treadmill that, after rest, we can run with ease and joy.

Personal relationships and love

Here this card means isolation. Either we feel abandoned, excluded from the Great Games of Love, or we feel lonely or exhausted in our union with our previous partner. Then the Four of Swords warns that we risk losing either ourselves or our partner. We urgently need to give ourselves a rest, throwing away all problems, and put ourselves in order, even pamper ourselves with something.

Inner meaning

Now you have to work through your problems and plan future actions. You need solitude and peace; don't avoid them. Tarot card four swords - a card of reflections and night vigils; almost a hermit. It also indicates the need for a recovery period after the situation you just went through. Use this time to reflect on everything that has happened and plan more wisely. Don't expect the heights you've enjoyed so far; as you have seen, they were not very good for you. If you rush to the same heights again, you may find yourself in this unpleasant situation again.

Combinations with other cards

Gain

8 of Wands: make a move, hurry

Wheel of Happiness: rapid pace, vigorous activity

Magician: manifestation of activity, desire to go beyond

10 of Wands: overexertion, taking on an exorbitant load

Weakening

Nun: quiet rest, contemplation

Hermit: contemplation, tranquility

Hanged Man: rest, reduced activity

4 cups: contemplation, solitude

Sources

Hayo Banzhaf. TAROT SELF-TUTORIAL

Truce

Jupiter in Libra

20°—30° Libra

Original title: Lord of Rest from Struggle Original composition in the Golden Dawn system: The Four of Swords is exactly like the Two (including the five-petalled rose and white rays), with the only difference that the hands extended from the clouds on the right and left hold two swords, not one by one.

Chesed color on the Prince scale: deep purple.
The colors of Jupiter on four scales: violet; blue; juicy purple; bright blue with streaks of yellow
Libra colors on four scales: emerald green; blue; rich blue-green; pale green
Formula: Four (Chesed) + Swords (Yetzirah) + Jupiter in Libra = TRUCE.

The Four of Swords is perhaps the most beautiful of all the number cards of this suit. Harris meticulously follows the color scales to create a stunning portrait of balance and order. On November 3, 1939, she writes to Crowley: “It would be nice if you could come here for a day next week and look at the Swords. The thought of taking them to London unbalanced fills me with superstitious horror.”

Chesed is the sphere of Jupiter, hosting Jupiter in Libra as a welcoming but domineering hostess. Of course, the key words to this card are balance and justice, but Crowley points out that it also represents “an affirmation of dogma and the law associated with it.” Like any weapon, the sword fulfills its true purpose in the discipline of war, and not at all in peacetime. The “truce” enforced by the Four of Swords is a peace conditioned by the threat of violence, and therefore, by definition, short-lived.

The four swords are arranged in the shape of a St. Andrew's cross, meaning, according to Crowley, "fixed and inflexible." Their points meet at the center of a large rose with forty-nine petals, symbolizing “social harmony.” However, such a culture, which prefers to blindly obey authority rather than face the possible dangers of freedom, is built on conformity and deals with conscience.

Source

Lon Milo Duquette "The Magic of Aleister Crowley"

Description of the lasso

The woman in this painting lives in a gray landscape filled with unreal, cut-out clouds. Through the window frame she can see light and life, and although she would like to pass through the frame - as we see in the colors of the rainbow appearing on her clothes - she is unable to do so. She thinks too much in terms of "What if?"

Straight position

They say that tomorrow never comes, but no matter how often it is said, it seems most of us tend to forget about it. In fact, the one and only result of procrastination is a mind-numbing and depressing feeling of incompleteness. You will feel freedom and space if you let go of all the dual thoughts that are preventing you from taking action right now. It will make you wonder why you waited so long.

The meaning of the card

Putting it off is simply stupid. Tomorrow you will also have to decide, so why not today? Do you think that tomorrow you will be wiser than today? Do you think that tomorrow you will be stronger than today? Do you think that tomorrow you will be younger than today, fresher than today? Tomorrow you will be older, you will have less courage; tomorrow you will be more experienced, you will have more cunning; tomorrow death will come closer - you will begin to hesitate and become more cowardly. Never put it off until tomorrow. Who knows? Tomorrow may or may not come. If you need to make up your mind, you need to make up your mind today. (Osho)

A blind man walking either along the corridor of some hotel (is there a battery on the side?), or along the wall of some building. His clothes are dominated by the color purple, which emphasizes the fact that the man relies on instinct.

Characteristics: a person who gropes through life, uncertainly, not believing his eyes, but trusting only his instincts. This person may not see the whole situation, may not know some of its sides, but he completely relies on his feelings. His intuition is very well developed, it allows him not to get lost in the chaos of events. But at the same time, this person may not notice too much and have a superficial understanding of what is happening. He may pass by something that could be useful to him or bring him joy, he misses many opportunities in a given situation, but many negative manifestations also pass by him, or rather, he passes by them. A person living in his own world, to some he seems helpless, but “somewhere he left, somewhere he arrived,” a person may not see the whole situation, but he feels it perfectly. The card can play out missing opportunities, a person does not “see” them, a person can feel that something is happening, but does not see the whole picture, does not see specifics, and therefore only walks the beaten path and is afraid to step on an unknown path.

Business: missed opportunities and benefits; “missing” deals and lucrative contracts; the businessman does not see the full picture of the situation. He may perceive both benefits and pitfalls, but cannot be sure that they are there and prefers not to take risks. Uncertainty about what you are doing. Using only proven business tactics, fear of risks, fear of innovation, working the “old fashioned” way. Uncertainty in doing business, uncertainty about the correctness of decisions

Relationships: a person does not see what is actually happening in his family/in his relationship with his partner. The surrounding maps will show what exactly he does not see. At the same time, a person may feel some changes in the relationship (for the better or for the worse), but he cannot say for sure whether this is so. The person in the couple continues to move by inertia, use only proven methods in developing relationships, only relying on his own experience or the experience of trusted people - no risky steps if he is not 200% sure of them. The general background of relationships in a couple is uncertainty in each other or in the future. May act out mistrust. In layouts for unrequited feelings, the card shows a person who does not see that someone is in love with him.

Advice: rely on your intuition. The situation requires maximum concentration in order not to go astray. Try to see the whole situation as much as possible in your case. Trust only your feelings

Warning: you are wandering blindly\ you do not see the real state of affairs\ you are missing out on chances and opportunities\ you are too unsure of yourself

* Most often, the card reflects on the situation that the person did not notice something, passed by some opportunity; uncertainty and mistrust

Description of the lasso:

Direct position of the Four of Clouds card - Postpone:

Meaning of the card:

The original meanings of the cards that come with the deck.

Straight position:
Four of Swords - Introspection and self-centeredness, which can lead to indifference or emotional emptiness.

© Original meanings of the cards included with the deck.
© Lo Scarabeo. Torino.
© "Avallon". Moscow. Russian version.
Artist: Antonella Platano
Publication date: 2005

Rider White values:

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Saturn in the 5th house as a symbol of a break in creativity or in the 6th house as a symbol of illness.

FOUR OF SWORDS
The Four of Swords is a card of stagnation, interrupted activity and forced rest. In this meaning, it resembles the Hanged Man card, but its difference from it is that it is associated with specific events: the obstacles or difficulties pointed out by the Four are usually simple and understandable, and overcoming them does not require us to overturn all the foundations of life. This position is akin to illness, which is also one of the meanings of the card. We are forced to interrupt our active activities and take a break. Whether we suffer or try to use this pause to sort ourselves out depends only on us. At the same time, it is clear that we can use a pause to work on ourselves, but we would hardly arrange it for ourselves of our own free will.

From the book: Hayo Banzhaf. TAROT SELF-TUTORIAL.
Translation from German by E. Kolesov.
Publisher: Center for Astrological Research, 1999

FOUR OF SWORDS
Truce
The third ten-day period of Libra is from October 13 to October 23.
Astrological equivalents: Cancer, Mars, Moon, Houses Fourth and Seventh.
The third decade of Libra most fully represents the Libra idea of partnership - the idea of harmony in human relationships as an analogue of higher laws. This decade is characterized by the concepts of justice, goodness and morality, as well as calm optimism, a sense of humor and an attentive attitude towards people.
This decade is ruled by Jupiter, who bestows those born in this decade not only with the above-mentioned advantages, but also with agreement (the case when only social norms serve as the criterion for judgment and the principle “as above, so below” is taken too literally).
This decade also tends to see only the highest harmony in the world, often turning a blind eye to the fact that the truth has not yet come to the world, and in order for it to become truly humane, one must work hard.
Representatives of this decade, in order not to become a traitor to their own ideals, need to listen more often to the inner voice of their own conscience, but in order not to repeat the path of Don Quixote, they must specifically comprehend the implementation of their ideals. After an unsuccessful attempt to reach the number Three at the level of matter and, having “landed”, or more precisely, slammed onto the ground, the Force (understood metaphysically) finds an acceptable compromise in the form of a reliable and practical FOUR. FOUR is limited, of course, but that doesn't really matter at the moment. Since we are talking about a temporary respite before a new throw. At the level of the FOUR OF SWORDS, a kind of rest and healing occurs after the struggle of delusions associated with the THREE OF SWORDS. The ideal, of course, has not been achieved, God could not be brought to Earth, but the idol has already been sculptured, and the primary sympathetic connection between the deity and his earthly reflection has already been established.
The Tarot card shows a figure lying on his back in a resting position. Three swords hang on the wall, one nearby: the mind passively accepts the world as it is, but... it is always ready to be fully armed.
Outside the window, against the backdrop of a noisy world, a man knelt before a woman: consciousness bowed to more refined feelings.

STRAIGHT POSITION
In the upright position, the card symbolizes rest, recuperation, renunciation of struggle, loneliness, hermitage, exile, imprisonment, sleep of the once restless soul, latent period. It must be remembered that the word “temporary” must be added to each of these concepts. The FOUR of SWORDS is the small favor of the SWORDS: they are at rest. The sword rests, for it has completed its task. The KNIGHT, sleeping on his bed, has achieved something in life and tastes the fruits of silence. The card can mean either work in an hour of peace (the spiritual search of a HERMIT in a cell), or a moment of peace among hard work. The lying KNIGHT, perhaps, is not sleeping, but praying; he is busy with spiritual activity.
At the metaphysical level, the FOUR OF SWORDS symbolizes constructive action, will embodied in matter. A HERMIT, locked in his cell and immersed in self-contemplation, is not at all idle - he creates.

REVERSED POSITION
When reversed, the FOUR OF SWORDS card means an untimely action. It’s time for a person to stop and think, but he rushes into battle. “The right action at the right time in the right place and with the right people... leads to the right results” - The FOUR OF SWORDS reversed symbolizes neglect of this principle. The theme of the FOUR OF SWORDS sounds Cancer and the planets associated with it - the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars.
Mars in Cancer is in decline, so the action at the level of the FOUR of SWORDS seems to freeze, go deeper, and turn inward. The moon symbolizes restoration and motherhood. (Motherhood is generally one of the key words for the FOUR OF SWORDS.) Jupiter, symbolizing the protective hypostasis of fire (the bright grave), in the inverted FOUR OF SWORDS can give such a negative manifestation as tyranny. The FOUR OF SWORDS eliminates vanity.

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