Tarot card

Four of Swords

Four of Swords: withdrawal and stillness used to recover from conflict. The card joins the air nature of Swords to its place in the numbered sequence.

2 correspondences · 0 with an ancient or scriptural source · 0 with no source located · Four of Swords in full

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The oldest attribution here is Suit and element Air, first attested 1888 CE.

Suit and element

  • Air

    Traditional
    Who says so
    Not yet attributed to a school
    Earliest verified attestation
    1888 CE
    Ancient or scriptural source
    Not yet investigated

    Swords express the powers of Air: thought, judgment, conflict, communication and force consciously directed.

    Evidence

    1. Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (primarily); Harriet Felkin (later material), Book T, c. 1888 — Titles and descriptions of the four suits, pp. 3–23

      · Mathers, c. 1888 (Golden Dawn internal)

      Read the source

Sephirah and number

  • Chesed

    Traditional
    Who says so
    Not yet attributed to a school
    Earliest verified attestation
    1888 CE
    Ancient or scriptural source
    Not yet investigated

    The Fours settle the suit into order and stability. Its force has found a form that can be established and held.

    Evidence

    1. Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (primarily); Harriet Felkin (later material), Book T, c. 1888 — General meanings of the small cards under the Sephiroth, p. 27

      · Mathers, c. 1888 (Golden Dawn internal)

      Read the source