Eight of Swords - #TarotImageTuesday
Good morning!! it's #TarotImageTuesday This week, it's the Eight of Swords, and I've selected the Shadowscapes Tarot deck.
This image is one of stark beauty and pain...the shadowy figure casting ribbons of thorns behind it, its cloak blotting out the light and hope of freedom beyond. The latest victim thrashes around, entwining itself with each flap of its wings, desperate to escape the slowly tightening tendrils, and the thorn-like swords that surround it.
The swan represents purity, but also, as a bird, areas covered by the element of air - ideas, inventiveness, freedom, clarity of thought - trapped as it is, it suggests those aspects are restricted, and struggling for release will only tighten those restrictive bonds.
There are skulls and bones tangled in the lower part of the brambles, showing that this isn't the first victim of this prison...that doubt and fear has likely eaten away at many attempts to break free, loss of hope claiming more victims than wounding by the thorns themselves...but we see the light surrounding the hummingbird, attempting to guide the swan from its prison with hope. The hummingbirds colours are the green and pinks of the heart chakra, reminding us that following our heart, our desires, and being true to ourselves will give us light in the darkness when we feel trapped, consumed, overwhelmed, and direct us to ways to escape the cloying darkness.
What do you see in the image? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, and we can share the similarities and differences between the images in the various decks!
[image is courtesy of, and © Stephanie Pui-Mun Law - her amazing deck, and her other rather spectacular artwork, can be seen and purchased at her website]
