Tarot by bluemoon
In the Mythic Tarot,* the suit of swords portrays the story of the Greek mythological figure Orestes who was commanded by the gods to avenge his father who was murdered by his mother and her lover
Orestes kills his mother but is then tortured by the Furies for having committed matricide
Yep, it really is as grim as that
It is only ultimately that Orestes is saved by the intervention of Athene, the goddess of justice, who decides in his favour and frees him from his torment
I read the story as indicative of this suit's connexions with the mind, thought and the intellect because Orestes is faced with a dilemma he has to try to [b]think[/b] his way out of
He is trapped and suffers terrible [b]mental[/b] anguish before a higher power uses [b]reason[/b] to save him
There are a number of decidedly unpleasant cards in this suit in this deck
The 3 depicts the vicious murder of Orestes's father, Agamemnon, which I initially interpreted as [b]premeditated ruthlessness, horror, an awful and foul act[/b]
The 9 shows Orestes being driven mad by the Furies who inflict terrible mental persecution on him
My contemplation of this card brought me [b]torture, torment, a frenzied soul[/b] and the simple plea [b]'make them go away'[/b]
Finally, the 10 shows Orestes virtually at death's door, totally exhausted by his trauma
My message from this card was [b]end the suffering, let me rest, enough is enough[/b]
Phew, I think I need to go and lie down in a darkened room! *The Mythic Tarot J
Sharman-Burke and L
Greene Cards illustrated by T
Newell Workbook published by Rider/Eddison-Sadd, 2001 edition
ISBN 0 7126 1473 7
Cards ISBN 0 7126 3002 3
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