Each numbered card corresponds to one of the Sephiroth, showing how the Air of Yetzirah manifests through the Tree: from the Ace in Kether (pure clarity) to the Ten in Malkuth (ruin and collapse). The Court Cards embody Air in human form — King, Queen, Knight, and Page/Princess — each carrying their own Sephirothic role.
Ace of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: A hand emerges from the cloud, holding an upright sword crowned with wreaths of victory. Mountains rise in the distance.
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Card meaning: Clarity, truth, mental breakthrough, decisive power.
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Reversed meaning: Confusion, misuse of intellect, distorted truth.
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Sephira (Yetzirah): Kether — Crown, pure emanation.
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Sephira meaning: The first flash of truth, the sword of mind descending from the divine.
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Numerology: 1 — seed, unity, beginning of thought.
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Narrative: The sword is raised; the light of truth descends to cut through darkness.
Two of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: A blindfolded woman sits between land and sea, holding two crossed swords in balance under a calm moon.
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Card meaning: Stalemate, decision, inner conflict, balance of opposites.
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Reversed meaning: Indecision, denial, confusion, imbalance.
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Sephira (Yetzirah): Chokmah — dynamic wisdom.
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Sephira meaning: The tension of duality, intellect forced to choose.
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Numerology: 2 — polarity, choice, balance of forces.
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Narrative: The swords cross in stillness; decision waits, but cannot be delayed forever.
Three of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: Three swords pierce a heart beneath a stormy sky.
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Card meaning: Heartbreak, grief, sorrow, truth that wounds.
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Reversed meaning: Release of pain, forgiveness, delayed heartbreak.
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Sephira (Yetzirah): Binah — structure, understanding.
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Sephira meaning: The form of sorrow, grief shaped into awareness.
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Numerology: 3 — synthesis, but here through pain.
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Narrative: The sword’s clarity pierces the heart — truth cannot be avoided.
Four of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: A knight lies in repose upon a tomb, hands folded, one sword beneath him, three above. A window shows a scene of prayer.
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Card meaning: Rest, recovery, meditation, retreat.
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Reversed meaning: Restlessness, refusal to pause, burnout.
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Sephira (Yetzirah): Chesed — mercy, stability.
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Sephira meaning: The mind finding rest within structure, healing after strife.
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Numerology: 4 — foundation, pause, restoration.
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Narrative: The swords are sheathed; the mind recovers its strength.
Five of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: A figure smirks while collecting swords from defeated opponents; two walk away under a bleak sky.
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Card meaning: Defeat, hollow victory, conflict without honor.
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Reversed meaning: Reconciliation, lessons learned, making amends.
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Sephira (Yetzirah): Geburah — severity, testing.
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Sephira meaning: The sharp edge of conflict, destructive use of power.
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Numerology: 5 — instability, strife, challenge.
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Narrative: The wind howls — victory is empty when won without balance.
Six of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: A boat carries figures across calm waters, guided toward distant shores.
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Card meaning: Transition, passage, healing journey, moving on.
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Reversed meaning: Stagnation, inability to move forward, clinging to pain.
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Sephira (Yetzirah): Tiferet — beauty, harmony.
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Sephira meaning: The sword’s clarity guides the soul across troubled waters to balance.
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Numerology: 6 — harmony, reconciliation.
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Narrative: The mind leaves storm behind, gliding toward calmer shores.
Seven of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: A figure sneaks away from a camp carrying five swords, glancing back; two are left behind.
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Card meaning: Strategy, cunning, deception, secrecy.
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Reversed meaning: Exposure, confession, clarity.
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Sephira (Yetzirah): Netzach — desire, persistence.
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Sephira meaning: Air used strategically, intellect employed with cunning or trickery.
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Numerology: 7 — testing, challenge, risk.
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Narrative: The sword can be sly — cleverness hides as easily as it reveals.
Eight of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: A blindfolded woman is bound, surrounded by eight swords, though the path is open if she sees it.
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Card meaning: Restriction, self-imposed bondage, paralysis of fear.
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Reversed meaning: Release, empowerment, seeing clearly at last.
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Sephira (Yetzirah): Hod — intellect, order.
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Sephira meaning: Thought crystallized into a prison, the danger of mind turned against itself.
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Numerology: 8 — structure, repetition, the cage of reason.
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Narrative: The wind becomes a snare; freedom lies just beyond false bindings.
Nine of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: A figure sits upright in bed, hands covering face, nine swords hanging on the wall behind.
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Card meaning: Anxiety, despair, sleepless nights, mental anguish.
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Reversed meaning: Hope returning, recovery, easing of pain.
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Sephira (Yetzirah): Yesod — foundation, subconscious.
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Sephira meaning: The mind’s shadows, fear magnified in the night.
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Numerology: 9 — culmination, burden before release.
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Narrative: The air grows heavy with nightmares — yet dawn waits beyond.
Ten of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: A figure lies face down with ten swords in his back, a dark sky above, but sunrise breaking on the horizon.
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Card meaning: Finality, collapse, betrayal, endings.
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Reversed meaning: Recovery, regeneration, ruin averted.
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Sephira (Yetzirah): Malkuth — manifestation.
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Sephira meaning: The mind’s ruin embodied in matter, collapse at the cycle’s end.
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Numerology: 10 — completion, end of cycle, destruction clearing space.
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Narrative: The storm has struck its final blow — but light returns with the dawn.
Court Cards of Swords
Before reading the Courts, recall their “divine family”: King = Father (Chokmah), Queen = Mother (Binah), Knight/Prince = Son (Tiferet), Page/Princess = Daughter (Malkuth). Each expresses Air in a different mode.
Page of Swords (Princess of Swords)
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Rider–Waite imagery: A youth stands with sword raised, wind swirling, ready to act, eyes alert.
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Card meaning: Curiosity, vigilance, new ideas, youthful intellect.
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Reversed meaning: Gossip, spying, mental restlessness.
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Elemental nature: Earth of Air — grounded curiosity, learning the power of thought.
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Sephira: Malkuth — the daughter, anchoring Air into manifestation.
Knight of Swords (Prince of Swords)
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Rider–Waite imagery: A knight charges forward with sword raised, his horse galloping into strong winds.
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Card meaning: Swift action, bold words, fearless pursuit of truth.
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Reversed meaning: Recklessness, thoughtless cruelty, rashness.
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Elemental nature: Air of Air — intellect doubled, the storm of thought.
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Sephira: Tiferet — the son, Air in motion, carrying the balance forward.
Queen of Swords
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Rider–Waite imagery: A queen sits on her throne with a sword raised, other hand extended as if inviting, sharp yet just.
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Card meaning: Clarity, independence, honesty, fairness.
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Reversed meaning: Coldness, cruelty, bitterness, harsh judgment.
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Elemental nature: Water of Air — compassion joined with reason.
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Sephira: Binah — the mother, form and discernment of Air.
King of Swords (Knight in older decks)
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Rider–Waite imagery: A king sits firmly upon his throne, sword upright, surrounded by butterflies and clear skies.
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Card meaning: Authority, justice, rational mastery, truth upheld.
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Reversed meaning: Tyranny, manipulation, corruption of reason.
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Elemental nature: Fire of Air — the decisive blaze of intellect.
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Sephira: Chokmah — the father, pure outpouring of mental force.
Closing Thought
The Swords of Yetzirah trace the powers of Air through the Tree of Life — from the Ace’s clarity in Kether to the Ten’s collapse in Malkuth. They reveal how thought shapes reality, for better or worse: as insight, as conflict, or as sorrow. The Court Cards then show how Air walks in human form: Page as restless seeker, Knight as storming crusader, Queen as discerning judge, King as rational authority.
Together, they remind us that the sword is double-edged: it protects and clarifies, but also wounds when wielded without wisdom.
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