The Two of Swords is one of the most nuanced cards in the Minor Arcana. In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, a blindfolded woman sits before a sea of unsettled waters resting two swords on her shoulders under a crescent moon. What on Earth could this mean?
Being a Sword, this card is about the mind. So, it concerns itself with ideas and plans, thoughts and communication. Questions about writing, math, legal matters or social media are often questions for the swords. Think of anything that can be imagined, conceived, explained or taught. Even just discussed.
The second thing to examine on this card is the ordinal number: Two. If the Ace of Swords is about an inspiration, than the two is about the second thoughts: the counter-ideas, the rabbit-holes of research, the nagging doubts, the emails and calls and texts.
The woman wears a blindfold. She is not the victim of the Eight of Swords but an avatar of the Justice card. She eschews her five main senses as they may misdirect her. This is a card of the head not the heart. A situation has begin. A contact has been made. A proposition has been offered. Now she must examine by going within. Like Justice she must balance the pros and cons and muse over the next action.
Behind her wind whips up small waves on the sea on another wise still sea. Thoughts are connected to emotions. Fear or in the case of the Two of Swords, foreboding, are emotional reactions to imagined situations. Like many of the other cards in this suit, the hypothetical makes us more uneasy than any likely outcome. Now is the time to still your mind and your heart.
Lastly overhead floats the Moon, mistress of Illusions. As this is a crescent Moon, part of her surface is obscured by the Earth. So too is something obscured in this situation. Maybe there are facts missing or maybe secrets have yet to be revealed.
So she sits, serene in the Moonlight, awaiting more information to make her decision. It is the waiting period indicated here on this card that causes frustration. But this is a time to clear away distractions and seek all the facts. This is a card of the crossroads and requires deliberation and purpose.
Be at peace, the waiting will not be long. You will know what to do soon enough.
The Bear Oracle 