Time Stopped with Blindfolded Eyes, the Weight of an Unavoidable Choice
Now, last time we met the Ace of Swords and grasped a single, cold, clear truth. We tasted the thrill of the fog clearing from our minds and everything becoming vivid in the cool air.
However, the journey through the kingdom of air, moving forward with the sword of truth in hand, is not as easy as it seems. How wonderful would it be if everything could be solved by a single shining truth? But our lives sometimes test us in the face of two fiercely opposing truths. In the place where the clarity of the Ace has passed, we have now arrived at a seashore where a quiet and bizarre tension flows.
The Blindfolded Woman and the Two Crossed Swords
Looking into the Two of Swords card of the Rider-Waite deck, a breathtaking silence flows. A crescent moon floats in the blue-gray sky, and below it, a calm sea with rocky reefs unfolds.
And in the center of the scene, a woman dressed in white or gray sits on a cold marble, or stone, chair. The woman's eyes are tightly covered with a white cloth, and in both hands, she holds two heavy swords, just like the one we saw in the Ace card. The two swords form a perfect symmetry and are crossed in an X shape in front of her chest.
How do you feel when you look closely at this card? Does it look peaceful? On the outside, it seems like she is holding a perfect balance, but in reality, this woman's arms must be suffering from immense pain right now. Because she is holding those two heavy steel swords up in the air without moving a single muscle.
Why is She Blindfolded: Avoidance and Deadlock
In the Ace stage, we saw a single truth. But when we come to the Two of Swords stage, we are placed between two thoughts, two situations, or two people that we must choose between.
The problem is that these two options are too evenly matched. If you choose this, that weighs on your mind, and if you choose that, you are afraid of the consequences this will bring. In the world of Swords, which symbolizes reason and logic, these two logics perfectly clash and create a deadlock.
So the woman blindfolded herself. Because if she does not see, she does not have to decide. The fact that she crosses the swords in front of her chest is a kind of powerful shield. Do not let anyone approach me! Do not force a decision on me! I do not want to see anything right now, and I do not want to choose anything! This is not true peace, but merely a precarious truce forced by postponing the decision.
Another Story Told by the Background: The Sea and Crescent Moon Behind Her Back
Shall we pay attention to the sea and the crescent moon behind the woman's back? In Tarot, the sea or water symbolizes emotions and intuition. The crescent moon also means the world of the unconscious and hidden intuition. However, the woman is sitting with her back to the water. This shows that she is currently completely ignoring her honest emotions or inner intuition.
Because she is calculating and weighing things too complicatedly only with her head, she is practically ignoring the compass that points to what her heart truly wants. Even though the real answer might already be behind her back, inside her wavering heart.
If This Card Appeared in Your Reading?
If the Two of Swords has appeared, it is highly likely that you are currently holding onto a concern you want to avoid.
A difficult decision being postponed: Whether to quit your job or stay, whether to continue this relationship or end it. It is a state of dragging out time without being able to make a decision between two options. You know the answer to some extent in your head, but you are tightly closing your eyes because you fear the responsibility and change that come with the decision.
A defensive attitude blocking out emotions: If this card came out in a love or human relationship reading, it means you are firmly closing the door to your heart toward someone and building a defensive wall. It shows a state of cutting off conversation and maintaining peace only on the surface because you do not want to get hurt or face conflict.
Lack of information and blind spots: Being blindfolded also means not properly seeing the entirety of the situation. There might be hidden information you do not know, or you might be failing to see other possibilities because you are caught up in prejudice. It is time to ask yourself if you are missing something.
The Message the Two of Swords Conveys
The blindfolded woman sits on the cold marble chair with her mouth firmly closed. But her trembling arms tell us that this silence can never last forever. How long are you going to hold those heavy swords with your eyes covered?
You might think you are holding a perfect balance, but in reality, you are just delaying time while enduring the pain as if your arms are going to fall off. Not making a decision is ultimately a decision too. And the price of that is tying yourself to that spot forever.
Now, try listening to the sound of the waves coming from behind your back. It is time to stop the complicated calculations in your head and feel where your intuition and emotions are pointing. Now, take off the blindfold and face the reality laid before you straight on. Only when you put down the swords you have been holding can you finally walk forward again.