Two of Swords

During meditation, I try to still my thoughts. Hush, hush, I tell myself.

Two memories repeatedly float themselves to the surface of my mind: an image of the Two of Swords card, and Ursula's quote about patience.

When class ends, I approach my teacher P. Not only is she an excellent yoga teacher, but she also reads Tarot Cards. (She's also a published novelist and a professor of creative writing. P's quite the package of skills! She's one of my heroes.) In fact, I'll be taking a Tarot class with her on Sunday, as my own skill at reading (so many texts) keeps presenting itself.

P is kneeling on a sheepskin spread before the stereo, sorting CDs back into their cases. "What does the Two of Swords mean to you?" I ask.

She peers up through the muted light. "Patience."

I snort in surprise. Of course, it does.

She continues. "Swords are Ego cards. The Two is one of the few positive swords. It's about the Ego encountering the first obstacle on its journey."

"But why is her back to the ocean?" I want to know.

"She's blindfolded and calm. She has her swords ready to protect her, but for now she's just waiting, relying on her own strength."

I've intentionally kept myself ignorant of established meanings for Tarot Cards, in part because they vary so widely from source to source, and in part because I want to read with my own intuition and unconscious associations. But I'm not that surprised to find that my mind has sorted out this meaning of the card and the quote to go with it.

Patience.

This is what life tries to teach me over and over.

About a month ago, every time I pulled a card it was either the Two of Swords or the Three of Pentacles. I haven't touched my deck for weeks. It's interesting that my mind decided to present a card to me through my thoughts.

I promise that this exchange really did happen and I am not making this up.

(If you don't believe in Tarot Cards, please don't think I'm crazy. I'm not crazy. I didn't either until a few years ago. I'm still a heavy skeptic. But I think there are keys to the unconscious in iconic images such as these cards.)