speak what must be spoken
Kings exercise maturity and leadership in their element + Swords represent the mental realm with its words and our sense of justice
King of the suit of logic and reason, they are concerned mostly with truth and knowledge, and the rules of society. Knowledgeable, philosophical, impartial, strategic, responsible, direct, and judicious, they use their position to speak truth, including truth to power. They offer good, clear advice more fairly than the Queen; although Swords lack the compassion seen in other suits, they are able to see the complexities of situations more abstractly and is more apt to compromise. (Note that in Smith-Waite the Queen sits confined by her throne on a block of immovable stone, whereas the King’s throne is more open, and rests on the softer earth.)
As the master of the Thinking court, they are the quintessential ESTJ, which are the honest rule-followers who value competence and efficiency with a clear sense of how things should be and enjoy creating order according to these standards and beliefs. Impersonal and straightforward, they view the world through reason rather than emotion with little tolerance for the dreamers and rebels of the world, and have no problem disciplining those who do not abide by the standards they uphold.
(-) In resistance, they lack the principle of fairness, becoming the bigot intolerant of differing beliefs and opinions, and inflexible in their reasoning. The truth they speak is skewed to suit their own bias.
(+) In excess, they are judgemental and unforgiving in their standards.
Questions we may be prompted to ask when this card comes up include
- Where are you inflexible in your beliefs? Where are your prejudices? Can you ever consider the other perspective, or do you remain rigid?
- Do you judge others based on some criteria that you hold?
- When do you feel judged?
- Who establishes the rules in your life?
- What is your relationship with authority and its rules?
- Do you have rules of order that you expect others to follow?
- What prevents you from speaking your truth?
What else? Court cards are complex and multifaceted, including more than these labels, and you may have other insights. What historic or fictional characters does this king remind you of? What part of yourself is represented, here?
ARCANIS TAROT 