Four of Swords

Rest. Time out to recover before the next move.

The picture

A knight lies full length on top of a tomb, his hands pressed together as if in prayer. Three swords hang on the wall above him, points down, and a fourth sword lies along the side of the tomb beneath him. In the top left corner a stained glass window shows figures in bright colours.

Upright

Four is the number of stability and foundations, and sometimes of standing still. In Swords, standing still is the whole point. After the heartache of the Three, the mind needs time off.

This card is rest, recovery and retreat, a pause chosen on purpose. Sleep. A holiday. A day in bed with the phone in another room. A quiet hour to meditate or pray. The knight has put his swords away, and none of them is in his hand.

Look at the window. It holds nearly all the bright colour in the picture, and it glows while he lies still. Plenty of useful thinking happens underneath, while you are resting, with no effort at all. The answer you chased for a week often turns up in the shower the morning after a proper sleep.

I read this card as permission. If it turns up and you have been running on empty, take the rest. The world will cope without you for a day.

Reversed

Reversed, I read this as too much or too little. Too little is the rest you badly need and will not take, pushing on through tiredness until the body makes the decision for you. Too much is a retreat that has gone on so long it has quietly turned into hiding.

To tell which, ask how long you have been still. If you cannot remember your last proper day off, it is too little, and the card is asking you to lie down. If the quiet has become a way of avoiding something, it is too much, and it may be time to get up and pick one sword back off the wall.

When it turns up

When did you last let your mind lie down?

If you would like the cards read against your own chart, my readings are here.

Related pages
The Number 4