Suit of Swords (Air)

The Suit of Swords is the Minor Arcana's air suit, associated with the element of Air, the intellect, and the faculty of reason. In the Waite-Smith deck, Swords are double-edged, signifying that thought and truth cut both ways — clarity comes with pain, discernment with suffering. The suit governs conflict, decision, mental struggle, and the pursuit of truth — from the Ace's sword of absolute clarity crowned with a laurel, through the Three's heartbreak, the notorious Ten's utter defeat, to the calm of the Four's meditative truce. This is traditionally the most difficult suit, reflecting the mind's capacity to wound as readily as it heals. In the Marseille tradition this suit is called Epees.