An empty crossroads on a heath at night, a leaning signpost and poppy heads in the verge.

Swords · IV

Four of Swords

Lord of Rest from Strife

The face of Four of Swords, engraved in gold on black, with its title, Lord of Rest from Strife.

Retreat is strategy. Rest. Answers often come in the quiet.

Upright

Rest, recovery and contemplation. Retreat in order to return stronger.

Reversed

Restlessness, burnout or refusing rest.

Show the spirits

The spirit work

In the Goetia, Paimon teaches all arts by day; Vine discovers hidden things by night. Meditate before you read again.

Where the card sits

Correspondences

DecanJupiter in Libra, 20° to 30°, the third face
Tree of LifeChesed in Yetzirah
Governing angelsLauviah by day, Caliel by night
Image of the decanA violent archer, a naked man and one holding bread and a cup of wine.
Show the spirits
Day spiritPaimon, king
The seal of Paimon

Appears as a crowned man on a dromedary, preceded by trumpets and cymbals. Teaches all arts and secrets: what the earth is, what mind is. Gives dignity and good familiars. Goetia 9.

Night spiritVine, king
The seal of Vine

Appears as a lion on a black horse, a viper in hand. Discovers hidden things, witches and the future; raises storms and throws down walls. Goetia 45.

Four of Swords in the guidebookAll seventy-eight cards

The Sablerune Tarot

In the making

Seventy-eight cards in fine gold line. Hear when the deck is ready to hold.

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Notes on sources

The meanings, the questions and the correspondences are the guidebook’s own. The paths, letters and astrology follow the Golden Dawn’s attributions; the angels are the Shem ha-Mephorash, as the deck gives them; the spirits, shown only when you ask for them, are the seventy-two of the Goetia. Where each comes from, and what is old and what is modern, is set out in the guidebook’s Notes on sources and seals.