Four of Swords

Four swords meet point to point at the centre of a rose, forming a St Andrew's cross within a square; the pattern is ordered and still.

Chesed, Mercy, in Yetzirah, the world of formation. Mercy, the first Sephirah below the Abyss and so the first that can be called a real thing: the solid, the four-square, the king who builds. Chesed is Jupiter, generosity and law. The Fours are Chesed in the four worlds, cards of completion and settled order.

Chesed in the world of Air: mind made stable, the square drawn. Jupiter in the last decan of Libra brings law and the settled agreement.

Jupiter in the third decan of Libra (20°–30°, about Oct 13–22). Jupiter is expansion, generosity, luck, law and the king's mercy. On the Tree it is Chesed; among the trumps it is Fortune, the wheel that turns by its own law.

Libra is cardinal Air: the scales at the autumn equinox, balance, partnership, judgement. Venus rules it and Saturn is exalted here. Its trump is Adjustment. The trump of Libra is Adjustment.

This decan is ruled by the Prince of Cups, whose arc runs from 21° Libra to 20° Scorpio. The two Shem angels of the decan are Hahahel and Mikael.

The Solid: the first number that can enclose a space, and so matter, law and the square. Chesed, Mercy. The Fours are cards of completion and settled order; the Emperor is trump IV.

Thinking at rest; the mind's conflicts suspended by agreement. The Swords are usually read as the thinking function in Jung's typology, an interpretive convention rather than a text of Jung's.

Rider-Waite calls the suit Swords. Its small cards carry scenes; the Thoth small cards carry the suit emblems arranged geometrically, with the keyword printed at the bottom and the colours of their Sephirah and decan. The Golden Dawn title (Lord of Rest from Strife) is shared by both traditions.

Jupiter at its best gives generosity, wisdom, faith, humour, mentorship, good fortune. At its worst: arrogance, dogmatism, self-righteousness, overpromising, gluttony, waste, the guru complex.

Libra (“I balance”) brings fairness, charm, harmony, aesthetic sense, cooperation, diplomacy. Its shadow is indecision, people-pleasing, superficial niceness, conflict avoidance, codependence.

Together: Jupiter has no essential dignity or debility in Libra. Dignity explains part of the title and the Sephirah explains the rest: a planet at home in its sign can still sit in a hard sphere, and a weak planet can be carried by a strong one.

The Sun crosses this decan around Oct 13–22, so it is the decan card of anyone born then; their court card is the Prince of Cups. Find a birthday.