Interesting imagery on both these cards.  The figures on the 3 of Swords of swords seem to have antennae , bunches of them, growing out of their heads and reaching towards the sky.  These women (they seem to be women to me), do not have arms.  Are the antennae their only way of physically touching their environment?  Are they sensitive like an insect’s antennae would be?  I almost get the sense that they are reaching out to communicate with each other and with their environment, as though they are receiving messages from the landscape around them.

So that makes me wonder what I’m not in touch with within my own internal landscape.  Reversed this card suggests that my current situation is one in which I’m not interacting with the world around me and not seeing what is really there.  Maybe I’m not reaching out and listening to the messages being offered by nature, oracles and other non-traditional methods.

The Devil – well as soon as I saw this guy I thought of Xerxes, King of Persia as he was portrayed in the movie 300.  He has that same androgynous vibe (reminiscent of Tim Curry as Dr. Frankenfurter in Rocky Horror Picture Show) that would be attractive and seductive to both sexes.  He is a dominator and controller and seems almost complacent about the fate of the two chained at his feet.  His cloven-footed, hairy-legged bottom signals his animal, wild nature.  He is not bound by the rules of civilization.  He does not play by the same rules as we do so it can be difficult to understand his behaviors, motivations and ethics (assuming he has any).

Once again I drew two reversed cards for today.  My energies and insights need to be focused inward.  So what is it I am missing?  Is something keeping me blind and enslaved?  The only answer is me.  It’s no big secret that most of us have proven our own worst enemies in life.  We continually engage in behaviors that have already proven harmful or caused us some harm or embarrassment.  I’ve read that engaging in the same behaviors and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.  By that definition how many of us could be considered insane?

So if I no longer wish to engage in insane behavior and break free of whatever chains continue to hold me back then I need to act in a more conscious, thoughtful deliberate fashion.  I’m already working on re-connecting with parts of myself that I’ve neglected.  I suppose in many ways this message is nothing new but it is a reminder that I need to keep moving in the right direction, stay the course.  I need to put an end to this journey on the crazy train and start choosing my path instead of letting the whims of chance direct it.