September 10.-12.,2014.: Prince of Swords

Danica

THE PRINCE OF THE CHARIOT OF THE WINDS
The Prince of Swords – Prince & Emperor of Sylphs & Sylphides
AIR of AIR

Meditation pattern: Place 4 of Disks, 5 of Swords, and 6 of Swords side-by-side, with the
Prince of Swords above them. Below the two Swords, place Atu XVII, The Star.

Traditional Description: A winged prince with winged crown, seated in a chariot drawn by
Arch-Fays. These are represented as winged youths very slightly dressed, with butterfly wings;
heads encircled by a fillet with a pentagram thereon; and holding wands surmounted by pentagrams,
the same butterfly wings on their feet and fillets. General equipment as the Prince of
Wands, but he bears as a crest a winged angelic head with a pentagram on the brows. Beneath
the chariot are gray nimbus clouds. His hair is long and waving in serpentine whirls, and whorlfigures
compose the scales of his armor. A drawn sword in one hand; a sickle in the other: With
the sword he rules, with the sickle he slays.

VAV of VAV (AIR of AIR): The intellect, functioning in its own plane and domain, where
it is most efficient and at home. Vav of Air and Vav in Yetzirah symbolize Reason accepted on its own
terms. He carries a sickle, the traditional implement of Saturn (ruler of Aquarius), which represents
the power of time to harvest all things, a reminder that Air of Air is shifting and in motion:
he represents the transient, that which passes and is gone, like the traces of thought in the mind.

He rules from 20° Capricorn to 20° Aquarius, corresponding to the first two decanates of Aquarius. The first is
ruled by Venus. Venus with Aquaris is a humane and humanitarian combination of high social idealism.
At worst, it is weakness from passivity and ungrounded (unrealistic) expectations – too
much up in the air! This attribution also discloses a side of the card previously unsuspected, but
quite observable in individuals of this type: that it represents intellect for the pure fun of it! The
second Aquarius decanate, ruled by Mercury, is called SCIENCE. Mercury and Aquarius imply intelligence and
humanity, and inventive, creative, and progressive thinking. But these two decanates are more
traditionally called DEFEAT and SUCCESS. The fine line on which this Prince rides is that between
“success” and “defeat.” The nature of his mind is to view things in win-lose terms, there generally
being no place for win-win. In this, he may appear cruel and disdainful. Remember, though,
that for him this is often done for pure joy and amusement. He does not partake of the last decanate
of Aquarius called “Futility.” He is too focused and purposeful. There is no disdaining of effort
and concentration when there must be a winner and a loser!

His shadow aspect is shown by the last decanate of Capricorn, which shows the human intellect in
its most mechanical form. The decanate, called POWER, represents structured dominion normally
incompatible with the Prince. It defeats his freedom and undoes his game. Yet, when exhausted,
he is likely to slide into the compensatory role of exercising rigid mental dominion over circumstances.

In divination, the character implied is intelligent, inventive; full of ideas, thoughts, designs,
and progressive thinking; humane and humanitarian, with high social idealism; firm in friendship
and enmity; careful, observant, sometimes acutely cautious. If ill-dignified: harsh, malicious,
plotting; distrustful, suspicious; cruel and disdainful, obstinate; exercising rigid mental dominion
over circumstances; unreliable, too ‘up in the air;’ weakness from passivity and unrealistic expectations;
symbolizing Alpha and Omega, he slays as fast as he creates.

Danica

I find it very interesting that winged children (!) are his animals, and his body is green; the color suggests that the very substance of mind, as well as it’s vehicle, is Love.
The children push and pull his chariot, every one to a different direction, and the Prince himself does not sit still, his body is captured in motion… restlessness, versatility, motility as basic characteristics of the mind.
In the Air-of-Air domain there is no and-and, but only either-or: yes or no, defeat or victory, black or white, etc.
His principle is intellect based on the idea of Human being in the highest sense, defined by his relationship to the stars and the Star. (“Sky is the limit”)
Science, methodical approach, skepticism; intellectual exploration and gradual up-building of knowledge; thoroughly studying a subject; striving for Knowledge about What-is-Human; striving for self-knowledge; learning through mistakes and errors.

Enamored with Thought and Ideas; mind working for the sake of that circling itself.
His mission is not to affect the material plane (4-of-Disks, as his shadow-side) but to reveal connections and relationships inside his own domain. 5-of-Swords: absence of needed connections and relationships in the conscious mind; 6-of-Swords: connections successfully established/recognized/seen, because the focus of attention here is on what is central, essential (5-of-Swords has focus on the result, Geburah-principle being oriented toward action).
In his refined form, this is an inventor (Tesla-type), a man who channels the Sublime into the Every-day, connects the Worlds on the vertical axis.

While Queen of Swords is ethics, this Prince is morals.
Focus on development of the community (and Human race as a whole) through the development and growth of individual.
Personal power is an illusion; if this Prince forgets that, he loses his ability to function as a healthy channel between the Earth and the Sky.