Princess of Swords: The Problem-Solving, Clever Manager and Translator/Interpreter (of Ideas into Practice)
The Princess of Swords (Page in the Rider-Waite tradition) represents the personality that results when the watery aspect of Air becomes dominant in a person; the Earth of Air. The practical, and grounded parts of the Suit of Swords. The Princess of Swords is one who applies her abstract ideas directly into the world around her; she is an excellent manager, is able to solve conflicts (though not as well as her mother), is clever and possesses much practical wisdom; she is “street-smart.” However, sometimes her ideals are compromised by reality and she can have a sort of low cunning, and often is unworthy of great honor. She is also sometimes prone to thinking too rationally, and is prone to destructive logic, and often has no heart. However, she attempts to improve the world around her by applying her ideas to reality, and so in the process provides a birthing ground for even greater ideas.
The Rider-Waite art shows a young man with a dreamy look in his eyes haphazardly holding a sword; he looks like the kind of person who wants to go out and do things but might not be good at actually getting them done; this interpretation is more common among Rider-Waite readers, to whom the Page urges people to go and embody the suit. In the Thoth tradition, however (which the above description is with regards to), the Princess means something different. The Thoth art shows a woman standing between the sky and Earth, acting as a mediator and interpreter between the two, and changing the energy of Air into that of Earth, applying the Suit of Swords to reality.
In a reading, this card urges you to examine the roles that Princesses of Swords may play in your life; does the Prince of Swords in your life have someone able to act as a translator? Do you know anyone who is very good at managing things and possesses a great deal of practical and useful knowledge? Reversed, this card’s energies are blocked, twisted, or hidden somehow; perhaps this person’s knowledge isn’t all that practical, and they’re really a Prince of Swords? Or maybe someone’s ideas are far more practical than you had realized…
Z. M. Wilmot 