Tarot Card of the Solar Eclipse, New Moon Week, June 7-13, 2021: Ten of Swords

We have certainly gotten lots of messages about endings and beginnings since its last appearance in mid-April. After all the recent support from the Ace of Pentacles and The Fool, this week it appears we are also challenged to a big letting go.

And what better time than this week that features a powerful Solar Eclipse-fueled New Moon?

As I’ve explained many times, this grisly looking card is not about physical death, but about the ending of some mental construct: an idea, a persona, a perception, an attitude, or a way of thinking.

Clearly, this is not a champagne-toasting, dance in the streets kind of ending, so fasten your seat belts, dear friends; it could be a bumpy week.

The Tens of each suit are the overflowing of that suit’s energy. With the Cups, for instance, it is the overflow, the zenith and then some, of love, emotional harmony and happiness. In the Ten of Swords, we have the over-the-top challenge of the Swords. One sword is quite enough to kill someone. Ten swords, stuck in the back, no less… well, you might say, “over-kill.”

The Ten of Swords depicts complete, absolute collapse.

Overwhelmed at last, despite our best efforts, we face the utter ending, dead as can be, of an idea, relationship, plan, communications, or a situation with which we have probably struggled.

There can be no doubt, no revival, no spin, no restoration or repackaging. This card tells us to let it go; it’s really, really over. But remember that Swords correspond to the Element of Air.  They tell us about our thoughts – not physical reality. They are about perception, attitude, and how we interpret the world around us.

Thus, painful as it may be, with this final surrender, you will receive the secret gift within this card.

For notice, that, unlike other Swords cards that feature turbulent, stormy waters, the lake or river in the background is peaceful. And, in contrast with, say, the Nine’s completely black background, here the storm here has passed, and day is breaking.

Even more telling, the victim’s right hand is making a sign of benediction and peace. In the last throes of this brutal death, forgiveness was given, understanding was reached.

When we have no choice, the only way is through.

With the potent Gemini energy of the Solar Eclipse, we have the chance to make essential changes in our lives that will benefit us well beyond this Moon cycle. For some of us, circumstances are such that we need to pay more attention to these matters. Flaws in a fundamental system in our lives reveal themselves around the time of the eclipse, prompting us to redo or start fresh. Something ends for something else to start anew. We may be called to give up something to move forward into a new chapter in our lives.

Although the “new” may be unrecognizable, it is crucial to surrender to the unknown. Knowledge and diversity motivate us with the Sun in Gemini. Of course, Gemini is an Air sign, right in line with Swords. And a “fundamental systems” reevaluation could not possibly be more Ten of Swords-y.

Question: How many personal contacts, social media “friends”, teachers, gurus have you already instinctively unfollowed, unsubscribed from, or lost sight of so far in 2021 because your wavelength no longer matches theirs?

This all points directly to our thoughts and our projections. Clearly, the eclipse and the Tarot agree that much of who and what we listen to, who our teachers are, and where our allegiances lie (all Swords again!) is due for a dust-up and departure.