According to The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by A.E. Waite, the Four of Swords is described as the following:
The effigy of a knight in the attitude of prayer, at full length upon his tomb.
Divinatory Meanings: Vigilance, retreat, solitude, hermit's repose, exile, tomb and coffin. It is these last that have suggested the design.
Reversed: Wise administration, circumspection, economy, avarice, precaution, testament.
The Four of Swords is striking, depicting a figure—a knight—lying horizontally like a relief that is carved and placed upon a tomb. We will notice that his hands are angled upward in a gesture of prayer.
The tomb-like depiction on this card may seem a cause to worry, but the Four of Swords isn’t as ominous as it might appear. Instead of dwelling on the idea of the tomb as a final resting place, we should think of it simply as a resting place.
The concept to focus on here is not that the knight is dead; rather, it is that the knight has a place of “solitude” and “retreat”, and it is here where he can be at peace and be meditative with his praying hands.
This depiction invites us to consider where our resting place is. Do we have a place in our life where we can go to find this type of peaceful, meditative solitude?
The stained glass on the Four of Swords card suggests that perhaps the knight’s tomb is located in a church. A place of worship can be a place of solace for many, but you don’t need to attend any kind of services or visit the location of any sort of institution to find a similarly comforting spot.
You can make one in your very own home, no matter what it might look like right now.
Turning Housing Into a Retreat
It does not matter what kind of housing you are currently in. A bedroom, a dorm room, a shared flat, a studio, a one-bedroom apartment, a shared house, a single-family home—anywhere can work. If you have a place to lay your head at night, then you can have a place that is all for you.
Start by taking a look at your space and assessing what about it brings you joy. These are things that should stay as they are.
Then, take some time to ask yourself if there are things that could go. If you feel inspired, grab a bag and fill it up with items that would be better off with someone who could make better use of them, and then drop it off at your local charity’s donation centre.
A cleanse of your possessions can be a great way to reset your housing and make it a place that brings you more peace, but you don’t have to dedicate too much time to improve your space. There are lots of little things you can do to transform your housing into a retreat.
You could tidy up, making sure your bed is straightened and the pillows are fluffed. You could light a candle and turn the lights off, so you can sit or lie and get in tune with your breath, keeping the peaceful knight on the Four of Swords card in mind. You could put some flowers in a vase, perhaps after picking some that were growing wild behind your house (make sure you have permission before picking any wildflowers).
Rest, Reset, and Refresh
If you share your housing with other people, or with animals, you could take some time today to see if there is anything you can do to make the housing into a retreat for them, too. Does your significant other find relaxation in a certain scent, like in lavender under their pillow? Could your dog’s bed use a good clean?
Taking this time to enhance the places of repose in your housing means that you and anyone else who enters your space can be fully refreshed by it and find in it a meditative peace like the knight on the Four of Swords.
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