Knight of Swords (Tarot Triptych)
Name: Knight of Swords
Number: 1
Astrology: Gemini, Fire of Air
Qabalah: Vau of Vau
Chris Gabriel August 23, 2025
The Knight of Swords is the most active form of air. He is the hot and sharp wind that cuts through the sky. In each iteration, we see the Knight galloping ahead with his sword ready.
In Rider, we have an impassioned knight in reflective armor. His lifted visor reveals a face of great anger. He has a red cape, feathered helmet, and holds his sword high. His grey horse is galloping at a great speed and the trees in the background bend with the wind.
In Thoth, we see a knight in green armor from above. His pointed helmet has four bladed propellers, and his face is obscure. He carries two swords pointed at one target. His horse is long and orange tan. They are riding in the sky, below them three birds soar.
In Marseille, the knight is armored and expressionless. His pauldron has a face upon it. His long sword points up and ahead, and his blue horse is rearing up, as if preparing to make a great leap.
The Knight of Swords is a missile, a flying war machine. One can think of fighter planes, attack helicopters, drones, and projectiles. The Knight in Thoth shows a visual sympathy with the modern single rotor helicopter, which had not yet been invented when this card was drawn. The card strongly calls up the Flight of the Valkyries scene from Apocalypse Now.
From the start of aerial warfare, there was a sense of “nobility” in pilots. They were, quite literally above the war. When they were not fighting with one another, they dropped bombs, and early on, barbaric spikes and nails onto the enemy soldiers below. Pilots had the privilege, for perhaps the first time in history, of not seeing the product of their violence.
In modern times, we have brought this detachment to a profound extreme with drone warfare. Remote pilots sit in offices and use televisions and video game controllers to kill real people. This is the nature of the Knight of Swords, extreme violence without emotion. A pure intellect bent on achieving its will, without concern for others. Where the Page of Swords is the fog of war, and the confusion and hesitation of violence, the Knight cuts through the fog indifferently and lands his blow.
On a personal scale, this is expertise and effortless action, movement perfectly aligned with the intellect. The card is given to Gemini, so one can think of someone with a playful intelligence, someone with a very sharp tongue.
When we pull this card, rapid movement will be necessary to achieve what one seeks, one may need to literally speed off somewhere, or to direct their thoughts and words very intentionally, a bit of cruelty may be in order.
