From Touchstone TarotTM by Kat Black
King of Swords
Meanings
The judge. A strong authority figure who acts fairly but sometimes lacks compassion. Extremely intelligent, he values logic above emotion. Opinionated, but accepting of arguments supported by facts.
Reversed (?)
Abuse of power. A man who uses his position or intelligence to dominate others. One who enjoys feeling superior to others, and delights in humiliating people. Avoid him if you can!
Description
A slender, bearded man in black watches the viewer with a cold gaze, resting a sword on his arm. Although his sword is drawn, he is not holding it in a threatening way, more as though he has taken it out to inspect the blade. He sits in a modest wooden chair decorated with carved lion heads. The room is equally modest with wood paneling and a plain, shuttered leadlight window. On the table beside him is a folding chessboard, a deck of playing cards and a black money purse. A butterfly sits on the windowsill.
Artwork
- Sword hilt, blade: GENTILESCHI, Artemisia, Judith Beheading Holofernes, 1612-21, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
- Sword grip: VOUET, Simon, Magdalene, 1614-15, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome.
- Wood panel, window: HEMESSEN, Jan Sanders van, Woman Weighing Gold, 1500s, Staatliche Museen, Berlin.
- Purse, cards, chessboard: BAUGIN, Lubin, Still Life with Chessboard (The Five Senses), 1630, Musée du Louvre, Paris.
- Throne: JORDAENS, Jacob, Portrait of Magdalena de Cuyper, mother of Rogier Le Witer, c.1635-1636, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
- Chair, man: MOR VAN DASHORST, Anthonis, Sir Thomas Gresham, 1565-70, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
- Gold chain: CRANACH, Lucas the Younger, Portrait of a Woman, 1500s, Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
- Hat: HOLBEIN, Hans the Younger, Portrait of Henry VIII, 1540, Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome.
- Butterfly: AST, Balthasar van der (aka BOSSCHAERT, Ambrosius the Elder), Still Life with Fruit and Flowers, c.1620-21, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
