Minor Arcana · Swords
King of Swords
reason · standards · fair judgment
What King of Swords means
Deliberation has no natural stopping point. Reasons can be produced indefinitely, each of them legitimate, and nothing inside the reasoning indicates when enough of it has been done: a further consideration is always available, so the process cannot be relied on to choose the moment it ends. Fire of air supplies that ending — an act performed on the deliberation rather than derived from it, and the closing of a question is therefore never justified by the question. Decide is a cutting word, from caedere, to cut off. It came into English already meaning to bring a dispute to an end.
Upright
Bring consistent standards to a complicated question. Separate personal preference from a fair process, and be willing to explain the reasoning behind your decision.
Reversed
Authority can become brittle when it cannot be questioned. Invite evidence that challenges your view and ensure a rule is serving its stated purpose.
A question to sit with
What standard would remain fair if our positions were reversed?
Traditional attribution
Fire of Air. Attributions follow the Golden Dawn with Waite's numbering.