Wielding the Sword
Redefining Action Through the Element of Air
While standing beneath the Monument to the Asen Dynasty in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria - giant sword surrounded by warriors on horseback - I couldn't help but feel the full weight of the Suit of Swords. In the Tarot, and in the alchemical process, Swords represent the element of Air: communication, action, and the sharp edge of the intellect.
And standing there, I found myself returning to the question that haunts every conscious creator eventually:
"Do I need to take action to bring my desires into the physical world?"
The answers tend to split into two dogmatic camps. One side insists on relentless hustle - working the material world until it yields. The other suggests total passivity - waiting for the universe to deliver while you sit very still and believe very hard. As always, the truth is found in the balance. And that's not just because I'm a Libra Sun.
The Alchemical Expression of "Action"
To understand action, we must first understand Air. Air (🜁) is our voice, our life essence, and the very medium through which we perceive and walk through reality. We do not act only with our hands. We act with our words. We act with our perception.
When we expand our definition, action takes three primary forms:
Physical Action: The movement of the body in the material realm.
Communication: Speaking your desire into the world — using your voice as a vibrational instrument of change.
Perception: The shift in how you see the world around you.
In alchemy, this is the process of Separation, represented by Air - the bridge between the initial spark of desire and its final, dense manifestation in Earth. If you skip the Air, you bypass the shaping process entirely. The discernment. The moulding. You go straight from dreaming to demanding and wonder why nothing arrives.
The Sword is Not a Weapon
We tend to misread the Sword. We see an instrument of war when we should see a tool for shaping.
The Sword cuts away the parts of reality you no longer wish to inhabit. It carves your intended path from the raw marble of existence. But what that sword actually looks like in your hands is entirely your business - not mine, not the Tarot's, not anyone else's. It might be music. It might be visual art. It might be the logistics of a business that has nothing to do with anything traditionally creative. What matters is that you're working within the realm of your own expertise, with the tools already laid out before you.
Which brings me to the question I want you to ponder:
What tool is already in your hands that you haven't fully utilised yet?
The Trap of the "How"
The most common mistake a conscious creator makes is overthinking the How. We get stuck trying to solve the mechanics of the physical world before we have finished with the Air. We jump ahead to Earth - to Pentacles, to results - before the shaping is done.
Here is what I know: the “how“ is none of your business. Air, like water, finds the path of least resistance quite happily on its own. Your only job is to engage in Inspired Action - that compulsion you cannot help but follow, the inspiration that becomes physical movement without the friction of hard work.
There is a stark difference between knowing and understanding. You don't need to consciously know the “how“. You need to trust it. Let the universe work through you and stop trying to micromanage the process.
Avoiding the "Fall" of Air
Every element and archetype has its shadow. I call it “The Fall”. For Air, The Fall is overthinking - using too much intellect and paralysing the very process you're trying to advance. The Sword turns inward. You begin hacking away at yourself instead of shaping the world around you.
We want to think effortlessly. We want the Sword to be a tool of precision and play, not a weapon of self-destruction.
The tools are already before you. You don't need to find new ones. You simply need to pick up your sword and begin shaping.
Take what resonates. Discard the rest.