Tarot Card Comparisons: The Thoth Tarot- PRINCE OF SWORDS & The B.O.T.A. Tarot- KNIGHT OF SWORDS.

The Thoth- Prince of Swords is associated with the zodiac sign of Aquarius, which is the symbol for the new age, creative, innovative, and original mind.

The inspired ideas of Aquarius are shown as the three human bodies who want to be released and expressed.

The Diamond Chariot, represents  The Great Work, which is the expansion and liberation of the living from self-imposed limits. It is the "as above, so below" of inspired motion. It is creative energy that wants to be actively expressed and will be in a power positive way or a negative "fantasy" way. The fantasy happens when the individual is so full of ideas, that they reduce all ideas to unreality by removing them to an ideal world of ratiocination and formality, which as such, is out of relation to any facts.

 Fantasized Utopian concepts come from this state of  thought.

The Thoth-The Prince of Swords represents the airy part of Air, as air is directed by"outside influences", such as, the heat of passion and the coolness of pure rationale. Therefore, this card represents the same mental activity as the Archetypal personality of the intellectual, pure rational mind.

 The Thoth Prince of Swords is dressed in woven-full armor of definite device. His chariot is composed of geometric ideas. This chariot is drawn by unharnessed wing children "who are flights of fancy" and may go any-which way they like, as the reins are attached to passing geometric ideas. The Prince of Swords can be compared to the knowledge of Euclid expounded upon by an idiot, whose argument takes any twist and turn it wants to, and yet be totally "rational". Thus the chariot is easily moved but unable to go into any definite direction---except by accident. 

Here is pure intellect without direction supplied by the Will/Spirit. Never the less, the Prince of Swords is crown by a Child's Head, for there is a secret Divinity here that is linked up to Tiphareth (the Son of God), but usually if this personality thinks in terms of the divine, it believes it is above all others and suffers from the righteousness of an fanatic.

Since the logical process of the Prince of Swords has reduced the Air/Mind  to many diverse geometric patterns, they reduce the power of creative mind, as they have no definite purpose. Hence, power is symbolized by the Sword in his right hand (willingness to create) and in his left hand a sickle, which destroys what he immediately creates.

Being that his thoughts require no practical effort, he is purely intellectual, full of ideas that tumble over one-another in a mass of ideas unrelated to each other. However, he is not simple minded as he has all the apparatus of the Mind, intensely clever, admirably rational, thought in its highest degree, but unstable of purpose as even his own ideas are approached with his indifference. He knows that any idea is as good as another and can rationally persuade an Eskimo into buying a deep-freeze even though nature has already provided! By removing the substance of an idea, he can place every idea into an ideal world of ratiocination. Therefore it always looks good on paper no matter how impractical it is to build!

Being that ratiocination is purely formal, even the very facts that promote his ideas are ignored so that his ideas become baseless and unreal.

This person is immensely powerful in persuasion,  because of their unsettled principles which enable them to put forth any argument without regret or remorse; kind of like a insane-used-car salesmen from hell, who postulates the value of saw dust in the automatic transmission of the car he's selling.

The Prince of Swords personality is glib to quote scripture, cunningly supporting any thesis without considering the fact that he supported an opposite thesis earlier in his bombast.

He is impossible to defeat because any position is as good as another and ready to enter into combination with the nearest element available. He really doesn't care if his or her ideas are detrimental to life, the idea is its own purpose! His/Her momentary Vision is above all else!

These elusive and elastic personalities are only of use to the Psyche, if mastered by the Greater Will and Intellect of Spirit, and radiated from the Sephira of the Soul. Therefore, this personality of the self-conscious must travel up the Tree of Life to the 6th-Prince Sephiroth on the Qabalistic Tree known as Tiphareth-Beauty which is the Divine Child/Son intellect in manifestation.

The Thoth Tarot-Prince of Swords, also represents The Creative Intuitive Thinker that may be in all of us. In fact, each of us has inherited the 16 Archetype personalities of the Greater Self, sometimes in combinations, or singularly, as some would have us believe; all for specifically designed purpose.  We may also choose to focus, one or the combinations of these archetypes, as our action on the material plane, as a daily, monthly, yearly or lifetime choice. Each of us is a multidimensional state of conscious energy as our souls are a collective of individual experiences; our names are really legion!

When we entertain the personality archetype known in tarot as The Prince of Swords we have the use of a personality that has newly mastered creative-intuitive thinking. We become inspired and wish not to be limited, restricted or restrained in any way.This desire to be unrestricted is shown by the two swords that the Thoth Prince of Swords  has in his hands. With the sickle and the broad sword, the determined Prince cuts  through any thoughts, beliefs or attitudes that might reign in the movement (chariot) and/or the expression of creative-intuition thinking.

However, the Chaotic nature of Pure Mind must be controlled by the Understanding Mother of All form Binah, who is connected to the 6th Sephira, "The Heart" of the Tree of Life, and the inner heart within ourselves, as Force or Visions for their own sake, lacks compassion and is utter destruction of  freedom, if not all life. One must never forget, that the forms of Life that are established, are more important than ideas as of yet not understood.

Without the Understanding of Spirit and It's purpose for life, these Princes of Rational-Persona become ill defined faddists, fundamentalists, fanatics, devotees of drink and drugs, humanists (those who believe that mankind is the center of the universe----all else can cease to exist) and bible thumping theologians. But even in  such directions there is not stability, and they wander from cult to cult, vice to vice, supporting fanatical convictions for the sake of whim. It is easy to be deceived by such people as they manifest great potency of thought and are often describe as having great depth and breadth of mind, simply because they can jump from idea to idea without hesitation. As in all readings, the surrounding cards will show the dignity of this card.

There is however, a bright light here when Pure Mind aligned with Pure Spirit, ideas can become the expansion and liberation of living image.  Many of us know that Pure Spirit does not reside in religion...that chaos of ideas belongs to the idiots that praise a man-made god for creating life while their fanatical ideas destroy the Divine Creative's work  that is all around them. Rather the Purity of Spirit, is the Life itself, that resides as the Great Ocean of Mother/Universal Collective Unconscious that is all around, in and through us.....AS US! So once again, "Above all things know thyself", is necessary here.

I Am Life and all around me Life is expressing itself as another way of being "Me".

We belong to each other, and not to ideas that separate us from each other. Ideas, have no purpose unless applied to the unification of  Life---for that is the Great Work of Spirit/ of the Divine Collective, that C.Jung called, "The Universal Collective Unconscious". Ideas make gods in their own image, while God/The Divine Creative-makes us into It's image for the purpose of Greater Self Awareness! Thus, it is obvious, that to know God is to Know thyself!

 To reiterate: The Princes are the personified Elemental Forces, of those 4 elements that are brought into balance in Tiphareth-Beauty. Hence, THE PRINCE OF SWORDS, is mental-Air element of ideas that can be constructive or destructive.He is Specific Air of Primal Air. The Element Air, is Mind, so this one  is like the mind itself, which can love thought alone, and not care what it does.

The Prince of Swords is also called the Chariot of the Winds, Prince and emperor of the Sylphs and Sylphides.

The Golden dawn card, had two fairies pulling the chariot but in the, Thoth Tarot card of the Prince of Swords, these fairies are shown as spheres of light in front of the Chariot, accompanied by three winged children who are pulling it. Implying that, this chariot may be pulled capriciously and/or mischievously in any direction, imitating the Mind itself. Also there is significant Yesod-Moon symbolism here to suggest this is a card of mental illusion.

In the right hand, the Prince is swinging the Sword of invocation and creation and in his left is a sickle which immediately destroys that which is created. With child like innocence, the Prince of Swords wields his Sword of Geburah. The logical mental processes of the Prince has reduced the Air (mind) into geometric symbols that represent no real plan, but are demonstrative power of undefined purpose.

In Mythology, the Prince of Swords represents Tyr, the  Norse god of battle. and also Mars, the Roman god of war. Both of these personifications , represent destruction, pestilence, daring and death.The Prince of Swords is representative of the Archetypal Tyrant- Personality who is charismatic, dominating and so impersonal that they have a great power to harm. Sharp wit but assertive to a fault. This card cautions the Querent about over -rationalization.

As in Traditional Medieval art Tarot Cards, The B.O.T.A. Tarot depicts a knight in battle armor for the Prince of The Thoth Tarot.

The tormented clouds, wind blown grass, and rapid flying birds, all represent the turbulent Air and/or mind of such a personality.

He is dressed in the yellows of Air, as is his charger. Winged helm, depicts "flighty thought', or one who rapidly changes ideas, without seeing the error in doing so.

Sword raised, he is ready to overcome all challengers to his rationale.

If the querent is able or has achieved the ability to focus their thought:

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