Are you my friend?
Knight of Swords Spell
Caw! Caw!
Guffaw! Guffaw!
You laugh like the world's your tinder.
En garde.
Allez.
Are you laughing, cackling, crackling
me into shards—
into pieces, hard?
Advance.
I see all of you,
the parts you hide inside.
Parry.
Can you see any of me?
Riposte.
I'd rather burn than be ignored.
I’m more than alive—
I’m on fire!
Beat.
I set things ablaze with desire.
Lunge.
Go ahead, jump off onto my funeral pyre.
Amaze me with your thoughts, diabolic.
Parade around me with your evil tonic.
Get drunk with me, alcoholic.
Tilt. Stare.
Let's fight until death, hyperbolic.
Kill me with your love, vitriolic.
Fill me up, drink from my cup, apostolic.
Then let’s sit and mire, my melodic melancholic.
Peck.
I’ve got the key, the crow knows.
I’ve the third eye’s sight—
I’m frisky with fight.
Here to jab—
eager to stab—
anything boring and drab.
Stomp.
Bring the chaos—
BYOB—
bring your own bomb,
your ticking trauma qualm.
Quid pro quo—
what’s your current status quo?
Social media presence?
Tok Tik, tick tock,
Instaglam, Facehook.
How many followers have you?
Are you important?
Are you significant?
Do you have power?
Fleche.
Post those pretty pictures.
Recite those twisted scriptures—
so upon you we can shower
all the love that’s lacking,
all the parts that are slacking.
Keep up that facade,
you don't want it cracking.
Then let’s argue; let’s fight,
about all that isn't right,
about all that doesn’t matter.
Bind.
Hurt people hurt people I heard.
Let’s squawk and bicker
until things start to flicker—
until that fever burns and churns
and breaks us apart.
Into a mess, into a splatter of clatter—
into a smatter of spatter
that will never get fatter.
C’mon let’s be friends.
Until the end…
Until the spark of me is cinder.
Retreat.
Are you my friend?
Stare. Tilt.
Arrêt.
Keywords & Card Content
KEYWORDS: LIGHT—DECISIVE, BRAVE, IMPULSIVE
DARK—COMBATIVE, UNPREDICTABLE, AIMLESS
IMAGE
Blood splashes across the scene. Eight flashes into your face. Part crow, part angsty teen, her fury fuels her fire. Bombs alight in her eyes, an angry tear boils down her cheek. One arm grips her foil, its end emblazoned with the Air element. Her other arm, relaxed and nonchalant, lifts to reveal a crow’s appendage. Talons curl, etched with the symbol of Swords. Feathers woven into her braids, Eight stares straight at you, searching for the parts of you to attack.
DIVINATORY MEANING
You’re the Knight of Swords and ready to fight—for what’s wrong, what’s in between, but hopefully what’s right. Crows are insanely intelligent. They never forget when they’ve been wronged and are infamous grudge-holders. You might begin with a righteous reason for challenging something, but if your temper isn’t controlled, you conflict will follow.
Your fencing sword is aimed and ready—but will the violence be worth the cost? Your wounds show most when you keep your weapons raised at all times.
You posses a fierce sense of morality and would fight to the death to defend it. Your shadow side, however, can become unsafe if you haven’t practiced enough self-care. Be cautious with interaction with others if you’re feeling off. Meet your basic needs before confronting anyone at all.
Your bravery is unmatched. Yet, your unpredictability and lack of boundaries can be dangerous. If you burn through your expansive energy on things that don’t matter, you might end up aimless—sputtering without direction, missing important beats, and losing your chance at a clean strike. And of course, that needless defeat will only deepen your unhappiness.
Others may need to step away when you’re distressed because you will react to whatever is around you—no matter who or what—until you’re sated. And sometimes you just live for the rush. The flèche. The lunge.
You rarely want comfort. You prefer to process alone. But figure out what you truly believe before you start annihilating someone over it. Make sure this ultimate duel is one you actually want.
The only place you feel fully understood may be among other crows— just as brilliant and sharp. You make a formidable enemy…and your group is called a murder for a reason. Is the kill premeditated, or self-defense? Finish the engagement you’re in before launching a new one.
En garde.
EIGHT’S INSIGHT
Dysfunctional Family Roles: The Scapegoat, The Black Sheep, The Rebel
In a dysfunctional family, you can be cast as The Scapegoat, The Black Sheep, or The Rebel. You carry something within you that refuses containment—an ember that won’t die, a sound that won’t be muffled, an energy that both attracts and repels. Even if you screamed into a pillow behind multiple closed doors, your presence would still be felt. Silence has never suited you.
You may be the “different” one—unwilling to play the assigned role. You crave independence and will confront dysfunction rather than enable it. You are, or will become, the cycle-breaker.
A narcissistic parent may scapegoat you because your boldness exposes what they want hidden. Their toxic behavior can’t be covered up in your presence, so they attempt to pin their unbecoming traits onto you first. You challenge unfairness within unsafe systems. You advocate for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
You are powerful to have on someone’s side—and extremely formidable as a foe. In conflict, you hold up a mirror and reflect the parts others hate in themselves. Be careful not to “catch the fleas” of narcissist behavior if provoked. You are not the traits projected onto you.
Comparison is poison. This is your journey.
Ask yourself:
Do you like what you’re fighting for? Do you like what you see in the mirror? Have you become what you abhor?
Don’t succumb to needless violence—even in words. You’re smarter than that. Keep your temper in check. Go collect shiny swords, pretty red ribbons, or find a new outlet for your fire.
What others think of you is none of your business.