Samson, the Israelite, went to Gaza and tore down the temple and buildings and killed a lot of people including himself—all aimed at retaliation against Delilah, the Philistine woman who betrayed him. Sound familiar in light of what is happening today? Only, this is a biblical story about Israeli/Palestinian strife in Gaza over 2,000-years-ago. (Judges 13–16
). Today’s conflict is nothing new. It obviously began long ago.
Some of you may look at the title of this essay and think, “Peace on earth? Forget it! War has continued non-stop somewhere on earth for centuries, it’s the human condition. There is no Utopia.” (See “Taming Humanities Urge for War” (Scientific American May 2009)
As we know, splinters of war still continue today in several places on earth: Ukraine/Russia; Israel/Palestine; Sudan; Yemen; Syria; Somalia … and so on. We’ve been hearing/seeing the TV reports of atrocities every night for months now, going on years. The latest mind-numbing causalities are happening in Israel and Gaza beginning with the Hamas terrorist invasion of Israel and the murder of 1,500 civilians at a concert. At the same time, they killed people on Israeli's farms and kibbutz’s and captured 250 hostages. This kind of terrorism has resulted in retaliation from Israel, which is now blasting and bombing Gaza every day into gruesome bloody piles of rubble, including killing Palestinian civilians, women and children. Could we say that this is just a continuation of over 4,000 years of miserable conflict in the Middle East? Is this something new? Where is this supposed to lead? What will be the outcome? Peace?
Is this what “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” really means? According to the Harper’s Bible Dictionary, this statement originally meant the judicial policy of Israelite’s justice system where the sentencing and punishment fits the crime which was determined by a judge (Mosaic Law, Exodus 21:23–25). But today, this concept infers that enemies and their armies can descend into disastrous acts of revenge and angry violence at will. With US money, guns, bombs, tanks and war equipment, the US has helped Israel retaliate and, so far, they have killed more than 20,000 Palestinian civilians, including innocent women and their children. Yes, the distrust and hate from both sides has led to a catastrophic inferno of war. Why do war-mongering men of the world continue on a path of total destruction of countries, land, property, and people, all the while manifesting the signpost of kill, kill, kill? Peace, Peace! Will there be peace in the end? It isn’t a matter of who’s right and who’s wrong, it’s all about the hate and murder of those you perceive to be your enemies.
“We should be dismantling the war machine and rolling back the conditions that led to it. True feminism which is interested in guiding the world toward health in a way that benefits women and their children, would make this a priority." Caitlin Johnstone, Australian Independent Journalist
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| Knight of Swords TOCC |
I’ve chosen the Knight of Swords for the discussion because most Tarot decks include four Knights who are the remains of a bye gone era of royal rulers—Kings and Queens of many old Kingdoms around the world, some of whom ended their reign in WWI and WWII. In earlier Tarot decks, Knights still represent soldiers and warriors skilled in the military conduct of war. These were Medieval Knights on horseback who brandished swords and weapons used for maiming and killing. Many kings’ armies engaged in wounding and killing people in an effort to put down European peasant rebellions in the 15th to 16th centuries. Military knights also participated in the conquest of other countries and plundering of their cities, such as the knights of the Crusades.
(See my blog: The Chariot: Wars and Heroes, July 7, 2017)
The Knight of Swords in Tarot of Cosmic Consciousness has a more symbolic esoteric meaning. In the painting, a well-aimed sword swoops down over a tessellated dark and light background. The Knight is not there. Instead, this Knight card symbolizes the action of conquering the duality of opposites where the skill of the Knight is embedded in a sense of determining truth from lies; dealing with the positive vs the negative; good vs evil; love vs hate, and so on. The double-edged sword is symbolic of focusing and cutting through hostilities and duality, exposing falsehoods and misinformation in order to reveal the truth.
“Polarized thinking encourages our sense of separation and deflects our vision
from the world’s —and our own —inherent unity.”
(Michael Schneider, Beginners Guide to Constructing the Universe, Harper Perenial 1995 )
Hope for Peace on Earth
How are we to find peace in all this man-made chaos? Some may think the hope for peace is just a utopian fantasy that never comes and never will. In the last century, many world leaders, both political and religious, advocated for non-violent means to solve the disasters of endless wars. Gandhi led the non-violent movement in India that eventually freed them from the British Overlords. His example and steadfastness has provided strength for the efforts of others to stop the violence. Here’s some of what he said:
“There is no half-way between truth and non-violence on the one hand and untruth and violence on the other. We may never be strong enough in thought, word and deed. But we must keep non-violence as our goal and make steady progress towards it.”
Gandhi on Non-violence, Ed. Thomas Merton (New Directions Publishing, 1965)
Ask yourself these questions when you get the Knight of Swords in a reading:
1. How have I dealt with animosity from others?
2. Am I expressing my true inner strength in dealing with, or preventing evil violent conflict in my home, at work, in my country?
3. How can I work to liberate both the oppressor and the oppressed?
4. Am I able to forgive those who show remorse and ask forgiveness for wrongful hurts?
5. Am I expressing kindness and compassion for those suffering from the burden of evil-doers that cause chaos in their lives? What is the best way to help?
6. Am I finding and working with others who are training and providing guidance for others on the same path of ending violent conflict.
7. Do I have a plan to share that will end war once and for all and establish peace on earth?
