As always when I am ill, the tarot leaps into my hand for another layer of initiation. I can't believe it has taken me this long to come across the explanation that the man's fingers on the 10 of Swords are in the same position as those of the hierophant, only seen the other way round. Sandra Thomson's explanation that they are in a Japanese mudra always seemed to me unlikely.
From Wikipedia:
'In many modern packs, the Hierophant is represented with his right hand raised in what is known esoterically as the blessing or benediction, with two fingers pointing skyward and two pointing down, thus forming a bridge between Heaven and Earthreminiscent of that formed by the body of The Hanged Man. The Hierophant is thus a true "pontiff", in that he is the builder of the bridge between deity and humanity.'
I suppose if we see the other side in the 10 of Swords we see what is behind the curtain, and the man has experienced initiation. The wreck he is in is turned round by holding on to the knowledge and blessing he has acquired, and the clouds are clearing.
Do you see the cobbles on the streets? Everywhere you look, stone & rock. Can you imagine what it feels like to reach down with your bones & feel the living stones? The city is built on itself, all the cities that came before. Can you imagine how it feels to lie down on an ancient flagstone & feel the power of the rock buoying you up against the tug of the world? And that's where witchcraft begins. The stones have life, & I'm part of it. - adapted from Terry Pratchett
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