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I'm a tarotist and here's my weekly insight on #XofSwords 
The story's divided in 22 parts just like the 22 tarot cards known as the Major Arcana. They each represent a chapter in a spiritual journey, much like the one the mutant community is undergoing... #XSpoilers
The story's divided in 22 parts just like the 22 tarot cards known as the Major Arcana. They each represent a chapter in a spiritual journey, much like the one the mutant community is undergoing... #XSpoilers
I will be referencing mostly the RWS deck not only because is the one that resonates with me and the one I use in my readings, but also because the beautiful art of Pamela Smith is rich with symbols and pictures almost anyone can intuitively understand and interpret.
The first chapter in the crossover is titled "X of Swords: Creation" and according to our theory it should correspond with the first card from the Major Arcana, The Fool. It's also considered the last of these cards, because the spiritual journey that I mentioned it's cyclical
The beggining and the end are one and the same. The Fool is potential, a promise, a tabula rasa. The moment between what was and what could be. And I think this applies to Krakoa as a whole, this promise land where mutants are forgiven and are allowed to start from scratch
The history of mutant kind makes me think of The Wheel. Cycles that keep repeating. So far they had been hated and persecuted, and we learn thanks to Moira and her own cyclic powers that mutants will always lose unless things change in a radical way. The fresh start of The Fool.
And so they conquer death itself. Now thanks to the resurrection protocols, mutants are virtually inmortal. The promise of a new start is theirs forever. That is as long as they have The Five or a backup in case something happens to these miraculous bunch (Which we know they do)
The thing is, the "Krakoa way" is not entirely new is it? After all, the living island and Apocalypse go way back, only back then it was Okkara.
That's why I think Apocalypse is not being selfish, not entirely. He really cares about mutantkind. Sure, he was trying to get his kids back but I'm pretty sure we'll get a new status quo after the crossover's done and the "old" mutants are going to transform Krakoa in new ways
In a sense The Fool also stands for the unknown, the unexpected. We as the readers are discovering a whole new world full of posibilities along the krakoans. New characters, new places... Old concepts are also being re-introduced with a twist.
When the card is reversed, it could indicate recklessness, naivety, lack of spontaneity. Someone is ignoring the warnings.
The Fool is all about the moment before the journey starts. Expectation. I think through the rest of the chapters we'll see the journey unfold. This is just the beginning.
Now, in regards to the cards on Saturnyne's reading: Except for Judgment and The Hanged Man, they belong to the Minor Arcana. These cards are divided into four suits that stand for the four elements Wands (Fire) Cups (Water) Pentacles (Earth) and Swords (Air)
The scene depicted on the RWS version of the Judgment card is the Christian "Last Judgment" when all the people on Earth will be judged on whether or not they deserve eternal life. Rebirth comes up once again, just like Marie points in her own reading.
The card is about spiritual awakening, answering to a calling or realizing a fundamental truth, a revelation of sorts. It can also signify a wake up call, an opportunity to redeem oneself. That's why on Saturnyne's card we see Apocalypse and the Summoner
Next is the Four of Wands. The number 4 usually symbolizes stability. In this case that is a reunion, or an arrival. It can also represent rituals such as marriage or even rites of passage. But as Marie says, in places like China the number four is associated with death.
Then comes The Hanged Man, on the RWS we see a man hanging upside down, he does this in order to gain wisdom, a different insight. It also represents sacrifice, surrender and volunteering...
All the characters have their own motives to go through the External Gate, but no one forced them to do so. Sacrifice means "to make sacred" from the perspective of the ÇHanged Man things look different, it teaches us to stop and see things from another angle
The cups represent feelings, emotions. The Eight of Cups is about turning your back on something that used to attract you or fulfill you in an emotional sense. We don't really know if this is about Genesis/Annihilation turning Apocalypse down or the other way around.
It could also be about how Apocalypse abandoned Genesis and their children, and how she gave up on him coming back. If the theories are right, and Genesis (beginning) and Annihilation (end) are the same person, then the motif of The Fool comes up once again.
In Tarot swords are related to the air element. Air represents ideas, thoughts and the intellect. The ten is the last number in each suit so is a culmination of everything that suit means. Here you have reached a limit, you can no longer ignore what's holding u down
I think the confrontation between Krakoa and the Swordbearers of Arakko will not be just a physical one, swords will collide but also ideals and different perspectives. In the RWS card you see a very tragic scene, but also the break of a new dawn.
