Starting with the Cyclone: The Query That Hit Me
You know how sometimes a reading just smacks you right in the face? That’s exactly what happened this afternoon. I was trying to finally sort out my storage unit—a job I’ve been putting off since Christmas—when my phone started buzzing off the hook. It wasn’t just a casual message; it was pure, stressed-out energy coming through the screen.
This person, let’s call her Sarah, was totally panicked. She’d been dating someone for about three weeks, and suddenly, this guy—who had been a perfect gentleman, all sweet texts and flowers—had completely disappeared. Poof. Ghosted. Sarah was running through every excuse in the book, trying to make sense of the whiplash. My gut immediately clenched because I knew what this smelled like, but I had to pull the cards to confirm the chaos.
I ditched the dusty boxes, cleared a small spot on my makeshift desk, and grabbed my deck. I didn’t mess around with complicated spreads. When the energy is this frantic, you need blunt clarity. I decided on a simple ‘Root, Current Action, Potential Outcome’ three-card line. I needed to see exactly where this fast-moving train had started and where it was heading, or, in this case, where it had derailed.
Drawing the Air: When the Knight of Swords Jumps Out
I shuffled for a good five minutes, really pushing Sarah’s panicked energy into the deck. I cut the deck once, and then laid the three cards out. The first two cards were confusingly mild—a bunch of Cups suggesting high emotional hopes and maybe a little too much daydreaming. But the central card, the one defining the Current Action of this whirlwind romance, nearly made me laugh out loud.
It was the Knight of Swords. Upright. Bold. Charging.
Now, if you only read the little instruction book that comes with the deck, you’d think, “Oh, communication! Progress! Energy!” But anybody who has actually used this card in a real-life love reading knows that the Knight of Swords is rarely about soft feelings and commitment. He’s a bulldozer with commitment issues. He’s the guy who rushes in, declares his eternal love on the second date, and then forgets your name by the fourth.
I’ve seen this exact scenario play out too many times. There was one case last year—a guy who swore he was moving across the country for a woman he’d met online. She pulled the KoS regarding his intentions. I told her straight up: he’s bringing drama, not luggage. Sure enough, he arrived, caused three weeks of intense arguments, maxed out her credit card on a “future investment,” and was gone, back on a plane without a word. That memory drilled the true intent of the KoS into my head forever.
Deciphering the Intent: Why He Rushes, Why He Stops
My practice process here shifted immediately from “what does the book say” to “what is the pure kinetic energy doing.”
I broke down the Knight of Swords energy specifically in relation to the love context:
- The Speed: This Knight is addicted to the chase and the feeling of momentum. He doesn’t actually care about the destination. He just wants to feel like he’s winning.
- The Intent: His intention isn’t malicious, but it’s selfish. He intends to fulfill his immediate desire for excitement, validation, or temporary passion. He intends to conquer the situation, not care for the relationship.
- The Disappearance: Swords are air—they shift quickly. Once the novelty wears off, or once the expectation of commitment starts to feel like a burden, the wind just changes direction. He’s not ghosting because he’s evil; he’s ghosting because he simply found a new, more immediate interest to chase. His initial intensity was genuine, but only in the moment it was uttered.
I grabbed my journal and jotted down five key phrases that summed up the KoS in this scenario. These phrases were raw and honest, aimed at cutting through Sarah’s emotional fog:
- Action Over Substance.
- Intensity is Not Longevity.
- He Intended Excitement, Not Eternity.
- Pure Momentum, Zero Planning.
- Expect the Whistle-Stop Tour, Not the Permanent Residence.
The Delivery: Hitting Her with the Truth
Once I had this clarified, I didn’t sugarcoat the outcome card (which, predictably, was a low-numbered Sword card indicating anxiety and realization). I crafted the response carefully, making sure she understood that his behavior was a reflection of his internal disorder, not her value.
I wrote to her that the Knight of Swords showed a person whose intentions were 100% focused on movement and acquisition. He charged into her life, not because he was ready to build a home, but because she looked like an exciting challenge. The instant the challenge was met—or the instant his rush slowed down—he just turned his horse and found the next battle. His actions today were dictated by the impulse he had yesterday. His current intent is to avoid responsibility, and the swiftness of his departure confirms that.
Sarah read the whole thing and came back with just one word: “Ouch.” But that was quickly followed by, “Okay, that actually makes perfect sense. I feel silly for falling for the rush.”
That right there is why I keep sharing these records. It’s not about memorizing the textbook; it’s about watching how these archetypes behave in the wild, chaotic jungle of real human relationships. The Knight of Swords doesn’t wait for permission or explanation; he just acts. And our job is to call out that pure, unfiltered action when we see it charging toward someone we care about. I closed my laptop, put away the deck, and finally went back to my dusty storage unit, feeling a lot cleaner than when I started. The practice worked, the truth was delivered, and another lesson was filed away under “Avoid the Fast Movers.”
