Swords are associated with reason, thought, logic, will, courage, verbal skill, matters pertaining to the mind and survival in the world and the element of air. Knights represent pure energy, focused and active, protection, strength, ambition and questing. This is the warrior knight, the Templar knight, who fought for ideals and beliefs. He is a fierce fighter but is cautious to plan well before he enters battle. He prefers strategy over bloodshed. He represents courage and youthful energy.  I see this card as representing you - youthful, energetic, full of confidence but also intelligent and able to communicate well - someone who can slay dragons if necessary. 

"Being deeply committed to acting out your philosophical ideals in your daily lifestyle; getting so caught up in your daily routine that everything else recedes in importance; being completely focused on your intellect and using mind and ideas; having a strong desire to express what you think and being intent on communicating those ideas to others." - Gail Fairfield

For some reason last night and this morning I had several intense and vivid dreams that I actually remembered.  I often have dreams that I am unable to recall that next day.  Sometimes I'll have some type of lingering sense that something odd or strong or whatever occurred but usually I have no clear recollection.  Today I had a fairly clear recollection of two of these dreams.  I couldn't begin to comment on what they might mean because I didn't really examine them for that.  I know I probably should (using Tarot) but my head is just not into it.  Of course how appropriate that I drew the Knight of Swords for this task - exploring the inner workings of my own mind.  Unfortunately my knight is feeling in need of a break and has decided to get off the horse for a bit.  Maybe tomorrow I can give it a try.

I think the ultimate message this card is offering me is that I need to focus a bit more on my mental state and explore what these dreams mean to me because they hold the answers to some issues about which I've been puzzling.  Of course the reality is that I cannot think of anything pressing right now but perhaps that is the challenge.  It's something that my unconscious knows I need to focus but which my conscious mind is avoiding.  Gods know that if there is one thing at which I excel it's avoiding.  I can procrastinate or postpone or just plain old avoid taking care of issues until well beyond the point of common sense.  It may be a defense mechanism or sheer laziness on my part.  Once again - something upon which I should probably reflect a bit more. 

Then again the funny thing about the Knight of Swords is that he is not necessarily great at reflection.  He does use his intellect to plan his actions but I've never felt that he spends much time reflecting upon them once he is finished - not unless he failed at his tasks.  And even then the type of reflection in which he engages is more of a strategy session to avoid such incidences in the future than true reflection.

So maybe the key is that I embody too much of this energy and what I need to do is to channel it in a way that allows more time for introspection and reflection.  Granted this is not my usual proclivity but the reality is that if I'm not willing to make changes and really look at my motivations then what is the point of working with Tarot at all.  I'm not using it for prognostication (I don't tend to have much success in that path anyway) so there must be a reason I enjoy working with the cards.  If I keep ignoring its messages then I'm sure the Tarot will start to give me kicks in the butt.  I have noticed that they can be rather impatient with those of us who ignore their messages too often.