9 of swords

This painting is a part of my Queer Revolution Tarot series. I painted 78 tarot cards based on the themes of traditional decks, but with a gender expansive approach to a traditionally binary categorization. Masculine and feminine are qualities, not bodies, and anybody could embody either or both.

This card represents anxiety, worry, fear, depression, and nightmares. Dark and disturbing thoughts are weighing you down and keeping you up. The cycle of increasing anxiety can only be broken by replacing negative thoughts and actions with positive. Fear and anxiety can be overpowering, but they may not be rooted in reality. Even though nightmares may not be real, they can affect you as much as actual events. Reach out to an objective friend for help to make sense of your thoughts. 

The figure sits up in bed, surrounded by swords, manifestations of her heavy thoughts. A mirror behind her reflects paintings on the wall: the tower card and the page of swords. A hopeful beginning and a complete ending.