Two of Swords - Upright

Minor Arcana

This represents a stale mate situation. You have still not decided which course of action you should follow. You are trying to gain time by stalling. Indecision may lead to trouble.



Let's hear your interpretation of the card...

The woman is hiding from something she doesn’t want to deal with. The sea behind her is rough which suggest to me that some sort of tension is brewing. She is cutting herself off and ignoring things that are going on around her.

There could be a confrontation.

A stalemate has been reached.

Blocked emotions.

exactly! my interpretation too! good job!

There are indeed two ways you can look at this card, but first lets look at the symbolism and what it is trying to convey:

Before we do however lets look at what the number two may represent for us in tarot, in my own system it has come to represent union, duality, choice, co-operation and balance. The two's seem to me to be the first step towards creating. Here we see how the Ace has divided into opposite forces, now these opposite forces can result in balance or conflict.

Swords is the suit with the Element Air and represents mental clarity, thoughts, intellect. So two relates to this as a duality between thoughts.

The woman in the card is sitting on a stone bench - this is something tangible and could represent bringing into reality. She holds in each of her hands a sword representing, duality of thoughts,  ideas and her intellect. Around her head is a band that almost covers her eyes could mean that she trusts in what she knows rather than what she sees. She sits in front of calm water (emotions) There are rocks in the water (hard facts) and two islands (mental limits/boundaries). I have read that the moon and the colour of her dress alludes to the High Priestess and the Swords and the Seat to Justice so suggesting balance and change.

So one of the ways to interpret this card is that she has a sort of mental impass she has her back to the water so she is ignoring her emotions and the rocks of hard fact and holds onto those two swords which she  balances, thus indicating that although there is a conflict of thought going on here (the swords can indicate two courses of action) there is also a reluctance to upset the balance she has created.
This card indicates tension that will have to be sorted out sooner or later.

The other way to interpret this card is that she has cut herself off from her surroundings in order not to be distracted so that she may get her thoughts and ideas working together in order to find a new solution.

Reversed this card may well be suggesting that the balance is lost and your  defences may seem to be overwhelmed.  Alternatively it could be said that the blindfold has been removed in order to see things as they really are or to be able to communicate.

Bella

nicnic, your interpretation of the two swords is exactly how I feel about it myself. So spot on.