King of Swords – How the Raven Brought Light to the World

A terrible darkness befell the world. The sun, moon and stars were nowhere to be found. The Raven worried for the people who would never be able to last with the light and nourishment of the sun to grow their crops or the moon to fish by. The Raven discovered a greedy Chief who lived in his lodge atop a mountain, paying no mind to the people outside who were suffering. As it came to pass the Chief didn’t worry because he had stolen away the sun, moon and stars for himself and kept them in his home. One day Raven saw the Chief’s daughter by a stream were she was stopping to take a drink and Raven turned himself into a seed and fell into the water which the daughter then drank. She became pregnant from the seed and soon gave birth to a little raven haired boy.

The boy would cry and cry and nothing appeased him. The Chief, proud Grandfather that he now was, would give anything to make the boy happy. The boy found several bags hanging from the wall and begged Grandfather Chief to give him a bag to play with. Giving in to the cries of the child Grandfather Chief took down the bag of stars, telling the boy to play carefully. The boy bounced and tossed around the bag until the bag flew out of the smokehole in the roof of the lodge, flew up and the stars exploded like fireworks back into the night sky. The boy again cried and cried looking for a thing to play with and he had his eye on the other bag that hung from the way. Grandfather Chief gave in and handed the boy the bag instructing him to be very careful this time and not to let the bag bounce around. Again the boy rolled and played with the bag and again the bag bounced and made it ways out of the smokehole and up to the sky where the moon came sliding out of the bag and again took her place in the sky.

Grandfather Chief was unhappy with what happened but loved his grandson very much and soon he all but forgot about what had happened. One day the boy again was up to his tricks and pointed out a box that sat in the corner of the room. The box was elaborately decorated and was a prized item of Grandfather Chief. But, loving his grandson and wanting to make him happy, he took out the box and took off the top to show the boy its contents. Inside the box was the glorious, bright and shining sun. The boy looked at it with wide eyes and he reached out to touch it. Grandfather Chief stopped the boy and told him he could only look. But the boy cried and cried and finally Grandfather Chief gave in. The boy touched the sun and let out a gleeful squeal. Grandfather Chief put the lid back on the box and prepared to put it away but as he did the boy changed form into his true form, that of Raven. Raven grabbed the box with his claws and quickly flew off, out through the smokehole in the roof of the lodge and soared to the sky. When Raven was high above the lodge he took the lid off the box and the sun once again took its place among the moon and stars in the sky and once again the people of the world were given the gifts of light.

There are some other versions of the story where it is the daughter who gives the items to Raven in the guise of a child. But no matter who is the one that gives Raven the sun, moon and stars unknowingly, the Raven shows us his true colors here; Raven is the ultimate and eternal trickster. And while that might be, it doesn’t always mean he is tricking those he comes in contact with in a negative way. In this case, the greed of the Chief was robbing the people of the land of their most critical resources and means of life. Raven knows that his tricks are for the better of the whole.

When we think of the King of Swords in the tarot we see a man that fills roles of warrior, diplomat and scholar. Swords being the suit ruled by air, intelligence and wisdom always play roles in the actions of this King. However the King is one of experienced wisdom. He knows how to apply that wisdom to bring right justice where it is needed. While the King can sometimes be stern and withholding of that wisdom, it is usually because he know that someone who may be seeking it may not be seeking it for the right reasons. We know that some of the key aspects of the King of Swords is that he is intellectual and just and when we look at these qualities in relation to the Raven as the King of Swords in this story, we see this King’s essence fully.

Raven uses his keen senses and intellect to outsmart the greedy Chief and to restore what was just and right to the greater whole. Raven knows that what the Chief is doing, the act of withholding wisdom in his own way, is not the right path to take and he uses a sort of warrior like position and strength while implementing a well thought out plan to set the wrongs right again.

To think about…
So think on the King of Swords and this story of Raven. Look at your own life and think if there is something that you see going on around you that you know instinctual isn’t right. Is there a wrong that needs to be put right? Is it something that you can ethically fix or help to fix? If it is, what has held you back from doing it? Is there a way for you to bring in an impartial and objective position to the situation and take action to restore balance?