Tarot for Rune Lovers – The Twos

Twos in the Minor Arcana

All of the Twos in the Minor Arcana have a bit of a ᛏ (Tiwaz) or ᚷ (Gebo) feel to them. They are all about the balance and equality of exchange.

I will discuss the cards in order from left to right, as shown in the image above of the Waite-Smith Tarot Deck. I have constructed this order because the backgrounds appear to follow it: from sea, to sea and land, to land with a small bay, to land without sea.

Two of Pentacles

This card has elements of ᚹ (Wunjo), and ᚺ (Hagalaz). That might sound strange: Wunjo and Hagalaz in the same card? The card depicts a man happily dancing on a pier (Wunjo), but in the background, Two ships are sailing on rough seas (Hagalaz).

The Two of Pentacles represents the happy ignorance of the juggler, ignoring the ships about to be destroyed behind him.

Two of Swords

This card has a very ᛏ (Tiwaz) feel to it, but tempered with ᛁ (Isa). The woman in the picture is blindfolded, reminiscent of Justice, but she doesn’t hold the scales. Instead, she is balancing Two swords over her shoulders. You will notice that her arms are crossed close to her body in a position where she can’t really use those swords effectively, afraid to cut away what binds her. The water behind her is calm, as is she. 

The Two of Swords represents the serenity which comes with everything being in balance. It tells the reader to slow down (Isa) and seek the most balanced solution to the problem (Tiwaz).

Two of Wands

The Two of Wands is a mix between ᛇ (Eiwaz) and ᛊ (Sowilo). The man in the picture is above the world, somewhere in the upper branches of the World Tree (Eiwaz) and looking out to try to determine his next move. The man in the Wild Wood Tarot, specifically, looks like he is trying to decide how best to take vengeance on whomever wronged him.

This card represents planning your next move (Eiwaz) with the necessary knowledge (Sowilo) to make the right one.

Two of Cups

The Two of Cups is the purest card of X (Gebo), poured into a vessel of ᛈ (Perthro). Both cups are filled, ready to be drunk by a loving couple. You will notice the intertwining of the fish in the Thoth deck, which looks a little like an Old English Ingwaz rune (ᛝ).

This is the card of the give-and-take (Gebo) of love. It represents the promise of a beautiful future, filled with the mysteries of love (Perthro).