Creative Draw of the Day: Six of Swords

I've seen many different interpretations of this card--including one that casts the ferryman as Charon, and the seated figure and child as the newly dead crossing the River Styx. Death, in the Tarot, is symbolic rather than literal; at least in a regular reading. But if the card represents a fictional character, as it does here, all bets are off.

But I've never seen this as a death card, symbolic or otherwise. To me that huddled figure--it's impossible to know if it's male or female--has taken the child and fled from a terrible situation (see the troubled waters on the right side of the boat) to a place of at least temporary safety (see the smooth waters on the left side of the boat and the peaceful, if gray, island in the distance).

The suit of Swords represents the element Air, and therefore the mind and the ability to discriminate between a good situation and a bad one. That huddled figure is not willing to remain the victim of some awful circumstance. So to me, this is a positive card--even if the journey is painful and frightening.

I don't know how to fit this card into one of my stories yet. But that's ok--I'm willing to let it rest until the right character steps forward to claim it.