Illustrating Decisions: the Two of Swords
The meaning of the Two of Swords
Have you ever been “on the fence” and unable to make a decision? That’s the Two of Swords; a crossroads you may not pass until you choose a path forward. This card tells us to make a decision, already.
Since Swords rule the realm of the mind, this is one of a long series of cards in this suit that point to the not-so-great habits of the human mind.
⚔️ My concept for this card is a girl tiptoeing along the tip of a fence. On one side of the fence lies a field of violet coneflowers. On the other side of the fence, an equally beautiful field of orange coneflowers. Must she decide which way to go?
Scroll to the end of this post to see my full card design!
Two of Swords tarot card examples
This card is traditionally illustrated with two swords, crossed over each other. Sort of a “You shall not pass!” Gandalf moment. Here are several examples from tarot decks I use.
See footnotes for artist credits.
How I made this card
I painted this illustration using a “wet-in-wet” watercolor technique with Ecoline liquid watercolor by Royal Talens). See materials list in footnotes below.
I layered the scanned painting under my linework drawing, then added another hand-drawn layer of the girl’s skin and clothing using Procreate.
Painting the Two of Swords tarot card with liquid watercolor.
The final illustration
What do you think? Leave me a comment below! I love to hear from you.
The Two of Swords card illustration from my forthcoming Tarot of These Times deck, anticipated late 2026. © Registered copyright Molly Chidsey, all rights reserved.
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Footnotes
Materials and technique notes from this post
Blick Hot Press 100% cotton watercolor paper; EcoLine liquid watercolor paint and brush pens by Royal Talens; Winsor & Newton masking fluid. I use an Epson Workforce Pro printer to print my drawings onto watercolor paper, using their water-resistant Durabrite ink.
Linework is drawn by hand with Apple Pencil on iPad Pro using Procreate app, and added as image layers on top of scanned painting using Photoshop.
Roman numerals, hand-drawn linework, and all calligraphy were drawn by hand using Procreate, Apple Pencil and iPad Pro.
Artists of other tarot cards featured in this post
Clockwise from top left: Rider-Waite Tarot, illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith; Modern Witch Tarot Deck by Lisa Sterle; The Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans; The Gentle Tarot by Mari in the Sky; Rainbow Heart Tarot by Rachel Rosenkoetter; and The Reclaimed Tarot, ReClaim it! PDX, collage by various local artists.
Learn about tarot
Want to learn more about tarot? I highly recommend the book Modern Tarot: Connecting with Your Higher Self through the Wisdom of the Cards by Michelle Tea.
A note about Ai and this project
I do not use Ai (artificial intelligence) to write the content of this blog or to create illustrations. I also do not allow Ai training. See here for my copyright notice.
