Sherlock Holmes Card of the Day - 8 of Swords

The Sherlock Holmes Card of the Day is:

EIGHT OF SWORDS

The Sherlock Holmes Tarot (Sterling Ethos)

In The Sherlock Holmes Tarot by John Matthews and Wil Kinghan (Sterling Ethos), the suit of Observation (represented by an eye) is comparable to the suit of Swords.

This card is inspired by The Hound of the Baskervilles, specifically, an attack on Watson by the villainous Colonel Sebastian Moran. The scene on the card, showing Watson bound to a chair, is not recorded in the canon. However, the creators of the deck felt it very likely occurred as part of the whole ordeal. While reading the story, we know that Sherlock Holmes is close by and we have confidence that he will rescue Watson.

So here we have a situation where Watson is caught up in matters beyond his control, imprisoned, restricted, and unable to escape. The creators of this deck include the key words “fear of what others say, bigoted opinions, intolerance” – the idea of someone’s mind, ability to observe, or perspective being limited or inhibited in some way. It is important to escape or emerge from these limitations in order to see matters clearly and make a logical decision on what to do next.