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VERSION 2.0 IN PROGRESS

Temporary, for editorial feedback only - please do not bookmark or download

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Four of Swords
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A haloed saint lies asleep in a bed placed in a church alcove. Three swords hang on the wall beside him and one lays at his bedside, as though ready if required. There is a stained glass window and a red shield emblazoned with a gold lion.

My Interpretation: Meditation and seclusion. Rest and recovery. Take time alone to heal your wounds. This is a time to return to simplicity. Contemplation will bring back a sense of peace. (Reversed: Stress and pressure may become extreme, or a time of loneliness and isolation may need to be overcome).

Edit notes to self: Different to v1.0 card as I've added more symbolism to assist readers and made it far more similar to the Rider-Waite card. The main difference between this and the RW card is that the person in bed is a man sleeping instead of a knight on his tomb. I have also added a rampant lion on a shield to symbolise strength through independence, and one of the swords lies beside his bed - ready to hand if needed. Still to do: quite happy with it.

Sources:

Base Pic: Benozzo Gozzoli, Italian painter, Florentine school (b. cca. 1420, Firenze, d. 1497, Pistoia); St Augustine Leaving his Mother (scene 3, east wall) 1464-65 Fresco, 220 x 230 cm Apsidal chapel, Sant'Agostino, San Gimignano.

Man Asleep in Bed: Simone Martini, Italian painter, Sienese school (b. 1280/85, Siena, d. 1344, Avignon); The Dream of St. Martin 1312-17 Fresco, 265 x 200 cm Cappella di San Martino, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi.

Shield With Rampant Lion: Andrea Del Castagno, Italian painter, Florentine school (b. 1423, Castagno, d. 1457, Firenze); Monument to Niccolò da Tolentino 1456 Fresco Florence Cathedral Opera del Duomo, Florence.

Swords: Hans Memling, Flemish painter (b. cca.1440, Seligenstadt, d. 1494, Bruges); The Archangel Michael c. 1479 Oil on wood, 37 x 16 cm Wallace Collection, London.

Parchment Text Panel: Unknown Illuminators, England; The Aberdeen Bestiary (Aberdeen University Library MS 24), written and illuminated around 1200. Aberdeen University, Scotland.

Gilt Border: Conrad Witz, Swiss painter (b. cca 1400, Rottweil, d. cca. 1445, Basel); King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 1435 Panel, 84 x 79 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin.