RAF 100th Annivesary and the Ace of Swords

I was quite pleased to have arrived in the U.K. the day before yesterday. It's a land I've grown quite fond of. It seems my arrival is in sync with some major celebrations here:

• Yesterday was the christening of the newest member of the royal family Prince Louis, 
• England is in the semi-finals in soccer/football after 28 long years
• Today marked the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force - RAF.

As a lover of things that fly and the armed services and our allies, I was seated front and center along side my friend Karen to watch the BBC's live coverage. There were thousands gathered in person to watch the impressive sum of 100 aircraft used in the flyover. It started with helicopters in the lead motoring along at about 100 MPH, which included Puma and Chinook, followed by about 20+ different types of aircraft - including the jewel of the 1940's, the Spitfire - and rounded out with aerobatic fighter jets rocketing by at 350 MPH!

That would be the crowning pride of the British air warriors, the Red Arrows. They are the Brits' answer to the incomparable precision and majesty of our Blue Angels. *puffs chest with pride* I adore the U.K., but I'm loyal to home first, in spite of the current situation in the White House.

Ok. Before this gets political on a space not suited for such things...

Let's talk about the Queen beaming with national pride!

Her Majesty was in fine form as she  looked on with the rest of the royal family, including the Duke and oh-so-lovely Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan) as well as the Prince of Wales and the elegant Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate) watching the procession in the sky soar over Buckingham Palace.

Above are the Typhoon fighter jets. Their sleek delta-wing design is a big part of what makes this aircraft extremely agile and great for dogfights in actual combat missions, not to mention incredibly sexy! I by no means have that much knowledgeable about military aircraft, but  I'd say these would be somewhat similar to  our own F-16 or F-22's.

The RAF has nine squadrons of Typhoons, and thus the individual  aircraft represents each of them. Three specific Squadrons are also celebrating their 100th anniversary and so they each have a unique design painted on their tails in honor of that. Unfortunately that could not be captured in my high quality, professional photos snapped while sitting on a couch watching the TV *shrugs with  laughter*

The center aircraft is painted to commemorate last year's 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. In short, that was the battle that prevented Nazi Germany from completely invading and taking the UK back in 1940. There are plenty of images on Google to see up close shots of these beautiful machines.

                                      

And of course the Red Arrows rounded out the festivities. Queen Elizabeth looks on, beaming with    pride as they released their trademark jet exhaust representing the colors of the Union Jack. 

Now as a tarot reader, to make this tarot-centric, the card that comes to mind is the Ace of Swords. On more than a few occasions I've seen this card represent an airplane, or those who work on them, especially when I was an active flight attendant. 

Also, in the tradition that I read cards, the suit of swords is connected with the element  of air as is shown in this version of the card with the beautiful, winged sylph adding her energy to this athame. The sleek shape and cold steel of the blade are so similar to an aircraft as it slices through the atmosphere and the rich blue cloth looks like a cloudless, clear blue sky that makes for perfect flying weather with no turbulence.  

The Ace of Swords is a card that is about a new opportunity to have clarity and focus and often times involves acts of courage in the face of adversity. It's about precision, razor-sharp instincts on one side of the blade that are equally matched with logic and attention to detail. It's a signal that there is no time or room for bullshit, so grab hold and cut through any you start or may find. It tells us to put ego aside and look at just the facts with honor, integrity and truth to the best of our ability.

Sounds exactly like the mindset needed to be a person working on an aircraft, especially a person in control of the machine and its precious contents and crew.

*deck featured - So Below Tarot by Barbara Moore