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The Gold Foil card concentrates on the Rest in Peace convention from a religious point of view. The Gold Foil rendition of the Rider-Waite-Smith card portrays a stain glass motif of the Christ above a supine knight carved on a stone sarcophagus. Much like the graves in a medieval church. The resting and peaceful image portray the permanent overtones of death, the end of a thing, as well as the implied meaning of the four of swords, the Lord of Rest from Strife. The Fours of all suites represent making a matter settled and fixed. Despite the image, this is not a death card, the implied meaning is recovery.

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The Tarot of the Old Path Four of Swords illustrates a Woman protected by four swords plunged into the ground forming a wall of protection around her. Swords are ruled by the Element of Air, which is shown in the yellow color of her dress. The four buttons on her dress show the colors of the four elements, blue for water, green for earth, and red for fire.

She is standing in an attitude of prayer, with her eyes closed and hands extended with palms outward.

The fluttering veil across her mouth indicates her unwillingness to communicate with others as she is seeking atonement with the elements of nature to rejuvenate both mind and body. The Primary meaning of this card seems to be that of retreating from the outside world to gain physical and emotional rejuvenation. Seeking peaceful, protected surroundings to meditate.

This is a card that can represent imagination and the energies of this card can be among the most positive of the Swords, or the most exhausting, depending of course, on one's self-identity. Let's face it, imagination is the key to all creation, human progress; creative vision is the chariot that carries civilization forward in the arts, sciences, in politics, and in every aspect of society. This card represents that inner "something" (Womb with a view) which can enervate, inspire, and impassion; a condition that can be extremely attractive to others, who are delighted with the projection of artistic and poetic thoughts. Therefore, this is a card that can be of good times, friendship, and good feelings. At best, the Four of Swords represents a magical journey into the "Womb with a View", the birthplace of magic ideas, a journey into the Universal Unconscious Collective and bringing back ideas that affect society in some distinct way. Mundanely, the card can just mean a good and safe place to rest and rehabilitate. However, "negative feelings" are also imagined and often, even illness, so this card can represent a body worn out by negative emotions.

Qabalistically, The Four/4 of Swords represents Chesed in Yetzirah, influencing the Formative Astral world of liquid light (The Akasha).

As you may know, mental creation happens in the fluid light of the Astral World before the manifestation is solidified in the Material World of crystallized and/or coagulated light.

In the Qabalah, all of us really are a Yod (flame or hand/spirit of the Divine Creative) and connected as one Great Intelligence, in the Universal Collective Unconscious. Our individual physical human body is the incarnation for the sensual experience of "dreams", turning light-carried information into experienced knowledge as in-form-action. Hence, the physical body is a spiritual sacrament and resides within the Invisible dreamer/Spirit that makes it live by flowing around and through it, much as a fish in the Ocean. That Invisible and/or "inner you" are like Jupiter, benevolent. In this card, Jupiter is in Libra, dampening the normal destructive Swords. The cutting edges are put to rest or sheathed in the munificent, benevolent, and loving nature of Jupiter. One is on the mend.

When the 4/four of Swords - is thrown during a reading:

• There is mental understanding of a matter or relationship coming to full resolution on four levels of mental awareness: The Rational, The Emotional of the Unconscious, the Spiritual, and the Subconscious of the Physical.
• A holding pattern after mastering a difficult mental situation.
• Retreat or withdrawal is necessary to heal or hide, by creating a protected mental space. 
• Here insight can be generated by seclusion.
• A moment of logic and discriminating intelligence of integrity and planning.
• A good and safe journey.
• A moment of inspiration. 
• A surge of passion to do!

The negatives of this card are often shown by the surrounding cards or if card is reversed (Rider-Waite- Smith), it implies:

•   A burden of illness, to recuperate.
•  Intellect is relinquishing control back to the body so that a time out of from problems and solutions are achieved as the body has only one focus of getting better.
• Implications of problems that should not be ignored, listen to the inner self and answers will be restored.
• Lack of creative insight.

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