A Knight in armor is galloping to our left, Sword raised high. His helmet has a read feather or streamer flowing from it. His horse wears a strap with a butterfly design. The clouds in the sky, and the trees in the background, suggest that a strong wind is blowing.
This is an image of haste. Knights are known to travel, to go on quests. This Knight – the Knight of Swords – shows that he is impulsive, rash, even foolhardy. He goes charging into battle without considering the consequences. The Knight is driven.
Butterflies can symbolize the soul; in Greek ‘psyche’ means both ‘soul’ and ‘butterfly’. It can stand for metempsychosis, the traveling of the soul from birth to birth. Also metamorphosis, the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.