She is imprisoned inside that castle. She is held within its strong walls, beyond a closed gate, behind a palisade, out in a deep lake, at the end of a narrow, slippery bridge. I need her to be free so I can truly live.

What must you do to set yourself free?

The prison is well-defended and very tricky to enter. We must go back to the very basics, our deepest motivation and our most basic senses to find our way in. But once we enter, the truth is revealed: there is no prisoner except ourselves, and there is no guard watching our every move except us. We are in control of this place and we have the choice to walk free.

Do you choose to walk free from this place?

Each life is a blessing worthy of celebration. It is an illusion to think that it is a burden, or something we can do battle with to make it perfect. We need to give up that image of perfection. We can step through the fire of transformation and claim our own strength and gentle power. Then we can give all of ourselves to all our relations. We will feel the full blessing of life.

Can you walk free from your perfectionism?

We have come to the end of a torturous road. Although this hurts, we are now ready to be transformed.

Sword Ten, like all Tens, belongs to the Compost Moon.