Tarot card meanings › Swords
King of Swords Tarot Card Meaning
The King of Swords tarot card means intellect, authority and fair judgement. Authority of the mind.
Upright
- Intellect
- authority
- fair judgement
Reversed
- Misused power
- coldness
- manipulation
Yes or no
Maybe
The King of Swords is one of the 14 cards in the suit of Swords. Swords are the suit of air: thought, truth, words and conflict.
What the card shows
A king sits facing forward on a tall throne carved with butterflies, holding a sword that tilts slightly to one side. Clouds sit low behind him.
This is the card as drawn by Pamela Colman Smith for the 1909 Rider-Waite-Smith deck, which is in the public domain.
Upright meaning
The King of Swords is read as the voice of reason. He decides by logic, evidence and principle. The card points to expert advice, fair rulings and thinking clearly under pressure.
King of Swords reversed
Reversed, it is read as intellect used to control, cold authority, or a harsh, unfair judge.
Yes or no?
In a yes or no question, the King of Swords is usually read as a maybe: the answer depends on something not settled yet. Readers differ on some cards, so treat this as one common reading. You can ask a yes or no question and draw a card for it.
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More Swords cards
Ace of SwordsTwo of SwordsThree of SwordsFour of SwordsFive of SwordsSix of SwordsSeven of SwordsEight of SwordsNine of SwordsTen of SwordsPage of SwordsKnight of SwordsQueen of Swords
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