Tarot card meanings › Swords
Six of Swords Tarot Card Meaning
The Six of Swords tarot card means transition, moving on and calmer times ahead. Moving on to calmer water.
Upright
- Transition
- moving on
- calmer times ahead
Reversed
- Stuck in transit
- baggage
- resisting the move
Yes or no
Yes
The Six 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 ferryman poles a small boat across the water, carrying a huddled woman and a child. Six swords stand upright in the bow. The water is rough on one side and smooth on the other.
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 Six of Swords is read as leaving a hard time behind. The journey is quiet and a little sad, and it is heading toward calmer water. It can also mean an actual move or trip.
Six of Swords reversed
Reversed, it is read as being unable to move on, carrying old troubles with you, or a delayed departure.
Yes or no?
In a yes or no question, the Six of Swords is usually read as a yes. 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 SwordsSeven of SwordsEight of SwordsNine of SwordsTen of SwordsPage of SwordsKnight of SwordsQueen of SwordsKing of Swords
‹ Five of SwordsAll 78 cardsSeven of Swords ›
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