Six of Swords

Quick answer

The core meaning of Six of Swords is Harmony in the realm of Thought. Upright, it usually points to Journey by water, route, way, envoy, commissionary, expedient; reversed, it may suggest Declaration, confession, publicity; one account says that it is a proposal of lo.

Card imagery

A ferryman carrying passengers in his punt to the further shore. The course is smooth, and seeing that the freight is light, it may be noted that the work is not beyond his strength.

Upright meaning

Upright keywords: Thought: Harmony. Waite gives the upright divinatory meaning as: Journey by water, route, way, envoy, commissionary, expedient.

Reversed meaning

Reversed keywords: Thought: Harmony (blocked). Waite gives the reversed divinatory meaning as: Declaration, confession, publicity; one account says that it is a proposal of love.

Love, Career, Money, and Growth

Love

Upright, the Six of Swords is leaving the storm: moving away from a place of heartbreak, walking out of an old relationship, or the two of you passing through a hard time into calm. Reversed, carrying old baggage forward, wanting to leave but unable, or returning to a situation you had left.

Career

Upright it is changing jobs, a transfer, a project moving from chaos to steadiness, hard but pointed the right way. Reversed, the transition is blocked, old problems follow you to the new place, or you feel guilty about leaving.

Money

Upright, finances recover slowly from difficulty; plan a smooth transition, such as the cost of moving or changing cities. Reversed, watch debt being transferred rather than solved, or an under-budgeted transition.

Personal growth

The Six of Swords lets you trust that transition has a direction. Upright, accept this quiet crossing; reversed, really leaving means letting go, not just changing location.

Example question

You ask whether moving to another city will go well and draw the Six of Swords. Upright says the direction away from the storm is right; the crossing is quiet and hard but it steadies. Reversed says the old problems will travel with you, or you are not actually ready to leave; deal with the part you cannot pack first.

How they feel

When Six of Swords shows how someone feels about you, the feeling shows up in how they understand you, and in what they want to say but haven't. Past moments with you color it, and part of them wants to reconnect. Upright it leans toward transition, leaving the storm, and gradual recovery; reversed, toward carrying the old baggage along, or unable to truly leave.

Yes or No

Upright

Yes

Reversed

No

This is our own quick read, based on which way the card’s meaning leans. Traditions disagree about individual cards, and a “Maybe” needs to be weighed against the position in the spread and your actual situation rather than taken as a one-word answer.

Waite’s Original Text (1911)

Additional Meaning

The voyage will be pleasant. Reversed: Unfavorable issue of lawsuit.

Quoted from A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith. The text is in the public domain.