Suit of Swords · air
Six of Swords
The Six of Swords is the quiet crossing away from troubled waters toward calmer ground. The grief is carried along, not erased, but movement itself is the medicine, a mindful passage from what hurt toward what can heal.
The image
A ferryman poles a boat carrying a cloaked figure and child across calm water toward a distant shore; six swords stand upright in the hull, the water rough on one side and smooth on the other.
Upright
Reversed
Reversed
Reversed, the Six of Swords' crossing is rough or refused: a transition resisted, unfinished business dragging you back, the waters too turbulent for a smooth passage. Read it as being stuck on the shore you need to leave, or a move made before things were resolved. The card asks what is anchoring you to a place you have outgrown.
In a reading
In relationships
In relationships, the Six of Swords is moving on toward calmer water: leaving conflict behind, healing gradually, a transition into something more peaceful. Read it as recovery in motion. Reversed, it points to clinging to the past or a turbulent break, and asks what unfinished business is keeping you from the far shore.
In work & money
In work, the Six of Swords is a smoother passage ahead: a difficult phase ending, a move to steadier ground, gradual recovery. Read it as a prompt to trust the transition. Reversed, it names resistance to a needed change or a rocky handover, and asks what is making the move harder than it needs to be.
Across the decks
Every card has a paper trail. How Six of Swords has been drawn across the cornerstone decks.
Visconti & Marseille
15th-18th c.Six swords arranged symmetrically on the old pip, read by number and suit.
Rider-Waite-Smith
1909Smith's ferryman poles a cloaked passenger and child toward a far shore, six swords in the hull, passage to calmer water.
Thoth
1938-1943Crowley titles it Science; Harris orders six blades into a balanced rosette.
Stay in the loop
From the Canon
Updates from Tarot Canon, when there is something worth sharing.