Six of SwordsTarot card meaning
The Six of Swords is a Minor Arcana card in the suit of Swords. In tarot it means transition, passage and calmer waters. As a yes or no answer, it leans yes.
The boat is moving and the water is already smoother. The Six of Swords is the quiet crossing, leaving turbulence for calm, carrying only what you need. Grief rides along; it lightens.
In a yes or no reading: Yes · yes or no tarot →
- Element
- Air
- Astrology
- Mercury in Aquarius
- Number
- 6
What the card shows
A ferryman poles a boat across gray water, carrying a cloaked woman and a child, six swords standing upright in the bow. The water ahead of the boat is smooth; the water behind is troubled. The swords travel with them: what was learned is not left behind. It is a quiet crossing, not yet an arrival.
Six of Swords reversed
Stuck between shores, the departure keeps not happening. Reversed, it names baggage that won't fit the boat: a story, a resentment, a version of you. Something stays behind or you do.
How to read a reversed card →Six of Swords in love
In love, the Six of Swords is leaving in time: the boatman ferrying a woman and a child, the swords planted in the bow, calmer water ahead. It speaks of leaving a relationship that became heavy, of moving house after a breakup, of a sad passage toward something better. The card says it is not joyful yet. It says it is right.
Is Six of Swords a yes or a no?
The Six of Swords answers yes, to the crossing. The boatman carries a woman and a child over the water, six swords planted in the bow, and the water ahead is calmer than the water behind. What you ask is a passage toward something quieter. It is not joyful yet. It is the yes of leaving in time.
Compare: the same card in all four suits
| Card | Keyword | Element | Yes or no |
|---|---|---|---|
| Six of Wands | victory | Fire | Yes |
| Six of Cups | nostalgia | Water | Yes |
| Six of Swords | transition | Air | Yes |
| Six of Pentacles | generosity | Earth | Yes |
Cards that often appear with it
- Seven of Swords
The next card in the suit
- Six of Pentacles
The same number in the opposed element
- Justice
The Major Arcana that rules this suit's questions
Number and correspondence
In the deck's old correspondences, the Six of Swords belongs to Mercury in Aquarius.
Will this card find you tonight?
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