Six of Swords
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Upright Meaning
You may be moving away from something difficult toward something calmer. Not arriving at a perfect destination, but leaving the turbulence behind. The water ahead isn't perfectly still, but it's steadier. The transition is real, even if it's quiet.
Reversed Meaning
Something is holding you in a place you've already mentally left, or you're returning to a situation you'd moved on from. Not all returns are regressions, but this one deserves an honest look at what you're actually going back to.
Six of Swords in love
If you're single, the Six of Swords shows you moving away from a painful past toward calmer feelings. The next person you meet will find you in a much better place.
In a relationship, you are leaving a rough patch behind together. A move, a trip or just a quieter season helps you heal.
Drew it reversed? See the Six of Swords reversed in love below.
Six of Swords as feelings
As feelings, they feel calmer around you after a hard time in their life. You seem to them like the quieter shore they have been rowing toward.
Six of Swords in career and money
CareerAt work, the Six of Swords is a transition to something more stable, like a new job or a move. Mercury in Aquarius favors clear planning and a fresh perspective.
MoneyFinancially, things are moving from stressful to steady, one careful stroke at a time. Keep heading in this direction even if the progress feels slow from inside the boat.
Is the Six of Swords a yes or no card?
Leaning yes, because the Six of Swords carries you toward calmer water.
Ask your own yes or no question →Six of Swords as advice
Get in the boat and let someone help you cross. You do not need to row through every rough patch by yourself.
What transition are you in the middle of that you haven't yet fully honored or named?
What the Six of Swords card shows
A ferryman poles a small boat across the water, carrying a hooded woman and a child, with six swords standing upright in the boat. They travel toward a distant shore with trees. The swords are the burdens they carry with them, and the crossing shows a move toward peace.
Astrology and symbolism
- Arcana
- Minor
- Suit
- Swords
- Element
- Air
- Astrology
- Mercury in Aquarius
Six of Swords rules one ten-day decan of Aquarius and is associated with Mercury in Aquarius. Read more about Aquarius.
Swords are the suit of Air. They describe the mind: clarity, conflict, communication and hard choices. A reading full of Swords is about what you think and what you need to face.
Sixes are about recovery and harmony: things settle again after the struggle of the five.
The suit of Swords
Six of Swords questions
Is the Six of Swords a good card?
Mostly, yes. The Six of Swords is one of the more welcome cards to draw, bringing transition, moving on, recovery and travel. Reversed, that same energy can slip into stuck, resistance to change, unfinished business and returning, so the cards around it still matter.
What does the Six of Swords reversed mean in love?
Reversed in love, the Six of Swords shows carrying old baggage into a new relationship, or being unable to leave a troubled one. The water ahead will stay choppy until you deal with what you are bringing along.
What zodiac sign is the Six of Swords?
Aquarius. The Six of Swords covers one ten-day stretch of Aquarius season, ruled by Mercury, and as a card of Swords it belongs to Air.
Is the Six of Swords yes or no?
Leaning yes. Drawn upright, the Six of Swords leans toward yes, and reversed it leans toward no.
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