Swords · minor arcana · Air
The Six of Swords tarot card meaning: upright, moving on from difficulty toward calmer waters; reversed, resisting change, unfinished business or carrying old troubles into the new place. Its Rider–Waite picture shows six swords.
Waite, Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911; Golden Dawn, Book T.
Moving on from difficulty toward calmer waters. The transition is quiet and sad, but it leads somewhere better.
The Six of Swords is transition: moving on from difficulty toward calmer waters. It describes leaving something behind, travel and gradual recovery. The boat carries some of the swords along, so the past comes too — but the water ahead is calmer.
Resisting change, unfinished business or carrying old troubles into the new place.
Reversed, the transition stalls: resistance to change, unfinished business, or carrying old problems along. Practical delays can also hold up a move or a journey.
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Primary source
“Journey by water, route, way, envoy, commissionary, expedient.”
“Declaration, confession, publicity; one account says that it is a proposal of love.”
The Six of Swords sits where the Sixes row crosses the Swords column; its cell shows Mercury in Aquarius, the Book T decan.
How this card is built
Golden Dawn correspondences
In Book T (1888) the Six of Swords is Mercury in Aquarius: the second decan of Aquarius, 10°–20°. In 2026 the Sun passes through it from Jan 29 to Feb 8, (UTC).
| Book T decan | Mercury in Aquarius |
|---|---|
| Zodiac span | 10°–20° Aquarius decan 2 of 3 |
| Sun in this decan, 2026 | Jan 29 – Feb 8, 2026 UTC |
| Sign | Aquarius Sun there Jan 20 – Feb 18, 2026 |
| Other decans of Aquarius | Five of Swords Venus, 0°–10° Seven of Swords Moon, 20°–30° |
| Major arcana card of Aquarius | The Star |
The Aquarius page lists the modern decan rulers (Uranus, Mercury, Venus); Book T keeps the older Chaldean order — Venus, Mercury, Moon.
Data, not interpretation
The Six of Swords is drawn on July 15, September 12 and November 15, twice reversed. With three draws it ranks joint 51st of 78, level with 11 other cards. The longer of its two gaps runs from September 12 to November 15, 64 days. Not one lands during its decan.
The image
A ferryman poles a small boat across the water. A cloaked woman and a child sit huddled inside, with six swords standing upright in the boat, heading toward a calmer shore.
Upright, moving on from a hard period together or leaving a difficult relationship. Reversed, being unable to let go.
They are moving past difficulties and hoping for calmer times.
A change of job, relocation or recovering after turbulence. A move to a better situation or a slow improvement.
Yes — slowly. Upright it counts as a yes in a yes-or-no spread; reversed, it leans toward no, usually as a “not yet” rather than a flat no. It has little company among the Swords, where only 5 of the 14 say yes. All four Sixes answer yes.
Health: like every card of Swords, it points to mental strain, sleep and worry. The suit of Swords →
If you drew it today
Keep going; the far shore is calmer than the water you are crossing.
How neighboring cards change the reading of the Six of Swords →
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
AstroHot. “Six of Swords Tarot Card Meaning: Upright and Reversed.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/tarot/cards/six-of-swords/
{{cite web |title=Six of Swords Tarot Card Meaning: Upright and Reversed |url=https://astrohot.com/tarot/cards/six-of-swords/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-27}}
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