Tarot · Minor Arcana · Suit of Swords · VI

Six of Swords tarot card meaning

A ferryman poles a small boat across the water. A cloaked woman and a child sit huddled in it, six swords standing upright in the bow. The water ahead is smooth.

Upright: moving on, a transition, leaving trouble behind, recovery
Reversed: resisting change, unfinished business, a journey delayed
Yes or no: Yes
Linked to: Mercury in Aquarius · Aquarius

Six of Swords upright

The Six of Swords is the card of passage. Upright, it shows someone leaving a hard place for a gentler one: a move, a recovery, the end of a difficult chapter. The water on one side of the boat is rough and on the other side calm, and the boat is heading toward the calm.

Mercury in Aquarius, its ruling pair, describes a mind finding a wider view. Notice that the swords travel too. You don't leave your memories on the old shore, and you don't need to. You carry them more lightly once you're moving.

Six of Swords reversed

Reversed, the boat is stuck, or someone keeps steering back toward the old shore. You may feel unable to leave a situation, or you've left physically while your thoughts still live there. Ask what is unfinished, finish what you can, and accept what can't be finished.

Your own question

One card is a sentence. Three cards are an answer.

Bring me the question you keep turning over. The Three-Card Question lays three cards on it: what you asked, what you want underneath it, and what yes and no would each cost you. It opens on screen the moment you pay.

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Six of Swords in love

In love, the Six of Swords often marks moving on: from an ex, from a painful pattern, or, for a couple, through a hard season together toward an easier one. It can also mean a relationship that crosses distance. It is a hopeful card, quietly.

Six of Swords at work

At work it suggests a transfer, a new role or leaving a stressful job for a steadier one. The change may not be dramatic, but it points to calmer conditions.

Six of Swords as feelings

As feelings, the Six of Swords says they are trying to move past something, and they may be quieter than usual while they do.

Is Six of Swords yes or no?

Yes

Moving toward calmer water leans toward yes, slowly. A single card leans; it doesn't decide. Read it beside the cards around it and the facts of your own life.

A question to sit with

What are you still carrying from the last shore that you could set down in this boat?

Write your answer down where no one else will read it. Come back to it in a week.

The question that keeps you up

Swords cut through fog. So can three cards.

When your mind keeps circling one question, write it down and bring it to me. The Three-Card Question lays three cards on it: what you asked, what you want underneath it, and what yes and no would each cost you. It opens on screen the moment you pay.

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Questions about Six of Swords

What does Six of Swords mean in tarot?

Upright, Six of Swords stands for moving on, a transition, leaving trouble behind, recovery. It shows someone leaving a hard place for a gentler one: a move, a recovery, the end of a difficult chapter.

What does Six of Swords reversed mean?

Reversed, Six of Swords points to resisting change, unfinished business, a journey delayed. You may feel unable to leave a situation, or you've left physically while your thoughts still live there.

Is Six of Swords a yes or no card?

It leans yes. Moving toward calmer water leans toward yes, slowly. Read it beside the cards around it and the facts of your situation.