Six of Swords
Six of SwordsMinor ArcanaSuit of Swords
- Element
- Air
- Astrology
- Mercury in Aquarius
- Numerology
- Six: harmony returning, movement toward balance
- Yes or no
- Maybe
Upright
- transition
- moving on
- passage
- leaving trouble behind
- gradual healing
Reversed
- resistance to change
- unfinished business
- return to trouble
- stuck in transition
- baggage
The quiet crossing. The Six of Swords is the passage away from difficulty toward calmer water, carried rather than fought.
On the card
A ferryman stands at the stern of a small boat, poling it across a stretch of water toward a wooded shore. A cloaked and hooded woman sits huddled in the boat with a child beside her, their backs to the viewer. Six swords stand upright in the bow, travelling with them. The water on one side of the boat is choppy and on the other smooth. The journey is subdued, necessary and already under way.
Upright
General
You are leaving something difficult behind, and the leaving is slow rather than triumphant. The Six of Swords describes transition, recovery, travel and the mental shift from crisis to a more manageable sadness. You bring your thoughts with you, but the water ahead is calmer than the water behind.
Love & relationships
Moving on from a painful relationship, or a couple leaving a hard chapter together. Healing is happening, quietly, and it should not be rushed.
Career & money
A job change, relocation or new direction taken to escape a bad situation. Finances stabilise gradually; steady steps beat sudden leaps here.
Reversed
General
The boat will not leave the shore. Reversed, the Six of Swords describes resistance to a necessary change, baggage that keeps dragging you back, or a transition that has stalled midway. It can also indicate returning to a situation you left, either to finish something or because you could not stay away.
Love & relationships
Going back to a relationship that hurt you, or being unable to let go of one that ended. Unresolved feelings are keeping you moored to the past.
Career & money
A move or change that keeps getting postponed, or a return to an old employer or industry. Ask whether you are being pulled back by loyalty or by fear.
Advice
Let yourself be carried across. You do not have to feel good yet; you only have to keep moving.