Six of Swords

1. 01 · delayed

   Transition stalled mid-river; the boat carrying but not arriving.

2. 02 · blocked

   Refusing to leave; clinging to the troubled water because the calm is unfamiliar.

3. 03 · returning

   Returning to the situation that the journey was supposed to leave behind.

4. 04 · internalized

   The leaving private — the seeker has gone internally while staying externally.

Learn to read reversals →

The tradition agrees that the Six of Swords describes passage out of difficulty — troubled conditions are being left behind, calmer ones lie ahead. Most readers hold that the grief or weight of the past travels with the seeker rather than vanishing; the card marks movement in progress, not arrival, and treats that movement as meaningful in itself.

Where the readings differ: Crowley frames the card through Mercury in Aquarius as an intellectual ordering of passage, Gray reads it as frequently literal relocation, while Pollack and Greer emphasize the emotional and intentional dimensions of the crossing.

• Aleister Crowley · 1944

  The Book of Thoth

  Science — Mercury in Aquarius; the analytical mind that organizes movement; the calm passage through troubled water.

• Rachel Pollack · 1980

  Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom

  Pollack reads the Six of Swords as transition — the difficult crossing from troubled water toward calm. The grief travels in the boat, but it is being carried somewhere new. The card honors that recovery is geographical as well as emotional.

• Mary K. Greer · 1984

  Tarot for Your Self

  Greer's instruction for the Six: identify what is on the far shore — the situation, relationship, role the seeker is moving toward. The boat keeps moving whether or not the seeker has named the destination, but naming it lets them aim.

• Eden Gray · 1960

  The Tarot Revealed

  Gray reads the Six as journey by water, often literal travel — a move, a relocation, a long-distance change. The waters smooth ahead; what was rough is being left behind.

The chronic mover who never lands; the one who confuses leaving with healing.

Is the Six of Swords a yes or no card?

In a yes-or-no reading, the Six of Swords leans yes (with movement).

What do tarot writers agree the Six of Swords means?

The tradition agrees that the Six of Swords describes passage out of difficulty — troubled conditions are being left behind, calmer ones lie ahead. Most readers hold that the grief or weight of the past travels with the seeker rather than vanishing; the card marks movement in progress, not arrival, and treats that movement as…

What does the Six of Swords tarot card mean?

Moving on. The Six of Swords is the transition from troubled waters to calmer ones — leaving a difficult situation, moving cities, ending a chapter. The grief is in the boat with you, but you are moving toward smoother water. Trust the journey.

What does the Six of Swords mean in love?

Leaving an unhealthy relationship. Or, transitioning into a new phase together. Long-distance reunion.

What does the Six of Swords mean for career and money?

Career transition. Moving for work. Leaving a toxic workplace.

What does the Six of Swords reversed mean?

Stuck in transition. Or, refusing to move on. Or, the journey over but the swords still being carried as if it weren't.

• Ace of Swords
• Two of Swords
• Three of Swords
• Four of Swords
• Five of Swords
• Seven of Swords