Emberlune's own illustration. The details described below are from the 1909 Rider-Waite-Smith card.
Swords · Air
Six of Swords Tarot card meaning
Leaving troubled waters for calmer shores.
What am I ready to leave behind on the far shore?
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- Suit
- Swords (Air)
- Number
- 6
- Upright
- transition, moving on, calmer waters
- Reversed
- resistance to change, unfinished business
- Yes or no, traditionally
- Yes (a lean, not a verdict)
What Six of Swords means
The Six of Swords is the card of moving on. It shows a quiet journey away from a hard time and toward something calmer. The mood is not celebration, more a tired relief. You may still feel sad, but you are going somewhere better, and each stroke of the pole takes you a little further from the rough water.
Six of Swords upright
In the traditional picture, a ferryman poles a small boat across the water. A cloaked woman and a child sit huddled inside, and six swords stand upright in the boat with them. The water on one side is choppy and on the other it is smooth. They are leaving trouble behind, but they bring the swords along: memories and lessons that travel with them. Swords are Air, the suit of the mind, and six often brings a sense of balance returning after struggle.
Upright, the card may point to a transition: moving house, leaving a job or a relationship that was hurting you, or simply moving out of a heavy mental season. It can also be a literal trip. It invites you to accept help, like the woman accepting the ferryman, and to let the change be gradual. You do not have to feel happy yet to be heading in the right direction.
Six of Swords reversed
Reversed, the Six of Swords often shows resistance to moving on. You might know a situation is not good for you but keep turning the boat around, out of habit, fear or loyalty. Or a planned move or change keeps getting delayed. Sometimes the familiar rough water feels safer than the unknown calm, simply because you know how to survive it.
It can also point to unfinished business. A conversation you never had or a feeling you never dealt with may be weighing down the boat. The card suggests looking at what is holding you back so you can lighten the load and cross. One honest talk or one closed chapter can be enough.
Six of Swords in love and relationships
Upright
In love, the Six of Swords may show a couple moving through a hard patch toward calmer days, perhaps after an argument or a stressful time. For someone single, it often points to leaving an old relationship behind and slowly feeling ready again. The journey is gentle. Let it take the time it takes and accept support from people who care about you.
Reversed
Reversed, it may point to being stuck on an ex, or a relationship that keeps returning to the same troubles. It can also show baggage from the past making a new connection harder. Naming what is unfinished is a good first step.
Every card in love, on one page: love tarot card meanings.
Six of Swords for career and money
Upright
A change of role, a move to a new team or school, or simply the end of a stressful stretch at your desk can all feel like this quiet crossing. It invites you to move forward steadily rather than dramatically. Take the useful lessons with you, leave the drama behind, and be patient while things settle into a calmer rhythm.
Reversed
Reversed, a needed change may be stalling, or you may feel unable to leave a situation that drains you. Look at what is keeping you there. Sometimes a small practical step, like updating a CV or asking for advice, gets the boat moving.
Six of Swords as feelings
No card can tell you what another person feels. Read this as a mirror: it may show what you hope or fear they feel. What have you actually seen and heard from them? All 78 cards as feelings.
The boat carrying quiet passengers toward another shore evokes transition, lingering sadness, and a search for calmer conditions. When you are asking about someone, this image may reflect your hope that tension can ease or your fear that distance means an ending. Your own feelings may include relief and grief at the same time. Notice what has actually changed, without requiring yourself to feel settled yet. What support would make this transition gentler?
Six of Swords: yes or no?
Yes The card shows movement toward calmer times, so it leans toward yes. It may be a gentle yes rather than an exciting one.
As adviceKeep moving gently forward. You can carry the lessons with you without carrying the whole storm.
Have a question in mind? Draw a yes or no card.
Symbolism and imagery
What is pictured on the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith Six of Swords card, and how each part is usually read:
- A ferryman taking a woman and child across the water: moving on, a passage to calmer times
- Rough water on one side, smooth on the other: leaving troubles behind
- Six swords standing in the boat: some memories travel with us, but we still move forward
What Waite wrote in 1910
Arthur Edward Waite created this deck with the artist Pamela Colman Smith, and gave its meanings in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910, revised 1911). His words come from the old fortune-telling tradition and can sound stark or puzzling today. They are here so you can see where the modern meanings above come from.
A ferryman carrying passengers in his punt to the further shore. The course is smooth, and seeing that the freight is light, it may be noted that the work is not beyond his strength.
journey by water, route, way, envoy, commissionary, expedient.
Declaration, confession, publicity; one account says that it is a proposal of love.
Source: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: William Rider & Son, 1911), public domain. Read the full text.
Six of Swords in the magazine
- The Six of Swords: Moving On SlowlyOn the card of leaving something behind, the rough water and the calm, and why the swords are still in the boat.
- Tarot After a Breakup: A Gentle Way to Use the Cards While You HealWhen a reading helps, when it quietly makes things worse, and a three-card spread for the weeks after an ending.
- Tarot Cards That Are Easy to Mix Up, and How to Tell Them ApartA picture-led study guide to seven tarot pairs whose shared themes can make their differences hard to remember.
Journal prompts
Questions to sit with when Six of Swords appears:
- What am I ready to leave behind on the far shore?
- Who could help me cross, if I let them?
- Which memories do I want to bring with me, and which can I set down?
Spreads to draw Six of Swords in
Questions about Six of Swords
Is the Six of Swords a good card?
Yes, mostly. It shows moving away from difficulty toward calmer times. The mood can be a little sad, but the direction is a hopeful one.
What does the Six of Swords mean in love?
Romantically, the boat gliding toward smoother water suggests moving past a hard time, either together or by leaving an old relationship behind. It suggests healing is happening, step by step.
What does the Six of Swords reversed mean?
Reversed, it usually shows resistance to change or unfinished business holding you back. Naming what keeps pulling the boat back to rough water is often the first step to finally crossing.
Explore Six of Swords in a reading
Ask what is on your mind and draw your own cards. The free reading shows each card's meaning in its place.
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Tarot is a tool for reflection, not a prediction, and never a replacement for medical, legal, financial or mental health help.
