Six of Swords

Six of Swords is one of the 56 minor arcana of the tarot, in the suit of Swords; in the Golden Dawn tradition it corresponds to Mercury in Aquarius.

The Six of Swords is a boat carrying passengers across water to a calmer shore. You are leaving a difficult place behind.

Symbols on the card

The boat

Support for the crossing.

The six swords

Thoughts carried along, not yet resolved.

The calmer water ahead

Relief and recovery.

Number and suit

Sixes restore harmony after the five: giving, receiving and moving on. Swords are air: thought, truth, communication and the conflicts of the mind.

Upright meaning

Move on from what has been hard. Calmer days are ahead.

Love　Moving past a difficult phase together, or leaving one behind.

Work　A transition, relocation, a gentler pace.

Inner life　You do not need to have solved everything to move on.

Reversed meaning

You may be resisting a move, or taking old problems with you.

Love　Unfinished business pulling you back.

Work　A delayed transition.

Inner life　Ask what you need to put down to cross.

In a three-card spread

Situation

A transition to calmer times.

Challenge

Resistance or unfinished business.

Advice

Move on with support.

Tarot and astrology

In the Golden Dawn system this card is the decan of Mercury in Aquarius: the themes of Aquarius, expressed the way Mercury acts. Aquarius →Mercury →

Questions to sit with

• What am I leaving behind?
• Who is helping me across?

Through the suit

Tarot here is a mirror for reflection, not a prediction. The meanings follow the Waite-Smith tradition and the Golden Dawn attributions, in our own words.