Six of Swords Tarot Card Meaning: Moving On Toward Calmer Water

The Six of Swords shows a small boat crossing the water. A ferryman stands at the back pushing with a long pole, and a woman wrapped in a cloak sits huddled with a child. Six swords stand upright in the front of the boat. Nobody looks back. They are leaving somewhere, and none of them stops to explain why.

This is the card of moving on. It is rarely a joyful departure, but it is a steady one. The worst is behind you, and calmer days are ahead. This guide covers the imagery, upright and reversed meanings, love, work and money, the yes or no answer and some simple ways to work with a time of transition.

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What is on the Six of Swords card

In the 1909 Rider-Waite-Smith deck, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, a ferryman stands in the stern of a flat boat and pushes it forward with a pole. In the middle sits a figure with a hooded cloak over the head and shoulders, and beside her a small child. Six swords stand point-down in the bow. The water near the boat on one side is rippled, while the water ahead looks smooth. A distant shore with trees lies on the far side. Waite called the ferryman's passengers a light freight and noted that the work is not beyond his strength.

• The boat is the transition itself, the in-between place.
• The ferryman is help: a friend, a guide, or the steady part of yourself that keeps going.
• The cloaked woman carries grief or tiredness. She is quiet, but she is moving.
• The child is what you are protecting, or the part of you that still hopes.
• The six swords are the thoughts and memories you bring with you. You cannot leave them behind, but they do not sink the boat.
• The rough and smooth water show the change from troubled times to calmer ones.

In the Golden Dawn system the Six of Swords is Mercury in Aquarius. Mercury is the planet of travel and messages, and Aquarius looks toward the future, which suits a journey of the mind as much as of the body.

Six of Swords upright meaning

Upright, the Six of Swords says you are leaving troubled water behind. A hard period is ending. You may be moving house, leaving a job or a relationship, or simply coming out of a stressful time. The card does not promise instant happiness, but it does promise that things are getting calmer.

It often shows a quiet, practical kind of recovery. You are not celebrating yet. You are getting through each day and noticing that each one is a little easier. That counts.

Notice that the woman's back is to us and her face is hidden. Grief and tiredness come along for the ride. The card does not ask you to feel better before you leave, only to keep going.

The card can also point to literal travel, especially over water, or a move to a new place. And it can mean accepting help: you do not have to pole the boat yourself.

Sixes in tarot bring harmony after the trouble of the Fives. After the conflict of the Five of Swords, the Six is the decision to leave the battlefield.

Keywords: transition, moving on, calmer waters, recovery, travel, accepting help.

Six of Swords reversed meaning

Reversed, the boat is stuck. Unfinished business is holding you back: a conversation you have not had, a decision you keep postponing, or a situation you are not quite ready to leave. The card's advice is to face it, then move on. The other shore is still there.

It can also show resistance to change: staying in rough water because it is familiar, or trying to go back to a place that no longer suits you. In some readings, it points to a trip that is delayed or a move that falls through. Patience and a second plan help.

Six of Swords in love

In love, the Six of Swords often appears after a break-up. It shows you moving on, slowly but surely. For a single reader, it suggests the next relationship will be calmer than the last.

In a relationship, it can mean a couple getting through a hard time together, or literally moving somewhere new. Reversed, it may show one or both partners holding on to old issues, or an inability to leave a relationship that has run its course.

Six of Swords for career and money

At work, the Six of Swords favors a move away from a stressful situation: a new job, a transfer, a change of team. Even if the new place is not perfect, it will be easier than the old one.

With money, it suggests steady improvement after a difficult period. Reversed, it warns that old debts or habits may follow you unless you deal with them first.

Is the Six of Swords a yes or no card?

The Six of Swords is a yes, but a slow and quiet one. Things are moving in the right direction. Reversed, it is closer to "not until you finish what you started".

How to work with the Six of Swords

This card is about moving forward gently.

• Mark the crossing. When you leave a place or a situation, do something small to mark it: a candle, a walk, a few words said aloud.
• Use the waning moon. The last quarter moon is the traditional time for letting go. A full moon cleansing ritual works for a fresh start.
• Travel with protection. If the move is literal, see travel witchcraft for keeping a practice on the road.
• Accept the ferryman. Let someone help. Ask for a lift, a meal, a listening ear.
• Light a forward-looking candle. The card's sign is Aquarius, and an Aquarius zodiac candle suits a night set aside to plan the next shore.

The tarot page on this site pairs the Six of Swords with the moon phase collection, since moving through phases is what this card is about.

Six of Swords next to other cards

• Six of Swords and The Chariot: a journey or move with real momentum.
• Six of Swords and The Star: hope and healing on the far shore.
• Six of Swords and Death: a full ending and a clean transition.
• Six of Swords and The World: travel abroad, or one chapter of life closing well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Six of Swords mean travel?

It can, especially travel over water. More often it means a move away from a hard situation.

What does the Six of Swords reversed mean?

Unfinished business, resistance to change, or a delayed move.

Is the Six of Swords a yes or no?

A slow yes. Reversed, not until old issues are dealt with.

What planet and sign rule the Six of Swords?

The Golden Dawn assigns it to Mercury in Aquarius.

Related Reads

• Eight of Cups Tarot Card Meaning
• Travel and Car Charms: Protective Symbols on the Road
• Major Arcana Meanings: All 22 Tarot Cards
• Seven of Swords Tarot Card Meaning

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