Two of Swords Tarot Card Meaning: The Blindfold and the Choice You Are Avoiding

The Two of Swords shows a woman sitting alone on a stone bench at night, blindfolded, with two long swords crossed over her chest. Behind her is the sea. She is perfectly still and perfectly balanced, and that is the problem. This is the card of a decision that has been put on hold.

Most people recognize the feeling at once. Two options, neither one easy, and a growing habit of not looking at either. The card does not judge the hesitation, but it is clear that the stalemate cannot last forever. This guide covers the imagery, upright and reversed meanings, love, work and money, the yes or no answer and some ways to break the deadlock.

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What is on the Two of Swords card

In the 1909 Rider-Waite-Smith deck, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, a woman in a pale robe sits on a low stone bench. A white blindfold covers her eyes. Her arms are crossed over her chest, and in each hand she holds a sword that rests on the opposite shoulder, so the two blades form a wide X above her. She sits with her back to a stretch of water dotted with rocks and small islands. A thin crescent moon hangs in the upper right of the sky.

• The blindfold means she cannot see, or will not. Either way, she is deciding without looking.
• The crossed swords are two options held in exact balance. Holding them there takes effort.
• The crossed arms guard the heart. Feeling is shut out so the mind can stay in charge.
• The water behind her is emotion, and she has turned her back on it.
• The rocks in the water are obstacles she cannot see but will have to steer around.
• The crescent moon points to intuition and to things only half revealed.

In the Golden Dawn system the Two of Swords is the Moon in Libra. Libra wants balance and fairness, and the Moon brings feeling and changeable moods, which is a good description of a mind weighing two sides and unable to settle.

Two of Swords upright meaning

Upright, the Two of Swords says you are avoiding a hard choice. You may be stuck between two jobs, two people, two places, or simply between acting and not acting. The blindfold suggests you already have more information than you are letting yourself use.

The card can also describe a truce: two people who have agreed not to fight, but have not actually resolved anything. It feels calm. It is not peace.

The advice is to take off the blindfold and look at the facts. Make a list. Ask the question you have been afraid to ask. A decision made with open eyes is easier to live with than one made by default because time ran out.

Twos in tarot are about pairs and balance. In the suit of Swords that balance is mental, and a mind can weigh two sides for a very long time if nothing forces it to stop.

Keywords: indecision, stalemate, avoidance, a truce, weighing options, blocked feelings.

Two of Swords reversed meaning

Reversed, the blindfold starts to slip. New information comes to light, and the decision that seemed impossible becomes much easier. This is often a relief. You may find that one of the two options has quietly taken itself off the table.

The reversed card can also show overload: so much advice, so many opinions and so much research that you are more confused than before. If that is the case, step back from other people's views for a while and listen to your own. In some readings the reversed Two shows a truce breaking down, and feelings that were held back coming out all at once. That can be messy, but it gets things moving.

Two of Swords in love

For a single reader, the Two of Swords often shows hesitation: two people you are interested in, or one person you are not sure about. It can also show someone who keeps their guard up so firmly that nobody gets close.

In a relationship, it may point to an issue both partners are avoiding, or a cold peace after an argument. Silence is not the same as agreement. Reversed, it suggests the conversation is finally about to happen, and the air will be clearer afterward.

Two of Swords for career and money

At work, the card often appears when you are torn between two offers or two directions, or when a team is deadlocked. Gather the facts you are missing, set yourself a deadline, and decide. Waiting for a perfect option usually means accepting a worse one later.

With money, it can show a financial decision being put off: a bill not opened, a budget not checked. Reversed, the numbers become clear and the choice gets simpler.

Is the Two of Swords a yes or no card?

The Two of Swords is a maybe, or "not yet". The answer is unclear because you are not looking at all the facts. Reversed, it leans toward yes, as the missing information arrives.

How to work with the Two of Swords

This card asks you to take the blindfold off gently.

• Write both sides. Two columns, one for each option. Then write how each one feels, not only what it offers.
• Ask a pendulum. It will not decide for you, but your reaction to its answer often shows what you were hoping for. See pendulum magic for decision making.
• Use the moon. This is a Moon card. Set a decision date for the next full moon and keep it. Lunar tarot shows how to time readings by phase.
• Track your moods. A few weeks of moon phase journaling shows whether the hesitation follows a pattern.
• Light a balance candle. A Libra zodiac candle suits the card's sign; light it while you sit with the choice.

The tarot page on this site pairs the Two of Swords with the moon phase collection, for the crescent moon above the woman on the bench.

Two of Swords next to other cards

• Two of Swords and The Lovers: a serious choice of heart or values. Do not leave it to chance.
• Two of Swords and Justice: weigh the facts fairly, then decide.
• Two of Swords and The High Priestess: the answer is in your intuition, not in more research.
• Two of Swords and The Hanged Man: a long pause. Look at the situation from a new angle.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the blindfold on the Two of Swords mean?

Choosing not to see. The woman is making a decision without looking at the facts or her feelings.

What does the Two of Swords reversed mean?

New information makes the choice easier, or a held-back conflict comes into the open.

Is the Two of Swords a yes or no?

Maybe, or not yet. Reversed, it leans toward yes.

What planet and sign rule the Two of Swords?

The Golden Dawn assigns it to the Moon in Libra.

Related Reads

• The High Priestess Tarot Card Meaning
• Two of Cups Tarot Card Meaning
• Major Arcana Meanings: All 22 Tarot Cards
• Ace of Swords Tarot Card Meaning
• Three of Swords Tarot Card Meaning

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