Six of Swords Tarot Card Meaning

Six of Swords upright. The card of the day you leave a difficult situation behind and move somewhere calmer.

Six of Swords reversed. The card of the day you want to leave a difficult situation behind and still stay where you are.

The Six of Swords is the sixth card of the Suit of Swords in the Minor Arcana. In a reading, it says the hardest part is behind you and you are heading somewhere calmer.

What do you see on the Six of Swords card?

A small boat moves across the water. A man stands at the back and pushes it along with a long pole. In front of him sits a person with their head covered in a purple cloth. A small child sits beside them. Six swords stand upright inside the boat.

The water around the boat is rough and foamy. Further ahead, on the right, green trees and cypresses line the shore. There the water lies still.

Every part of this picture carries a meaning in a reading. The boat shows a crossing from one place to another. The rough water is the trouble you leave behind; the still water and the green shore are the calmer place you head for. The six swords are the thoughts the passengers bring with them. The swords come along, but nobody holds them anymore.

No one in the boat looks back; every face turns toward the shore. That direction is the question this card puts to you. Which thought from the place you are leaving do you carry over to the new one?

What does the Six of Swords mean upright?

The upright Six of Swords describes the day you leave a hard situation behind and move somewhere calmer. If you decided to move out of a noisy apartment, the card shows your first night in the new place. You open the window and listen to the quiet.

The card does not always point to a move. Sometimes the crossing happens inside you. An argument wears you down for weeks, and when it finally ends, you wake up one morning feeling calmer.

The man in the boat is not alone, and neither are you. A friend helps you carry the boxes, or someone talks you into leaving that difficult place. In a reading, this card says the hardest part of your question is behind you. The new place is not perfect right away, but your first week there is calmer than the last one.

What does the Six of Swords reversed mean?

The reversed Six of Swords describes the day you want to leave a hard situation behind and still stay put. You scroll rental listings for weeks but never go to a single viewing. Every evening you open the same pages and close them again.

The second reversed meaning is a change left half done. You move to a new place, yet your mind stays in the old one. If you start a new job, you spend the first week texting friends from your old workplace.

The reversed card also shows resistance to change. Someone tells you it is time to go, and you push back. Nobody else gets to decide this for you; the point is for you to think it over once more. The reversal does not cancel the crossing. This week you take one small step and go to one viewing.

What does the Six of Swords mean in love?

If you are in a relationship, the Six of Swords says the two of you are coming out of a hard stretch together. After a long run of tension, you and your partner get out of town for a weekend. On the drive home, the silence between you is an easy one.

If you are single, the card shows you getting back on your feet after a breakup. Once you leave an old relationship behind, you stop looking at the old photos. You go to a friend's party and enjoy the evening without thinking about anyone.

Reversed, the card describes holding on to a relationship that is over. If you decided to break up but you keep texting your ex, the card points to that. Its advice is simple: do not write to that person for one month.

Six of Swords meaning for career and work

At work, this card describes a change of team or role. When you move from a team that drains you to another department, you breathe easier on your first day at the new desk. On the way home that evening, you feel less tired than you have in months.

The card also marks the end of a difficult project. A piece of work that kept everyone on edge for months finally ships, and the next week the team moves on to calmer tasks.

Reversed, the card describes staying at a workplace you want to leave. You update your résumé but send it to no one. Your step this week is one application, actually sent.

What does the Six of Swords mean for money?

With money, this card describes relief after a tight month. When you pay off a debt or finish a payment plan, you reach the end of the month with a calmer head.

The card also shows the cost of moving. Before you move into a new home, you write the movers, the deposit and the first month's rent on one list. Once the list is done, you know how much you need to save.

Reversed, the card describes holding on to an old money habit. The Six of Swords does not say whether your savings grow, and it does not point to where to put them. The boat only moves when someone pushes the pole; with your budget, that first push is yours.

Is the Six of Swords a yes or no card?

Upright, the Six of Swords says yes. When you ask about leaving a place, moving or putting a situation behind you, the card tells you to go.

Reversed, the boat stays at the dock for now, so the answer is no. Moving on while your mind is still in the old place wears you out. First, tell yourself plainly what you have not let go of.

If the question depends on someone else's decision, the card does not give their answer in advance. It shows your part instead: drawing up your own plan for a move, a departure or a change.

The Six of Swords in a three-card spread

In a three-card spread, the Six of Swords adds a crossing to the reading. The boat card keeps the same order as every other card: Now, What challenges you, Your next step.

Now. You are leaving a place. The hard part is behind you, and a calmer stretch lies ahead.

What challenges you. You keep thinking about what you left behind. An old conversation or an old home stays on your mind.

Your next step. The card tells you to change your surroundings. This week you step away from whatever wears you down, even if only for a day.

Six of Swords as card of the day: what is the advice?

When the Six of Swords comes up as your card of the day, you step away from what is wearing you down for a while. If you work at a desk, you get up at lunch and walk outside for half an hour. On the walk you do not try to solve the problem on your mind. You just look around, and when you get back, you start again.

Six of Swords astrology: Mercury in Aquarius

In the Golden Dawn system, the Six of Swords covers the second decan of Aquarius, the stretch from 10 to 20 degrees. Mercury rules this slice. Mercury stands for thinking, messages and short trips from place to place. Aquarius is the sign that looks at events from a little distance.

With Mercury in Aquarius, you step out of a problem and look at it from the outside. On the card, this is leaving the rough water and seeing it from the far shore. Aquarius is an air sign, and Swords is the suit of air. So the Six of Swords is more than a change of address. The thought in your head moves too, and it settles somewhere calmer.

What does the number 6 mean in the Six of Swords?

In tarot, six is the repair that follows the trouble of five. The balance that breaks in the fives is set right again in the sixes. In the Swords suit, the Five describes a conflict, and the Six shows you leaving the place where it happened.

In the Six of Cups, six is a return to the good old days. In the Six of Wands, it is a win being celebrated. In the Six of Swords, six is the crossing from a hard place to a calmer one.

Six of Swords vs Eight of Cups: what is the difference?

Both cards describe a departure and something left behind, so they are easy to confuse in a reading. The difference lies in what you leave. In the Six of Swords, you leave a place that troubles you. You move from a noisy neighborhood to a quiet one and feel relief. This card describes a needed crossing, not an escape.

In the Eight of Cups, you leave something you built that is still standing. If you have done the same work for years and nobody calls it bad, you leave it because it no longer makes you happy. When both cards show up side by side, first you get away from what wears you down, then you ask what no longer makes you happy.