Minor Arcana · Swords · air
Six of Swords
Six of Swords in tarot is a card of transition, moving forward and leaving behind.
Key meanings
- transition
- moving forward
- leaving behind
- calmer waters
- healing
Six of Swords upright
A passage toward calmer waters, where you leave the hard part behind and keep moving forward.
The shadow side
Carrying old baggage with you that would have been better left on the shore.
Six of Swords reversed
Getting stuck in the past, the heaviness of leaving, putting off a step you know you need to take.
Six of Swords as the card of the day
The boat slips quietly away from a stormy shore toward gentler water. You are not taking everything with you, only what you truly need for the life ahead. Looking back may bring a little sadness, yet every stroke of the oar carries you closer to peace.
The question this card asks
What would be worth leaving on the old shore so you can travel light?
Six of Swords: yes or no?
leaning yes
Six of Swords ferries you from rough water to a calm shore. Yes, by crossing over.
Between a flat yes and a flat no the deck keeps three steps, and this air card takes leaning yes.
A closed question gets a lean and never a verdict, and this lean is coloured by transition. Pull your own card →
Every card is a mirror, not a verdict. Walk the other arcana and listen to what they say together.
✦ See all 56 Minor ArcanaFAQ
In a reading, is Six of Swords (air) good or bad?
No card in tarot is simply bad. The subject here is transition and moving forward, and softness or sharpness arrives with your question and with the position. Frightening you is not my work.
Does Six of Swords belong to the minors, and how does the element of air read?
Minor, suit of Swords (air). Everyday matters sit with the minor arcana and turning points with the majors, and the everyday here is shaped by air.
Where does Six of Swords sit inside the suit of air?
Five of Swords comes before it in the suit and Seven of Swords after. The fourteen steps go from Ace to King, and each of them is coloured by air.
What does Six of Swords (air) mean upright and reversed?
Set the right way up, the card speaks of transition and moving forward without a mute on it. Reversed, the same current is blocked or spent, and air then points at what is being avoided.