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Transforming with the Six of Swords

The Six of Swords Tarot card symbolizes transition and represents the opportunity to move on from old mindsets and leave outdated beliefs behind. It offers us the chance to leave the turbulent waters of emotion behind and transform our thinking.

Read on for how to embrace new narratives with the Six of Swords, including its full Tarot card description, Astrological and Numerological correspondences, what the Six of Swords reversed means, and in a career, love, or general reading:

The Six of Swords Tarot Card

The Six of Swords Minor Arcana card represents the potential for reframing stories we’ve outgrown, and consciously choosing the ones we’d like to carry forward with us. After the challenge and conflict of the Five of Swords, it can come as a welcome respite to seek calmer mental shores!

When we receive this card it is an invitation to assess the quality of our mind and internal chatter, to pay attention to the beliefs we carry with us, and decide whether they are mindsets we want to continue with. On a literal level, it can also simply be an actual journey.

Going through your journal now can provide valuable insights! If everything you thought was projected onto a billboard above your head for all to see, how would you feel about them? When we are seeking emotional healing in our life, our thoughts, beliefs, and mindset are everything.

Ultimately, this card encourages mental progress.

On the Pamela Colman Smith Tarot deck, we can see two figures being ferried across water in a flat-bottomed boat with six swords standing upright. One appears to be a child, both are hooded. It appears to be under cover of night, and we can see on the right behind them the waters are choppy, whereas where they are moving towards is still.

Being punted in this way also calls to mind Mercury and the River Styx, sailing from the upper to the underworld (and back).

When we receive this card we can ask ourselves which figure we identity with. Is it the person being ferried or the ferryman, or perhaps the child?

There is no baggage on the boat, only the swords— our mindset is everything. If you too were being refugeed with nothing but your thoughts, opinions, worldview, and perspective, which ones would you pick? The rest, leave them in the past.

The swords on the boat are large and presumably heavy, choose wisely! They do also serve a purpose— a stopper so to speak. If they were pulled out of the boat they would leave holes causing it to sink. Our thoughts can literally buoy or drown us.

Numerologically as a 6, it represents harmony, which is not the overarching theme this card suggests which has a more sombre tone than that. This may be more obvious in the Six of Wands, Cups, or Pentacles cards, however, especially judging by where we have come from in the Five of Swords, it is certainly more harmonious than before! There is a stillness and quietness to the card, a mental equanimity available to us.

This also connects it to the Major Arcana Lovers card, a chance for self-reflection and choosing ourselves first. Are there any beliefs you have about yourself or others that are less than loving? First and foremost, the most important thing to realise is that we do, in fact, have the choice itself to choose our mentality!

Astrologically, this is a Mercury in Aquarius card, the alternative visionary who thinks outside the box. Mercury in Aquarius is highly intellectual, able to detach from emotion and look at things impartially. It can also be a little weird or surprising, when we perceive our minds from the perspective of open curiosity, we can come to unique solutions!

In the Thoth deck this card is simply called Science, as in the great science, Alchemy. In working on ourselves, we are able to alchemise and transform our mindsets. This can also be an invitation to look at a situation and your mindset surrounding it from a logical, impartial perspective. Analyse your thoughts like a scientist under a microscope, without judgement.

Upright Six of Swords Tarot Card Meanings

Generally, the Six of Swords can represent an invitation to leave old beliefs and unconstructive mindsets behind, to choose calmer mental shores. Pay attention to your thought patterns and how you speak to yourself and others, what worldviews are you carrying with you? It can also be an actual journey or moving forward in your own development.

Reversed Six of Swords Tarot Card

If you choose to read reversals, when the Six of Swords appears reversed could be a message that you are doggedly holding on to thought patterns or beliefs that no longer serve, and an even stronger invitation to pay attention to your mindset, don’t let it hinder your personal growth.

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Six of Swords in a Love Reading

As with all Tarot meanings, the actual significations of what the Six of Swords represents in relationship Tarot readings will depend entirely on the situation at hand, the question asked, the position in the spread it has fallen, the cards surrounding it, and your own intuition.

Overall, however, the Six of Swords suggests the need for paying attention to the stories you tell around love and your partner, as well as your role in the relationship and capacity for love. Dissect your mindset surrounding what love and relationships mean to you, and actively choose constructive beliefs and communication styles that will help you journey towards calmer waters. Speak it out to move through any unresolved issues together. Ultimately, your inner peace is what matters most.

Six of Swords Card in a Career Reading

Again, the true nature of its meaning will depend on the context, but in general in a career Tarot reading the Six of Swords suggests to leave old business beliefs behind and analyse your views surrounding success and what your role within it looks like. Pay attention to your internal narrative and how you speak to your colleagues, employees, boss, or partners. Perhaps a reframe is necessary (or a business trip)!

So that’s an overview of the Six of Swords Tarot card, I hope it’s insightful for you! Let me know in the comments section below if you have anything else to add or any questions.

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