The Classic Deck
Six of Swords in the 1909 Rider–Waite
The deck most readers start with — and the one our meanings are built on.
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✦ A candle for this card
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Palo Santo by Feu&Co
Sacred wood to clear the air. The Swords ask for clarity, and Six of Swords is no exception.
Soy waxWooden wick≈ 50 h burnMade in Montréal
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✦ A candle for this card
Ships worldwide
A palo santo candle
Sacred wood to clear the air. The Swords ask for clarity, and Six of Swords is no exception.
Soy waxWooden wickWorldwide
Any candle you love works too · In Canada? See our Canadian pick
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✦ Minor Arcana · Suit of Swords · VI ✦
Six of Swords
“The calmer waters are ahead. You do not need to arrive to trust that they exist.”
General Meaning
The Six of Swords is one of the most quietly beautiful cards in the tarot — a figure and child being ferried across water, six swords standing upright in the prow of the boat. The water behind is turbulent. The water ahead is still. They are not there yet, but they are moving. The ferryman rows steadily without drama.
This is transition: not a triumphant departure but a necessary one. Something has been left behind — perhaps by choice, perhaps by necessity — and the movement toward something better has begun. The swords they carry are still with them — the lessons, the pain, the understanding — but they are not being wielded. They are being transported.
In Love & Relationships
Moving away from a painful period in a relationship, or leaving one behind entirely. A quiet healing. Two people finding a new equilibrium after turbulence, or one person finding the courage to cross toward a life that actually fits them.
In Career & Purpose
A transition — a new role, a relocation, a shift in direction. The current situation is being left behind. The destination may not be fully clear, but the movement itself is the right choice.
Spiritually
The passage between what you were and what you are becoming. The Six of Swords honours the journey itself, not just the destination. You are allowed to still be in transit.
Reversed Meaning
Resistance to necessary transition. The boat is loaded, the ferryman is ready, and you keep stepping back onto the shore you know is no longer home. Or a temporary return to turbulent waters before the journey can resume.
Advice
Get in the boat. The shore you are leaving may have been home once. The water ahead is calmer. Trust the direction, even without a clear view of the other side.
✦ Six of Swords Combinations
When Six of Swords meets another card, its meaning deepens. Explore its most powerful pairings:
✦ Written by
Maude
Tarot reader, writer and creator of SolsTarot, in Québec. Every card, combination and ritual on this site is written here, for you, from the Rider-Waite tradition.
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