Action
Beginning
Action
Major
Arcana
MinorArcana Cups
MinorArcana Swords
MinorArcana Coins
MinorArcana Wands
The Suit of Swords
The Suit of Swords Tarot cards deal with the mental level of consciousness that is centered around the mind and the intellect. Swords mirror the quality of mind present in your thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs.
Swords are often double-edged and in this way the Suit of Swords symbolises the fine balance between intellect and power and how these two elements can be used for good or evil. As such, the Swords must be balanced by spirit (Wands) and feeling (Cups) to have the most positive effect.
The Suit of Swords is associated with the element of Air. Air is intangible and unseen, but also in constant movement. Air can be still and mostly unnoticed, to becoming a breeze or a fierce wind. It is powerful yet refreshing and cleansing. Symbolically, the air element relates to knowledge, action, power, and change. It is a masculine energy that can lead by force and power, even though it remains unseen.
What Do the Swords Tarot Cards Mean in a Reading?
The Suit of Swords Tarot card meanings are associated with action, change, force, power, oppression, ambition, courage and conflict. Action can be constructive and/or destructive.
The negative aspects of the Suit of Swords include anger, guilt, harsh judgement, a lack of compassion and verbal and mental abuse.
Swords Tarot cards often represent the astrological signs of Air – Aquarius, Libra and Gemini. When you see a Swords Court Card in a Tarot reading, it often relates to a person with a Aquarius, Libra and Gemini star sign. Generally, Swords people are intelligent, thoughtful, rational, logical and excellent communicators. They are rational beings and like to experience the world by understanding and analysing what is occurring around them. On the flipside, Swords people can be ruthless, domineering, confrontational and rigid.
What Does it Mean When a Tarot Reading is Mostly Swords Tarot Cards?
Should a Tarot reading be predominantly Swords cards, you are seeking solutions to what are primarily mental struggles, conflict and arguments, and decisions that must be made. Also, there could be many arguments or even violence at present. While Swords can carry with them many negative or very strong, forceful messages, Swords serve also as a warning to be more cautious of what is occurring around you.
Ace of Swords: Clarification
General
Ace of Swords stands for a potential that is present within yourself. The card indicates an opportunity that you can use. Ace of Swords symbolizes the mind. This gives you the ability to discern, to decide, to clarity and unambiguity. Ace of Swords is all about getting clarification in a problem. You understand and analyze it so that you get an overview of the whole in order to make a well-thought-out and correct decision.
Work
In your work, Aas van Zwaarden stands for a clear insight with which decisions are made that exclude any other choice. The clear insight is also used to solve very complicated problems. This can be a breath of fresh air that brings new vitality to old routines or that decisions are made in deadlocked negotiations. The card can also represent an enlightening conversation that gives the tense working atmosphere a little more relief. Ace of Swords can also be a well thought out decision to quit your job.
Relation
In relationships, Aas van Zwaarden can represent the liberating, clarifying conversation that clears the air. The map can also provide the solution to a deeply rooted problem. The cold and sober side of Ace of Swords often has a disillusioning effect that can lead to a divorce.
To ask
Did I take my chance?
Have I made the right decision?
Have I considered everything carefully?
Where do I have to make a decision?
Which problem of mine needs to be solved now?
What am I not yet clear about?
Two of Swords: Doubt
General
Swords Two stands for situations in which you suffer from persistent doubt. The card shows that you are mentally busy coming to a clear understanding so that you can make a good decision. The doubt of Swords Two is caused by your approaching everything with your mind only and being cut off from your feeling, your inner voice. Only when these two together provide clarity in the insights can you really be convinced and make the right decision.
Work
In your work, Swords Two indicates that you have arrived at a point where you have deep-seated doubts about your work and what you want to do next. The card indicates that you are analyzing with your mind and looking for a solution but can't really convince yourself of something. This doubt is caused by resistance and resistance to listen to your inner voice. In this way you will not get a clear insight and you will not be able to make a convinced decision.
Love
In relationships, Swords Two indicates inner division. You are full of skepticism, do not want or cannot provide clarity or make a decision that you are completely convinced of. The map should be viewed as critical in this area. When in doubt, you only use your mind to gain clarity and thereby push your inner voice into the background. Swords Two, because of the divisiveness of this card, can destroy feelings of love, trust and unity.
To ask
Why am I closed off from my feelings?
Is it important to analyze everything so much?
Why am I not listening to my inner voice?
Why am I so divided?
Three of Swords: Painful Insights
General
At Swords Three, the mind pierces the feeling. The card indicates that you are making a decision that goes against your gut feeling. The decision is made because it makes sense, not because it feels right. This can be a decision that is not completely pure or it can be a necessary step that gives a liberating feeling. In both cases it is a painful experience. Swords Three can also represent heartache and heartbreak.
Work
In your work, Swords Three indicates that you make decisions and act against your feelings. You may be doing work that you don't feel comfortable with or having a (difficult) conversation that you would rather not do. The card can also show that you are going through painful experiences at work that are related to or lead to a layoff.
Love
In relationships, Swords Three often stands for heartbreak. The decision you make goes against your gut feeling. The card here denotes disappointment, pain, heartache and usually the end of a relationship. Swords Three can have a positive effect here, despite the pain and sadness. There is a determination to tear yourself out of a relationship that was not right for you.
To ask
What did I not want to see or see before?
Can I make a sober decision?
Am I strong enough to do what is necessary?
Am I guided by "wishful thinking"?
Am I listening to my head or to my heart?
Four of Swords: Forced Rest
General
Swords Four indicates standstill. The card represents not being able to be active and enforced rest. Circumstances slow you down in what you want to do. This can be due to various reasons, but the card is especially clear when you are sick. You want to be active but you can't, you are forced to take a rest. The choice to suffer and to suffer in this rest is up to you. You can also take this opportunity to come to yourself.
Work
In your work, Zwaarden Vier indicates that there is no progress, everything stands still and seems hopeless. Development has come to a dead end and negotiations are frozen. The card indicates that your powers have been exhausted by the opposition. In these situations you need rest, it is good to take some distance, take a breather or you may need help from a doctor. Swords Four indicates that you can only get active again when you have fully recovered your strength.
Love
In relationships, Swords Four indicates that you are isolated due to circumstances or that you have put your feelings “on hold” for a while. You may feel abandoned and left out of love. You may also be lonely or exhausted in your current relationship. The card indicates that you have come to a point where you may want to give up everything. It is important that you now give yourself rest, distance yourself from the problems and do not burden yourself.
To ask
What's stopping me?
Why is everything standing still?
How do I deal with this period?
Do I have the patience to wait?
Am I using this period in a positive way?
Five of Swords: Meanness
General
Swords Five represents unrest and meanness. The card indicates that you are going through a situation or period that is full of conflict, meanness, meanness, punches below the belt and humiliation. The card does not indicate whether you yourself are the one causing this vicious fight or whether the other person is treating you very badly. Swords Five shows that there is no real winner. In this struggle the victor will not long enjoy his triumph and will also have a bad taste of his actions.
Work
In your work, Swords Five indicates that you are in a very difficult phase. You may be humiliated by slander, anger, or meanness. Swords Five often signals a dismissal with a nasty judicial aftermath. The card can also represent a failure in an exam where your resources may not have been completely clear, a serious defeat in a project or a policy without conscience.
Love
In relationships, Swords Five represents a period in which you have to deal with heartlessness, hatred, baseness and need for power. Both sides inflict deep wounds on each other with vicious punches below the belt. The card indicates that the relationship is already coming to an end and is about to burst or has already broken down.
To ask
Why am I so mean?
Is it important to win by yourself?
Who or what brings out the worst in me?
Do I want to give in to this? What in me brings out the worst in the other?
Six of Swords: Change
General
Swords Six represents a change. You are on your way to a new shore. With this map you first have to leave the old familiar to be able to go to the new destination, without knowing what to expect. Departing from Swords Six is somewhere between feeling good with enthusiasm and feeling with a heavy heart. How you feel about this is largely up to you. Do you feel stimulated and curious or is the change experienced with great fear? On the one hand, Six of Swords gives you pain at parting, uncertainty, fear and worry, on the other hand, the card gives you curiosity and the tense anticipation of the new that awaits you.
Work
In your work, swords Six represents entering new territory. This can be related to a layoff, change of profession or getting new tasks The card indicates that you are leaving your familiar workplace and approaching new tasks or work with an insecure and fearful feeling. Swords Six does not allow you to hold on to the old familiar until you are familiar with the new. With this card you must first free yourself to stand in the unknown with trembling knees.
Love
In relationships, Six Swords can indicate outer and profound inner change. This can go hand in hand with widely varying experiences. The card could mean breaking up an old relationship to start a new one. It can also mean that you are willing to give up "living alone" to embark on a deep relationship. Swords Six here represents giving up a familiar way of life to embark on a new unfamiliar way of life.
To ask
Why am I waiting so long with this change?
What makes me feel uncomfortable?
Am I afraid of what awaits me?
Do I have the strength to let go of the old?
Can I overcome myself and take this new step?
Seven of Swords: Trickery and Deceit
General
Swords Seven represents the ability to see through things, a clear thinking mind and acumen. All these qualities are used in a negative way in this card and are manifested in the form of baseness, slyness, cunning and deceit. In a less elaborate way, Seven Swords can stand for shrewdness or sophisticated work. The card may also indicate that you are "sneaking out", probably because you don't want certain aspects of yourself to come to light. It is not always clear with Swords Seven who the impostor is. Are you the culprit or are you the victim? In most cases it is important to look at yourself first.
Work
In your work Swords Seven indicates that you can be misled or deceived. Also, you may be the one trying to cunningly do business and profit. This can manifest itself as hypocrisy, cunning, cunning, or other dishonest practices. It is important that you keep a close eye on your own behavior and that of those you work with or do business with so that you do not become a victim of your own shady practices.
Love
In relationships, Swords Seven stands for the minor meanness to the worst malice, conniving, lies and deceit. The card can also represent a lack of openness. Swords Seven then indicates that you do not want to be clear in certain matters or that you are avoiding your partner in order to pressure yourself for taking an important step.
To ask
Why do I feel the need to lie?
How cunning am I really?
Is there any other way, than to lie, to express myself?
Where has my sincerity gone?
Eight of Swords: Limits
General
Swords Eight represents the feeling of being excluded, inhibitions and prohibitions. You tell yourself that it is the environment, but you are actually the one who causes it. The card indicates that you are not letting an important part of yourself come alive. Swords Eight is the yes-but attitude where you may want to but slow yourself down and limited by your fears. The card indicates that you are suppressing something valuable in yourself. It is also possible that you temporarily refrain from something because, for certain reasons, it is better.
Work
In your work, Eight of Swords indicates that you cannot express certain sides of yourself in or through your work and therefore suppress them. The card is easier to accept when it comes to a certain period, of which you know how long it will last approximately and which you also see the need for. Swords Eight becomes more difficult when it comes to a much longer period of time or permanent situation. In the latter case, it is important to look for greater inner freedom through, for example, other tasks or work.
Love
In relationships, Swords Eight stands for inhibition. The card indicates that you are suppressing sides of yourself, out of fear, for not daring to show them to your partner. Eight of Swords can also indicate that you are in a relationship where you are not unfolding a part of yourself because you think your partner will not understand or accept it. In a situation where you are alone, the card can represent loneliness. You limit yourself because you do not dare to be open to a relationship.
To ask
What part of myself am I slowing down?
How do I let the environment hold me back?
Is it okay for me to limit myself?
Aren't my reasons "apologies"?
Nine of Swords: Sleepless Nights
General
Swords Nine indicates that you suffer from sleepless nights due to worry and sadness. These can be caused by a bad conscience, painful loss or an experience of major illness. The card represents the long nights when you are tormented by worry. You lie awake, eagerly waiting for the day to come and to seek your distraction. Nine of Swords does not show whether lying awake has to do with feelings of shame or guilt, the fear you have of a difficult task or life-threatening situation.
Work
In your work, Nine of Swords shows that you have a despondent and pessimistic attitude and that you suffer from the tasks you perform, your superiors or the general atmosphere at work. The card may also indicate that you are afraid of failing in certain situations where you will have to deal with unusual assignments. This can be, for example, an exam or stage fright. With Nines of Swords, it is usually your bad conscience that keeps you from sleeping because you have behaved wrongly and negligently and now fear being caught.
Love
In relationships, Nine of Swords indicates that you are afraid of being abandoned or of the worry and sadness you have in a divorce. You are also tormented by your own part in the situation. The card may also indicate that you are worried about being lonely or fear of losing a loved one. Swords Nine can stand in a different way for the shame you feel when your partner discovers or would discover your less nice sides. In a situation in which you live alone, you worry whether this will change or because you are afraid of changing this and entering into a relationship.
To ask
What keeps me from sleeping?
What worries weigh on me?
What am I so afraid of?
Do I dare to share my fears with others so that I can get more rest?
Am I to blame?
Do I have the strength to show genuine repentance?
Is my shame really necessary?
Ten of Swords: Abrupt End
General
Swords Ten indicates the end and farewell or the great letting go. With Swords Ten is meant the arbitrary, sometimes violent and therefore premature end. The number of swords shows the clenched strength of the mind, which forcibly puts an end to it. Often the forced ending is accompanied by a heavy life experience, but this does not always have to be the case. It may be that not only important experiences come to an end, but also unpleasant situations or bad habits that negatively affect your life. Swords Ten is always about a painful farewell that you experience with a heavy feeling or with relief.
Work
In your work, Swords Ten stands for the consciously caused end of your current position, work or occupation. The card often indicates a dismissal, after which you have to orient yourself all over again. This can give you a burdened feeling or, despite being painful, give relief.
Love
In relationships, Swords Ten indicates that you are “putting an end to it”. It could be the end of a really oppressive and bad relationship. Usually it is more about shutting down your feelings with the power of your mind and thus hiding something that is important. This can disrupt the interaction in the relationship.
To ask
Have I been weighed down by something for a long time?
What should I rigorously draw a line under?
Is it wise to break with it right now?
Do I have the strength to draw the finish line?
Page of Swords: Criticism
General
Page of Swords represent opportunities and opportunities that come your way. Page of Swords stands for criticism that is usually not appreciated, but which does work as a breath of fresh air or an enlightening impulse. This suddenly gives you clarity and insight. The map gives you the opportunity to collect data, understand difficult situations and analyze them so that you understand them. If you can see the criticism given as something you can learn from, Page of Swords can stand for a confrontation that clears the air and provides clarification.
Work
In your work, Page of Swords instructs you to prepare yourself for conflict, hostile accommodation, or quarrelsome attacks. The card can represent the reprimand by a superior or the emergence of rivalry between colleagues and disagreements with business partners. Page of Swords is always accompanied by criticism that you can learn from. As a result, the card usually gives a fresh, often liberating wind that clears the air and clarifies your work situation.
Love
In relationships, Page of Swords represents a conflict that is provoked by the partner or that is experienced as threatening to the relationship itself. There may be a sudden strong cooling in the relationship, which before that was still warm and cordial. It often involves blaming the other person for unspoken disappointments, pent-up irritations and a number of everyday trifles. The Page of Swords' criticism can turn into a big fight, but if you take the opportunity and learn from it, the map's effect will be more of an enlightening conflict that clears the air.
To ask
Am I open to criticism?
Can I let this pass without getting mad?
Am I willing to learn from this criticism?
Do I dare to face my own mistakes?
Knight of Swords: Conflict
General
Knight of Swords represents a very icy atmosphere that can be accompanied by severe frost. The card brings quarrels and disagreements that cool everything that was once pleasant and warm. It may be that this cooling ensures that the air is cleared and you get a sober insight. Usually Knight of Swords has a more negative effect. This can show itself as sharp confrontations, cunning and meanness, biting mockery and sarcasm. The map is therefore often a harbinger of razor-sharp quarrels and conflicts, cunning and crafty meanness, discord and a divorce.
Work
In your work, Knight of Swords stands for a drop in temperature in the working atmosphere. The card indicates a stage of meanness in which you yourself do not act cleanly or are subject to vicious criticism from others. Knight of Swords almost never has a clarifying or purifying effect. The wounds you incur or inflict on others go very deep and are difficult to heal. The card can affect your security at work or cause projects, business and other plans to fail. Knight of Swords is often the end of a collaboration or, somewhat softer in effect, a cooling down after a period of heat.
Relation
In relationships, Knight of Swords shows the meanest and most painful side. In this area, the card indicates that warm feelings become rigid and freeze or that they also turn into hatred, bitterness and sarcasm. It may also be that the deeper feelings are suddenly the subject of conscious slander.
To ask
Am I willing to fight?
Am I open to criticism?
Can I tolerate the cold?
How mean am I myself?
Is strife and war really necessary?
Queen of Swords: Independence
General
Queen of Swords represents freedom, independence, sanity, wealth of ideas and the ability to grasp quickly. The card indicates the capacity to solve problems with the help of your mind and to arrive at higher insights. Queen of Swords has the strength not to lose herself in doubt and worry in the multitude of ideas. You continue to have a clear insight into the whole. Queen of Swords can free herself from dependence through her knowledge.
Work
In your work, Queen of Swords indicates that you would like to learn. You are alert, take in everything around you, react wisely and dexterously and conduct yourself in conversations clearly, smoothly and without shame. Queen of Swords also indicates that you are after your own independence and not attached to tasks and positions. In this way you can resign at any time if you do not like the work (anymore) or if other, more suitable opportunities arise.
Love
In relationships, Queen of Swords stands for becoming aware of yourself and the relationship. You first take a distance to get a clear and bright image. This way you can focus on the things you don't like or worry about. Queen of Swords often indicates a period in which you are more than usual concerned with equality. Inner independence allows you to act with more determination. The card indicates that you no longer just accept everything in the relationship and sometimes become stiff or snippy or even turn your back on your partner.
To ask
How big is my need for independence?
Can I approach problems logically?
Do I always use my mind in a positive way?
Can I properly separate the wheat from the chaff?
King of Swords: Sharp Mind
General
King of Swords stands for freedom, independence and the power of the smart, quick and shrewd mind that is full of contradictions. The card, on the one hand, implies a great intellect and a multitude of ideas. The other (negative) side of the card is that the intellect can be used in a cunning, cunning and cunning way. Through the power of the intellect you can understand and analyze, think logically, calculate and view problems from all sides. In this way it is possible for King of Swords to free himself from dependence.
Work
In your work, Koning van Zwaarden stands for intellectual fluency, a social attitude and a good commercial spirit. The card indicates that you are handy and flexible and that you carry out your work self-consciously with tactical use of your mind. When you work together with colleagues, superiors, business partners or customers, you are articulate, you know how to act in difficult moments and you have an infectious charisma.
Love
In relationships, Koning van Zwaarden stands for clarity, detachment and therefore also objectivity. In this area, the map has the power to recognize and heal diseased behavior patterns using the analytical ability. Situations where you are dependent or trapped in entanglements and do yourself no good are being taken apart and resolved. King of Swords, through his clarity and insight, can make choices that may be painful but also necessary.
To ask
How big is my need for independence?
Can I approach problems logically?
Do I always use my mind in a positive way?
Can I properly separate the wheat from the chaff?
