Meaning of the Swords – Minor Arcana

The Swords are therefore one of the 4 groups found among the minor arcana. Like the 3 other groups, they number 14 cards or blades, of which 10 are numeral cards. These run from the Ace to the number 10. But there are also 4 figure cards which are the page, the knight, the queen and the king, also called court or honour cards.

The Swords are influenced by the natural element that is Air, by the season of autumn and by the zodiac signs that are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. They are close to the spade found in ordinary decks of cards.

In the Tarot of Marseille, and that of the Rider-Waite, the suit of Swords therefore embodies the strength of the mind and the power of decision in the face of any situation. They offer us a great deal of information about a subject’s capacity for adaptation and about their intellectual capital. It is the most destabilising suit of cards in the tarot deck, because it can resolve certain problems, as well as announce conflicts that can be of a certain violence. These cards can be a source of new ideas to be strengthened, but they can also reveal difficulties to overcome, romantic disappointments and the onset of an illness. The negative point of subjects sensitive to this suit remains anger and severity.

The Ace of Swords

This card embodies the arrival of a new idea that can positively shake up your life. It notably calls upon your capacity for reflection, since it prompts you to make choices that will steer the trends and outcomes of these new adventures awaiting you around the corner. In love, it invites you to behave responsibly and thoughtfully in order to find your soulmate, but also to show a little more tenderness towards your partner. For it turns out that you may have neglected feelings to opt only for the pleasure of the flesh, of late.

• Upright : Novelty – Reflection – Responsibility – Pleasure
• Reversed : Blockage

The 2 of Swords

It is an uncomfortable card, because it offers a difficult choice between two possibilities. In love too, your heart wavers between two people whom you cannot decide between. There will therefore be decisions to make even if your choices may hurt, but for that you will have to take your time, and above all not act on impulse.

You will therefore have to reason and let your instinct speak so that it guides you towards the best possible choices. Be careful all the same not to let your emotionality wander, as it could indeed influence you, for better or for worse.

• Upright : Difficulties – Decisions – Reasoning – Instinct
• Reversed : Conflict

The 3 of Swords

It is the card of pain through a friendly rupture or a romantic one, due to a betrayal. It is synonymous with sorrow, anguish and great disillusionment. It speaks to us of past traumas that prevent us from moving forward in the right direction today and that drag our chances of progress downward.

The card therefore evokes a separation between two individuals that happens in pain, but also a sudden loss of employment, a breach of contract or the onset of a depression that will put the morale of the querent at its lowest.

• Upright : Pain – Disillusionment – Separation – Depression
• Reversed : Reunion

The 4 of Swords

It is the card of reflection, of the time devoted to finding the right solutions. In a romantic relationship, it is a sign that one must finally take great care of oneself above all, and no longer only of the loved one. It therefore evokes a period of transition where it will be good to find oneself alone for a moment in order to put the emphasis on the sensitive bridges of our existence.

A very spiritual return to one’s roots that sets the clocks straight again and thus allows one to see more clearly into one’s destiny, and to make a real sorting between what one wishes for the future and what one no longer wants to experience again.

• Upright : Reflection – Transition – Solitude – Spirituality
• Reversed : Stagnation

The 5 of Swords

This card symbolises conflictual situations that lead you straight towards stress. In love, you are not yet ready to meet the soulmate so desired, and if you are already in a couple, you are going to live through a period filled with dark clouds with your partner.

At work, you will have to deal with dissensions, criticism and upheavals that will tip you into a paranoid and more than anxious state of mind.  Suffice it to say therefore that you will have to take it upon yourself and show a certain diplomacy if you wish not to suffer too much.

• Upright : Conflicts – Upheavals – Anguish – Compromise 
• Reversed : Conciliation

The 6 of Swords

This card shows that you are about to get yourself out of a situation that was painful. Thus, you have had a rough time, whether on a professional, financial or more sentimental level. And if you may have found yourself lower than the ground at certain moments, you have recently been picking yourself up, little by little, and trying to keep your head high.

In love, you are finally turning the page so as to be better able to move forward. Indeed, the pain and sadness that you drag around you are over. The troubles are therefore behind you, and it is towards a new horizon that you are heading.

• Upright : Renewal – Evolution – Pride – Horizon
• Reversed : Flight

The 7 of Swords

Beware of this card because it evokes a lie, a scam or a deception carried out without your knowledge. Indeed be vigilant about the fidelity of your partner in love, the trust of your associate in business and the interest of your debtors where finances are concerned, because one of them is going to try to swindle you beautifully.

Caution is therefore in order, even if you will not be able to keep an eye on all these fine people without losing your own self-assurance and composure in the process. It is therefore easy to understand why this card is disliked and dreaded by all those sensitive to divination through the tarot.

• Upright : Betrayal – Disillusionment – Distrust – Caution
• Reversed : Decision

The 8 of Swords

It is the card of disorientation, of perplexity and of powerlessness to resolve a delicate problem, in work as in love. This card therefore expresses the doubts and the inability to reach the set goals, but it puts its finger on one of the most sensitive points : are our certainties truly the best of paths to follow ?

Have we not lost our way in personal assertions that turn out to be false ? So many questions raised by this card which therefore pushes us to a reconsideration of all our beliefs.

• Upright : Doubts – Disorientation – Uncertainty – Straying
• Reversed : Progress

The 9 of Swords

It is unfortunately the card of worry that leads to distress and solitude. It is also a violent rending within a romantic relationship, because the querent does not make the most of the present moment so much do they fret about the future.

Thus, they lose themselves in their own torments and even end up frightening the loved one, who will detach themselves from them little by little. It is the same at work, where fulfilment will give way to constraint and boredom, which will bring about harmful repercussions on professional relations and productivity.

• Upright : Worries – Distress – Detachment – Boredom
• Reversed : Joy

The 10 of Swords

It is a brutal card that announces a point of no return. It is the rather dramatic end of a professional association or of a romantic relationship. It is therefore of an acknowledgement of failure that this card speaks to us, even if the querent rather suspected that this was inevitably bound to happen one day.

There will therefore be pain in the air, and disillusionment linked to the recent betrayals that will accompany this rupture. We are thus witnessing the end of a cycle, which even if it churns the guts, will allow one to find oneself again as a person in order to pick oneself up and bounce back better.

• Upright : Rupture – Failure – Fatality – Cycle
• Reversed : Renewal

The Page of Swords

It is the card of curiosity, which is synonymous with a certain positive return to affairs. It is a sign of a new association on a professional level or of a new encounter in terms of a romantic relationship. Trust is therefore back, which is a good sign and is heart-warming.

And this new self-assurance that will therefore emanate from you as a querent will allow you to draw others towards your person. You will then use your charms, and one can say that you will obtain a certain success. But be careful not to overdo it all the same, because just like Icarus, you could burn your wings.

• Upright : Positive – Encounter – Curiosity – Self-assurance
• Reversed : Clumsiness

The Knight of Swords

This card is a sign of a change of course that you ardently defend. At the same time, new complicities could come to light around you, and love could once again come to shake up your life. Thus, you would see your wishes come true, and that, thanks to a change of strategy in your way of approaching the events arising in your daily life.

For you are more determined, and your new self-assurance gives you wings that were not known of you before. In any case, you give others the desire to follow you.

• Upright : Change – Strategy – Achievement – Determination
• Reversed : Opportunism

The Queen of Swords

This card is a sign of intellect and of a sharp and energetic mind. It also evokes your deep sincerity, which can sometimes hurt a few because it is too frank and direct. Which makes you independent and solitary. Moreover, the card announces no new relationship to come anytime soon, from a professional as well as a sentimental point of view.

But this will in no way prevent you from moving forward because you are methodical, and therefore know how to make the most of your efficiency at managing all on your own, without any partner. It is your way of doing things and it seems to suit you rather well so far.

• Upright : Intelligence – Pragmatism – Solitary – Methodical
• Reversed : Disorganisation

The King of Swords

This card embodies just values, intelligence, spirituality and truth. From a sentimental point of view, it evokes more the security side there is in the sharing of a life as a couple than passionate love and the pleasures that flow from it.

On the professional level, it nevertheless reveals a certain fulfilment that helps to climb the rungs that lead straight to success. This thanks to a flawless authority and an ease at forging ahead without needing anyone’s help. 

• Upright : Truth – Security – Fulfilment – Progress
• Reversed : Arrogance