The Six of Swords represents self-consciousness on the intellectual level of human expression. Six of Swords upright: objectivity. Six of Swords reversed a lack of objectivity.
Hence, this card stands for our intellectual ego, the one that deals with adversity.
When we incarnate, our soul merges with our ego. Think of the soul (Six of Cups) as the first-born and the intellectual ego (Six of Swords) as the second-born. The intellectual ego keeps usurping the soul’s right to rule, and that’s why we develop selfish inclinations.
The respective power of consciousness manages our self-identification as intelligent, knowledgeable beings. When Descartes said, “Cogito ergo sum”, which means, “I think, therefore, I am,” he referred to this faculty of consciousness.
The Six of Swords also represents our astrological ego, i.e., our cocktail of personality traits, which we can analyze with the help of an astrological chart. Psychology caught up with this. According to Dr. Russell Barkley, a child is born with over 400 psychological traits that will emerge (or not) as they mature.
Have you ever felt alone, caught in a never-ending rollercoaster of conflicts and competition? That’s the sense of separation. We owe this sense to the intellect’s primal faculty: differentiation, the ability to keep things apart. No differentiation, no success or survival, but differentiation produces also the sense of separation. The intellectual ego is particularly susceptible to this sense.
The sense of separation produces fear, which spawns aggression. Overcoming the sense of separation is difficult because it is such a powerful verisimilitude. What makes matters worse is that some politicians, conspiracy theorists, and news channels promote the sense of separation to spread fear to further their agendas.
Overcoming the sense of separation is liberating. It gives rise to the realization that the universe is a gigantic collaboration. If you know how to look, you can see cooperation everywhere. Nature is a cooperation, the human body is a cooperation, families are cooperations, companies are cooperations, and so are societies.
We are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is.
— Kurt Vonnegut
The intellectual ego is your inner problem solver. It deals with adversity and resistance. It drives your car, does your job, keeps your relationships together, and fills your tax forms. As you can see, the guy is under a lot of pressure.
Most psychological issues are Six of Swords issues. Under attack, the intellectual ego resorts to self-defense mechanisms like anxiety, arguing, and eating disorders. Mind that intelligent people are particularly prone to arrogance, which an inauspicious Six of Swords may indicate. This is where the secondary meanings of pride, over-confidence, and conceitedness come from.
An auspicious Six of Swords may indicate the querent’s readiness to stand up for her values and assume responsibility for the circumstances of her life. It calls for selflessness, modesty, the willingness to do the right thing, and overcoming the sense of separation.
An inauspicious Six of Swords may indicate that the querent lacks soul-consciousness and is trapped in the ego’s intellectual self-identification.
If the querent’s question pertains to an undertaking, the Six of Swords calls for taking a break and re-evaluating the value of her undertaking. However wonderful an undertaking may be, it may not be important for the querent’s life path. For instance, an undertaking may be financially rewarding but can produce a sense of emptiness.
In case the querent’s question pertains to adversity, the Six of Swords may indicate the hidden value of her challenge. Adversities are blessings in disguise. Struggles with adversity lead to wisdom, understanding, and empathy. That’s where the secondary meanings of overcoming anxiety, the realization of one’s faults after a period of trouble, difficulties overcome, releasing baggage, moving on, healing progress, the calm after the storm, relief, and mysterious change of circumstances for the better come from.
An inauspicious Six of Swords may also signify that pride, over-confidence, or self-conceitedness are responsible for the querent’s challenge. The opposite may also be true: that self-doubt, insecurities, and lack of confidence brought about the querent’s challenge.
In extreme cases, an inauspicious Six of Swords can indicate psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism.
Six of Swords Symbolism
The six swords in the picture form a hexagram.
The inner lines form two triangles within the hexagram, symbolizing the union of the higher and lower selves.
The intellect is a tool: garbage in, intelligent garbage out. The intellect needs guidance, which only the higher self can provide. Hence, the union of the intellectual ego and the higher self may be, at this point in human development, the most important objective.
The Five Psychological Core Meanings of the Six of Swords
We derive the psychological meanings of Tarot cards from their position on the Tree of Life. In the Enlightenment Tarot framework, the Six of Swords represents Tiphareth of Hod, i.e., self-consciousness on the intellectual level of human expression.
Every Tarot card represents a faculty or power of consciousness. We can use faculties of consciousness constructively and destructively, which produce either a fortunate or an adverse state of mind. Hence, every Tarot card has five core meanings.
These are the five core meanings of the Six of Swords:
- Enlightenment Tarot title: Evaluation
- Power of consciousness: Evaluation, self-assessment
- Constructive use: Objectivity
- Unconstructive use: Lack of objectivity
- Auspicious state of mind: Trust (in an evaluation)
- Inauspicious state of mind: Suspicion
Reflective Questions
If the Six of Swords appears in your spread, it may be beneficial to ask yourself the following questions:
- Where in my life do I satisfy my ego instead of nurturing my soul?
- What beliefs, thoughts, or experiences feed my sense of separation?
- Do I (re-)evaluate my undertakings often enough?
- Do I rationalize attitudes to avoid emotional truth?
- In which areas of my life am I ready to serve a greater good?
- What past adversity has made me wiser or more empathetic and what does that teach me?
Six of Swords Summary
The Six of Swords invites you to rise above egoism, evaluate experiences objectively, embrace your soul’s life path, and move forward with clarity, humility, and purpose.
Where Do Tarot Card Meanings Actually Come From?
The meanings of Tarot cards come from various sources. The most common are:
- The position of the Tarot cards on the Tree of Life
- Astrological correspondences (signs, planets, & houses)
- The symbolism of Tarot cards
- Intuition
- Meanings that pertain to fortune-telling
Most of the Tarot card meanings you can google are astrological correspondences and go back to the Golden Dawn and Arthur Edward Waite. Astrological meanings have dominated because Astrology favors fortune-telling. But Astrological meanings are unsuitable for (psychological) Tarot readings.
If you are interested in an overview of the astrological correspondences, you can download a high-resolution chart by subscribing to the Enlightenment Tarot.
Tarot card meanings are a bit of a mess since the meanings that pertain to their position on the Tree of Life mingle with astrological correspondences, symbolic interpretations, and fortune-telling connotations. That’s tedious to memorize. Further, tarotists’ opinions, knowledge, and linguistic backgrounds shaped some of these interpretations. Last but not least, many meanings are fuzzy, contradictory, and overlap. If you want to understand why they overlap, read the article How to Deal With the Overlapping Meanings of Tarot Cards.
The meanings of the Enlightenment Tarot are based on an objective and holistic framework: the Tree of Life and the four levels of human expression. The resulting meanings are transparent and logical and, hence, easier to memorize.
What Various Tarotists Say about the Meanings of the Six of Swords
Let’s explore what various tarotists wrote about the Six of Swords.
Tarotists emphasize the astrological significances of Tarot cards since these lend themselves to divination and fortune-telling. The Six of Swords corresponds to the second decanate of Aquarius, ruled by Saturn and Uranus, sub-ruled by Gemini and Mercury.
Aquarius is associated with the Revelation/Star card.
The main Libran characteristics are friendly, inventive, and humanitarian.
The second decanate vibes add the following characteristics to the mix: independent, cultured, and sociable.
Mercury adds cheerfulness to the Aquarian vibes, which kindles curiosity, a love of cultured conversation, and a passion for sporty arguments (Mercury is the patron of debates).
Aquarius rules the eleventh house of social networking, aka the house of friends. This house rules the collective influence of society and other groups, as well as friendships, acquaintances, and other non-transactional relationships. Think of this house as the house of kindred spirits who enjoy each other’s company.
This is also the house of meditation, dreams, and revelations, including revelations that lead to the invention of new technology.
Last but not least, it is the house of hopes and fears, wishes and aspirations, and gain or loss through acquaintances and friends.
The Gemini connection links the Six of Swords to matters of the third house. i.e., brothers, sisters, cousins, short journeys, letters, documents, writings, books, and education.
What Paul Foster Case Said About the Meanings of the Six of Swords
For the Six of Swords, Paul Foster Case proposed the keyword
patience.
With that, he meant patience during a period of adversity or anxiety. This card may foretell success after a period of adversity or anxiety, that difficulties will be overcome, that something mysterious may affect a change of circumstances for the better, or that the querent can succeed through laborious efforts.
Mind the Six of Swords follows the Five of Swords, which signifies periods of adversity.
This card may also foretell a change of scene and a journey by water (the third house connection).
An adverse Six of Swords may indicate sudden changes, that circumstances dominate the querent, that the querent is in danger of being over-confident or conceited (lacking a connection to the higher self), or that she may expend too much effort for small results (lack of evaluation).
What Arthur Edward Waite Said About the Meanings of the Six of Swords
Arthur Edward Waite suggested that the Six of Swords signifies routes and ways, and that it foretells a journey by water, which the image suggests, too.
Although the passenger in the picture doesn’t look happy, this card shall signify a pleasant journey.
The Six of Swords may also foretell the arrival of a messenger or emissary, who will convey something useful to the querent. This goes back to the influence of Mercury, the ruler of Gemini, who acts as a messenger of the gods or a messenger of the higher self, if you so will.
Taking this line of thought further, the Six of Swords can signify a declaration, a confession, a confession of love, or a revelation of truth. Mind the association with the Revelation card mentioned above. Since the Six of Swords is connected to the sixth house of social networking, such revelations may become public, to the querent’s advantage or detriment.
An inauspicious Six of Swords may indicate an unfavourable lawsuit. The origin of this meaning is unclear. Lawsuits are neither matters of the third house nor the sixth house.
What Etteilla Said About the Meanings of the Six of Swords
Etteilla, a French occultist and the first known professional tarotist, also believed that an auspicious Six of Swords may foretell declarations, proclamations, or public announcements. This aligns with the idea of revelations – private or public.
An inauspicious Six of Swords may signify that the querent
is being watched, watched, or stalked, possibly without her knowledge.
What Papus Said About the Meanings of the Six of Swords
Papus, another French occultist and the founder of the Martinist Order, wrote an auspicious Six of Swords can indicate that the querent’s enemy is powerless.
Here is the sequence of Papus’ interpretations of the Four to Seven of Swords:
Four of Swords: The defeat of an enemy.
Five of Swords: An enemy will triumph at the last moment
Six of Swords: The querent’s enemy is powerless
Seven of Swords: The querent’s enemy is only partially successful.
The term energy is tinged with the sense of separation. Adversity is the better term.
What Gregor Mather Said About the Meanings of the Six of Swords
Gregor Mather, the founder of the Golden Dawn, believed, like Etteilla, that the Six of Swords may foretell a messenger, an emissary, or a revelation, declaration, surprise, which may include a confession of love.
And he agreed it may predict a journey (the third-house connection).
What Mme. Le Marchand Said About the Meanings of the Six of Swords
Mme. Le Marchand, a 19th-century celebrated Parisian fortune teller, wrote that this card encourages the querent to impart what’s on her mind to someone sitting next to her, which shall lead to the fulfillment of her wish.
The Psychological Framework of the Enlightenment Tarot
Every Tarot card represents a faculty of consciousness. We can use faculties of consciousness constructively and destructively. This produces favorable and adverse experiences.
We can express faculties of consciousness on four levels:
- The spiritual level (wands/fire/intention)
- The creative-feely level (cups/water/imagination)
- The intellectual level (swords/air/intelligence)
- The bodily level (pentacles/earth/bodily action)
The four tools on the magician’s table symbolize these four levels:
- The wand (spiritual)
- The cup (creative-feely)
- The sword (intellectual)
- The pentagram (bodily)
These tools correspond to the four so-called elements: fire, water, air, and earth.
For this reason, the Enlightenment Tarot wands are made of fire, the cups consist of water, and the pents are composed of earth. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to illustrate something made of air, since air is invisible. For that reason, all swords are made of crystal to show at least transparency.
The Enlightenment Tarot derives its meaning from the Tree of Life and the four levels of human expression. This is an objective, holistic framework that reveals the psychological imports of Tarot cards and their faculties of consciousness. Read more about this framework in the article The Psychological Framework of the Enlightenment Tarot.
The Enlightenment Tarot project attempts to rediscover the original meanings of the Tarot cards that pertain to their position on the Tree of Life. These meanings are simple, clear, and easy to memorize.
*This framework is compatible with Paul Foster Case’s qabalistic system.
Do you want to learn more About The Enlightenment Tarot?
If you want to delve deep into the psychological meanings of Tarot cards, read the book Tarot of Life.
If you are curious about how the Enlightenment Tarot came about, read this article.
If you are interested in learning how to perform psychological Tarot readings, subscribe to receive a free copy of a guide on how to perform psychological Tarot readings.
If you are looking for a psychological Tarot deck, you have come to the right place. The Enlightenment Tarot derives the cards’ meanings from a holistic and transparent framework that is easy to learn and memorize. All major and minor arcana carry psychological titles, and the court cards display psychological profiles. Have a look at the Enlightenment Tarot deck here.
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Delve into the psychological mysteries of the Tarot with the Enlightenment Tarot deck — a contemporary Tarot deck with authentic Tarot symbolism yet immersive illustrations designed for psychological Tarot readings.
Trace your querent’s challenges back to her weaknesses or inner demons. Shadow work made easy.
This exceptional Tarot deck is based on an objective and holistic, psychological framework: the Tree of Life. All minor and major cards feature psychological titles. For example, the Magician has the title ‘Attention’, and the Six of Cups has the title ‘Decision’. The court cards exhibit psychological profiles. For instance, the Queen of Wands stands for a willful woman: generous or stubborn, resolute or revengeful, intense or tyrannical, magnetic or dangerous.