Knight of Swords

What the card means

Upright

Straight at it, arguments first. The Knight of Swords rides into the wind, and the wind is not an obstacle but a reason to go faster. He is right more often than is convenient and almost never at the right moment.

Reversed

Speed and certainty in the wrong direction. Arguing to win, and winning the conversation while losing the thing. Sometimes rudeness presented as honesty.

As a person

A quick, sharp, blunt young man: an arguer and a defender who goes straight through and is never short of a word. In shadow, aggression, rash decisions and words that wound.

Love and relationships

Upright

Somebody says it straight and without preamble. Fast, clear and not always careful.

Reversed

A quarrel out of nothing. Or somebody who cuts with the truth and calls it sincerity.

Work and business

Upright

A time to say it plainly and argue on the merits. Good where drive and a clear position are wanted.

Reversed

Charged the wrong target. Or held the position and lost the people.

Money

Upright

A fast decision worth checking twice. Do not sign at speed.

Reversed

Hurried, and lost by it.

The card's advice

Say it straight - and decide in advance what you want out of it: winning the conversation or getting the result. They are different things and today they will diverge.

As the card of the day

A sharp day. Good for putting the question squarely. Poor for sparing anybody.

What is depicted

A rider charges flat out, sword thrust forward, cloak torn back; trees bend and the clouds race. The horse is at full gallop - nobody is trying to stop it.

Zodiac sign and correspondences

Air in a gust. By zodiac sign, Gemini (the knights are usually given the mutable signs); more broadly, all the air signs: Gemini, Libra and Aquarius.

With other cards

• Knight of Swords + Strength — drive against patience; patience takes it.
• Knight of Swords + Five of Swords — won the argument and was left alone.
• Knight of Swords + Page of Swords — the questions ran out and the charge began.