Six of Swords

What the card means

Upright

Leaving the rough water, carrying the grief along. The boat goes from choppy water into smooth and the swords stand in the hull: they were not thrown out, they are being ferried. The card is about movement that relocates rather than heals, and that is already a great deal.

Reversed

Trying to move on without putting anything down. Or going back where you came from. Sometimes a move that keeps being deferred.

Love and relationships

Upright

A parting with no scene in it. Or a couple travelling together away from a hard stretch. It gets calmer, and not at once.

Reversed

Left and dragged the old thing along. Or went back to what was being left.

Work and business

Upright

Moving to a new place, a new city, a transfer. The right decision, made without any enthusiasm.

Reversed

Changing jobs and bringing the same habits to the same place.

Money

Upright

The costs of moving and of transition. Justified - it is what leaving hard water costs.

Reversed

Paying for a move that never happens.

The card's advice

Go, even if you carry something with you. The ferryman does not ask whether you have worked it out - he simply ferries, and working it out is easier on the other side.

As the card of the day

A day of travel and transition. Good for leaving, moving, changing the setting. Poor for sorting it out where you are.

What is depicted

A ferryman poles a boat; a woman and a child sit covered in it. Six swords stand point-down in the hull. The water to the left is choppy and to the right smooth - the crossing has already begun.

Zodiac sign and correspondences

Mercury in Aquarius - a route chosen by reason.

With other cards

• Six of Swords + Death — a leaving there is no coming back from.
• Six of Swords + The Star — it gets quieter on the other side.
• Six of Swords + Five of Swords — after this there is nothing left but to go.