The Six of Swords

Themes: Moving on, coming to peace, transition, healing,

My Six of Swords story

Running from Toxic Love

The Six of Swords is a card of transition and healing — moving from choppy waters, to clearer waters. There is something intensely sad about the imagery of this card. A woman and child with their heads down are in a boat. A man steers the boat to an island some distance away. The imagery reminds me of refugees, or a woman with her child running from abuse.

I distinctly remember seeing the Six of Swords for the first time. I was receiving my first ever professional tarot reading. It was the perfect card to describe what I had gone through.

The few years prior, I had to pry myself away from a volatile, on-again, off-again relationship. At the time, I called it emotional abuse, and yet I couldn’t leave. In our fights, he would call me a b*tch and a whore, and yet, I begged for forgiveness. He’d accept my apologies, but then it would happen all over again.

Now, I can see how I played into the toxicity as well. He would emotionally manipulate, and in retaliation, I found myself playing the same games. Bouncing between being the victim and being the victimizer, this unhealthy, toxic dynamic brought out the worst in me. I had become someone I didn’t even know anymore — I needed to get out.

Fueled by Fear & Survival…

I was honestly afraid of him, and broke up with him with a softball excuse — that I needed some time to figure myself out. I was afraid of what he would do if I told him the truth. A few months after the break-up, he tried to break into my apartment with roses in hand in a sneak attempt to ‘make-up.’ (Because nothing says “I love you” like breaking through boundaries!) He never returned the key to our apartment, and used it to try to get in. Luckily, I had the chain on the door. With his hand holding roses, his arm made its way through the door. I screamed at him, banged the door on his arm, and the roses dropped to the floor. I threatened to call the cops and he eventually left.

Fear set in. I knew of his vengeful streak and I was afraid of his unrelenting pursuit. I knew then that I needed to move house and cut him out of my life for good. Unfortunately, I had been laid off from my job a month prior, and needed to get a job — any job, right away — in order to move. Fortunately, I was soon able to find a job an hour away, which gave me an excuse to move far away where he is less likely to find me.

Those few weeks as I prepared to move, I lived in fear and panic. I never knew if he was going to pop up out of nowhere. I decided to change my mobile number, so he could not contact me. I changed my email address as well. I was determined to protect myself.

When Peace & Safety Takes Courage

With a friend’s help, I moved to a nice, quiet apartment a half an hour away in a sleepy town. It felt safe. Before I cut off my old mobile number, I called him. We had been engaged for two years, and he had bought me a car. I left the ring in the car, and left the car in the garage of the old apartment. I called to tell him where it was and that I am changing my number. I ended the call with “I never want to see you ever again.”

He accepted it.

After that call, I sat in my new, quiet bedroom, looking out the window into serene trees blowing softly. I could feel the spaciousness in the room and within myself. Breaking down in tears, I acknowledged — it’s over, I’m safe. I did it, but that didn’t mean I was happy. There was immense sadness and grief, which I didn’t necessarily allow myself to feel fully for quite some time. I had to summon all the strength and courage, to just keep on going. The years that followed were rocky in a different way; I threw myself into work, and allowed others to walk all over me (but that’s a different story).

When I saw the Six of Swords for the first time in that reading, I saw myself in that woman. Head down, crossing the waters, to leave behind an old life. I was in those choppy waters for years — the relationship, the jobs — and finally, the calm waters was only beginning to settle in. My healing journey had just begun.

Rider- Waite Smith Tarot

Six of Swords

The Meaning of The Six of Swords

The Rider Waite-Smith Tarot version of the Six of Swords features a woman and child on a boat. We can tell from the woman’s hunched posture that she holds grief and sorrow. In the forefront we see waves of the choppy waters. The boat appears to be crossing a body of water to a more serene island. The swords are standing upright, pierced into the boat, but it does not sink. The boat is being steered by a person that is bringing them to safety.

The Six of Swords represents a time of moving on, transition and healing. Those times in our lives when we begin to move from a time of turmoil, turbulence and strife to a place of peace and equanimity. The journey takes time and space as we heal, we transition from one part of life to another. Just like anything in life, these moments can be big or small. When the Six of Swords shows up, the message is: how can you bring yourself to a place of peace?

Bringing yourself to a place of peace can mean many different things. It can mean simply calming your mind with modalities like meditation, massage or aromatherapy. But it can also mean taking action to rectify the turmoil that has plagued your mind, which can (like me), mean taking yourself out of hardship, or a chaotic situation. Coming to peace is also about healing, the process of grieving, or releasing the energetic hold from traumatic experiences.

Healing Takes Time

The imagery in the Six of Swords beautifully showcases the elements of healing. For one, healing takes time. As the boat travels from one place to another, it doesn’t just happen in an instance, it takes time to get there — be patient with yourself and give yourself the space and time to heal. The boat gliding over water represents the importance of our emotions and subconscious during the healing process. In order to heal, we must be with our emotions, to decode it and sit with it so that it can be released.

The swords which represent thoughts, truth, perspective, are on the boat, but it doesn’t puncture it — it doesn’t sink us. In the healing process, we take our truth with us, and perhaps discover new truths and perspectives. A therapist, counselor or healer may be of great assistance at this time — the person steering the boat is there to remind us that we’re not alone. To seek help, whether that’s professionally or friends, family, loved ones for their support.

The Six of Swords Quotes & Wisdom

“Healing doesn’t mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls your life.”

– Akshay Dubey

“Healing the soul requires unlearning everything we have been taught that isn’t true.”

– Brené Brown

“To recognize one’s own insanity is, of course, the arising of sanity, the beginning of healing and transcendence.”

– Eckhart Tolle

“Feelings are much like waves, we can’t stop them from coming but we can choose which ones to surf.” – Jonatan Martensson

“Don’t turn away. Keep your gaze on the bandaged place. That’s where the light enters you.”

– Rumi

Intuitively exploring the Six of Swords for yourself

Use the following prompts to explore the card for yourself using any tarot deck

Describe the imagery in the card.
What elements stand out to you?
What do the elements mean to you?
How does the card make you feel?

There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to intuitive exploration. The meanings above are an interpretation of the card, but I encourage you to explore the card for yourself.

A few written paragraphs is not going to apply to everyone, but simply a starting point. Get curious and explore the card for yourself.