King of Swords
authority of mind · judgment · law · clear thinking
Card art: Pamela Colman Smith, 1909, for A. E. Waite. Public domain.
The suit of Swords
In a few words
- authority of mind
- judgment
- law
- clear thinking
A king with a sword upright, judging. Intellect, authority, the law, decisions made by reason.
Upright
- Everything
- A king with a sword upright, judging. Intellect, authority, the law, decisions made by reason.
- Love
- A partner of principle, more head than heart. Respect is the foundation here.
- Work
- Lead with logic and standards. Legal matters, contracts, expert advice go well.
- Money
- Structured, lawful, well-advised money. A professional's counsel worth paying for.
- Myself
- Think it through, decide, stand by it. Your mind is a fair judge.
Whatsoever arises out of the idea of judgment and all its connexions—power, command, authority, militant intelligence, law, offices of the crown, and so forth.The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), p. 226
Reversed
- Everything
- Reason turned to tyranny, or a judge who is not fair. Manipulation by clever argument.
- Love
- Coldness, control through logic, a partner who is never wrong. Or your own.
- Work
- An abusive authority, a biased decision, legal trouble. Document everything.
- Money
- Bad advice given with confidence. Or cutting corners on the law.
- Myself
- Intellect used to avoid feeling. The sword is not for that.
Cruelty, perversity, barbarity, perfidy, evil intention.The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), p. 226
The card, as Waite described it
He sits in judgment, holding the unsheathed sign of his suit. He recalls, of course, the conventional Symbol of Justice in the Trumps Major, and he may represent this virtue, but he is rather the power of life and death, in virtue of his office.The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911), p. 226
The plain-word meanings on this page were written for ShreeJyoti and are still under review.