Minor Arcana · Swords
King of Swords
The judgement
Upright meaning
Deciding by reason and principle rather than feeling. People come to you for the clear answer.
Reversed meaning
Coldness, intellectual tyranny, or reasoning used to bully.
What is in the picture
He faces us directly — rare in this deck — with his sword upright and tilted slightly to one side. The throne is carved with butterflies and crescent moons. Two birds cross above him and the trees behind are still: the wind has dropped. This is someone who decides after the weather has passed, and does not revise it because of a mood.
Love
A rational partner. Sometimes more warmth is needed.
Career
A role requiring objective judgement: legal, analytical, managerial.
About this suit
Swords are about thought, truth and conflict. The suit of speech, decisions and what runs through your head — fear included.
One thing you can do
Separate what happened from what you think it means before you decide. Two columns: the events, and your reading of them.
Is King of Swords a yes or a no?
Yes, if you decide on principle rather than on how today feels.
Beside another card
A card changes meaning according to what sits next to it. These are the two most common pairings — tap through to read the other card.
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