Ask Cathy: Six of Swords for the Year

How to read a tarot card

Recently, a reader wrote in and asked:

What would be the best way to interpret the 6 of Swords as a temporary forecast for the year?

-Patricia

Thanks for your question, Patricia!  Sometimes, when people read tarot for themselves, they get a card that they don’t quite understand or they just want a second opinion on.  In this post, I would like to look at a couple of techniques for getting to the meaning of a card that you might be stumped about with my focus on the temporary year card that has come up for you.

In the class that I teach at the Boston Center for Adult Education, I have the students each draw one card and try to figure out the meaning of the card.  The first thing that I stress, which I also stress here, is to wait before looking up the meaning of the card.  The reason for this is that the instant a meaning for the card is introduced from an outside source, you start thinking about the words instead of the images in front of you.  This block your intuition and can take away a meaningful opportunity to bond with a card and enter its depths.

Instead of hopping right into the card meaning, I recommend just looking at the images in front of you and seeing what comes up.  Let your thoughts wander as you survey the card and see what emotional connections you may make.  For me, there are a few telltale signs that I”m connecting with a card.  I may feel like an object is moving a particular way within the card or I may find something odd and want to know more about it.  Another sign is that I notice something entirely new in the card (yes, that still happens after over a decade of working with the same cards!).  Feeling drawn to an object within the card is another good sign.  Still, other people may have different hints at the card’s meaning; perhaps a smell or just  a feeling in your body.  I recommend, taking a few minutes to really look at this card and see what comes up for you before continuing to read this post.  You may find yourself surprised at what comes up and these things can often be much more powerful than anything a tarot reader or a book can tell you about the card.  In fact, you may even surprise yourself.

So, you’ve looked at the card and, hopefully, it has spoken to you in one way or another.  Let me share with you my own experience with looking at this card in regards to your question.  The thing that is standing out to me at this moment in the face that everything is colored so similarly.  The land, the water, the swords are all colored much the same.  One thing that always makes me wonder with this card, too, is the swords poking through the bottom of the boat.  What would happen if they were removed?  Would the boat sink or would removing them be a good thing? Finally, another image that is standing out to me is the man guided the boat to its destination.  I feel like he must have great upper body strength as well as balance to create a smooth journey for the two people in the boat.

So, I’ve got my clues and you probably have some clues, yourself.  Now, the trick is to figure out what those clues mean.  Many times, when I’m reading for someone else, this is where I am making a lot of frustrated sounds and closing my eyes, trying to understand the message my subconscious has thrown my way.  Occasionally, the knowledge will come instantly, but the good stuff usually reveals itself after a bit of a mental struggle.  When figuring out the clues, follow your train of thought and let your mind wander.  Think about what these things might symbolize.

For me, I’m going to start with the last thing that I noticed, the man steering the boat.  First, since my attention was drawn to this figure, I feel like this person must be very significant and they are either you or someone very close to you.  While they appear as a man in the card, this does not mean that they are definitely a man, just that they may be taking on a masculine role.  At the same time, this could also very well be a man.  His upper body strength could be more literal, indicating something about the person’s health or physique, but there is certainly more to the feeling than that.  The upper body strength combined with this need for balance indicates a very sensitive emotional time.  I think of getting something off of your chest, because of the strength, and then I think of not really being able to do it because for fear of upsetting the balance in the boat.  Things need to run smoothly and they need to move forward and this person feels they have to have this continuous pressure in their lives in order for that to happen.  The presence of the two other people also indicates, to me, that it is a problem involving others–probably family because they are so close and they are all in the same boat.  Their hunched posture makes me feel like they are closed off emotionally, perhaps because they have been through a rough time recently.  It also stands out to me, in this particular card, that they are very closed off from the man, despite the fact that he is doing the work to help them get to a new destination.  These two are close enough to whisper to each other, but I feel like if the man wants to be heard he has to yell.

The swords in the boat go along with this need for things to stay the way they are in order for everything to run smoothly.  Swords, in tarot, can represent thoughts and, here, we have all these thoughts plugging up holes in the boat so it can reach its destination.  There are two things that are interesting about these thoughts.  The first thing is that they’ve actually helped to create the mess you are in and the second thing is that there is a strong belief that these thoughts are helping you, when they may actually be causing more pain.  The notion of maintaining balance holds in this symbolism as well, only the balance here is the water level in the boat.  Water represents emotions and the unconscious.  So, there is a very strong fear that if someone stopped thinking the way they do and, possibly, trying to control the situation, then everything would get all out of whack and you might drown in emotion.

The last thing that really stood out to me is that fact that the swords and the water and the land you are heading to are all the same pale blue color.  When a color stands out to you in a reading, it is important to have a system for identifying what the color means.  There are many methods out there to help you identify the meanings of colors, like Feng Shui.  Personally, I’ve always used the chakra system.  In this case, the pale blue color symbolizes, to me, communication.  This is very interesting, since I believe that communication is a problem just now for these people, especially for the man guiding the boat.  There are many things left unsaid and it leaves the world around you to project these feelings and bottled up emotions onto.  Suddenly, the people are no longer living in the real world, but they are living as prisoners of their thoughts and all the things they have left unsaid.  Going along with this idea that everything has to stay the same in order for progress to happen and to maintain balance, the color indicates that the emotions of the water are still running over despite your best efforts.  These emotions are coloring everything and make it impossible to leave them behind.  They are, in fact, controlling your thoughts instead of you controlling them as you may think.

So, without even looking at a meaning in a book, we’ve got some pretty strong ideas represented in the card.  Not only do we see an emotionally trying situation, but we even see a potential solution.  The solution is recognizing that the balance of things is already screwed up (as symbolized by the colors in this card) despite your best efforts.  So, taking the chance to mess up the balance and communicate your feelings openly but with compassion for the other person’s situation (whoever you are, you’re in a tricky place; if you are the man, you want desperately to help the other people in the boat, so much so that you are willing to forget your own needs to be heard or taken care of to try and get the people to the other side; if you are the woman, you feel so wounded by something that you are afraid of opening up and sharing with others because you don’t want to be vulnerable and expose your belly; and if you are the small person, then you feel very overwhelmed and unsure even of how to feel).  This open communication may help to dislodge some long-standing thoughts and create much needed breathing room in your life.

Now, as if that weren’t enough information, after you do this portion of reading for yourself, you can go to a book for a definition.  So, let’s look somewhere online for a meaning of the six of swords.  One of my favorite sites to use when looking up card meanings is Crystal Reflections.  You can read their meaning for this card here.  When reading a meaning from a book, you also want your intuition to be “up.”  Notice when a sentence or thought stands out to you because it is most likely significant.

Adding together a written meaning with your intuition is the next step.  Sometimes, you may find your intuition got a very different message from the images in the card than it does from a written meaning.  This does not make either message wrong.  In fact, it can help create an even clearer message to put the two together.  Other times, the written message will confirm what you receive from the images.  For example, in my feelings about the card, the idea of a need for communication is confirmed, etc.  But, we can also add to this something that my intuition hinted at, but I didn’t get into.  There is also the notion of the end of something and the beginning of something new.  In that boat, with these other people, there is a new destination and right now is a time for healing and letting go.  My intuition tells me that the best way to do this is not just in advancing and letting time pass, however.  It is in opening up and giving voice to your feelings.

As you can see, using your intuition to work with the cards first is really a must.  In my readings for clients, I rely solely on this intuition to bring a deeper meaning and, sometimes, I come up with things that completely veer off the beaten path where traditional card meanings are concerned.  I also use this technique when reading for myself.  A key in this process is to detach and allow your intuition to wander wherever it likes without judging it or putting a leash on where it can go.

So, it looks like for this year–at least for now–you are headed towards calmer waters and healing is taking place in your life, due to the efforts of yourself and others.  There is also the warning that this new destination may not feel any different if you are unable to open up and express your feelings with the ones you love.  This expression may also quicken your journey and bring more joy and balance to your life.  Trust is a word that has just popped into my head–so maybe a little trust is required here.  Not only in others, but in yourself and the world around you.

I hope this helps.. not only with the upcoming year but also with your own efforts to read tarot for yourself.  Happy New Year and bright blessings all around!

-Cathy

Related posts:

1. My Own Two of Wands
2. Ask Cathy: Two of Wands in the Past
3. Ask Cathy!
4. Breaking in a New Deck
5. Self-Reading Technique: Revisiting the Past