6 of Swords in the "alternatives" position

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Nov 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Lauren	09 Nov 2001
I was doing a reading recently for myself, and the 6 of Swords came up in the "alternatives" position. (I was using a 5-card spread called "naming the problem"). I immediately saw this as an indication to step back from the problem and try to view it with more objective eyes, even though that is not the traditional meaning of the card. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that objective thinking is probably a very sword-like quality, so it's not that far off. I have been studying tarot for years but am very new to actually doing spreads and linking cards together. I don't usually have a lot of intuition, but this card just seemed to say something different to me this time. Does this sound way out there, or does it sound like something this card could be saying? -lauren

Mojo	10 Nov 2001
Lauren, Your intuition seems to be working just fine. in the traditional images of the six of swords, the view from the boat is obscured by the swords sticking into the bow. It seems like a dismal and discouraging journey. But if you take a step back and look carefully, the rough waters are behind the boat and there's smooth sailing ahead. And in the distance is a pretty promising landscape. Perfect scenario to explain the feeling you got from the card.

MeeWah	10 Nov 2001
Agree with Mojo. Your interpretation is valid. Do not think that since you have not worked with spreads you do not have intuition with Tarot. You may not have tried to use your intuition in that way. The fact that you have studied the cards would be significant.

Lauren	11 Nov 2001
Thanks for the reinforcement, guys. :) I guess I just have to do readings a lot more often to get the hang of it. -Lauren

The 6 of Swords in the "alternatives" position thread was originally posted on 09 Nov 2001 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.