never did get the 6 of swords

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Apr 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Belladonna	25 Apr 2003
In a thread about "gate cards" in Talking Tarot, someone mentioned the mystical, goosebumpy quality of the images in the 6 of swords. I'm assuming we're talking about the boatman ferrying the woman and child away. It occured to me that I never really was satisfied with the traditional meanings for this card. I see this card and immediately draw an uncomfortable blank. I just can't grasp it. Maybe you all just have to speak real slow for me, but can anyone help me out here? What's with this card!?!

HOLMES	25 Apr 2003
that can be interpated as many things, depending on the deck. i would ask you to take out the deck,, and write down all the impressions you get in your word pad and post it here, then we can get deeper into the aspects of the card :O)

Belladonna	25 Apr 2003
O.K. Holmes, I'll take you up on that. Give me some time to work on it.

Belladonna	25 Apr 2003
Well, using the Rider-Waite deck, this is what I came up with. I feel sad looking at this card. Mournful. I see the two figures huddled at the front of the boat as mother and son. They seem defeated, mourning, grieving and retreating to distant lands. For some reason I think they are retreating into the past, returning to where they came from. The boatman seems detached from them- not related. He is compassionate and sympathetic and trying to help them in his way, but he does not share in their grief and sadness. Although the past should seem familiar to them, I have the impression that the unknown lies before them. A big blank, desolate and unbarable. It makes me think of someone in shock after a great tragedy, unable to ponder the future or what it may bring. The swords hem them in, shielding them, protecting them from having to face what lies ahead of them. What will they do when they reach the shore? How will they ever rise from this depression and despair? What hope do they have? What hope does that little boy have? Will his mother allow him to waste away uncared for? Or will she find it within her to rise above the greyness of this card? I think I'm gonna cry.

Umbrae	25 Apr 2003
The boatman…he may or may not be attached…his detachment is necessary…he watches the water to keep his charges safe – they rely upon him to keep them alive. Do we know why they journey? It’s not necessary to know why… Perhaps they leave because of strife…to keep the child safe. Perhaps they journey to a better life. Perhaps they take their problems with them. Are they in grief and sadness? Or simply cold, chilled to the bone, yet filled with hope for the future. It is a good and misunderstood card. It speaks of problems solved (perhaps). It speaks of hope. We never seek hope when everything is honky-dory…we seek hope…what’s that song… “When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. And in my hour of darkness She is standing right in front of me Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. Let it be, let it be. Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.” They simply travel to find comfort…

azuremariposa	25 Apr 2003
oy, Umbrae you made my hairs stand up...Belladonna, it's all right there...i've got nothing to add here... *azure rubs the back of her neck* many blessings... ~azure

Thirteen	25 Apr 2003
I like most of what you say, Umbrae, but "Let it Be?" "Let it Be" seems far more apt for The Hanged Man, accepting what comes. Though there is an element of something "coming" to a person in 6/Swords, it arrives AFTER the person has done some serious work--and/or gone through some serious troubles. You row that boat though the rough waters--until you slip into a gentler current and reach the other side. But without that rowing, nothing will "be." If we're going for Beatles songs, I think more aptly, we should consider "Black Bird." "Blackbird singing in the dead of night, Take these broken wings and learn to fly, All your life, You were only waiting for this moment to arrive...." The hard work may not be over--but a moment HAS arrived. A moment when all the hard work, effort, desire, comes together, and you SEE that opposite shore--or you lift off, and SOAR for the very first time. When I look at the RW version, I see refugees escaping--I think, in tune with blackbird, of the story of a slave who use to row other slaves across this river to freedom. He did it in the dark of night, when there was no moon. So he never saw them, and as they had to remain silent, he never spoke to them either. They got into the boat, he rowed. They never knew who he was, and he never knew who they were. Like the boatman in the card--he and is boat were the last thing needed to get thse slaves to the other side, to freedom and a new life. To a solution and or transformation. That, to me, is the RW 6 of Swords.

Rusty Neon	25 Apr 2003
Although it may not have as much to do with the RWS picture, I sometimes think of this song by Chris de Burgh when I see the 6 of Swords: "Don't pay the ferryman! Don't even fix a price! Don't pay the ferryman Until he gets you to the other side." Full lyrics: http://www.cdeb.com/cdeb/ferryman.html Interestingly, in the lyrics, it is the ferryman that's hooded, not the passengers.

jmd	26 Apr 2003
Without looking at the illustration made by Colman-Smith for the Waite deck, other depictions, such as the wonderful illustrations on more classically styled decks (such as the ... waite for it, it's wirth it: Marseille) may give other insights. The six may indicate harmoniousness of swords - and if one considers swords as related to thinking (which of course, one may not), then the card may very well allude to thoughts well thought out; to a plan in the process of being understood; to the various threads in a situation weaving together a new cloth... The six of Swords may also indicate the opening of the mind to not only superficial elements, nor their immediate causes, but their underlying impulse (triple opening depicted by the triple vesica piscis of the swords). Here, certainly new gateways for further considerations are indicated which lead to a flow of understanding. ... just another take on this wonderful card!

Belladonna	26 Apr 2003
Wow, thank you all so much for your wonderful understanding of the six of swords! I think I'm starting to get it, too. Hard choices made in desperate times, perhaps. Plans carfully laid precisely for the hope that lies ahead of them. Escapism, respite, ... anonymity?

galadrial	26 Apr 2003
I began to understand this card when my son changed schools, due to being very unhappy in the previous school, and I kept drawing this card for him. I saw it as an indication that he was in transition; crossing over from one situation to another. I felt that the swords, unhappy memories from the first school, uncertainties about the new, were not going to sink the boat and that though they were the immediate mental focus, he would soon reach smoother waters, then new shores, and be able to focus on other things. I also felt a great sense of calm; that I need not rush in and try pull out the swords or rock the boat, that my presence and quiet sympathy were all that were required, and that the Ferryman had things well in hand. And that's just how things turned out.

Nao	26 Apr 2003
To me, the 6 of Swords has often been a card about moving on...leaving the past behind and the troubled moments and realizing that it's time to move on. Whether the "realization" comes from a conscious decision or from lack of other choices, depends on the situation at hand as well as other cards. When I see the card, I think transition, change, moving away from the a past that either wasn't good for you or didn't make you happy. Sometimes there's no other way to go about things but to leave it behind...and this card depicts just that. Although the moment isn't joyous, it is at least calming. The waters promises calm and better times. Where as you're leaving behind uneven and disturbed water...you're moving towards a moment of peace. There is a better side of the water for you to venture to!

Inana	26 Apr 2003
To me this card is usually talking about time to take things easy, let your mind and your emotions (the card is full of water) in calm. The two passengers can seem sad, they are like the thoughts sometimes are troubling our minds and amke us feel unquiet. But this passengers are letting the boatman drives them, so the boatman is our mind saying: "let the worries ago, take the control". On other hand, the boatman reminds about Caronte, who was in greek mythology the man who transported the souls to the other side of Estigia river, to the Hades. Was needed to pay him a coin in exchange for the journey. So if the soul moves to the realms of the dead, it means is moving towards a quite place where you can rest, but is needed to give something before reaching it, to leave something in the way. Thats why maybe they seem a bit down? Im not sure what are about the gate cards, but viewing this myth, the six of swords seems an important part of our journey in life and holds deep meanings.

HOLMES	26 Apr 2003
but here we go bell first i must say i found your interpation to be insightful of the background picture. that is how rachael pollack approach basically is in the book 78 degrees, (she also applies mythology and other stuff to the images but comes from image focused story.) (that is true of most books when they offer a story to go with the pictures it is image related, then they add on some other information that stems from their knowledge of kabbalah, symbolims, colour, astrology, psychology, philosphy, religion ) (if you did that for all the cards one a day without looking at the book you would be further and understand each card on a personal level then you can back and compare it to the books) (about the systems, the tarot is a system in itself at the whole, golden dawn which is what the rider was based on applied systems to understand it more,, but the tarot archtypes stayed true to themselves :O) so study what you want to and then apply it to the tarot, (hey movies and books helps as well ) (for minor arcana knowledge you could look look up at the tarot and tree of life, every day wisdom in minor arcana, the tarot and court cards out in july by inner tradition (tthe other tarot court book by mary k greer is still forthcoming problay in december ) or the minor arcana section of the 78 degrees. ) (( or my thread on my major tarot realizations i go into the system applied to the minors later on the thread, or help me understand the minor arcana thread which has some ideas or the thirteen basics on aeclectic itself ) what i think when i look at the card. they are indeed on a journey on a boat , with six swords on the boat. 1. could they just be crossing the lake in the night to get home , and it is a cold night so the child and mother are huddle together with their heads down, and the man isn't huddle down giving his masuline energies to task at hand. 2. the woman could be a leper? 3. nah the woman could be a queen, or political figure with her head down as to not to reveal her indentity a travel on a mission to which must be done secretly 4. why is the man standing and not sitting, well given the long staff he is using, it requires great effort to get across, and since the swords are about mental energy and truth , it is requires great mental effort in the areas of strategy, tactics, will, and planning. then there is the actual application of such efforts to actual life, it requires a sure mind, and sure body and sure timing in order to accomplish 5.the swords arent' heavy (this i never noticed til i saw it in either the 78 degrees or the tarot and the tree of life, every day wisdom in the minor arcana ) , they are of the air ( a matter of debate among tarotists if swords are air or fire ) but they are also of the active male energies , and that could be why just the male is working . 6.one side of the boat is calm,, the other side is busy ,, it could mean harmony of the mind has beaten the inner turmoil 7. his outfit is blue peace as he expresses himself, yet he is grounded in earth brown, and more so in his boots are red earth brown. 8. she is covered in brown as well, totally grounded 9 the boy is covered in bluis purple peaceful and spiritual and either his hair is brown symologying more grounded or that is a hat he is wearing. here is what i thought of the tarot card itself not looking at the card. six of swords is the lovers manifested in the mental world of inner and outer strife and how we deal with it. here a choice is made, and that choice is to retreat from the turmoil of the world , they carry their swords along to protect them, from arrows, to break the wind if it was windy. they don't wieght down the boat. who knows the woman may be the true warior and the guy is just the ferry man, and if there is trouble she will throw off her cloak and pull out the swords and start fighting til there is no swords left, no enemies left or she is dead. .. WHO SAYS IT IS A SHE, it could be a warrior using a disguise to get across the lake. and that boy could be his midget accomplice who is trained as ninja lol but i traidtionally see the card as man woman, and their inner child making a conscious decision to stop the strife to retreat , while there is a war going on.

Rusty Neon	26 Apr 2003
Back to the posts about Six of Swords songs, does anyone know what song and group Chris Paradis chose to represent the Six of Swords in the Rock-n-Roll Tarot deck? (I don't have this deck.) Thanks in advance.

gloria	27 Apr 2003
After reading all of the wonderful words describing the Six of Swords, I wasn't sure I should submit this. Still, however banal you may view my interpretation, it has never failed to be incorrect. Pure and simply, a holiday abroad. (across water)

Riversea	27 Apr 2003
I've often thought of the people in the Six of Swords as refugees. While they are fleeing to a safer place, there is sadness at leaving their homeland (even if it is war-torn and dangerous). The land they are fleeing to is safer and more peaceful, but it is also not their native soil, and at least at this point in their journey, seems strange and hostile.

Alex	28 Apr 2003
It could be a card of Death. Crossing "that" river, so as to speak. Also, solving a problem within a narrow array of choices. Doing perhaps the only thing one can do at the moment. I have moved across countries some in life, and it feels like that, when we decide to go somewhere else for an opportunity, not knowing exactly what lies ahead. But one thing we know, we know about what has been left behind, and that needed to be done. There is a piece of mind of knowing, one is doing the "right thing", and not much energy to get all excited and anxious about the future. Alex.

samantha	28 Apr 2003
What strikes me most about the RW card is the child. For me this represents vulnerability. An aspect of the situation/trouble/worry which really pushes the individuals button like no other can. No wonder they are on the boat! Due to the nature of swords , the trouble is definately rooted in the mind , although it may of course manifest itself in a more physical / tangeable form . I remember doing a reading for someone where it represented a trip back home , for R+R , after a series of panic attacks ( She was having problems processing life in a different country) So ....no long term solution to the issue , just temporary reprieve. Without major work the vulnerability remains.

Umbrae	29 Apr 2003
Moving away from a bad situation (figuratively or literally).

The never did get the 6 of swords thread was originally posted on 25 Apr 2003 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.