The Ace of Swords as Intentions: To Tell You the Truth, Plainly

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Ace of Swords as intentions is a plan to say the clear thing. Here is what I would read in it, upright and reversed, and why clarity cuts both ways.

If you want the short answer, I would read the Ace of Swords as intentions that are clear and about to be spoken. In an intentions position the card suggests the person has reached a sharp understanding of what they want with you and means to say it directly. The intention is honest. Its content is not in the card, and the Ace of Swords is as capable of a clear no as a clear yes.

This is the hand holding the crowned blade from the cloud. The person intends to use it. They intend to use it on the truth, not on you.

The Ace of Swords upright as intentions

Tina Gong's the Ace of Swords guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with breakthrough, clarity, mental force and truth. When the card lands in a position that asks what someone intends toward you, I read those meanings as the shape of their plan rather than as a promise about what they will do. Feelings and intentions are different questions; the Ace of Swords as feelings covers the first, and this page covers the second. The general card meanings at Biddy Tarot are a useful second reference.

Upright, I read the Ace of Swords as a person who intends a conversation: to say what they have concluded, to set something straight, to cut through a situation that has gone on unclear for too long. They are not planning to hint. They are planning to be understood.

What I would not read into it is warmth in the delivery. The Ace of Swords intends honesty. Honesty can be a relief or a wound, and the person has probably not thought much about which.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm the person's clarity favours you, that they will deliver it kindly, or that the truth they intend to speak is the whole of what they feel. No card lets a reader see another person's plans. What a card can do is describe the kind of intention that fits the person's behaviour, and give you something to check against what they actually do.

The Ace of Swords reversed as intentions

Reversed, the Ace of Swords as intentions describes clarity withheld or misused: a person who knows something and intends not to say it, who intends to use the truth as a weapon, or whose plan toward you is built on a conclusion that is wrong. It can also describe a conversation that keeps being postponed.

In your own question, ask whether the person seems to know something and keep not saying it, or whether their certainty about you does not match what actually happened. A reversed card as intentions is a prompt to compare what is said with what is done, not a diagnosis of bad faith.

The Ace of Swords as an ex's intentions

Asked about an ex, the Ace of Swords as intentions can suggest they have reached a clear conclusion about the relationship and intend to state it, perhaps unprompted. The conclusion may be that they want to talk, or that it is over, and the card is impartial. What you can expect is directness. My guide to asking a psychic whether an ex will come back explains what a reading can and cannot say about that question.

The Ace of Swords as a new person's intentions

For someone new, this card suggests they have seen something clearly about you and intend to say so. Welcome the honesty, even when it arrives early. People who intend to speak plainly are easier to know.

What their intentions look like in action

Look for plain speech: they tell you what they think, they ask direct questions, they do not leave you guessing. An Ace of Swords intention is spoken. If it has not been spoken, either the person is holding the reversal or the sword has not come down yet.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the question you asked, what the person has said directly about their intentions, and whether you have asked a direct question in return. The third note is often what brings the sword down.

For comparison, the Queen of Swords as intentions and the Ace of Wands as intentions describe different intentions. The the Ace of Swords card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Ace of Swords as timing and the Ace of Swords as a yes or no cover the other questions people most often ask of it. For a personal interpretation, my guide to a love psychic reading online explains how I work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.