The Six of Swords Yes or No: Yes, Slowly, Toward Calmer Water

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Six of Swords is a quiet yes in a boat. Here is how I read it for yes or no questions, upright and reversed, and why the reversal is about unfinished business.

If you want the short answer, the Six of Swords is a yes. In a yes or no draw the upright card says the thing you are asking about is a move toward calmer water and should be made, gradually and without drama. It is a subdued yes, and a reliable one.

This is a card of yes as a crossing. The water behind is rough. The water ahead is flat. The ferryman is already poling.

Is the Six of Swords a yes or a no?

Upright, I read the Six of Swords as a yes. Reversed, I read it as unclear, neither a clean yes nor a clean no. My free yes or no tarot draw uses the Major Arcana only, so if you want a quick draw, use that; these Minor Arcana values are the ones I apply when a full deck is in play.

Tina Gong's the Six of Swords guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with transition, moving on, leaving behind and a gradual change. Brigit Esselmont's yes or no tarot overview at Biddy Tarot notes that readers assign yes and no values differently, which is true, and it is why I state mine rather than pretend there is one correct table.

Why the upright card reads this way

I read the Six of Swords as yes because the card is about a transition that improves things: the boat, the far shore, the swords carried but not used. When a question is about whether to move on, whether to leave, whether a change will bring peace, the Six says yes.

The yes is quiet and a little sad. The Six of Swords does not celebrate. It says the move is right and the crossing is the price, and that the price is worth paying.

The Six of Swords reversed as yes or no

Reversed, I read the Six of Swords as unclear. The reversal describes resistance to change, unfinished business pulling the boat back, or a crossing that has stalled mid-water with no arrival and no return.

If you drew the Six of Swords reversed, ask what from the old shore is still in the boat. The answer to your question waits on that being set down or dealt with.

The Six of Swords yes or no in a love question

In a love question, the Six of Swords is a yes to moving on from something that hurt, a yes to a relationship that is a calm harbour after a storm, and sometimes a yes to a relationship that survives by changing. It is often drawn about an ex, and there it says the leaving was right. Reversed, it describes being pulled back by what was not finished, and asks what that is.

The Six of Swords yes or no for work and money

For work and money, the Six of Swords is a yes to the move, the relocation, the change of job that brings relief rather than excitement, and to travel. Reversed, it suggests the change is stalled by something practical that has not been dealt with.

When a yes or no draw is the wrong tool

The Six of Swords answers questions about transitions. It is a poor card for questions about staying put, which it answers by describing a boat. A single card answers a single, well-formed question. If the question is really three questions, or is about another person's choices, a yes or no draw will give you a confident answer to the wrong thing. My guide to a one question psychic reading explains how I handle questions that need more than one card.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the exact question you asked, what you are leaving behind, and what is in the boat that could have been left on the shore. The third note is the reversal.

For comparison, the Eight of Cups yes or no and Death yes or no answer differently. The the Six of Swords card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Six of Swords as timing and the Six of Swords as feelings cover the two other questions people most often ask of it. For a personal interpretation, my guide to an online psychic reading explains how readings work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.