Minor and Major Arcana of the Tarot Deck: Suit of Swords

There are 78 cards in the typical Tarot deck, with 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. Of the Minor Arcana, one particularly interesting card is the Suit of Swords. A clairvoyant reading from one of our experienced psychics can find if this card presents itself for you.

Minor Arcana vs Major Arcana

The Major Arcana are cards that represent the pervasive, sweeping energies that dominate our lives and the human condition as a whole. The Major Arcana begins with card 0, the Fool, and continues through to card 21, The World. The remainder of these cards could be said to trace the optimistic, naive Fool journeying through life. If these 22 cards look into the state of the human condition, the Minor Arcana follow phenomena that are smaller, but still important. Cards 23 through 77 speak to the day-to-day events in your life. 

Minor Arcana can refer to people, problems, events, and other temporary, changing aspects of life. When the Suit of Swords appears in your tarot reading, it may speak to a character strength or weakness of yours or a conflict you're facing in your life. In some versions of the deck, the Suit of Spades takes the place of this card, but the meaning remains the same. 

Associations of the Suit of Swords

The basic associations of the Suit of Swords are the element of air and the realm of the rational mind. You might imagine a strong, piercing wind or an unblemished sword. In either case, these things are strong, unclouded, and clear in purpose. Suitably, the Suit of Swords speaks to logical clarity, transparency, intelligence, and skill in communication. This can be positive or negative, as logic and communicative skills are a tool much like a double-edged sword.

Tarot Card Meanings

Ultimately, the meaning of the Suit of Swords depends on whether the card falls upright or reversed. Tarot cards occasionally fall upside down, but there are no accidents when it comes to divination. While the upright card represents the ideal manifestation of intelligence, a reversed card may indicate repression or misuse of your abilities.

Upright Suit of Swords

At its best, the Suit of Swords represents discipline, fairness, and the even-handedness of the logical mind. If the upright Suit of Swords falls during a reading, it can indicate you put these strengths to good use and should follow your intellectual pursuits, or that you should attempt to resolve a conflict via communication.

Reversed Suit of Swords

A reversed Suit of Swords indicates misused or repressed intellectual abilities. It could speak to nihilistic feelings of existential sorrow, cynical, ruthless thinking, or an ends-justifies-the-means mentality of employing intelligence to the detriment of others.

Schedule a Tarot Reading

If you schedule a Tarot reading with The Psychic Line, you might or might not see the Suit of Swords in your reading. However, you will gain insight into the events and broader course of your life.