Western Tarot symbolism
Six of Swords
The main account describes passengers carried toward a further shore. It emphasizes smooth progress and light freight, making the ferryman's work manageable rather than presenting an ordeal. Journey and route occur upright in the main list, and the supplementary list calls the voyage pleasant. Their reversed readings diverge: public declaration or confession in one, an unfavourable lawsuit in the other.
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In the sources
The card account
LiteraryThe main account describes passengers carried toward a further shore. It emphasizes smooth progress and light freight, making the ferryman's work manageable rather than presenting an ordeal.
Comparing the lists
LiteraryJourney and route occur upright in the main list, and the supplementary list calls the voyage pleasant. Their reversed readings diverge: public declaration or confession in one, an unfavourable lawsuit in the other.
Context & interpretation
The active library scan carries L. W. de Laurence’s name and reproduces material associated with A. E. Waite’s Tarot exposition. This entry follows that supplied edition’s card prose and supplementary lists. Historical divinatory assignments and period character labels are distinguished from the pictured symbolism and from independently supported judgements about people or future events.
Original passages
Source 1
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
A ferryman carrying passengers in his punt to the further shore. The course is smooth, and seeing that the freight is Hght, it may be notedOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, supplied de Laurence edition; card description, active reader leaf 128
Exact supplied-edition extracted passage actually read; whitespace-normalised quotation anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Image descriptions attributed to printed prose; no new full-plate visual inspection asserted.
- Edition
- IMJ-0149-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0149-E001-P0128
- Original scan leaf
- 134
- Recorded leaf number
- 134
- Current Reader position
- 128
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Source 2
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
Six.—The voyage will be pleasant. Reversed: Unfavorable issue of lawsuit. Five.—An attack on the fortune of the Querent. Reversed: A sign of sorrow and mourning. Four.—AOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, supplied de Laurence edition; additional meanings, active reader leaf 151
Exact supplied-edition extracted passage actually read; whitespace-normalised quotation anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Image descriptions attributed to printed prose; no new full-plate visual inspection asserted.
- Edition
- IMJ-0149-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0149-E001-P0151
- Original scan leaf
- 157
- Recorded leaf number
- 157
- Current Reader position
- 151
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Ace of Cups
A cloud-borne cup, water and a descending sacramental emblem give this Ace several symbolic layers.
Shared source pageEight of Cups
A departing figure gives the Eight an image of leaving an earlier concern behind.
Shared source pageEight of Swords
A bound figure surrounded by swords is expressly described as temporarily confined.
Shared source pageFive of Cups
Three fallen cups and two remaining upright make loss and remainder part of one composition.