Pearls of Wisdom - 6 of Swords

Sulis

I love the simplicity of this card, it's one of the few cards in the deck that (to me at least) doesn't really look busy and I think that has a lot to do with the card's meaning.
To me the 6 of Swords is about moving away from a problem in order to get some perspective or some mental clarity.
It's about looking at a subject or a problem objectively. The card shows a boat being rowed over water, often (but not in this version) the boat is filled with swords representing thoughts or problems.
Mind over emotion is how I like to think of this - logical, clear thinking over emotional, subjective thinking.

In this card we see 2 men sitting back to back. The one facing the bow of the boat holds a string of pearls in his hands whilst the man facing the stern is rowing. They are heading towards a beach with palm trees and a golden sun shining above them in the sky. The water on the far side of the boat looks calm whilst that on the near side of the boat looks choppy.
Below the scene with the boat there is an orange rectangle with a diamond in it's centre. 6 Swords are arranged around it with their points towards the diamond.
The border of this card is very precise and neat looking. 6 swords are arranged very neatly around the border and the pears of wisdom also look very neat.
All this makes me think of clarity of thought.
The way the men look in 2 different directions makes me think that once they have put a little distance between themselves and their problems they will be able to see the situation more clearly and from different perspectives too.

There are runes on the sides of the card and the little book that comes with the deck says that the runes are 'Ehwaz -moving forwards on all levels, steady progress' and 'Raido - communication, reunion'.

Sixes are about balance, harmony, relationships with others, communication and making the choices to bring about harmony and balance after the upset of the fives.
 

Attachments

  • 6 of Swords.jpg
    6 of Swords.jpg
    111.6 KB · Views: 191

Rede Seeker

Rootedness

I find the orange rectangle with the six swords under the river and boat interesting. The colors indicate the first and second chakras - rootedness and relationship. The rectangle (variation of the square) can represent creating a foundation (ref. 'Signs of Life: The Five Universal Shapes and How to Use Them' by Angeles Arrien). To me, this says the six swords and crystal they point towards are the foundation of the water-journey that the pair above are making.

Also interesting that the swords cast a shadow, so the hilt is higher than the point - who/what is holding these swords? The crystal is radiating light. Where there is light, there is often heat - the red-orange-yellow colors further indicate this. This rectangle contains the elements of air (swords), fire (colored light), and earth (crystal). The water element is directly above.