Knight, Suit of SwordsKnight of Swords tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedKnight of Swords in shortIn short
The Knight of Swords is charging in. An armoured knight gallops flat out on a white horse, sword high, red cape streaming, clouds torn by the wind. Brave, fast, sure of himself, and sometimes too fast to look ahead.
- Haste
- Ambition
- Charging in
Piece oneThe open sky
Hard bright blue, open, crossed by racing clouds. Waite lists skill, bravery and defense, then wrath, war and destruction. Nothing blocks the knight's way. That is the danger.
"Skill, bravery, capacity, defense, address, enmity, wrath, war, destruction, opposition, resistance, ruin."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe open sky gives the knight room to charge. Nothing stands in his way, no hill, no wall, only blue and torn cloud, so the card is pure speed. Waite's meanings run from skill and bravery to wrath and ruin, and the empty sky explains both. Nothing stops him, and nothing slows him down either.
Piece twoThe torn clouds
The clouds are torn into long ragged strips, all pulled the same way. Waite doesn't describe them here. In our picture they show a strong wind, Air at full force, the speed of the charge.
Why it is hereThe torn clouds show the wind of the charge. They stream in long strips, all pulled the same way the horse is running, so the sky moves with him. Swords belong to air, and this is air at full force. With the flying mane and the red cape, the clouds make the speed visible.
Piece threeThe white horse
The white horse stretches out at full gallop, mane flying back like flame. Waite says he rides in full course, as if scattering his enemies. Our bridle carries a small red heart.
"He is riding in full course, as if scattering his enemies."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe white horse carries the knight's speed and his purity. It's at full stretch, mane flying back, legs out, so the charge is already under way. Waite links this knight to Galahad, clean of heart, and the white coat fits. Our bridle even carries a small red heart, the one soft sign on a hard card.
Piece fourThe rider
A young knight in silver armour leans forward, face fierce, red cape and plume streaming behind. Waite calls him the model hero of romantic chivalry. His mind's made up and nothing slows him.
"In the design he is really a proto-typical hero of romantic chivalry."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe rider is a decision in motion. He leans forward with his sword raised high, face set, cape and plume streaming back: all aim, no doubt. Waite calls him a hero of romantic chivalry. The open sky, the torn clouds and the galloping horse all serve him, and everything on the card moves where he's going.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
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The open sky
Strong sky blue and cream clouds: blue is air, the element of Swords, clear and cold. The Page of Swords walks under the same blue, crowded with round clouds. The King of Swords sits under a calmer pale blue with a few soft clouds. The Knight's sky is the windiest of the three, and it matches his speed.
Also in -
The torn clouds
Pale cream on bright blue: a clear, windy day for moving fast. The Five of Swords has the same jagged strips of cloud, over a beach where a fight has just ended. There the torn sky comes after the damage. Here it comes before, rushing along with the knight.
Also in -
The white horse
Cream white horse on blue sky: white for the clean heart Waite gives this knight. Death rides a white horse too, slow and steady over a fallen king. The Sun has a child riding a white horse under a red banner. The Knight of Cups walks his white horse calmly. This one is the only white horse at full gallop.
Also in -
The rider
Red cape and grey steel: the heat of his drive inside cold armour. Death rides in armour too, at a walk, carrying a black banner with a white rose. The Knight of Pentacles sits still on a heavy black horse, holding his coin. Two armoured riders, one slow and one at rest. This knight is the fastest of the three.
Also in
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
Knight of SwordsUpright
Speed, courage, a mind set on its goal. Waite mixes strength and conflict: skill, bravery, capacity, defense, address, enmity, wrath, war, destruction, opposition, resistance, ruin.
Waite adds that it can touch on death, though only beside other cards of fatality. Usually it pushes you to act now, speak up and fight for what you believe. Check your aim first.
Knight of SwordsReversed
Waite's words: imprudence, incapacity, extravagance. The charge goes wrong, too fast, too careless, all noise and no result.
Slow down. Think before you speak, and finish one thing before rushing to the next.
Yes or noYes, fast.
Yes, and fast. Act now and boldly, once you know where you're heading.
Knight of Swords in your lifeIn your life
Love
A fast, intense start, or a direct, sometimes blunt partner. Lots of passion, little patience.
Work
Push hard, argue your case, move fast. Keep speed from costing you allies.
Money
Quick decisions. Act on an opening, and skip rash spending.
Health
High energy, and a risk of rushing or overdoing it. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor.
Spirituality
A fierce search for truth. Keep your heart clean, like Waite's Galahad, and the sword stays true.
Advice
Be bold and act. Look where you're riding.
As a person
Brave, sharp, driven. Quick to argue, quick to act, sometimes reckless.
Past, present, future
Past: a bold move or fast change. Present: the urge to charge ahead. Future: quick results if you aim well.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Suit
- Swords
- Element
- Air
- Golden Dawn
- Fire of Air
- Court
- Knight
- Upright
- Skill
- Reversed
- Imprudence
QuestionsCommon questions
Often yes: courage, skill, fast action. The danger is haste and conflict, charging in without thinking.
A fast, exciting start, or a direct, outspoken partner. Mind the sharp words.
Yes, and soon. Things move fast here.
Waite says he rides in full course, as if scattering his enemies. The speed shows a mind set on its goal, swift and sure like Galahad's sword.
Brave, clever, driven, quick to defend and to attack. At best a true champion. At worst, reckless.
Waite shows a knight at full gallop scattering his enemies, a hero of chivalry close to Galahad, his sword swift and sure because his heart is clean.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Element, decan and sephira: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 14 Swords