TAROTKing of Swords
Upright
Mastery of Intellect and rational judgement. Honesty and fairness.
Fair and wise in decisions, plans, and judging others.
Tasks where intellect and independent judgement are critical to success.
Being comfortable with high levels of responsibility.
A need to trust your intellect and rise above conflicting emotions.
Intuition
The card depicts King Aeacus. A less well known name today, but hugely important to ancient Greeks.
He was one of the three judges of the dead. They decided whether a person would go to Elysium, the Asphodel Fields, or Tartarus.
He gained his position as judge through being a just and pious ruler in life.
Reversed
Critical, overly judgmental, unemotional or using intellect in self-serving ways.
Misuse of a position of responsibility, or acting in a self-serving or cold way to others.
Hiding the truth or misusing it for personal benefit.
Becoming distant or cold to others and especially towards those under your care.
Astrologia
A passion for life, coupled with high intellectual abilities and problem solving. Can be a perfect leader that generates order. Can also be impulsive and impractical on the details.
King of Swords
The king of Swords can represent righteousness and the rule of law (upright) or ruthlessness and being uncaring (reversed).
The King of Swords represents power through intellect and authority through truth. He is a ruler who understands his great responsibilities and takes them on with a clear mind and fair judgement that ignores emotion. Upright, the King of Swords represents the ideal ruler who makes sensible laws that are fair and applied to everyone equally without favor or omission.
Rule through reason and the facts (whilst not being swayed by emotion) is both his biggest strength and greatest weakness. He is powerful because the power of the rational mind is infinite, but pure logic will always fail if it doesn’t detect a lie. To be able to detect a lie you have to understand emotions and the hidden agendas it creates.
There is also the problem of such a ruler putting his own aims before others, as occurs with the reversed card. We then get the Tyrant who sounds plausible but that is often only because nobody follows his line of thought to the bitter end, nor knows who all those rules really benefit the most – the King!
One of the most fair kings of the Ancient world is not well known today, but was well known back then as everyone expected to be judged by him at least once…
King Aeacus
King Aeacus was the ruler of Aegina, an island close to Athens. As a son of the God Zeus, he was imbibed with divine wisdom, making decisions based on knowledge and understanding of the truth rather than impulsively or through emotion.
He was also well known for his impartiality in judging disputes, treating all parties fairly and on an equal initial footing of presumed innocence.
As a human son of a God, he spanned the range between human knowledge and divine wisdom and was often called to settle disputes by both humans and the Gods themselves. Clearly a well-respected and impartial judge!
Upon his death, he was made one of three judges of the afterlife along with Kings Minos and Rhadamanthus. Every person would expect to meet and be judged by King Aeacus, and no emotional argument would sway him on where you would be spending the rest of eternity!
Description and Symbology
We see King Aeacus sat in judgement on a Golden throne. Like the Queen of Swords, his clothes are blue, representing the blue of the sky (as Air equates to intellect in Tarot).
He holds a sword to the sky. Again, the sword is the symbol of intellect in Tarot. A butterfly rests on the sword and represents the transforming powers of intellect and thought.
The King
The King of Swords has a body language that suggests complete confidence. He is confident that he can solve any problem given enough thought.
The sword and butterfly
As with the Queen of Swords, the King holds a double edged sword (a xiphos) with a butterfly on it. The sword represents intellect and the butterfly signifies the transformative nature of thought.
The sky
The throne is placed in the element of Swords; the Air/sky
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
This is a time for equality and clear communications within any relationship. Honesty and fairness will go a long way. The aim is to work together, putting aside past emotional or other arguments and look to moving forward together based on facts and real needs.
There is however a chance that the relationship may be lacking in emotion, so be wary of appearing cold. Communicate that you want the best rather than ‘this is what the numbers suggest’ – as that rarely goes down well!
For new relationships, a partner who is on the same intellectual wavelength. Meaningful conversations and similar core beliefs are both good signs.
You may be guilty of selfish or controlling behavior, using irrelevant facts or old arguments to justify a future that is only in your interest.
You may also be seen as cold or judgmental, especially in new relationships.
It is time to rethink what you are doing as you are making the relationship unhappy or lacking in warmth.
There is also the chance that someone else is acting as the King of Swords from outside the relationship and trying to take control of the situation.
Now is the time to rely on your skills and intellect in solving problems and progressing tasks. Facts will matter more than emotion, but do it will fairness and objectivity rather than dogmatically following the rules.
You may be seen as a trusted authority at work (especially if you are in a leadership or management position), which will go well as long as you can keep it up without ruffling any feathers. Remain tactful for those who come up with ideas you know to be clearly wrong!
Be wary of hidden agendas, people trying to enrich their position rather than work together, or lack of communication within the workplace.
There is also a chance that you are part of this problem, but be aware that such a strategy is rarely a good long term solution.
There may also be problems caused by driving productivity through numbers and abstract targets whilst ignoring the personal cost and whether or not it benefits everyone in the longer term.
Health will go best if you stick to the facts and build a plan of action around them, because planning for change is always better than wishing for it!
An ordered plan will work best, as will taking advice from experts in the field.
Be wary of fads and costly remedies that don’t work, as your ability to discern cures that simply tug on emotions (rather than being fact or outcome based) is low right now.
This card suggests believing something is not the same as putting it into action; thoughts should lead action rather than becoming a talking shop or virtue signaling for yourself. A little bit of ‘harsh truth’ for some perhaps, but… welcome to the world of the King of Swords!
Spirituality in the real world is preferred over an inward direction. Volunteering, charity (via a giving plan or events) are the way forward.
You may be guilty of using facts and numbers for a subject areas that must also satisfy the larger picture that includes identity, aims, hopes and fears.
Spiritual matters need you to be happy with the direction, rather than fitting into an agreed objective theory. Don’t leave the soul out of spirituality!
Concentrate on facts and small print rather than exuberance and greed. If it is too good to be true, it probably is (and is a plan based on emotion and social engineering, aka a scam!). Do your research with a clear head and to a steady and realistic plan, and remembering no plan will make you King in a day. Patience and a steady hand may get you there with time!
Be very wary of emotionally driven or impulsive behavior when it comes to money and finances.
It is important not to use money to maintain a current position or to show yourself off as a leader. Instead, use it to secure your future, even if that is a more mundane path to begin with.
Yes through being fact based and rational in your decisions.
No through a lack of truth or misdirection.
Reading the Card
Like all court cards, the King of Swords can represent people or things other than yourself:
- Something concerned with objectivity, fairness and judgement. The card suggests doing the right thing based on your values (rather that what you can get away with!).
- A fair plan of action that must benefit several people or causes. The card suggests fairness and moral or legal judgement and rational thinking over emotions and feelings. People have different feelings but we are all bound to the same rules, and those are the ones to use when there is no other agreement.
- A period, task or event where it is better to rely on common sense, logic and reasoning abilities rather than emotion or intuition. The facts are in front of you and you just need to work them out or use them to convince others.
- A man in your life with high personal values and who is able to give honest and balanced advice without using (and avoiding) emotional considerations. They will always advise you to do what is right rather than what is easy. This person is often older than you and can appear somewhat stern, but their heart is in the right place as they are driven by fairness.
- When reversed, the card can represent a male authority figure who can sometimes be manipulative or domineering. They may be difficult to talk to because of their unshakable world-view. They can appear distant and cold, or make decisions that seem rational but are actually self-serving or favor the needs of an idea rather than real people.
When reading the ‘upright card’ and ‘reversal’ sections below, note that although the text refers to you it could actually be any of the above. The question being asked (or your first thoughts when you see the card) will suggest who or what the card refers to.
The upright card
The King of Swords represents complete mastery of intellect. It also points to the rule of Law and authority when used for the overall good. It points to a moral way of living where you follow what you know to be right.
The King of Swords represents complete mastery of intellect.
The sword represents sharp intellect and the way it can cut through the most difficult questions and blocks in your life.
The King of Swords asks you to put your emotions to one side and take a rational and fair approach to any problem ahead. People may have different views on a problem based on their emotional attachment to a particular route (and perhaps even what they have to gain from it!), but everyone knows the rules and what is right. If someone can’t prove it, it didn’t happen, but the facts go their way then they are likely telling the truth.
The King of Swords is also a very good card for those taking an exam or test, or reaching a goal within education. You may be worried but don’t; you have mastered the subject. All you need now is the confidence to rule in it!
The King of Swords represents communicating authority and taking responsibility. Sometimes the time for discussion only takes you so far because someone has to lead and take control. The King is the man with the plan. He has the foresight and planning to keep everyone moving forward and reap the reward together as a team.
Sometimes the King of Swords can seem distant or even cold, but that is because he does not get bogged down by emotions nor led by favorites. His actions are selfless and pure.
The reversal
The upright card could represent the ideal manager. He is honest, dependable, and moves things forward without leaving anyone behind. He rewards justly when it comes to appraisals.
The reverse card is the manager from hell!
The reversed King of Swords uses his position, power or information for self-serving purposes.
He is the controlling person who is sly enough to hide his behavior. He represents one of the worst crimes; harm from those who should be protecting you.
The reversed card can also point to a breakdown in responsibilities. This includes not taking care of your tasks or doing something wrong through a lack of direction, communication or understanding. If the question is about teamwork or career, this is clearly not the best card to come up. It will need some thought to resolve!
Card Design Process
Rather than an older King representing accrued knowledge, it was decided to depict a much younger man to signify original and fresh new thought. Hence we have a much younger King of Swords (and much younger King Aeacus) than is often depicted.
Final Words
The King of Swords depicts a wise, fair and just ruler who has mastery over intellect and confident communication.
The card signifies a time when it is best to count on your intellectual abilities by relying on facts rather than feelings and hunches. It may also be a time to take help from someone who embodies the King of Swords.
Reversed, the card suggests the misuse of these qualities, plus coldness or being self-serving and abusing a position of trust.
