Queen of Swords tarot card meaning: upright, reversed and symbols

The Queen of Swords sits high on her throne above the clouds, sword upright in one hand and the other hand raised as if to invite you or to stop you. Butterflies are carved on her throne.

She is clear-sighted, independent and honest. This page covers what the Queen of Swords means upright and reversed, the symbols Pamela Colman Smith drew and how to read her as a person or an energy.

Here is the Queen of Swords at a glance.

Book T calls her the Queen of the Thrones of Air, Water of Air, on Binah, ruling 20° Virgo to 20° Libra. The Golden Dawn and Crowley agree on her title. Her place on the scales of Libra suits a queen known for fair, clear judgment.

The card: what Pamela Colman Smith drew

Waite wrote that “her right hand raises the weapon vertically and the hilt rests on an arm of her royal chair; the left hand is extended, the arm raised; her countenance is severe but chastened; it suggests familiarity with sorrow.”

The upright sword. Her sword points straight up. She values truth and fairness.

The raised hand. Her open hand can mean welcome or a clear boundary. Many readers see both: she will hear you, and she will not be fooled.

The butterflies. Butterflies decorate her throne. They are creatures of the air and of transformation. Her clarity was earned through change and, Waite says, sorrow.

Upright meaning

Upright, the Queen of Swords is clarity and independence. She sits high on her throne above the clouds, holding her sword upright and raising her other hand, as if inviting you to speak or warning you to stop. Butterflies, a symbol of the soul and of air, are carved on her throne.

She is honest, perceptive and independent. She has been through hardship and come out wiser, and she does not need others’ approval. In readings she asks you to think clearly, speak the truth and set firm boundaries.

Her honesty can feel sharp, but it is not cruel. She tells you what you need to hear, because she respects you.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, the Queen of Swords can show coldness, harsh criticism or bitterness. Her clear mind may turn cruel, or her independence may become isolation.

Ask whether your honesty is kind. A reversed Queen often needs to soften her edge without losing her truth.

The reversed Queen can also be the inner critic, the voice that judges your every move with sharp precision. Ask whether you would speak to a friend the way that voice speaks to you. Clarity is a gift. Cruelty to yourself is not the same thing.

In love, work and spirituality

In love. Upright: An honest, independent partner, or clear boundaries. Reversed: Coldness, criticism or emotional distance.

At work. Upright: Clear thinking, fair judgment and professional independence. Reversed: Harsh criticism, or a cold leader.

With money. Upright: Clear-eyed financial decisions. Reversed: Cutting costs harshly.

In spiritual practice. Upright: Discernment, clarity and honest self-reflection. Reversed: Being too critical of your own path.

As feelings. Respect and interest, but cautiously. They may be guarded.

As a person. An independent, honest and perceptive person, sometimes reserved.

As advice. Speak clearly and honestly, with kindness.

Reading the Queen of Swords: positions and yes or no

In the past position: An honest person, or your own clear sight, shaped this. In the present position: See clearly and speak plainly.

In the future position: A time of clarity and independence is ahead. As advice: Set the boundary, kindly.

In modern yes or no readings, the Queen of Swords is a maybe. She sees clearly, but asks you to weigh the facts.

The queen in the tarot court, and the history behind the card

Queens are the inward mastery of their suit. In air, that mastery is a clear and honest mind.

Here is how the Queen looks across the four suits:

• Queen of Wands: confidence, independence, warmth
• Queen of Cups: compassion, intuition, emotional security
• Queen of Swords (this card): independence, clarity, intellect
• Queen of Pentacles: practicality, nurturing, financial security

Butterflies are carved on her throne, along with the head of a small winged child, and one bird flies high in the clear sky above her. Butterflies and birds are both creatures of the air, the element of the suit.

She holds her sword upright and raises her other hand, as if she is about to speak or to welcome someone. Readers often describe her as someone who has known sorrow and come through it with a clear mind and an honest voice.

When A. E. Waite published The Pictorial Key to the Tarot in 1910, he listed these divinatory meanings for the Queen of Swords: “Widowhood, female sadness and embarrassment, absence, sterility, mourning, privation, separation.” Reversed, he gave: “Malice, bigotry, artifice, prudery, bale, deceit.”

Common questions

Is the Queen of Swords a yes or no card? It is a maybe. She asks you to look at the facts.

Who is the Queen of Swords as a person? Often someone independent, clear-minded and honest, who has been through hard things. Court cards can describe any gender.

What does the Queen of Swords mean in love? Honest, independent love, or needing clarity. Reversed, coldness.

Try this

Try this small spread for the Queen of Swords. Use it when you need clear judgment.

Affirmation: I speak clearly and keep my independence without losing humanity.

Reversed affirmation: I drop needless criticism and let honesty stay kind enough to hear.

If you keep a tarot journal, take one of these questions to it: What am I seeing clearly now? Where do I need a boundary? How can I be honest and kind?

What next

Cards that sit close to this one are Justice (the Major Arcana card of fair judgment), King of Swords (her partner on the air throne) and The High Priestess (another wise, seated woman).

The Queen of Swords is part of the lesson Meet the court in my free Tarot for Beginners course. To see the whole suit on one page, go to the suit of Swords.

To keep walking the suit, read the card before it, Knight of Swords or the card after it, King of Swords, or go back to all the card meanings.

For more on the court, see Tarot court cards without confusion. For every card with keywords, affirmations and examples, see my book The Novice’s Guide to Tarot. If you would like a printable cheat sheet for all 78 cards, my 45-page Tarot Workbook is on Etsy.

Sources

• A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1910), Part III, sections 1 and 2.
• Pamela Colman Smith and A. E. Waite, the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot (London: Rider, 1909).
• Nicolas Conver, Tarot de Marseille (Marseille, 1760).
• Lauri Mukkala, The Novice’s Guide to Tarot, entry for the Queen of Swords.
• Aleister Crowley, 777 (London: Walter Scott, 1909), columns of the decans, the Minor Arcana and the court cards.
• Israel Regardie, ed., The Golden Dawn (Chicago: Aries Press, 1937 to 1940), “Book T”, titles and attributions of the small cards and the court.