Four of Swords: tarot meaning, upright and reversed

A recumbent figure lies beneath three swords, with a fourth beside the resting place.

Upright

rest · retreat

Withdraw from strain long enough to recover judgment and strength.

Reversed

restlessness · exhaustion

A return to activity may be premature, or necessary rest repeatedly postponed.

In a reading

The position gives this card a particular task: a description of the situation, a challenge, or guidance. Read its image and meaning alongside the other cards and the question that brought them together.

Golden Dawn correspondence

Jupiter in Libra, 20–30 degrees. This is the attribution in Book T.

Sources

A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. These notes are original interpretations of the Waite–Smith imagery, informed by that text.