King of Swords: tarot meaning, upright and reversed

A king faces forward with a raised sword and butterfly imagery on his throne.

Upright

judgment · clear authority

Apply consistent reasoning and state the principle behind a decision.

Reversed

rigidity · abuse of authority

Intellectual power may defend a position at the expense of fairness.

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

King (mounted): Fire of Air. 20 degrees Taurus to 20 degrees Gemini. Court naming differs between decks; this identifies the Book T rank explicitly. 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.