Queen of Swords: tarot meaning, upright and reversed

A queen holds an upright sword and extends an open hand from her throne.

Upright

discernment · boundaries

Speak precisely and distinguish sympathy from agreement.

Reversed

bitterness · harsh judgment

A necessary boundary may be expressed through resentment or excessive severity.

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

Queen: Water of Air. 20 degrees Virgo to 20 degrees Libra. 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.