Four of Swords Tarot Meaning: Upright and Reversed

What does the tarot card Four of Swords mean upright and reversed? Let’s explore its symbolism, interpretation in love and career, and what it reveals about feelings, advice, and yes/no answers. 

Four of Swords Keywords, Upright and Reversed 

• Upright: Tranquility, contemplation, renewal, rest and relaxation, recuperation.
• Reversed: Anxiety, burnout, frustration, impatience. 

Four of Swords Description and Symbolism 

The tarot card for the Four of Swords depicts an effigy of a knight who lies upon a tomb. His hands are placed in the prayer position, and the tomb sits within a church. There is a stained glass window behind a statue which depicts a woman and child together. A sword lies beneath the knight, and that symbolizes that there is one salient issue that is dominating the theme. Three further swords hang above the knight, pointing downwards. The single sword represents a key issue that may be weighing on your mind. 

Upright Four of Swords Meaning 

This particular tarot card represents the need for a time out. It is likely that one has faced a challenge, a testing period, or something that has required a great deal of energy, and now one feels depleted and needs to withdraw, relax, and recuperate. It shows a need to withdraw from the fray, to find some inner peace, and to recharge the batteries before once again returning to the world of action. 

This card encourages meditation and introspection. It is a message that one should take their foot off the gas and almost have a pit stop in life. It’s quite okay to be passive and inactive, and one should not feel guilty for taking time to simply recalibrate. 

This is a message to build up your strength again, both mentally and physically, to nurture one’s mind and body with fresh air, rest, and better food. It’s also a time to withdraw to a safe space where you can recuperate in a calm atmosphere, have time to think, and to indulge in some spiritual or philosophical pursuits allowing you to pursue goals connected to regaining strength and mental tranquility. 

Love Meaning for Upright Four of Swords

This signifies that you have emerged from a challenging phase, perhaps you have recently endured a painful separation or divorce, or maybe there have been trials and tribulations that you and a partner have been dealing with. Now is the time to sit back, relax, appreciate what you have been through, and allow some time to process your thoughts, gather yourselves, and have a much-needed rest. It may be a good time to take off on a holiday or set aside quality time off, away from people, places, the phone, and the internet. It’s vital to de-stress. 

For singles in the dating game, you may be experiencing a dry patch. There’s no one suitable coming along, perhaps the internet dating apps are quiet, so why not take a break? Nurture your relationship with yourself. Perhaps think more about what your ideal partner would look like. Maybe assess the problems you’ve had with previous partners and think more about the themes and how you could avoid the same pitfalls in the future. It’s time to step away from the dating game and perhaps appreciate your independence. 

It’s normal to feel disconnected from your partner, whether you’re married or in a long term relationship, and you may even feel rather frustrated with your partner, so it’s quite okay to go off on your own. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and the best thing right now is to enjoy your own space. However, you don’t want to do the silent treatment. It’s important to communicate with your partner why you need space and make them appreciate that it will only improve the relationship if you have a bit of a time out. 

Don’t be afraid to step away from relationships; it’s not always helpful to cling on and stay super engaged. Often, stepping back renews perspective. 

Career Meaning for Four of Swords 

This card may show up after you have left a job, retired, or achieved a work goal which was gruelling, and are now having some downtime before you start a major new project. In some cases, there may be a lull in activity. 

If you’re self-employed, you may not have many clients, and you may be anxious about not enough work coming in, but this is an awesome time to reflect and have a moment to think about new directions. Consider studying or reading data so that you can perhaps improve your career direction or engage in a brand new one. 

If you’ve been working hard, this tarot card is a message that you may need a holiday away with friends and family, so take advantage of any annual leave you have coming and get away from it all. It’s also a cue that you need to look after your mental health. Is your work-life balance out of control? Are you a workaholic? Has work taken over your life? This is time to regain control of your life and say, “Enough is enough.”

If you’re unemployed, you may not be having any success finding a job, but that’s also a cue to reevaluate your priorities, the skills you have, and perhaps think more clearly about what might actually be more fulfilling way to make money than what you’ve done in the past. 

Health Meaning Upright Four of Swords 

As you would imagine, in terms of health, the most important thing when you see this tarot card, is enough rest and being able to fully relax and switch off. This is a cue that you need downtime. You need to clear your schedule and find time to focus on clean eating, getting fitter, getting enough exercise, and getting away from pressure and stress. It’s essential for your mind and spirit to heal from the strenuous demands of the rat race. In some cases, you may decide the rat race is over for you and you’re pursuing another career altogether. 

Spiritual Meaning of the Upright Four of Swords 

The spiritual meaning is, in fact, not to forget the importance of the spiritual side of life. We can all get wrapped up in routines and materialism; in many ways it is inevitable, but there is so much more to life, and it’s time to smell the roses, as they say. 

This is also a signal to introduce yourself to meditation, hypnosis, and other deep relaxation techniques that can perhaps help you with mindfulness, goal setting, and also with your general positivity levels. Low mental energy and tiredness can lead to depression. Don’t forget that you need to reboot your spiritual batteries. 

Feelings or Actions Related to the Four of Swords 

This card is a reminder of the ebbs and flows in life. It’s vital that we aren’t relentlessly aspiring to be cruising down the highway at 90 miles an hour. It’s so important to have that pit stop and allow ourselves a chance to reflect and restore our mental and physical health through rest and a break from stress and tension. This card reminds you of the importance of avoiding burnout and that once in a while we really need to be able to stop and think. 

However, this card is also a sign that you should stop worrying. You should perhaps take a breather from the chaos around you. Don’t put yourself under pressure by constantly accepting more and more responsibilities. Sometimes it’s okay to be passive, to procrastinate and put certain things off so that you can catch your breath. Although the challenges won’t go away, once you’ve taken a break you’ll be more equipped to deal with them. 

Reversed Four of Swords Meaning

The reversed Four of Swords tarot card represents a flurry of activity, but sometimes it’s a scattergun approach rather than one with focus. This may indicate that you are multitasking or trying to do a great deal of things at once, but you need to narrow down your options and focus on something specific rather than getting yourself into a tizzy. 

If you see a long to-do list before you and it’s stressing you out, throw the list in the bin and reduce it to something achievable. There is a risk right now that you can become ill through stress, so you should not force yourself to attain unrealistic goals. It’s essential to step back, relax, eat well, and not become run down. 

Love Meaning Reversed Four of Swords 

This card reversed may indicate avoidance in love. Perhaps you are keeping yourself busy to avoid dealing with a certain conversation or relationship issue. When seeing this card it’s important that space is cleared to have a discussion or a heart-to-heart. You may need to understand that you or your partner are constantly looking at phones, social media, or prioritizing work, and it’s damaging your relationship. It may be the case that you haven’t had enough quality or quantity time together, and that’s what you need to address. 

If you haven’t been having fulfilling conversations, perhaps you’re actually scared of facing certain problems or emotions, but you cannot delay any longer. 

In a long-term relationship, you may have both stagnated. The relationship could even be suppressing your personal and spiritual growth, and it may have begun to feel empty. It’s important to understand how you can inject meaning once more. 

Career Meaning Reversed Four of Swords 

This card indicates that while you are very involved in your work and maybe earning good money, it’s not very fulfilling at a deep level. You may be feeling quite stuck or frustrated. This is a great time for a sabbatical or perhaps thinking more clearly about what you really want and how work has taken over your life in a negative way. Even if you truly enjoy what you do, there is still a chance to step back and refocus, but in many cases this card indicates that at a fundamental level you are dissatisfied and quite restless for a change, but because you are so busy, you haven’t properly weighed your options. 

Health Meaning of Reversed Four of Swords 

Not only can this indicate stress and anxiety due to overwork, it often means that you are putting off starting better routines and habits. You may be putting off losing weight, getting more fresh air, and exercising and it’s time to prioritize your health before you become run down. This may also indicate that healthy food is the last thing on your list and you’ve been resorting to “coping foods”. You really need to think about the long-term impact of your lifestyle on your health. 

Spiritual Meaning of Reversed Four of Swords 

This card is asking you to acknowledge how fulfilled you feel at a spiritual level. It’s time to step away from the frenzy, from material goals, and not only have time to rest and contemplate, but also time to think about what activities in your life truly have meaning and which have begun to feel robotic, where you’re just going through the motions. Are you truly leading a fulfilling life? That is the question. 

Feelings or Actions for the Reversed Four of Swords 

This card suggests an opportunity to think about how well you are coping. What sacrifices are you making to keep up with routines and material goals? Could your health and your spiritual life be better served by pursuing fewer goals but being more focused? Less is really more when you see this particular card. 

Often, although you’re working hard, you’re not seeing the progress or changes you want, and that is because you’re not thinking about what you’re doing. Although you’re busy, you’re not really progressing, and that’s why it’s important to stop, reassess, and reorientate yourself in a more meaningful direction. 

Past, Present and Future Positions for Four of Swords 

Past

A period of withdrawal or recovery has reset your priorities. You needed rest, healing, or distance after stress, conflict, or exhaustion. 

Present

You are encouraged to pause, rest, reflect and cultivate mental stillness before making any major decisions. 

Future

A restorative phase lies ahead. Plan to take time out to bring clarity, renewed strength, and a calmer mindset so you restore holistic health and get a better perspective on future opportunities. 

Four of Swords – YES or NO to a question 

The Four of Swords does not give a clear YES or NO. It indicates a pause, delay, or need for rest before the decision is taken.

Upright Four of Swords: Not yet / Pause 

The situation is on hold. Action should wait until clarity and energy return. 

Reversed Four of Swords: Leaning No (or wait until you’re ready) Burnout, stress, or impatience mean it’s too soon. Forcing a decision now could backfire. 

Advice and Message of the Four of Swords 

The message with this card is stop hoping things will change, rather, you should step away from the rat race and make time to contemplate, assess your position, and conduct a life audit, or nothing will really change for the better. This is also a sign of misplaced priorities, and that’s why you can feel tired, restless, and frustrated. There’s a need for a reboot in terms of your holistic health. This card is a chance to think about diet, mental health, and work-life balance. 

Four of Swords is also a call to reflect. Often you have been caught in a whirlwind of activity and have perhaps become detached from what’s really important, both in your relationships and in terms of your personal growth. You need time to think about what would truly create value and push your career or your relationships into a better direction. Sometimes you need a break from either career or the dating game just to get a sense of who you are right now. 

Summary of the Four of Swords 

This card represents the need to get in touch with yourself through seclusion or getting away to a safe place. Sometimes it’s a cue that you need a good holiday and a total break from your routines and the norm to gain some perspective. There’s also a need to gather your thoughts away from other people. The key with this card is: what do YOU think? 

Resist being influenced by social media, television, friends, or family. Try to reconnect with your own purpose and soul. Often, being alone for a while can be what you need to rejuvenate. It’s also important to retreat from any conflict, pain, and distractions. 

What you require is some tranquility, but also to distill down your routines and schedules and simplify. One of the key pieces of advice with this card is to declutter and simplify your life, and find space to reflect. Real change will then be possible, because it will be easier to understand what you truly need to do to get where you want to be. 

True peace comes from within, not through seeking endless distractions or activities which seem pleasurable but don’t really fulfil you. It’s only in tranquility that one can truly connect to the inner voice.