King of Swords Tarot Meaning: Upright and Reversed

What does the King of Swords mean upright and reversed? We explore its symbolism, interpretation in love and career, and what it reveals about feelings, advice, and yes/no answers. 

King of Swords Tarot Card Keywords Upright and Reversed 

• Upright: mental clarity, truth, intellect, powerful persuasion. 
• Reversed: cunning, manipulative, tyrannical, or narcissistic. 

King of Swords Description and Symbolism 

On this tarot card, the King of Swords is depicted upon his throne, and he holds a large double-edged sword in his right hand, which is pointing upwards. His left hand rests gently upon his lap. On his finger is a ring symbolic of power, and this indicates he takes his responsibility seriously. 

He is wearing a tunic of blue, which symbolises the quest for spiritual understanding, and also a purple cape, which depicts compassion combined with reason. The back of his throne is delicately decorated with butterflies (which signify transformation), crescent moons, and also an angel, which appears to be speaking into his ear, giving him wise advice. In the sky behind are a few clouds, which represent mental awareness. The trees in the background are motionless and reflect stability and the enduring wisdom in judgment of the king. 

Upright King of Swords Meaning 

This particular tarot card is about the power of the mind. It indicates that you will have sway over people, you will be able to debate or speak with authority, and you’ll have the courage of your convictions to express your viewpoint with confidence. 

This indicates that you can use your wit and intellect to get what you desire, so the key to success when you see this card is how you communicate, the words you use, and your powers of persuasion. 

You will be called to use wise judgment, and because you will have power in any situation, you have to be cautious in order to command respect. There is a judicious element to this card. There is a certain sternness and seriousness as you understand the weight of responsibility upon you. This card asks you to be detached and objective, and to be sure that you only focus on the facts in order to prove your point or succeed in any venture. It’s about your life experience, your education, plus important observations you make day on day; these all feed into your understanding. 

Love Meaning Upright King of Swords 

This may reflect that you are either in a relationship with, or dating, someone who is older, wiser, or has a more serious, mature outlook on life. However, be warned that the significant other person in your life right now may be preoccupied with their work. They may have a lot of responsibilities to deal with, and therefore they may not be fully engaged with you on an emotional level. 

This tarot card reinforces to you that your relationship has a high level of trust and integrity, and you can rely on this particular partner, even if they are not necessarily warm and effusive. This card also tells you that in love, actions speak louder than words, and often some restraint is more important than getting caught up in the heat of the moment. 

If you’re dating, you may be involved with someone who’s very interested in politics, science, current affairs, and enjoys talking about those subjects rather than being nostalgic or necessarily romantic. This person may not show affection easily, and they may even be cautious about the intimate side of relationships. 

This card encourages the use of rationality and reason in relationships. You should be both patient and very self-aware. It’s an important time for adult conversations. 

This card represents a mature phase in your relationship. You should not seek to distract yourself with frivolous activities; you should concentrate on what is really important and have productive conversations. 

Career Meaning Upright King of Swords 

It’s important to be diligent and methodical in your work. You may receive more responsibility, and with that responsibility comes a great deal of accountability. The buck may stop with you, and you often have to answer for yourself. It’s very important to have your ducks in a row, so if you make any presentations or submit a report, it must be entirely clear, logical, and factual. In all aspects of your career, do your fact checking. Don’t get carried away with gossip or rumour as it’s really important to get a grip of the actual facts or to seek quality advice. 

This suggests that in your work with clients or your boss, cut to the chase. This is not a time for PR or weasel words. Time is tight, time is of the essence, and therefore you need to focus on core issues and present yourself in a clear and concise way. People will only respect you if you are very consistent and precise – that is the way to be persuasive.

Health Meaning Upright King of Swords 

This suggests you should seek specialist advice to resolve a health problem, and you should be aware of people who are very mediocre or charlatans and who don’t have your best interests at heart when you seek advice. 

Spiritual Meaning Upright King of Swords 

During this time, any spiritual belief or religion that you subscribe to has to stack up logically. This is not a time when you can be consoled or mollified by spiritual or esoteric ideas that are airy-fairy. You need substance to reassure you and provide you with credible spiritual guidance. 

Feelings or Actions Related to the upright King of Swords 

This indicates you should take the lead in seeking truth. As the poem *If* by Rudyard Kipling goes, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.” Many other aspects of that poem are extremely relevant. It is all about seeing clearly in chaotic situations and being the person who is a calm, rational voice of reason. During this time, you can really increase your influence and have a positive impact on the situation around you by sticking to facts and not getting involved in rumours or hysteria. 

In any conflict situation, it’s important to reason with others, not to lose your temper, and to lead through being calm and pragmatic. This suggests that logic will get you to the heart of any matter, so take time to gather facts, analyse, or even do some mind mapping to focus your attention on salient issues. 

Reversed King of Swords Meaning 

Now this indicates that you will have a lot of power to influence a situation. You are particularly cognisant and aware of what is going on, but there may be the temptation to use any leverage you have to further your own interests. This is a time when you are able to manipulate others. You may do that in a business sense through the way you use publicity, advertising, promotions, or negotiate at the business table, and that’s probably going to stand you in good stead in the business world. However, you should be very careful, in your personal life, that you don’t try to use your powers of persuasion to fulfil selfish needs. 

This is an indicator that you can use humour to be persuasive, but sometimes your humour may go a little bit too far. Words can be hurtful, you may not do it intentionally; you may think you’re being very witty or incisive, but often there’s an edge to your words that can be a little bit

wounding for others and may cause people to turn against you. So do be careful the way you use your humour or powers of persuasion. 

Love Meaning Reversed King of Swords 

In love, this warns of the narcissistic personality, so do be careful of someone who’s incredibly charming and persuasive, and who appears to be successful and well thought of, but who is actually very manipulative, controlling, and critical. If you are with someone now and they are being very harsh and cruel with their words, you will need some space to step away and reassess how you will navigate the relationship further. This also alerts you to be careful of gaslighting. If someone is trying to convince you that you are to blame for something or that you are at fault, try to analyse whether they are correct, because in some cases they may just be projecting their own failures and using that as a way to control you. 

Career Meaning Reversed King of Swords 

This reversed tarot card sometimes indicates abuse of power. Perhaps your boss is abusing power, or maybe you have become impatient and are trying to tread on people’s toes in order to get things done. Do beware the person who uses their temper or power to intimidate and control situations. 

This is also a sign you should take responsibility. If someone challenges your authority, try to deal with it in a calm way. There is a very defensive aspect to this card, where it’s easier to play the blame game and cast shade on others rather than accepting responsibility. 

Health Meaning Reversed King of Swords 

This can represent a dilemma. You may not really know the best way to proceed in tackling a health, dietary, or fitness issue. It may be best to avoid a decision in the short run, gather more information, or allow yourself to come to terms with what you really need to do. Right now, making a decision could be very difficult and could increase anxiety, so this may not be the best time to quit a bad habit like smoking or drinking because you might not be ready yet. 

Spiritual Meaning Reversed King of Swords 

When you see this card, it’s okay to admit that you don’t have all the answers and that you don’t know everything. No matter how experienced we are in any field, or no matter how much of an adult we expect ourselves to be, there are always going to be situations where we feel confused, bewildered, and scared. It’s really important to admit that and acknowledge it.

Sometimes realising that we don’t know what to do is part of our spiritual growth. Sometimes we just have to wait until we have that epiphany and that moment of understanding where everything falls into place. However, you can’t force that situation to happen; you just have to wait patiently and have faith that the right person or situation will be there at the right time. 

Feelings or Actions regarding the Reversed King of Swords 

The key when you see the reversed King of Swords is to acknowledge insecurities. You are perhaps confused and anxious about your circumstances. One outcome could be that you lash out, get angry, blame others, or use powers of persuasion to manipulate others. Another reaction is to feel that you’re getting the sharp end of the stick, that other people are using their power against you, abusing you, or getting angry with you. In either situation, you are either addressing issues through negative emotions or avoiding issues and making the negative emotions of others an excuse to avoid issues. 

The key here is to acknowledge where you feel powerless, where you’re ill-informed, or where you’re confused, and then either seek out better information or wait for the penny to drop when everything falls into place. So patience and a little bit of introspection are key. 

Past, Present and Future Positions for King of Swords 

Past

You may have been influenced by an authority figure ie mentor, professional, judge, or older partner who valued reason over emotion. You likely relied on facts, data, and mental strength to navigate a complex situation, even if it meant suppressing vulnerability. The past shows a time when clear boundaries were necessary, and where rules or ethical standards helped shape the outcome. 

Present

You are being called to speak with clarity, lead confidently, and cut through confusion or emotional noise. If others are acting emotionally or chaotically, you are meant to be the calm voice of reason. Reason, logic, and integrity are your greatest assets right now. 

Future

This could indicate that you will be stepping into a leadership role, resolving a legal or contractual matter, or gaining respect for your expertise. Ultimately, the future promises empowerment through knowledge and the confidence to stand firmly in your truth. 

King of Swords — YES or NO Answer 

The King of Swords is a YES, but it is a measured, logical, and conditional yes. 

Upright Position: This indicates that the answer is yes if the situation is approached with reason, strategy, and integrity. If the question involves authority, contracts, legal matters, or serious conversations, the King of Swords strongly supports a YES. 

Reversed Position: The King of Swords reversed leans toward NO. It suggests manipulation, misuse of power, dishonesty, or distorted logic. In this case, the answer is no because the foundation is not pure or transparent enough to support a positive outcome. 

Advice and Message of the King of Swords 

With both the upright and reversed King of Swords, the key is knowledge and using both your intelligence and logical deduction to navigate. It’s a cue for you to use your powers of persuasion to influence others and therefore affect the situation, but in order to do this, you must first be sure that what you’re doing is the right thing and that you’re not simply pressing ahead with a situation for the sake of progress. 

It’s very important to understand what you are trying to achieve, because it’s often the case that it’s easy to get what you want, but once you get it, it may not really be what you thought you needed. There’s a Rolling Stones song that goes, “You don’t always get what you want, but you get what you need,” and at a fundamental level, that’s what this card is causing you to understand and work through in a logical way. 

Summary 

The key with this tarot card is knowledge, but you have to seek knowledge in an objective way. It’s so important to avoid confirmation bias, so don’t simply look at the facts that reinforce what you already think, or look at the behaviours of people you already distrust in order to affirm that distrust. It’s very important to clear your mind from all previous assumptions and then look at knowledge and facts impartially and objectively to make sure you see everything clearly. 

Sometimes denied insecurities are affecting you more than you think, and another problem with this card is impatience as there’s a desire to get to the result quickly, and what this card says is that you can’t get to the result fast; you can only get there when you’ve gathered the relevant amount of knowledge, experience, and dispassionate appraisal of facts. 

The wisdom of this card is not only to seek information but to allow information to come to you, simply because you have an open enough mind to accept it.