Knight of Swords Tarot Meaning: Upright and Reversed

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

Knight of Swords Keywords Upright and Reversed 

• Upright: Assertive, competitive, opinionated, action-orientated, dynamic.
• Reversed: Disorganised, reckless, inconsiderate. 

Knight of Swords Description and Symbolism 

A young man in armour riding a powerful white horse into the heat of battle is what we find depicting the tarot card Knight of Swords. The horse is white because it symbolizes purity of intention and intellectual energy that informs the rider. However, the sky is filled with storm clouds, and the trees bend in a fierce wind. The horse’s harness is decorated with images of birds and butterflies, and the knight’s cape is emblazoned with birds. What this symbolizes is momentum, but without regard or appreciation of the dangers ahead. 

Upright Knight of Swords Meaning 

What this card denotes is a period of time when one is filled with a sense of purpose and is chasing after an idea. There is a great desire for adventure and manifesting a bold plan of action, but there is a sense in which not everything has been properly thought through. 

The energy represented by this card is not necessarily balanced by responsibility or a sense of consideration for others. It is a very adventurous and competitive energy, but it’s not particularly cooperative or empathetic. However, what this card says is that once you get going, there’s no stopping you. Even if you face challenges, risks, and dangers, you keep ploughing on ahead with the intent to outlast your competitors and win the prize. 

This tarot card shows a lot of ambition, courage, and strength of mind. It’s very purposeful, quite inventive, and often very naïve as well. The downsides are that there will be pitfalls and even some dangers, and without any foresight or preparation, one may launch into things headlong. There’s also the chance that in the quest you may alienate others because you are riding roughshod over them. 

Love Meaning Upright Knight of Swords

This is a time when, if you are looking for love, you will make the first move. Whether you are male or female, you are going to go after the object of your affections and let them know how you feel. There is a great deal of confidence in the love arena, and you are boldly going to step into the dating game with the determination to find a romantic partner. You will be very eager for results and impatient to get into a new relationship, and you are going to do whatever you have to do to find Mr. Right. 

The Knight of Swords represents that someone you meet right now will be both passionate, charismatic, and attractive. You will go for a high-energy person, probably involved in sports or business, yet you have to be careful because they might be a little overbearing or assertive. 

In general, this tarot card shows impatience in love. If you’re not getting what you want, you will demand it. If the relationship isn’t moving in the right direction, you will start to take action. You won’t be shy in coming forward and letting your partner know how it is. You may have a desire to start a family, get married, or move in with a partner, and you won’t be content to just talk endlessly about the future. You want to start making plans. 

Don’t rush into anything without thinking it through, because that’s the danger with this card. 

Upright Knight of Swords Career Meaning 

This is a great time to expand your business or meet targets because of determination and the fact that you are driven by ideas. You are likely to be able to see opportunities and go for them with a lot of aplomb. Whatever’s going on in your work life, it’s an active rather than a passive time. You are making things happen. You are also setting yourself goals that are quite challenging, and because you are very focused, you should achieve targets, however, sometimes you end up alienating people in the process of pursuing success. 

This particular card is suited to goals with a short-term timeframe because the energy cannot be sustained, so it’s a great time to get in, get it done, and then have a break or move on to the next thing. 

Health Meaning Upright Knight of Swords 

This card is great for competitive sports, and it’s also perfect if you’re engaging in a rigorous new training or fitness regime. It can also be suitable if you’re going on a 30-day shred or doing fasting, something that will give you good results in a short space of time. You often enjoy vigorous physical activity; however, you must be careful not to wear yourself out. If you haven’t engaged in sport for a while, you really should build up to it. There is a desire to kind of run before you can walk, and that can often lead to injuries, so be careful.

Spiritual Meaning Upright Knight of Swords 

Spiritually, this is a signal that you should be on the move. You should be open to new avenues, travelling, and putting yourself out there. This is not a time to be passive or look to settle down; it’s a time to make yourself available and to send out a message to the universe that you are ready. Since it’s an ideas-rich time, it’s great to do brainstorming sessions, make lists, and then pursue everything and see what happens. 

Feelings or Actions Related to the Upright Knight of Swords 

The message with this tarot card is that it’s a time for brand new projects, and it’s also a phase for generating ideas and then following them through to their natural conclusion. It indicates a time of positivity, optimism, and open-mindedness, and also a great deal of impatience. 

During this period, you’re more likely to be spontaneous, and you work well in bursts of energy. This is not a great time to begin a task that’s particularly repetitive, gruelling, or requires a greater degree of concentration. This is much better for fact-finding missions, making speeches, or travelling to promote ideas or find new geographical markets. 

In terms of love, you should aim to be fairly confident in your expression, be direct, and let your partner or prospective partner know how you feel, what you want, and what your vision is. It’s essential in relationships to make sure that your ideas are aligned and that you both have a similar urgency. You can become frustrated with a partner who is lacklustre, passive, or has the blues, because you want to keep things rolling and live life to its full. 

Reversed Knight of Swords 

The reversed Knight of Swords represents a time period where you are quite impetuous. There is both an impatient and impulsive energy, but there’s a tendency to be knee-jerk. You may have a lot of ideas and a great deal of inspiration and desire, but you could be like a firecracker with no direction. There’s often no focus, which means decisions are made that don’t add up to a cohesive plan. 

It’s very important not to be rash. Often with this card, decisions are made merely for the sake of making a decision and doing something, but you have to make sure that there is some method to your madness. 

This denotes a period when someone can come into your life who appears very interesting and charismatic, and they may talk a good game, but they probably talk the talk rather than walk the walk, so be careful. First appearances can be very misleading. People who present themselves well may not really know what they’re talking about.

Love Meaning Reversed Knight of Swords 

If you’re dating, do beware the knight who sweeps you off your feet. A new person may come along who seems incredibly interested in you, who says all the right things, and may even be love-bombing you, but beware: they may suddenly fade away when you least expect it. Often when this tarot card appears, people start strong, but they don’t follow through. 

In relationships, this is a time of arguments and disagreements. It may be that you’re both kind of frustrated, looking for something new, or you realise that the relationship has fallen into a rut and is not that entertaining or interesting anymore. However, you really need to stop and catch up with yourselves. Changes you make that are thoughtless could not only lead nowhere but could also lead you into a minefield of problems. So while it’s quite okay to want positive change in your relationship, make sure you do it in a way that will give you the results you want rather than creating a temporary release that could be costly. 

Career Meaning Reversed Knight of Swords 

This could be a rite-of-passage moment in career. It is time to go it alone and really test yourself. You may be starting your own business, setting up a consultancy, or maybe you are beginning a job that will involve a lot more independence. 

This card indicates an opportune time to explore your own ideas, have more autonomy and independence with your work, and also greater creative sway. 

While this is a period when you’ll be seeking to go your own way, it’s quite likely you will make mistakes – it’s part of the learning process, and it’s also because you have gone in at the deep end. You shouldn’t be disconcerted if you end up having to do things a few times to get it right. Mistakes aren’t the problem right now; it’s more important that you’re gaining experience. 

Health Meaning Reversed Knight of Swords 

This suggests you need to slow down. You might be burning yourself out, or it could be that you’re working very hard at work goals and not getting enough rest. In some cases, you may have overexerted yourself in meeting a sporting or physical goal. The key is the right amount of activity, interspersed with appropriate healing and recovery periods. You may be burning the candle at both ends, so be a little bit careful. 

Spiritual Meaning Reversed Knight of Swords

Ideas and communication without wisdom often flounder. Everything you do now should be backed by a strong sense of overall purpose. You need to understand your mission statement, your philosophy, and the ethics behind what you do so that these will better inform your choices. 

As we’ve talked about, the approach with the Knight of Swords, reversed or upright, can often be a little bit haphazard, but if you have a powerful sense of morality and ethics underlying what you do, you won’t go wrong. 

Feelings or Actions regarding the Reversed Knights of Swords 

This tarot card suggests impatience and urgency. There’s a great desire to achieve goals and a big emphasis on speed. However, it’s not necessarily a card suggesting methodical and systematic action. 

It’s suitable for nailing deadlines and quickly getting to grips with a new situation but it’s essential to remember that this is just the beginning and there will be many problems to iron out. 

It’s important to be proactive but there’s a tendency to jump the gun. This card does suggest you can fulfil short term goals or get yourself out of a fix, but it’s not over, there’s loads more work to complete a polished product. 

Page of Swords in the Past, Present, and Future positions 

Past

You may have been gathering information, asking questions, or trying to understand a situation logically rather than emotionally. The lesson here was discernment i.e. learning to seek knowledge while avoiding assumptions or acting impulsively. 

Present

You may be receiving new information, facing important conversations, or needing to voice opinions clearly. Patience is key. Observation and intrepid questioning are more valuable than rushing into decisions. Stay flexible, gather intelligence, and remain mentally agile while exploring options. 

Future

You may encounter messages, revelations, or ideas that shift your perspective or influence your path. It also signals personal growth through communication, analysis, and decision-making, helping you to navigate challenges more effectively once the full picture emerges.

Page of Swords — YES or NO Answer 

The Page of Swords leans toward YES, but it’s a curious, conditional yes rather than a guarantee. 

Upright Position: YES as long as you accept some risks and are willing to ask questions, gather information, and stay mentally alert. 

Reversed Position: NO, or not yet. This suggests waiting until clarity and honesty are present before proceeding. 

Advice and Message of Knight of Swords 

This tarot card represents a restless time, when you are experiencing high energy and are eager for something to happen. 

It’s a favourable card to see if you are ambitious and need skills like quick thinking to succeed. This represents pursuing ambitions and doing something to progress your career or other life goals. 

However, it’s a card that encompasses a selfish energy and as there is such a strong desire for action and success, not much time is spent calculating the financial or indeed human cost. 

It’s important to be tactful and tactical. In relationships, work harder to be diplomatic and aware of the impact of your actions. 

Remember that while you have audacity, you don’t yet have experience and there’s a lot to learn. 

Summary 

This is a pretty inspiring tarot card to draw as it’s about confidence and drive, and shows you are ready for a debut. In love and career it’s a sign you should go for gold and get your life into top gear. 

You should be self aware however as your enthusiasm and eagerness could be perceived as pushy or overzealous by others. Be assertive not rude, and in love be proactive and affectionate but not domineering. 

You can break barriers and achieve a great deal quickly but your efforts are still rough around the edges and further work and fine tuning is needed.