Sail Away....

April 10, 2012: Six of Swords, Utah Maninni One Tarot

In a fading sunset sky, a lone sailor pilots a craft across still water, gazing ahead into the unknown. Or--wait--one can't really tell--is that actually a sunrise? In any case the morass of reeds behind the boat is clearly something the sailor is done with...looking at this image, one gets the idea that the boat actually had to struggle its way through the swamp to emerge at last into clear water. And whether it is the hint of a new sunrise, or the pale gentleness of sailing into some peace and rest, finally, it doesn't matter. The oarsman isn't looking back at all. His water is calm, his boat is sailing straight into the unknown, and the past is behind him.

When you are grieving over a loss, the Six of Swords confirms this by appearing in your Tarot reading. When you are moving away into an unknown place and feel lonely, detached from all that you know and love, the Six of Swords will be revealed as the cards are dealt in your Tarot reading. This card confirms that you are in a somber state, but it is a card that signals the bottom has been reached and that the slow process of healing has begun.

The boat is central to the card's meaning – it is going somewhere, it is going away from where you are now. There is finality in this journey as the oarsman never even hints at turning around – the future is not yet visible, but the past is definitively over. The swords are not affecting the boat, since they do not even appear in the actual landscape but are placed on the margin like a gate that has already been passed through. This is a metaphor for taking what you have learned with you as you go through life, but not letting challenges stop you, only passing them by. The six swords are still there, but they're behind the boat, and now the boatman is looking forward. A candid personal inventory is something that can assure this journey will have a positive impact. It doesn't really matter where he is sailing, or what will await him there. What is significant is that the gate of the swords, and the reed-swamp, are behind him, and it is open water ahead. Move forward now. The conflict and pain of the past is behind you, and the future awaits you.