Two of Swords: tarot card meaning

In A. E. Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910), the Two of Swords upright means: Conformity and the equipoise which it suggests, courage, friendship, concord in a state of arms; another reading gives tenderness, affection, intimacy. The suggestion of harmony and other favourable readings must be considered in a qualified manner, as Swords generally are not symbolical of beneficent forces in human affairs. Reversed: Imposture, falsehood, duplicity, disloyalty.

The picture

“A hoodwinked female figure balances two swords upon her shoulders.” A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1910

Upright

Conformity and the equipoise which it suggests, courage, friendship, concord in a state of arms; another reading gives tenderness, affection, intimacy. The suggestion of harmony and other favourable readings must be considered in a qualified manner, as Swords generally are not symbolical of beneficent forces in human affairs.

Waite's additional meanings: Gifts for a lady, influential protection for a man in search of help.

Reversed

Imposture, falsehood, duplicity, disloyalty.

Waite's additional meanings, reversed: Dealings with rogues.

In one line

Balance held under arms: courage and friendship. (Esbat's own summary of Waite's meaning and picture.)

Where it sits in the deck

The Two of Swords is the second card of the suit of Swords, one of the 56 Minor Arcana. The other Twos: Two of Wands, Two of Cups, Two of Pentacles.

In Esbat

Esbat deals a card of the day, face down until you turn it, and holds all 78 cards in the 1910 pictures with Waite's meanings, upright and reversed. The Two of Swords can be shared as a picture. All 78 tarot card meanings.

Sources

Meanings and picture descriptions: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1910), public domain, checked against the Wikisource transcription. Picture: Pamela Colman Smith, 1910, public domain. Like the app, this page records what the book says; it does not promise outcomes.

Last updated October 25, 2026.

Esbat: Tarot & Book of Shadows, on Google Play

A card of the day, face down until you turn it, and all 78 cards in the 1910 pictures with Waite's meanings, upright and reversed. For Android.

Get it on Google Play

Keep reading