← Encyclopedia of Tarot · lesson 62/121
Knight of Swords
The Knight of Swords charges. He is the mind in action: bold, quick, determined to get to the point and to win the argument. As a person, he can be someone articulate, ambitious and fearless in debate. As a situation, he often describes things moving fast — a sudden push forward, a rush of ideas, or haste that risks running over others.
The image
An armoured knight gallops at full speed on a white horse, sword raised high. Storm clouds tear across the sky, the trees are bent by the wind and birds scatter. Waite thought he might almost be Galahad, a hero "of romantic chivalry". The charge is usually read as courage and conviction; the wind and broken clouds as the turbulence that such speed can leave behind.
Upright
Courage, ambition, directness, quick decisions, defending a cause. Waite lists "skill, bravery, capacity, defence" — and also "enmity, wrath, war". The card often praises decisive action while asking whether everyone involved can keep up.
Reversed
Waite's reversal is "imprudence, incapacity, extravagance". Modern readers often see recklessness, rudeness, a plan rushed into without thought, or energy scattered in all directions. Some readers do not use reversals.
Correspondences
A court card of the Minor Arcana, the Knight of the suit of Swords, element Air. In the Golden Dawn system, which most English-language decks follow, the mounted Knight is the Order's King, Fire of Air: thought driven by will. He rules from 20° Taurus to 20° Gemini. The Order titled him the Lord of the Winds and Breezes.
In a reading
As advice: act, and say what you mean — but look before you leap. As an obstacle, impatience or harsh words. Beside The Chariot, the momentum is strong.
In astrology
The Golden Dawn's correspondences, which most English-language decks follow (French, Marseille-based tradition differs for some Major Arcana).
Element: Air — the element of Gemini, Libra and Aquarius