Six of Swords: the ferry and the far shore

Start with the picture: a punt, a ferryman, a further shore

Waite writes: a ferryman carrying passengers in his punt to the further shore. The course is smooth, and seeing that the freight is light, it may be noted that the work is not beyond his strength. He does not mention swords, and he does not say who the passengers are.

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BaZiFlow original Six of Swords with three labels

The RWS card fills in details. The ferryman stands in the stern with both hands on a long pole; two passengers sit in the boat, one cloaked with a bowed head and the other small; six swords stand upright in the boat; the far side is a low bank with a few trees. BaZiFlow's original card follows that plan, with the poler at left and the riders at right. From far to near, the picture has three layers:

What Waite lists: journey, route, envoy, and the word "expedient"

Waite's divinatory meanings are: journey by water, route, way, envoy, commissionary, expedient. All six have to do with carrying across: how to go, which way, on whose behalf, by what means.

Journey by water, route, way, envoy, commissionary, expedient.

In his description Waite adds three remarks outside the word list: the course is smooth, the freight light, and the work not beyond the ferryman's strength. These are a rare plain statement, on this card, about whether the thing is easy or hard.

Ferryman, far shore, freight: three things Waite names

Three things in the picture are worth separating, all named by Waite:

"The far shore as where you are going" and "the freight as what goes along" are later usages. The next section builds on both. They are borrowed readings, and Waite's own text has neither.

Putting it to use: name the shore, weigh the load, estimate strength, in an internship application

Waite's three remarks line up as three actions: there is a shore first, then a load, and last the question whether you can pole it.

1. 1

   Shore: write down which bank you are heading to

   A ferry goes somewhere; it does not drift. Write down the shore for this trip: one particular post and one deadline. If there are several shores, cross them one at a time.

2. 2

   Load: what goes aboard should be light

   Six swords stand in the boat. Count what you plan to bring on this trip and ask of each item: will it be used on the far side? What stays on this shore is not thrown away.

3. 3

   Strength: can the ferryman pole it

   Waite makes a point of this. Estimate the hours each item needs, see whether the sum lies within what you can handle, and only then decide how many to take.

An example: an application for a summer internship is due in nine days, and you have six items you could attach. Lay them out by whether they go and how long they take:

Reversed, additional meanings and neighbors: from "carried across" to "said aloud"

Waite writes the reversed card as declaration, confession, publicity, and adds that "one account says that it is a proposal of love". It is still a crossing: the upright words say how things get carried across, the reversed ones say what is brought into the open.

Waite also records two short notes: upright, "the voyage will be pleasant"; reversed, "unfavourable issue of lawsuit". This is old card-book wording for a kind of situation, not a judgment on any lawsuit and not legal advice.