The Four of Swords is one of the most important cards of the Minor Arcana.
Below you will learn everything about its meaning both in the upright and reversed position.
In addition to the general interpretation, the topics of love, health, career, finances and destiny are also explained in detail.
The Four of Swords Keywords
Upright: Meditation, Calmness, Replenishment, Distance
Reversed: Restless, Active, Celebration, Frustration
The Four of Swords Tarot Card Description
The Four of Swords Tarot card shows a knight lying on a tomb. The man wears plain armor and has his hands folded as if in prayer.
Wearing armor for the whole day is exhausting, so the knight needs to recharge his batteries by resting.
The man appears deeply absorbed, leaving the viewer uncertain whether he has laid himself to eternal rest or is meditating on his life in deep contemplation.
The color of the coffin matches the color of his body, symbolizing that the knight is in harmony with his surroundings. A single sword is depicted on the tomb. It expresses focus on a specific life theme.
The simplicity of the room and the glazed window give the impression that the man is in a church, a place where he can come to rest and not be disturbed by outside influences. Three swords hang above his body. They point to his belly, his heart and his head.
That expresses that the knight tries to harmonize his intuition (belly), his feelings (heart) as well as his mind (head) while meditating to gain new insights and inner peace.
A woman and a small child are visible on the glazed window. They could represent the man’s family, who are currently unavailable to him or need distance from him.
Another possibility would be that the mother represents the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus, symbolically representing the focus on spiritual and religious issues.
Upright Four of Swords Tarot Card Meaning
The Four of Swords represents a much-needed break after a difficult period in your life to replenish your energies. You have spent a lot of energy lately and have invested all your energy in coping well with the challenges of everyday life.
Your body and mind now need a phase of regeneration to recharge your batteries. Take time for yourself and relax either alone or with friends and try to actively forget the stress of the past days or weeks and let go.
We need times of relaxation to face the upcoming challenges in life with renewed strength and confidence.
Another characteristic of the Four of Swords is that you should take time to meditate on your life so far, with all its ups and downs. Reflect on events and people that have helped you become who you are.
Often your feelings and thoughts change over time when you think back on certain events so that difficult times are suddenly associated with positive emotion and the realization of how much you have grown from them.
Such meditation is especially helpful in shaping your future life, as you can draw from a lot of knowledge and experience from both your mistakes and your successes.
The Four Swords Tarot card admonishes you to distance yourself from difficult events from your past to restore your inner balance.
Some challenging life situations have such a huge impact on us that even if they happened a long time ago, we carry them around with us all the time, causing turmoil in our inner life.
By emotionally distancing yourself from the past and realizing that you have nothing to fear in the here and now, you can soberly review the events in your mind’s eye and reevaluate them.
Through this kind of re-evaluation, you can come to terms with what has happened and direct your gaze forward.
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Upright Four of Swords Tarot Love Meaning
Single
As a single, the Four of Swords reveals to take some time off from your dating life and calm down a bit. The search for a partner can be very time-consuming and exhausting if you focus your entire life on it.
Take more time for yourself and see what other areas in your life may have been neglected so far and devote yourself to them first. Gather new energy by meeting more with friends and family and create beautiful moments for yourself.
In this way, you will realize that your life does not only consist of the search for a partner but also holds fulfillment and joy for you in many other areas. Another aspect of the Four of Swords is that you meditate on your ideas regarding your desired partner.
Instead of jumping at the first available partner, you should first clarify what qualities you expect from him.
Only in this way, you will be able to search for a partner and through your concrete ideas, you will gain better access to your intuition, which will quickly show you whether the fit between you and another person is right.
Relationship
In a partnership, the Four of Swords reveals that you as a couple currently need more distance from each other.
While you experience beautiful moments of togetherness through much time together, it is equally important that each of you has an area in life independent of your partner in which to flourish.
Such areas mainly include hobbies, where each partner can be a bit of themselves and meet new people. Through this kind of free space, your relationship will benefit in the long run because you can let new ideas and impulses from the outside flow into your partnership again.
The Four of Swords also symbolizes that you urgently need to replenish your power reserves as a couple so that your relationship remains vital and fulfilling.
Especially after difficult challenges, like building a house, moving, growing a family, your partnership is very strained and we easily forget how important it is to take care of our relationship.
Take some time out as a couple from the stressful daily routine and do something together like going out to eat, celebrating or just going for a walk. By that, you can strengthen the bond of love between you again and recharge your batteries to face the next challenges again.
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Upright Four of Swords Health Meaning
In health matters, the Four of Swords stands for the fact that you urgently need to take a break and regenerate.
The stresses of everyday life will eventually take their toll if you don’t take time to recharge your energy reserves. Take a conscious time-out for yourself and let
all obligations rest at least for a short moment.
Furthermore, the Four of Swords shows that you should practice mindfulness to improve your health.
Daily meditation can help you to find the causes of various symptoms such as migraine or mood swings early on. Use the knowledge gained to heal self-made suffering yourself.
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Upright Four of Swords Career Meaning
Professionally, the Four of Swords represents a much-needed break from the job. Take a long weekend or even a sabbatical to regain your energy and ideas.
Working through the day without a break always carries the risk of burnout.
If you have times of relaxation, you will be better able to develop new ideas and implement them in your job.
Furthermore, the Four of Swords encourages you to reflect on your current professional situation.
Are you satisfied with your career path?
Where would you like to be in five or ten years?
Answering these questions will help you find your career path for the future.
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Upright Four of Swords Finances/Money Meaning
For your finances, the Four of Swords means that you urgently need some distance from material things. The value of our lives is not measured in the number of riches we accumulate.
Instead, you should rather promote values such as friendship, love and compassion, which cannot be bought but bring you happiness for a lifetime.
Another aspect of the Four of Swords is that you should reevaluate your financial goals. Just accumulating money does not make you happy in the long run.
But if you have a concrete plan for a new purchase or a vacation, your money will have real value. Set realistic goals that you want to achieve with a savings plan and turn your wealth into positive life experiences.
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Upright Four of Swords Destiny Meaning
As a destiny card, the Four of Swords stands for the fact that you urgently need a break to recharge your batteries.
Put all the burden of everyday life off your shoulders and devote yourself exclusively to your needs. This will give you new energy and drive to achieve your goals in life.
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Upright Four of Swords Personality
The Four of Swords reveals a calm and balanced personality. He rests deep within himself and can therefore release and use almost inexhaustible energies.
Moreover, the card describes a character who can judge the things around him with enough distance. Thus, he does not get carried away by short-lived emotions but always keeps a clear head.
Upright Four of Swords Tarot Past/Future
Past
With a little distance, past serious life crises can reveal valuable insights about yourself.
A look into the past can help you to recharge your batteries. Especially beautiful experiences are a recurring source of joy and inspiration.
Future
In the near future, it will be quite turbulent for you. Make sure that you plan fixed rest periods during the day in which you can gather energy again.
In the future, you should take the time to meditate on your further goals in life. Consider your plans soberly and then let your gut feeling decide.
Upright Four of Swords Tarot Card – Yes or No
The Four of Swords indicates a clear yes answer. The main point of your question is to finally become active. Just leave your doubts and worries behind and start doing something.
A yes answer will help you to get back into action. At the end of the day, you will be able to celebrate another success in life.
Reversed Four of Swords Tarot Card Meaning
The Four of Swords Reversed warns you that you are very restless, which is why you are often exhausted and powerless. Many thoughts and worries plague you. Therefore, you don’t know how to sort out and cope with the challenges ahead of you.
As a result, you always start many things at the same time without finishing a single project properly, which increases the pressure to do everything at the same time.
Start by reorganizing yourself internally and calming your thoughts, then rank the tasks in front of you according to their urgency and work through them one by one.
The Four of Swords Reversed encourages you to become active now and to put your carefully made plans into action. You have a lot of energy and drive at the moment so that you can cope with even difficult challenges that you may have been putting off for a long time.
However, only focus on one big project using your mind, intuition and emotions to realize your plans.
As soon as you have reached your goal, look inside yourself how much strength you still have to start a new project or whether it is time to take a small regeneration phase. After a rest, you can draw again from the reservoir of your inner strength.
Another meaning of the Four of Swords Reversed in a Tarot reading is that you are very frustrated because you have not realized certain goals in life so far. You get the impression that all the people around you can achieve their plans faster than you and are more successful in this respect.
But phases of standstill and pause are just as much a part of our lives as phases of activity. Start working on your expectations and accept that some goals may take a little longer to achieve.
Use the time when you can’t do anything and dedicate yourself to other goals in the meantime or simply refuel new strength and energy for everyday life.
Reversed Four of Swords Tarot Love Meaning
Single
The Four of Swords ReversedTarot card shows you as a single person that it is a good time to become active in your partner search. Go out and celebrate your life by meeting friends or making new acquaintances from which new relationships can result.
The more active you are and seek contact with other people, the more connections you will make. You will have a wide range of people with whom you can intensify your relationships and from which a new Great Love may develop.
The Four of Swords Reversed, on the other hand, can also be a sign that you are very frustrated at the moment with your life goal of finding a steady partnership.
Although you have already met some people and put time and energy into building a relationship, your gut feeling tells you to keep your distance.
Do not despair and keep looking for a suitable partner because true love does not always just fall from the sky but often requires a lot of patience and perseverance before it reveals itself in our lives.
Relationship
The Four of Swords Reversed reveals to you in a partnership that there is great frustration in your life together. The dissatisfaction comes from the fact that you exchange too little about your thoughts, feelings and intuition and thus know little about each other.
That can lead to more conflicts between you because you do not understand the other person and therefore many misunderstandings happen.
Try to get closer again by simply listening attentively to your partner. Then you will know how he is feeling at the moment and what is on his mind.
Such an approach will make it easier for you to understand and support each other. The Four of Swords Reversed also stands for an active relationship.
Go out together and celebrate the strong cohesion and deep intimate connection that you have built together in all this time.
A stable partnership cannot be taken for granted and requires a lot of strength and energy from both partners to keep it vital and fulfilling. Relax together or do something together and just enjoy your harmonious togetherness.
Reversed Four of Swords Health Meaning
The Four of Swords Reversed indicates an inner restlessness that limits you in your everyday life. Concentration problems and mood swings can also occur in this context. Your body is trying to tell you that something is wrong with your inner life.
To restore your inner balance, you can start with small daily meditations. Then, step by step, you can work your way to the cause of your restlessness and solve it.
The Four of Swords Reversed can also express frustration that you just can’t get rid of certain symptoms. Instead of fighting them with all means, you should rather learn to live with them so that you can still enjoy your everyday life.
Reversed Four of Swords Career Meaning
The Four of Swords Reversed encourages you to pursue your career goals actively.
Don’t wait for someone to offer you a job or a raise.
Instead, take the initiative yourself by getting good qualifications and actively asking for salary negotiations or applying for other jobs without being asked.
Furthermore, the Four of Swords Reversed reveals that you are constantly stressed professionally.
Even in your private life, your job plays an overriding role. You have difficulties simply switching off.
Cut yourself off more by leaving your work cell phone off at home and no longer checking your work e-mails. Instead, relax so that you can clear your head a bit.
Reversed Four of Swords Finances/Money Meaning
The Four of Swords Reversed shows that you are very frustrated with the way your finances are going. Perhaps you still have a large mountain of debt or your income has barely increased in recent years.
Improving your financial situation does not happen overnight but takes months, if not years. Therefore, plan your goals in a correspondingly long time frame and be happy about every partial success that you achieve.
Moreover, the Four of Swords Reversed reveals that you should take time to enjoy your finances.
You may have gotten rid of a mountain of debt or saved a good sum. Celebrate your success and after a long period of deprivation, treat yourself to a joyful experience, like going to the movies or a restaurant.
Reversed Four of Swords Destiny Meaning
The Four of Swords Reversed shows for your destiny that you are restlessly searching for fulfillment in life. But instead of searching for meaning in life in faraway places, you should rather stay with yourself.
Focus on the things that are close to your heart and you will feel how rich your existence is.
Reversed Four of Swords Personality
The Four of Swords reversed stands for a restless character trait. Such a person hardly comes to rest and must constantly have something to do. Therefore, their power reserves are exhausted more often.
Furthermore, a person is described here who is easily frustrated. He has little patience with his plans and gives up quickly at small obstacles.
Reversed Four of Swords Tarot Past/Future
Past
In the past, you were often restless, which used up all your energy at the end of the day. Let this experience be a lesson to you and allow yourself more breaks.
In the past months, you had several occasions to celebrate. Use these beautiful memories for yourself when lonelier times come again.
Future
Not all of your goals will be easy to realize soon. You will experience a high degree of frustration, which you should not let get you down.
By actively shaping your life, you will have many more opportunities in the near future than if you just sit back and do nothing.
Reversed Four of Swords Tarot Card – Yes or No
You should try to look at your question from a certain distance. This way, you will realize that saying no will give you more room to maneuver in the long run.
In addition, you can first take care of yourself and replenish your energy reserves.
The Swords Tarot Card Meanings
- Ace of Swords Meaning
- Two of Swords Meaning
- Three of Swords Meaning
- Four of Swords Meaning READING NOW
- Five of Swords Meaning
- Six of Swords Meaning
- Seven of Swords Meaning
- Eight of Swords Meaning
- Nine of Swords Meaning
- Ten of Swords Meaning
- Page of Swords Meaning
- Knight of Swords Meaning
- Queen of Swords Meaning
- King of Swords Meaning