Queen of Swords: tarot card meaning

Queen of Swords is a court card in the suit of Swords, associated with the element of Air. Drawn upright it speaks of mastery, inner authority, nurtured power; reversed, of emotion unmanaged, power turned inward.

Upright meaning

mastery, inner authority, nurtured power

A clear-eyed and incisive intelligence -- honesty, discernment and a mind that cuts to the truth with compassion.

Reversed meaning

emotion unmanaged, power turned inward

A coldness or a sharpness that wounds -- the clarity is a gift; deliver it without the cutting edge.

The suit of Swords belongs to Air and to thought, conflict and clarity.

In a three-card reading

In the past position Queen of Swords describes the current that carried you to where you are; in the present position, what is most alive in the situation now; in the future position, the direction things tend toward if nothing changes. A reading weighs it against the other two cards rather than on its own.