The Traveler ~ The part of me that knows when it’s time to leave rough waters behind and move toward calmer shores.
Keywords:
Transition • Release • Movement
Meaning:
The Six of Swords is in motion. It’s leaving something behind. The waters are still choppy in places, but the boat is moving toward calmer seas. This card lives in the space of transition, not at the beginning of the journey, not at the end, but in the middle where I’m committed to the move but haven’t arrived yet. It’s asking me to notice where I’m carrying old baggage into new territory. What I’m holding onto that no longer serves the direction I’m heading.
The Six points to necessary departures. The kind that aren’t dramatic or explosive, just clear. This isn’t working anymore. That relationship, that belief, that pattern, that version of myself. Time to go.
This energy invites me to trust the transition even when I can’t see the destination clearly yet. To recognize that moving away from what hurts is its own form of healing, even before I know what I’m moving toward.
Connection to Previous Cards:
Yesterday’s Two of Wands had me standing at the threshold, looking toward the horizon, planning what comes next. Today, the Six of Swords says: the planning is done. Now I move. The shift from vision to action is significant. The Two was about choosing direction. The Six is about taking the boat and going.
Two days ago, the Empress reminded me to nourish myself and create from abundance. The Six of Swords suggests that sometimes the most nourishing thing I can do is leave. Not every garden is mine to tend. Not every situation deserves my energy.
Earlier this week, the Wheel of Fortune showed me that cycles turn whether I’m ready or not. The Six of Swords is me choosing to work with that momentum, to leave what’s ending instead of clinging to it just because it’s familiar. The progression suggests I’ve moved from nourishment to vision to movement. Now I act on what I know.
Actionable Advice:
The Six of Swords is asking me to commit to the transition I’m already in. It’s about letting go of what’s behind me and trusting the movement forward.
– Identify one thing I’ve been holding onto – a belief, a habit, a relationship dynamic – that I know isn’t serving me anymore. Name it. Then consciously release it today.
– Clean out something physical. A drawer, a closet, my inbox. Let the act of clearing space mirror the internal transition.
– Write down what I’m leaving behind and what I’m moving toward. Be specific. Then burn or tear up the “leaving behind” list.
– Notice when I’m mentally revisiting old conflicts or situations. Catch myself and redirect: “That’s not where I’m going anymore.”
– Take one concrete step toward the calmer waters I know I need. Even if it’s small. Even if it’s uncomfortable. Just move.
Shadow-Side Warning:
The shadow of the Six of Swords is leaving without actually letting go. I might physically move on while emotionally staying stuck in what I left behind. Watch for the tendency to carry old patterns into new situations and then wonder why nothing changes.
The Six can also pull me into perpetual transition, always leaving, never arriving, using movement as an excuse to avoid commitment or depth.
Another trap: romanticizing the journey. Making the transition itself into an identity instead of recognizing it’s just a passage. If I’m leaving for the sake of leaving instead of moving toward something better, or if I’m rehashing old wounds while claiming I’ve moved on, that’s the shadow talking.
Journal Prompts:
• WATER (emotions, relationships): What emotional pattern am I carrying from past relationships into current ones that I’m ready to release?
• EARTH (grounding, stability): What’s one concrete thing I can do today to create more ease in this transition?
• FIRE (passion, drive): Where am I using constant movement to avoid staying still long enough to actually build something?
• AIR (thoughts, communication): What old story am I still telling about myself that no longer matches who I’m becoming?
• SHADOW (hidden self, integration): Am I actually leaving, or am I just rearranging the same patterns in a new location?
Personal Journal:
The Six of Swords arrives after yesterday’s Two of Wands gave me vision and direction. Now I’m being asked to actually move. This card is about transition, leaving what’s no longer working and trusting the journey toward calmer waters even when I can’t see the shore yet.
The work right now isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about committing to the departure. Releasing what I know I need to release. Moving forward even when the waters are still a little rough.
Today I practice being in the boat, in motion, leaving behind what no longer serves the person I’m becoming.
Guiding Incantation:
I leave what no longer serves. I release what weighs me down.
The waters calm as I move forward. The shore waits ahead.
I trust the transition. I trust the leaving.
I am in motion. I am becoming. I am free.
If you find resonance in these personal tarot-based reflections, you can explore more of my work at www.oldtownwitch.
