Pamela Colman Smith · RWS deck
The Minor Arcana
Knight of Swords
Ruach in Yetzirah
- Suit
- swords
- Rank
- Knight
- World
- Yetzirah
- Soul level
- Ruach
- Position
- Home
Ruach, spirit in motion
Ruach is spirit in motion, the level of character and will. Knights are home in Yetzirah, work down one into Assiah, and reach up into Briah and Atziluth.
Upright
Flowing. Spirit moving through thought and speech: conviction and drive. This is the Knight at home, where will and mind work as one, and what he says is what he is about to do.
Misdirected. Charge without aim, or speech that wounds.
Reversed
Blocked. Conviction cannot speak or act, anger and ideas held back.
Flooded. Speech and drive without limit, argument as reflex.
The image
A knight charges at full gallop on a white horse with his sword raised. The wind bends the trees and tears at the horse's mane. Nothing in the picture is slowing him down.
Learn how to read Knight of Swords in a spread
This page shows you what Knight of Swords means. Knowing how to read it — how it shifts next to the other cards, what the reversal is really telling you, and how to turn a spread into a clear answer — is what the RWS Decoded course and book teach, card by card.
