Suit of swords
one of the four Latin-suited playing card deck suits
The suit of swords is one of the four suits of the Minor Arcana in a 78-card cartomantic tarot deck. It is derived from the suit used in Latin-suited playing cards, such as Spanish, Italian and Latin-suited tarot decks. Like the other tarot suits, it contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page, knight, queen and king. Occultists claim that the suit represents the Second Estate (The Nobles).
While tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games, in English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, tarot cards came much later to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes.
Divinatory and occult meanings
In divination, the suit of swords is associated with masculinity and intellect, but also sorrow and misfortune. The element of air has been associated with the suit. Etteilla and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers equated Swords to the suit of Spades in the French pack.
Cards in the suit of Swords
The Ace of Swords indicates decisive ability. Cutting through confusion.
The public source identifies “Suit of swords” as one of the four Latin-suited playing card deck suits. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Suit, swords and four.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Suit of swords”, the useful work is to connect “one of the four Latin-suited playing card deck suits” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q842345. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Suit of swords”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Suit of swords primary sources, Suit of swords archive and Suit research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Suit of swords”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Suit of swords” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.