Page of Swords in 6 decks
The same card as 6 decks draw it, five and a half centuries apart. What stays the same is the card’s core; what changes is where a reading can find something new. The meanings are written for the Rider–Waite–Smith picture; the descriptions here are of each deck’s own. Not in Oswald Wirth, which has no Page of Swords card.
Side by side
Choose any two decks and read the pictures against each other.
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
A young page stands on high ground with a sword raised in both hands, body turned one way and head sharply the other, as if listening for something behind. Wind drives ragged clouds across the sky and bends the trees below. The stance is alert and a little unsteady.
Lequart, Paris, 19th century
A young man in a wide grey hat and a buttoned blue doublet stands facing forward under a red cape with a pale lining. He holds an upright sword against his shoulder in one hand and points a long yellow scabbard to the ground with the other. He wears red hose and stands on green and yellow mounds. Titled VALET D'ÉPÉE.
Rider–Waite–Smith
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
A young page stands on high ground with a sword raised in both hands, body turned one way and head sharply the other, as if listening for something behind. Wind drives ragged clouds across the sky and bends the trees below. The stance is alert and a little unsteady.
Tarot de Marseille
Lequart, Paris, 19th century
A young man in a wide grey hat and a buttoned blue doublet stands facing forward under a red cape with a pale lining. He holds an upright sword against his shoulder in one hand and points a long yellow scabbard to the ground with the other. He wears red hose and stands on green and yellow mounds. Titled VALET D'ÉPÉE.
Tarot de Viéville
Jacques Viéville, c. 1650
A young man in a red hat with a yellow brim stands facing slightly right, resting a sword on his right shoulder. He wears a red and dark doublet over a striped skirt and red hose, and his left hand holds a dark scabbard at his side.
Visconti-Sforza
Bonifacio Bembo, c. 1450
A fair-haired youth in dark plate armour stands facing forward, his right hand resting on a sword pointing down and his left on his hip. A faint green wreath curves above his head. Behind him is a dark tooled ground with lattice and rosettes; the green ground below is badly worn.
In the Visconti-Sforza deck the number cards show only their suit symbols, and the trumps are unnamed and unnumbered.
Sola Busca
c. 1491
A long-haired youth with a garland of flowers and a red feather walks playing a lute. He wears red and purple, with one blue and one red leg and purple boots. A sword in a red scabbard leans against a small tree. The numeral 11 is at the left.
Soimoi
Mike Koz, 2025
A young man with a blue headband, in a blue wave-patterned jacket and trousers, stands in a forest gripping an upright sword in both hands while a curl of turquoise wind wraps the blade. A scabbard hangs at his back. A tanuki sits at his feet and a grey crane stands at right, with pines and bamboo around him and red and yellow leaves blowing.