Two 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 Two of Swords card.
Side by side
Choose any two decks and read the pictures against each other.
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
A blindfolded woman sits on a stone bench with her back to the sea, holding two long swords crossed over her chest in perfect balance. A crescent moon hangs in the sky and the water behind her is calm but studded with rocks. She has made herself very still.
Lequart, Paris, 19th century
Two curved grey blades bow outward to form an oval, crossing at top and bottom where their blue grips and yellow crossguards meet. A blue and red star flower sits in the centre among green leaves on yellow stems. Small flowers fill each corner. Numeral II at both sides. A faint blue round stamp shows near the bottom.
Marseille number cards are read through their number and suit; the written meaning here gives the scene the Rider-Waite-Smith card adds.
Rider–Waite–Smith
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
A blindfolded woman sits on a stone bench with her back to the sea, holding two long swords crossed over her chest in perfect balance. A crescent moon hangs in the sky and the water behind her is calm but studded with rocks. She has made herself very still.
Tarot de Marseille
Lequart, Paris, 19th century
Two curved grey blades bow outward to form an oval, crossing at top and bottom where their blue grips and yellow crossguards meet. A blue and red star flower sits in the centre among green leaves on yellow stems. Small flowers fill each corner. Numeral II at both sides. A faint blue round stamp shows near the bottom.
Marseille number cards are read through their number and suit; the written meaning here gives the scene the Rider-Waite-Smith card adds.
Tarot de Viéville
Jacques Viéville, c. 1650
Two curved grey blades bend into a tall oval, their red and yellow hilts crossed at the top and bottom. A flower with curling yellow and green leaves sits at the centre, and small red buds fill each corner.
Viéville number cards show only their suit symbols; read them through number and suit, with the written meaning as a guide.
Visconti-Sforza
Bonifacio Bembo, c. 1450
Two swords cross in an X, hilts at the top; their blades are blue near the hilts and brown towards the points. A gold and white ribbon winds through the crossing, inscribed 'abon droyt' in red. Green leaves and blue and red flowers fill the cream ground.
In the Visconti-Sforza deck the number cards show only their suit symbols, and the trumps are unnamed and unnumbered.
Sola Busca
c. 1491
Two near-naked figures with small horns each clasp a large sword in a red scabbard, one sitting on a green cloth, the other standing. Small dark marks like birds or arrows fly across the sky at the right. The numeral 2 is at the lower right.
Soimoi
Mike Koz, 2025
A blindfolded woman in a red kimono stands in a raked gravel garden at night, holding two swords crossed in front of her chest. A white fox mask lies on the ground at her feet, and a red fox sits watching at right. A full moon shines above, a sheathed blade leans behind her, and a lit pagoda lantern glows among dark trees as red petals fall.