Science: (The Search for) Truth, Progress, and Unity
The Six of Swords. Science. Progress. Unity. Achievement. Truth. Logic. Discovery. Order. Moral and Mental Balance. The Six of Swords corresponds to the Sefirot of Tiphareth: Experience and the Conscious Harmony. Science resolves the conflict between Chesed and Geburah, and restabilizes the energy of the Suit of Swords. The Truth is restored from the effects of Defeat, and Peace is restored, allowing for the furthering of Science. Science is the best that the Suit of Swords has to offer, and represents the balanced energy of the Suit. It is the ultimate of the conscious harmonies, as this card represents the hunt for the truth of the universe, guided from above by the influence of Kether. It is the ultimate positive manifestation of the ideals of the Suit of Swords: the intellectual pursuit of Truth to be used in the name of Justice. It is the ultimate in abstract thought.
This card, then, represents the discovery and progress associated with Science, as well as the unity that comes with throwing off the shackles of defeat and re-achieving Peace. It represents the intellectual achievements that lead to the world becoming a better place, often attained through the application of Logic. This card represents also the balance between morality and one’s mental state; the two both must be in prime condition to effectively pursue Science.
The Rider-Waite art shows a man rowing a cloaked woman and her child to a far shore on a boat filled with swords. She is leaving behind the falseness of her previous life and moving on to the land of truth, though the experience may be painful. The Thoth art shows six swords – all straight, as befits the “positive” Swords cards – all pointed together at a cross with a hole in the center, attempting to complete the cross as a symbol of formal knowledge and learning (from medieval symbolism, of course). The background is filled with well-ordered geometric designs, indicating the logic of it all.
In a reading, this card asks you to examine the role of scientific rationale and thought in your life. Have you been on a quest recently to discover the truth of something? Are you or someone you know extremely logical? How has progress or discovery impacted you? Reversed, this card’s energies are hidden or twisted somehow; perhaps the search for truth and justice is present on the surface, but the real motive of the questing individual is something far different and perhaps more cynical. Maybe the heart of the problem is a lack of this search, and it needs to be done to solve the issue at hand. Perhaps you are too focused on progress, and need to scale things back a bit.
Z. M. Wilmot 
