Barbara Walker Tarot - Six of Swords: Passage

Six ghostly swordsmen cross the black river Styx to enter the underworld gate, guarded by its silent Goddess, the giant Sphinx. Some said the Styx was a river of blood leading to the Goddess’s underground womb, where life was regenerated. It was also called Alpha, the river of birth; an expression of the small figure on the riverbank holding up a small light of hope. Interpretations include an anxious time, a journey over water, a passage toward a dark, unknowable future, difficulties to be faced before eventual success.