What Do Rivers and Streams Symbolize on Tarot Cards?

Rivers and streams appear on these Tarot cards:

Scroll down to see each card

Rivers and Streams are a frequent Tarot symbol found on ten different cards in the classic Rider-Waite-Smith deck of Tarot cards.

The exact same symbols don't necesariliy show up in all contemporary decks, but many modern Tarot sets often feature adaptations of the same, widely accepted Rider-Waite Tarot symbols.

Here's What rivers and streams indicate in Tarot

Water in a general sense, implies emotion. A brook or stream passing through the land often suggests a dimension of emotional depth or a spiritual significance to the card. A river may also suggest that emotions are a major part of the scene at hand.

A brook or stream passing through the land often suggests a dimension of emotional depth or a spiritual significance

Streams and rivers in Tarot can also symbolize changes and transitions. They are sometimes used to draw a distinction between the foreground and background elements of a card — or to suggest a transition from one concept to another one, or from one state of being to another.

Here Are the Ten Tarot Cards Where Rivers and Streams Are Found

The Five of Cups

The Ten of Cups

The Knight of Cups

The Queen of Pentacles

The Six of Swords

NOTE: The river pictured in the Six of Swords card is an allusion to the river Styx — legendary crossing to the underworld, from Greek mythology. The water is choppy and turbulent on the near-side of the vessel, and calm and peaceful on the mysterious far-side.

The Eight of Swords

The Ace of Wands

The Eight of Wands

The Emperor

Death

NOTE: In the background we can make out a tiny boat navigating the river. Because the overall theme of the card is Death, the boat and river allude to the fabled river Styx of the ancient Greeks — which connects the world of the living to the land of the dead beyond.

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