Waite–Smith, Swords
King of Swords
What you can see
A crowned figure faces forward with an upright sword held at a slight angle. Winged motifs decorate the high-backed throne.
What Waite says
Waite connects the king with judgment, office and the authority to act. He distinguishes this governing power from merely repeating the Justice trump’s virtue.
Waite · Part III, §2 · printed p. 226 ↗In the Thoth deck
Waite’s courts are King, Queen, Knight and Page. Thoth has Knight, Queen, Prince and Princess, so a rank does not carry straight across. See both ways to match them.
Edition and image credits
Pamela Colman Smith, illustrations in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, Rider 1922 reprint, first published 1910. The scans keep the printed borders and page marks, with no cropping or recolouring.