Jungian Tarot Readings Explained

First...Common Architypes explained

 Skip if you already know this.

Carl Jung's common architypes, relate to your right brain, (subconscious) which quietly stores and sifts info whilst you are awake. Allowing the logical left brain (conscious) to believe it is in charge, ( your ego lives in the left brain.) Carl Jung defined certain images as 'common architypes' because he discovered that no matter where you lived in the world, or what culture you were brought up in, certain images prompted very similar thoughts to occur. It is your right subconscious brain which reacts to images, and is responsible for all your creative efforts, feelings, and dreams. 
Consider a skeleton. People all over the world associate the skeleton with death. What does differ however is how you actually feel about and approach death. That would depend on what your society teaches about death, your recent and past emotional experiences of death, and what expectations of death your family and culture hold, and also the myths, religion and stories of your culture.

Can you see why the questions you answered are related to a Jungian tarot reading? How you feel about an image, depends on your culture and past experience. Just as Carl Jung said.

*Some companies have patented their version of the Smith-Waite pack, Only the original cards with the roses and lilies motif on the back are copyright free.  Fun Fact: You will notice that some images on the originals are a little blurry, that is because in the second world war some of the original wood cuts suffered bomb damage.   *Copyright free in the UK

6 of Swords

A quick trip through the esoteric!
Although this is about applying Jungian principles to this card, I am going to give a quick summary of the traditional aspects of this card. It will also give you an insight into the layers a tarot reader goes through, applies, or dismisses in every reading. Depending  on: the question asked,  the named position, and the relationship with the surrounding cards. Online free Tarot readings,(my blog on) are not so bespoke! It also depends on how much depth of knowledge your reader has.
The tarot is divided into major and minor arcana.
Arcane/arcana meaning hidden or forgotten, where forgotten means something you think you might once have known, but it feels just out of reach at the back of your mind, and is now asking to be recalled . This relates to what Jung said about common architypes being rooted deep in your culture and myths, it is unfamiliar to you, and yet at the same time it seems to be a dim distant memory of something that you think you once knew. 

Major arcana describe events that are having, or have had, quite an effect and influence on your life for at least 3 months. I see them as forces or energies that you have created and are available for you.  This fits into my view on quantum science and tarot too.
Minor arcana describe the day to day triumphs and tribulations.
For example some days you wake up full of energy, the sun is shining, there are no traffic hold ups on your journey to work, you find a parking space easily, work goes really well, and after work you have a great time in the pub with your mates. Some days, you wake up late, it's raining, your are made late for work by a long queue at the road works, you can't find a parking space, nothing at work goes right, difficult customers, awkward colleagues, late deliveries, and after work you have a parking fine!
Yes we've all had both of those type of days, but we're talking about short term. In terms of your route to your desired future, I see minor arcana as either a quick fix, a short term solution, a short term obstacle that never the less has to be dealt with, or a little advantage, that you should use now or it will be gone.

Think of major and minor arcana like painting by number sets. The major arcana is the outline of the image, the minor are small areas of colour you are guided to put in one place.

Card Description

We have a man, woman and child in a punt crossing a lake or a river. It cannot be a sea, since you cannot use a punt at sea, except on an estuary. On the right of the punt the water is choppy, but on the left it is smoother. They are heading to the opposite shore which is clearly visible. From our perspective, they have all turned their back on us, there are also 6 swords stuck in the bottom of the boat, they are your your thoughts providing emotional ballast for the boat, they are in front of the woman and child. The man and child are looking toward the opposite bank, but the woman is not, she is not looking at the swords but downwards. Her body language suggests she is sad, and the child leans on the woman for support. But is it a woman? to me it looks like a woman , but they are well covered, it could be a man. The child is dressed in blue, the woman's cloak/blanket is a quite non descript colour, a sandy beige. The man ferryman has green leggings, brown boots, a sandy coloured tabard with a blue shirt underneath, and a black punting pole.
Colours are always difficult to describe because devices distort them, and as already mentioned, some Smith-Waite packs have been enhanced by the manufacturer. I should remind you that this is not a major card, so it is an energy of days, not weeks.

The Jungian Explanation

Water represents your emotions, and you are surrounded by your emotions in this card. In front of you are 6 swords, (thoughts) which you are using to  be the 'ballast' in your boat. The entire image suggests that you wish/need to start afresh, a fresh attitude, a fresh approach and fresh thinking. Your thoughts ( the 6 swords) have brought you to the conclusion that you should depart from the choppy emotions of one bank, and begin afresh on the other side. Not a physical journey usually, (but it could be if you are moving house or country or job, or to be nearer a partner or family) it suggests taking a new direction of thought, BUT, those swords (thoughts)are still in front and with you, so they will still need to be addressed when you reach the opposite bank. You may imagine that your new approach and attitude means leaving the past behind, but there are still thoughts and feelings to confront in this situation. This card is a short solution to give you breathing space, a chance to see things from a different angle and give you the different perspective needed to solve any underlying problems. 

Crossing the deep waters of your emotions is a perilous journey, you need to keep your wits about you, or you may capsize the boat, thus falling into the deep waters of your unconscious.
The ferryman is your inner guide, or your higher self. The child is your inner child, that is why he/she is leaning against the woman. In taking a fresh perspective on a situation, you are protecting the inner child, at least for now.
Essentially you are gaining a much needed short break to consider things from a new perspective before attacking the underlying problem. And that fits perfectly with a minor card. Sometimes a sticking plaster solution gets you through a couple of days, and gives you breathing space, and sometimes that is all that is needed. But there is a caution! Those 6 swords in front of you and  all the water of emotion indicate that there is an underlying problem, that you need to tackle, at some time. Remember I said earlier that these minor energies last for a short time. If you were looking for the advantage to you in this card, that is it, a short respite, where you can regroup before sorting out the deeper issues
Also indicative of the short duration of the minor energy is the ferryman's black pole. Black indicates potential, nothing final has happened, all things remain possible. Stay calm and waste neither the energy or the short window of opportunity this card creates. 
Not everything written here, will apply in every situation, it is down to the skill of the tarot reader, the nature of the question and the card's position in the spread  and the other cards around it to decide that which applies.

Reversed 6 of Swords

I do use reversals in my readings. I view them in 3 ways.

1. Opportunities or energies the querent is denying for whatever reason, and there can be good reason,
2. Opportunities the querent has not considered,  is not aware of, or is perhaps a left field (to you) idea. It can be that a reversal indicates an energy in potential (like the ferryman's black punt pole) depending on the other cards surrounding it, the position and the question.
3. All tarot cards are somewhat paradoxical, reversals make it clearer to me what to apply or disregard in a particular instance.

The 6 of swords when reversed can indicate several different things depending on the spread and question.
Firstly, you are leaving for a new shore, but you keep your 'boat' tied to the bank. You want your cake and to eat it. The bank you're leaving, no matter how uncomfortable, is familiar so you are trying to reach the other bank without leaving the familiar (thought, emotions, ideas) behind. Perhaps you are making a big show of saying "This time I'll do it this way!" but then you don't, you slip back into old thought patterns and emotions.
If you reverse the image, the swords fall out, the boat capsizes and you are in the deep waters of emotion. This can happen if the underlying emotional situation has been long standing and things were going along smoothly until someone decides to do something about it, literally stir up smooth waters into choppy ones. Often, but not always, other cards near to 6 of Swords give some insight on this.

A Caution, Applying to Both Upright & Reverse

 Don't get halfway across the river and take those  thought swords of ballast out to examine them. You must reach your destination first. You must commit to the fresh look and attitude not get halfway and then doubt. Reaching that other shore offers a short breather and a chance for a new view, time distance and perspective of the stuff on the shore that you have just left.

Mythology: Your answer to question 4