Boats and ships in tarot: a quiz on sea cards
The Three of Wands' fleet, the Six of Swords' boat, a sailboat on Death: recall where ships sail in the Tayna deck and what they say about the journey.
- 3 questions
- ≈ 1 min
- +3 bronze keys for a flawless run
Which tarot cards show boats and ships?
This quiz is about the vessels on the cards of the Tayna deck. Boats and ships appear on six cards: the Two and Three of Wands, the Two of Pentacles, the King of Cups, the Six of Swords and Death. The questions check whether you remember where they sail and what the artist meant by them.
Almost everywhere a ship is an image of movement that has already begun. On the Three of Wands a man stands on a headland watching his ships head for the horizon: he has done his part, and the venture is underway. On the Six of Swords a ferryman poles a boat toward a shore with a white temple, leaving the hardest part behind. On Death a sailboat drifts down a distant river while the sun rises above it.
Calm water and high waves
Look not only at the vessel but at the water beneath it. The King of Cups sits on a throne in the middle of a stormy sea while sailing ships pass by: a heart can sail open water when a mature hand is at the helm. On the Two of Pentacles two ships pitch on tall waves behind a dancing young man. Everything around is rocking, and that is fine, because balance is kept by moving.
Calm water tends to speak of respite and a passage to something better; rough water speaks of change you need to adapt to. Yet no boat in our deck means escape or shipwreck on its own. A ship shows a route, not a verdict.
The quiz is short: three questions per run from a pool of eight, options shuffled. Answers are final, replays are unlimited, and keys go to a run with no mistakes. Every explanation links to the card page with the full scene, so you can look again if a picture slips your mind.
All questions and answers
Open after you play: the full question set with right answers and explanations.
1. On which card does a man on a headland watch his ships head for the horizon?
Right answer: Three of Wands
The man on the Three of Wands is not sailing: his ships are underway, and having done his part he waits for them.
2. What do the sailing ships on both sides of the King of Cups' throne mean?
Right answer: A heart can sail the open sea
The throne stands in a storm while ships sail by: a heart can cross open water when a mature hand is at the helm.
3. On which card does a sailboat drift down a distant river under the rising sun?
Right answer: Death
Far off on Death the sun rises over a river with a sailboat: every ending is followed by a dawn.
4. A boat or ship in tarot always means running away from problems.
Right answer: Myth
On the Six of Swords the boat carries you to a better shore; the Three of Wands' ships are a venture underway.
5. What stretches across the calm water toward the far shore on the Six of Swords?
Right answer: A golden path
A golden path runs across the deep blue water to a shore of cypresses and a white temple: the worst is behind.
6. How many cards in the Tayna deck show boats or ships?
Right answer: Six
Vessels sail on the Two and Three of Wands, the Two of Pentacles, the King of Cups, the Six of Swords and Death.
7. How do the Three of Wands' ships differ from those on the Two of Pentacles?
Right answer: They head for a goal, not rock
The Three of Wands' ships head for the horizon, a venture underway. On the Two of Pentacles they rock with the waves.
8. On which card do ships pitch on the waves under an infinity sign in the sky?
Right answer: Two of Pentacles
Behind the Two of Pentacles' dancer tall waves roll and two ships pitch, with a crescent and an infinity sign above.