Five of Swords Tarot Card Meaning

This Tarot Arcana illustrates the final scene of a lost battle. A warrior from the enemy army sneers contemptuously, watching the defeated opponents. They are disheartened and disarmed — their swords lie on the ground, captured by the enemy who now revels in and profits from their misfortune. All that remains for the defeated is to humbly leave the battlefield.

If you receive the Five of Swords Tarot card in a spread, urgently arm yourself with a "bulletproof vest" of patience, willpower and courage, and do not succumb to fear. The Arcana suggests that circumstances will not be in your favor — you will have to endure a defeat and spend a long time recovering.

Avoiding troubles will not work — you will be deliberately dragged into a conflict, forced to change plans or abandon them altogether. So you will have to bear losses, retreat and lick your wounds, dreaming of revenge and the restoration of justice. Although, if the Five of Swords Tarot card falls out, perhaps you have taken on too heavy a burden and simply failed to cope with your obligations, and are now reaping the not-so-pleasant fruits of your self-confidence.

However, no matter what negativity the Five of Swords Tarot predicts, it is still too early to draw conclusions and concede to a total defeat. It doesn't matter how many times you've fallen — what's important is how many times you've gotten up! Your willpower, resilience, flexibility, and sharp mind will help soften the blow and minimize losses. Ahead lies a new battle in which you can regain lost positions and steer the situation in a positive direction.

Take into account the prediction of the Arcana Five of Swords, gather strength and will into a fist, and hope for Fortune's favor.

Key Meanings of the Upright Five of Swords Card

• Complete defeat, losses, surrender, destruction, a series of troubles, dismissal.
• Meanness, baseness, settling scores, weakness, revenge, stress.
• Quarrel, conflict, intrigue, opposition, cruelty, aggression, insult, contempt.
• Theft, unfair property division, damage, devastation.

With the reversed Tarot card of the Five of Swords in the layout, you can already hope for a victory, but with a caveat: the won battle will be in vain and will not bring satisfaction. In addition, the Five of Swords card asserts: you will be able to win only if you resort to dishonest methods — bribery, intrigues, blatant meanness, which is very harmful for karma.

The reversed Tarot card of the Five of Swords foreshadows a conflict situation at work or in the family, fraudulent actions regarding your property, lawsuits, dismissal or divorce. Perhaps the forces will be unequal, so prepare yourself internally for a loss. But if you are more flexible, do not reveal all your cards and try alternative ways out of the situation, you will be able, if not to win, then to suffer much less. And having waited for a certain time, you can give a good payback to your offenders!

Key meanings of the reversed Five of Swords card

• Dishonesty in affairs, deception, cunning, backstage intrigues, enemies.
• Defeat and losses, but less than in the upright position.
• Low self-esteem, spirit decline, indecisiveness, delay.
• Conflict, selfishness, instigation, malicious attacks.

In love spreads, the upright Five of Swords card predicts the collapse of romantic plans and separation. Perhaps the reason for this is the desire to win and prove one's rightness at all costs, when a person is literally ready to "walk over dead bodies", violating all conceivable and inconceivable ethical norms.

Two people who once loved (or sympathized with) each other are driven to opposite sides of the barricades, relationships shatter into pieces, and it's impossible to fix anything. Feelings are hurt, and the main emotions are pain, humiliation, and a hostile attitude towards the world. All that remains is to accept and endure this unpleasant moment.

The reversed card also means offenses and parting, but the intensity of emotions is slightly less than in the upright meaning.

When Divining for a Admirer or Lover

In a divination for an admirer or partner, the upright card indicates that your chosen one is a person with a tragic love experience. He has experienced a heavy defeat in love, perhaps even betrayal or infidelity.

The reversed card suggests that in love, your chosen one aims to achieve his goal by any means and win. But he is more attracted to the process itself than to the result.

In business spreads, the Five of Swords card speaks of conflicts with colleagues and partners, defeats and failures in business. It seems there is a serious power struggle going on around you, and you are in its epicenter.

Enemies are ready to go to extreme measures, not hesitating to use unscrupulous and dirty methods of struggle. Laws are being violated, those who are dissatisfied are dealt with harshly - they are pushed to the wall or even thrown out of work. Winning under such circumstances is impossible, bankruptcy, failure of plans, and defeat are imminent.

In its reversed position, the card predicts a Pyrrhic victory, achieved by fraud and not bringing satisfaction.

When divining for a person, the upright card is interpreted as someone who, due to unfavorable circumstances, has lost optimism and self-belief. It will take time for them to fully restore their self-esteem.

In its reversed position, this card represents a person with flexible moral principles for whom the notions of "honesty" and "honor" are variable. For their own interests, they are quite capable of ignoring the interests of others.

In its upright position, this card advises you to come to terms with a temporary defeat and to retreat in time: attempts to break down a wall with your head are more dangerous for you than for the wall.

Appearing in a reversed position in the spread, the card advises you not to give up and to fiercely defend your interests, even if it takes a lot of energy.

If the card comes up in the upright position, the forecast for your situation isn't very favorable. As a result, you may experience defeat in a certain matter.

In the reversed position, the prediction for your situation is ambiguous. As a result, you may achieve your goals, but only if you fight desperately for your interests.

With 0 card The Fool – Losing a dispute, ending up sidelined, giving up.

With 1 card The Magician — A force majeure, profiting at someone else's expense, unfair play, smugness.

With 2 card The High Priestess — A hopeless endeavor, self-sacrifice, responsibility.

In combination with 3 card The Empress — Losing a dispute, being deluded, losing authority.

With 4 card The Emperor — Change of leadership, a failed investment or endeavor, missing the flow.

With 5 card The Hierophant — Being humiliated, losing a dispute, making a serious mistake.

With 6 card The Lovers — Dissatisfaction, miscalculation, incorrect bet or false authority.

With 7 card The Chariot — An unsuccessful start, the real state of affairs, a hiccup in business.

With 8 card Strength — Persuading someone, breaking an opponent, not reaping expected benefits.

With 9 card The Hermit — Ridding of the past, confession or visiting a psychologist, gradual healing.

With 10 card Wheel of Fortune — Reconsideration of moral principles, freedom, being behind the scenes and watching.

With 11 card Justice — Harm to the cause, being wounded on duty, limitation of rights.

With 12 card The Hanged Man — Unfounded claims, being criticized from all sides, rebuke.

With 13 card Death — The matter won't progress, senseless waste of energy, financial loss.

With 14 card Temperance — Dissatisfaction with one's position, knowledge that cannot be applied, little action - much contemplation.

With 15 card The Devil — Losing trust, dropping authority, falling out with a loved one.

With 16 card The Tower — A setback, quarrel with friends or colleagues, disruption of business agreements.

With 17 card The Star — Ruining a good idea, poor realization, lack of planning, dispersal of a demonstration.

With 18 card The Moon — Split in the team, career change, failed business or impending bankruptcy.

With 19 card The Sun — Minor setbacks in a long journey, difficulties at home or at work or in an educational institution, everything comes with experience.

With 20 card Judgment — Major deception, letting down colleagues or relatives, suffering a defeat.

With 21 card The World — Genius not understood by others, the first pancake is always a mess, a test of strength.

The Ace of Wands — Old disputes or disappointments, long-standing resentment, an inaccurate prediction, and failure.

The Two of Wands — Upset plans, poor preparation, unverified information.

The Three of Wands — Loss or defeat, going back to the beginning, losing trust or influence.

The Four of Wands — Domestic discord, canceled plans, unconfirmed hopes, betrayal by loved ones.

The Five of Wands — Psychological pressure, recalling past failures, a painful blow to one's self-esteem.

The Six of Wands — Failures in business or personal matters, not living up to expectations, a poor start.

The Seven of Wands — Recognizing the enemy too late, losing the last support, standing alone with one's opinion.

The Eight of Wands — Dangerous dogmatism, falling into provocation, lack of progress.

The Nine of Wands — Betrayal, confirmation of a negative forecast, thoughts of defeat.

The Ten of Wands — Unnoticed efforts, being in a supporting role, not receiving deserved recognition.

The Page of Wands — Assessing losses or damage, failing an exam, making a mistake.

The Knight of Wands — Losing an argument or missing an opportunity, remaining on the sidelines.

The Queen of Wands — An annoying obstacle, suffering defeat, losing to competitors.

The King of Wands — Unfortunate circumstances due to haste leading to defeat, difficulties at work or loss of authority.

The Ace of Swords — Intentional defeat, portraying oneself as a victim of circumstances, subtle calculation of the situation.

The Two of Swords — Winning by giving in to someone, a well-argued debate, fierce confrontation.

The Three of Swords — Planning or seeking revenge, going against one's conscience, an ugly act.

The Four of Swords — Isolation in anticipation of problems, a bad feeling, nervous tension, and an attempt to hide from something inevitable.

The Six of Swords — The ability to avoid danger, a talent for not being blamed, avoiding direct confrontation and staying in the shadows.

The Seven of Swords — Deceive and shift blame onto others, gain advantage from someone else's loss, work according to one's own scheme and remain unnoticed.

The Eight of Swords — Being a hostage to public opinion, surrendering under the weight of past failures, lacking faith in one's abilities.

The Nine of Swords — Expecting failure, lamenting a mistake, blaming oneself excessively or being too self-critical.

The Ten of Swords — Failure after failure, the influence of hexes or curses, the need for radical changes in life and mindset.

The Page of Swords — Quarrelsome nature, senseless criticism, inability to maintain a constructive conversation.

The Knight of Swords — Open conflict, breaking relationships completely, expressing everything that has been pent up inside, severing familiar ties.

The Queen of Swords — Pausing and calming down at the last moment, the danger of going too far, highly agitated nerves.

The King of Swords — Blaming others and trying to shift guilt or responsibility, a legal investigation for a fight or offense.

The Ace of Cups — A harsh lesson of betrayal, the school of life, the realization of defeat.

The Two of Cups — Confronting selfishness, broken agreements, falling victim to trustful deception.

The Three of Cups — Receiving an important lesson, facing justified criticism, the fulfillment of a negative forecast.

The Four of Cups — Burdened by someone else's secret, knowing and concealing the truth, covering up another's wrongdoing.

The Five of Cups — Evaluating the situation that has developed, experiencing loss, enduring failure and loneliness.

The Six of Cups — Unsuccessful experiment, disapproval and reproach from others, a project that didn't work out.

The Seven of Cups — Misalignment of desires with possibilities, lack of leadership qualities, mistrust from colleagues or friends.

The Eight of Cups — Digesting negative experiences, letting someone down, a questionable venture that will not bring benefits or a good reputation.

The Nine of Cups — Losing persuasiveness, an unforeseen defeat, a bad reputation.

The Ten of Cups — Disappointing loved ones, bringing shame upon oneself, not living up to expectations.

The Page of Cups — Accepting defeat, recognizing one's own mistakes and misjudgments, foreseeing failure.

The Knight of Cups — Losing to a more knowledgeable opponent, lacking qualifications, plans not aligning with the real state of affairs.

The Queen of Cups — Sensing unpreparedness for a clash, anticipating failure in advance, doubting one's own ideals.

The King of Cups — Initiating a domestic scandal or a workplace dispute, losing to a competitor or adversary, realizing that one is not as clever as desired.

The Ace of Pentacles — Losing a property dispute, ending up with nothing, getting less than deserved.

The Two of Pentacles — Immoral behavior, remembering debts, trying to forget one's problems, feeling low, venting to a friend.

The Three of Pentacles — Increased competition, issues in the workplace or betrayal by colleagues, a decrease in the number of clients.

The Four of Pentacles — Concerns about security, attempts at revenge or fraud, a dangerous situation.

The Five of Pentacles — Losing a lawsuit, property confiscation, wasting time and energy on a futile struggle.

The Six of Pentacles — Alimony, fines, or penalties, spending money recklessly or getting into large debts.

The Seven of Pentacles — Settling conflicts after defeat, a period of calm and reevaluation, harboring grudges for a long time.

The Eight of Pentacles — Attempting to take over a business, someone trying to undermine or frame you, the danger of losing a lucrative position.

The Nine of Pentacles — Unfavorable attention to a profitable project, one's own venture not working out, being surpassed by a business competitor or rival.

The Ten of Pentacles — Internal conflicts or family disagreements, rivalry with colleagues, losing to someone's authority.

The Page of Pentacles — Trying to prove the viability of one's own idea, attempting to gain trust, a chance to meet a good partner.

The Knight of Pentacles — Abandoning a futile endeavor, leaving a pointless project, finding one's own path to prosperity.

The Queen of Pentacles — Missing a chance for love, pursuing a woman for her money, a bored and wealthy woman.

The King of Pentacles — Trying to attract the attention of a wealthy suitor, being dependent on others' approval, being impressionable.