Minor Arcana · Swords
Five of Swords
The hollow win
Upright meaning
You can win this argument and lose more than you gain. Work out whether it is worth it.
Reversed meaning
Reconciliation, or friction still smouldering underneath.
What is in the picture
A man with a smirk holds three swords and watches two figures walk away towards the water. Two more swords lie on the ground, unclaimed. The sky is torn with cloud. He won, and there is nobody left standing with him. This is the card of what it costs to have to win.
Love
Point-scoring arguments are wearing the relationship down.
Career
A toxic competitive environment. Consider leaving.
About this suit
Swords are about thought, truth and conflict. The suit of speech, decisions and what runs through your head — fear included.
One thing you can do
In the next argument, ask yourself whether you want to be right or want it to be over. Those two answers produce very different sentences.
Is Five of Swords a yes or a no?
You might win, but you lose more than you gain. This card asks whether it is worth it.
Beside another card
A card changes meaning according to what sits next to it. These are the two most common pairings — tap through to read the other card.
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