Five of Swords

 The five of swords is a card that has a very interesting scene on display... the sky in this card is noticeably chaotic with grey clouds in very weird shapes that seem to obscure any source of light. There are three guys in the card.... one is far in the background, burying his face in his hands, another is midground staring far out in the distance, and the third guy is in the foreground with a smarmy smile on his face, looking away from the other two guys. He is holding three swords, two pointing upwards and one pointing down, with two additional swords on the ground by his feet, pointing in opposite directions. It seems he has defeated two opponents and walked off the winner. The question is what has he won? 


The five of swords is a card that suggests while victory may be yours, it isn’t a victory that has gained you anything and there’s a chance your victory wasn’t virtuous. The turmoil present in the scene is what overwhelmingly draws my attention when I look at the card. The number 5 is associated with risk and has a scattering energy, which clearly supports the idea that this is a pointless victory, sort of like an argument for arguments sake. What is the purpose? Just an excuse to exert your power over others? Ultimately thats just an abuse of power, because true power aims at having a beneficial outcome. 

When this card is drawn in your reading, you will want to reflect on any conflict you’re facing, or any situations where you feel the honor is lacking and there isn’t much to be gained from continuing to engage. What are you gaining from continuing to engage in chaos? Is it possible to re-engage from a more grounded place or is the situation irredeemable? I don’t think there is any experience that doesn’t have some lesson to be gained from it, but will the lesson be worth the disappointment or lack of gain?

Ultimately it will be up to you to decide...

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