Five of Swords tarot card from the Simply Tarot deck

Five of Swords Tarot Card Meaning

The Sword Wielder

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Conflict • Pride • Defeat

The Five of Swords shows a battle or confrontation of some sort. Consider your motivations carefully, and capacity to win more so. Even if you think you can win, is the resultant fallout really worth it? With rational consideration you may decide to let this one go.

The Subject is held back from doing, or completing, something they have set out to achieve and this is causing upset. There are now parameters or boundaries that were not expected and they may feel duped and that they have been treated unfairly.

The Subject could be feeling detached, excluded and over-looked. These new found constraints, and/or the way in which the Subject has been treated, are clearly points of anger and frustration. On this occasion the Subject may benefit from accepting the state of play and moving on rather than reacting in an antagonistic way.

Any action on the Subject’s part is unlikely to make things better, not least in the way they want to see it improve. For now, this situation, desire, or person, is not available to them and although it tempting to fight back, the reality is that it is not going to help, the conflict will only create worse issues. The Subject should consider avoiding this battle in order to win the war.

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Love & Relationships

Winning becomes meaningless once emotional damage outweighs the victory itself. Pride, defensiveness or the need to be right may be eroding intimacy piece by piece beneath the surface. Some arguments continue long after affection has quietly left the room.

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Material Life

Conflict erodes foundations piece by piece. Pride, hostility or constant defensiveness create instability that spreads far beyond the original disagreement itself, poisoning trust, cooperation and emotional safety alike. Some victories cost far more than they ever return.

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Notes from the Artist

The Swords appear to be pointing in the same direction - a point of contention, a battle, a conflict. The clouds are very stormy and turbulent. To pursue the conflict at this time is to inflame the situation because the energies are very strong on both sides.