Five of Swords upright
A figure stands smirking with three swords; two more lie at his feet; defeated figures walk away. He won. He doesn't look better for it.
Question the cost. The Five of Swords is the card of victories not worth winning. Pride here is the thing to examine.
Five of Swords reversed
Reversed, the willingness to repair starts. Conflict is being acknowledged for what it cost rather than what was 'won.'
Keywords
- pyrrhic victory
- ego conflict
- cost of winning
- discord
- tension
Where this reading comes from
Meaning authored from the Rider-Waite-Smith reader tradition rather than copied from any single modern source.
Common questions
- What does Five of Swords mean?
- The pyrrhic victory - sword-strewn ground, no one cheering. A figure stands smirking with three swords; two more lie at his feet; defeated figures walk away. He won. He doesn't look better for it.
- What does Five of Swords mean reversed?
- Reversed, the willingness to repair starts. Conflict is being acknowledged for what it cost rather than what was 'won.'
- Is Five of Swords a good card to draw?
- Five of Swords belongs to the swords suit, which deals with thought, conflict and truth. No card is simply good or bad; what it means depends on the question and where it lands in the spread.
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