Five of Swords

UPRIGHT

A smirking figure gathers three swords while two others lie on the ground, two defeated figures walking away in the background. The Five of Swords is the hollow win — the argument carried by force or cunning at the cost of the relationship, the victory whose price was higher than the prize. The card asks what was actually won.

REVERSED

Reversed, the Five of Swords is the willingness to repair, or the slow recognition that the win was not worth the wreckage. The card can name an attempt at reconciliation after a fight, the burying of a grudge that had eaten more than it deserved, or, less kindly, a defeat the querent must finally accept.

Return to the full deck, or draw the cards and see Five of Swords in context.