V, Suit of SwordsFive of Swords tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedFive of Swords in shortIn short
The Five of Swords is a fight one person won and everyone lost. A smiling man gathers the swords while two beaten figures walk off toward the sea. Ask yourself if winning like this is worth the cost.
- Conflict
- Defeat
- Hollow win
Piece oneThe torn sky
Grey clouds, torn into jagged strips, race over a pale blue sky. Waite doesn't describe the weather. His meanings are harsh: degradation, destruction, dishonor, loss. The fight has ended. The air hasn't calmed.
"Degradation, destruction, revocation, infamy, dishonor, loss..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe torn sky keeps the fight going after it's over. The swords are down and the losers are walking off, but the clouds still look slashed. They run on a slant, the same way the victor's eye runs toward the two men at the water. The weather carries the mood nobody says out loud.
Piece twoThe ones who leave
Two figures walk toward the water, heads down, one with an orange cloak over his shoulder. Waite calls them retreating and dejected. They lost the fight and their swords.
"A disdainful man looks after two retreating and dejected figures."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe two figures show the cost of the win. They walk toward the water, heads down, empty handed, and the victor watches them go. Without them the card would be a man holding swords. With them it's a quarrel, and you can see who lost. One carries a cloak over his shoulder, all that's left to him.
Piece threeThe victor
A red haired man in a green tunic smiles back at the others, two swords on his shoulder. Waite calls him disdainful, the master in possession of the field. He won, and he's enjoying it.
"He is the master in possession of the field."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe victor is the centre of the card, and he knows it. He stands nearest to you, biggest and brightest, with three swords in hand and on his shoulder. His smile turns back toward the two leaving. The fallen swords on the sand are the next thing he'll pick up. Waite calls him disdainful, and the face fits.
Piece fourThe fallen swords
Two swords lie on the sand where the losers dropped them. Waite says their swords lie upon the ground. The winner will soon pick them up too.
"Their swords lie upon the ground."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe fallen swords are what the losers gave up. They lie on the sand in the foreground, closest to you, so the loss is the first thing you step over. The victor already holds three; these two complete the five. They also explain the walk to the water: men without swords have nothing left to fight with.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
-
The torn sky
Warm grey slashes across washed-out blue: a calm sky cut by sharp edges. The Knight of Swords rides under the same torn clouds, ragged strips pulled one way by a strong wind. There the wind matches his charge. In the Three of Swords the clouds close in heavy and round over a pierced heart. Here they come after the fight, ripped and still moving.
-
The ones who leave
Dull yellow and rust, faded beside the winner's green and red. Walking away comes back in the Eight of Cups, where a figure in a red cloak climbs off into the night with a staff. In the Five of Cups a figure in a black cloak stands head down over spilled cups. Those figures grieve alone. These two lost to someone, and he's watching.
Also in -
The victor
Flame orange hair and moss green cloth: the brightest figure here, and the one who took everything. A man with an armful of swords returns in the Seven of Swords, red capped, slipping away from a camp with five blades. That one glances back to see if he's been caught. This one looks back to watch the losers go.
Also in -
The fallen swords
Steel on dusty pink sand, dark hilts. Empty ground, a beach in grey weather. In the Four of Swords a single sword lies flat along a tomb, set down on purpose while a knight rests. These were dropped. The Eight of Swords pushes its blades upright into wet ground around a woman. Here they lie flat on dry sand, waiting for the next hand.
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
Five of SwordsUpright
Conflict with a hollow win. Waite's words: degradation, destruction, revocation, infamy, dishonor, loss. Someone takes everything and leaves bad feeling behind.
You may be the winner or the one walking away. Look at the cost. A point proven can cost you a friend.
Five of SwordsReversed
Waite says the meaning stays, and adds burial and obsequies. The loss weighs more, or an ending has to be accepted.
Many readers also see a chance to make peace: put the swords down and leave a battle that isn't worth it.
Yes or noNo.
No. Even a win here brings loss, dishonor and broken ties. Weigh the price.
Five of Swords in your lifeIn your life
Love
Fights someone has to win. Decide if being right matters more than the two of you.
Work
Office politics, a rival, an unfair win. Protect yourself. Play clean.
Money
A loss, or a gain at someone's expense. Read the terms. Keep it fair.
Health
Conflict wears you down. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor.
Spirituality
Drop the need to win. Some fights are best left.
Advice
Pick your battles. Leave the ones that cost more than they give.
As a person
Competitive, sharp. Likes to win, careless about who gets hurt.
Past, present, future
Past: a fight that left a mark. Present: conflict, or a hollow win. Future: pride or peace.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Suit
- Swords
- Element
- Air
- Astrology
- Venus in Aquarius
- Sephira
- Geburah
- Upright
- Degradation
- Reversed
- Burial
QuestionsCommon questions
Yes, a hard one. Waite's words: degradation, dishonor, loss. Even the winner loses something.
Arguments, pride, hurt. Someone wants to win more than to understand. Make peace before it costs you both.
No. Any win costs too much.
Waite calls them retreating and dejected. They lost their swords to the man in front: defeat, and the people a win leaves hurt.
Venus in Aquarius, an air sign, in the Golden Dawn system.
Waite sees a disdainful man holding the field while two dejected figures leave their swords behind: degradation, destruction, dishonor, loss.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Element, decan and sephira: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 14 Swords