Five of Swords: tarot meaning, upright and reversed

A figure gathers swords while two others walk away toward water.

Upright

conflict · costly victory

Winning an argument may damage the relationship or setting that made it matter.

Reversed

aftermath · reconciliation

Consider whether the conflict can end without repeating its terms.

In a reading

The position gives this card a particular task: a description of the situation, a challenge, or guidance. Read its image and meaning alongside the other cards and the question that brought them together.

Golden Dawn correspondence

Venus in Aquarius, 0–10 degrees. This is the attribution in Book T.

Sources

A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. These notes are original interpretations of the Waite–Smith imagery, informed by that text.