THE FIVE OF SWORDS

TODAY'S CARD IS The Five of Swords. This version is from The Ferret Tarot, by Elaine Moertl:



For comparison, here's The Five of Swords in the Rider/ Waite/ Smith deck:



THE FIVE OF SWORDS: I just got out of my "gibbous moon crazies" and thought I'd go for a little bit of humor with The Five of Swords from The Ferret Tarot above. It's drawing is a fun way to represent that sort of childish defiant attitude that is definitely one of the traditional readings for this card.

After I drafted this post, I happened to look at my daily appointment book in which I have a Tarot card entered for each day (from a reading I do regularly that uses the entire deck). The card for today? The Five of Swords. I don't claim this is anything remarkable as I may have unconsciously remembered this. However, one of the great gifts of the Tarot, IMHO, is based in just this sort of helping us to recall ourselves, to nudge us toward home.

DIFFERENT TAKES ON THE FIVE OF SWORDS:

I find that fives in general in the Tarot have a sense of "separating one's self from the herd." E.g., during times of emotional and psychological growth, especially in the sword and pentacle fives.

Fear that history may repeat itself.

Can represent someone who's hard to get along with.

An attitude of "get them before they get you."

Envy: one's own, or the effects of others' envy of you on you.

Time to gather your resources (similar to The Ten of Wands).

In a transition: learning to let go of somethings, yet still clinging to others.

Help is being offered. Trust it, stop fighting it off.

Stop wasting your time and energy holding back, and get moving.

The only thing missing for things to change is your full participation.

Reclaiming aspects of self one has projected on to others, or buried under projections from others on to you.

Learning to work with others again.

Learning from others' mistakes; "taking a page from someone else's book."

Reclaiming, or a need to reclaim one's energies from relationships or projects that no longer nourish; reclaiming aspects of self.

Making an idea your own by working creatively with it.

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Resource: Tibetan Book of the Dead and The Major Arcana by Cheryl Lynne Bradley. Decades back when I was first studying the Tarot, I also read a Jungian take on The Tibetan Book of the Dead and was struck by resemblances to various cards in The Tarot. So when I recently ran across this article I was delighted.

Please see the top of the sidebar for my background with the Tarot and a recommendation to beginners.

‘til next time, keep reclaiming who you are and enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for some articles about Tarot.****