FOUR PILLARS SOCIETY TAROT: FIVE OF SWORDS

Notes on: The Five of Swords

(Taste of Defeat)

Artist’s Notes:
 
One sword, so long unchallenged that generations of spiders have made their webs around it. The vanquished swords lie on the ground, their owners consigned to dirt and ignominy. Yet what did the victor have to surrender in order to win? How did he compromise himself? Perhaps ultimately his defeated foes lost with greater integrity while he had to become something else in order to emerge victorious. At the end, when all that remains are swords, myths and shadows, who can say who won the greater prize?
 
 
About the Archetype:
 
The suit of swords represents thoughts, ideas, plans, and conflicts. Fives stand for conflict, change, and breaking through to higher thought. The five of swords thus represents defeat, whether in battle or in inner conflicts. It often means the defeat that comes when we realize how much we have betrayed our own principles in the desire to win. Ultimately no matter how the conflict ends, we end up defeated having lost the intent that gave rise to the conflict in the first place.
 
Is winning worth abandoning our principles and corrupting our values?
 
 
Astrological Correspondence:
 
Venus in Aquarius – Venus in Aquarius is innovative in how it chooses to love. Often a loner, it is energy drawn towards the new and different and hates any aspect of getting caught in a rut. This can result in sensitivity to the feelings and desires of others but a tendency to get bored and so they may sabotage their relationships in the search for innovation.
 
 
In a Reading:
 
When the Five of Swords turns up in a reading, it often refers to a loss, usually one that feels somewhat humiliating. It may also represent a loss when someone has won through unethical or unfair means and has become humiliated because of it. If it refers to an event that has not happened yet, it could be a warning against going into an unwinnable battle or one where winning it will turn into a humiliating defeat
 
When the Five of Swords comes up reversed or bad aspect, it normally refers to losses in the past that the person has not recovered from and still has a lot of energy about that is causing us to be reluctant to reengage.
–GAR
 
 
Fate’s Whisper:
 
How do you defeat a foe that is superior in every fashion? This is the question the Spider has asked many who came to him with their inquiries. Before you live you have been presented a foe that will always be better, no matter how much you grow or the time you spend expanding your horizons. The warriors will use it to become greater versions of themselves while the weak will use it to justify their poor decisions. Regardless of the path, the victory you get from it will always be hollow. When you are presented this foe what will be a victim or muse?
-NF