Five of Swords

What the card means

Upright

Winning in a way that costs more than losing. A man gathers up the swords and smirks; two others walk away. He won the argument and is standing alone - and the card is not about his being wrong, but about the rightness having bought nothing.

Reversed

Counting the cost and looking for the way back. Sometimes getting out of a fight that was not worth joining, in good time.

Love and relationships

Upright

A quarrel one of you won. Winning is worse than a draw: you are now right, and alone.

Reversed

Looking for how to make it up. Or finally leaving a relationship where arguing was the only form of conversation.

Work and business

Upright

A conflict you are right about and would do better not to press. Winning this argument will cost the working relationship.

Reversed

Counting the losses. Or declining a fight that is not worth it.

Money

Upright

A gain made at somebody else's expense. Count what it will cost you afterwards.

Reversed

Giving back, conceding, settling. Cheaper than it looked.

The card's advice

Ask what you will still have after winning. If the answer is only being right, give the argument away: you did not need it, and somebody else did.

As the card of the day

An unpleasant day. Good for declining an argument. Poor for proving anything.

What is depicted

A man with two swords on his shoulder picks a third off the ground and watches two figures walk away. The sky is torn. He is smirking, and there is nobody else on the shore.

Zodiac sign and correspondences

Venus in Aquarius - cold where warmth was expected.

With other cards

• Five of Swords + Seven of Swords — won it dishonestly and are now carrying that.
• Five of Swords + Six of Swords — after this there is nothing left but to go.
• Five of Swords + Five of Wands — an argument that turned into a victory over your own side.