Ten of Swords

What the card means

Upright

It is over, and the worst has already happened. Ten swords in a back - excessive to the point of being almost absurd: one would have done. A heavy card and a kind one by construction: there is nowhere lower, and the horizon is already lightening.

Reversed

The ending is done; the retelling is not. Going back to what finished and adding the tenth sword yourself. Sometimes a slow getting up, which is harder work than the fall was.

Love and relationships

Upright

The relationship is over, and finally. It hurts, and there is nothing left to finish off: it has all already happened.

Reversed

Retelling the parting in circles. Or getting up slowly, which is normal.

Work and business

Upright

The project is closed, the post cut, the business collapsed. The worst has happened - after this something else begins.

Reversed

Unable to let the old place go. Or recovering for longer than expected.

Money

Upright

A loss to count from again. This is the bottom rather than the slope.

Reversed

Climbing out of it slowly, and climbing out.

The card's advice

Do not add the tenth sword. What happened, happened in full - stop retelling it and look at the horizon: on this card it is light, and that is not consolation but what is drawn.

As the card of the day

A hard day after which it gets easier. Good for acknowledging and finishing. Poor for beginning.

What is depicted

A figure lies face down with ten swords in their back; the sky is black but there is a band of light at the horizon and the water is still. The right hand is folded in a blessing. There are ten swords - one would have been enough.

Zodiac sign and correspondences

Sun in Gemini - light arriving after the darkest hour.

With other cards

• Ten of Swords + Death — finished, and named as finished.
• Ten of Swords + The Sun — after the darkest, light - a rare and kind pairing.
• Ten of Swords + Six of Swords — it is all over, and what remains is to leave.