The Lighter Side of the Ten of Swords

The Ten of Swords. The first thought that comes to mind when we see this card is "Ouch! That's gotta hurt!" Look, I'm not going to pretend that this card shares the same childlike optimism of The sun, or the 'Kumbaya' vibes of the Ten of Cups, but that doesn't mean we should be so quick to discard the Ten of Swords as nothing but a morbid omen of unavoidable pain.

Today, I'm going to explore the bright side of this dark card, and see if I can find a silver lining somewhere without venturing into irritating toxic positivity. Let's briefly delve into the symbolism of the card.

The Rising Sun

It's important to note that, beneath the impenetrable darkness of the sky in the background of the Rider Waite Smith card, there is a dawning sun. The darkness of this card is not final, the sun will rise again.

The Number Ten

We know that the number ten in each suit of the cards represents the culmination of the themes associated with that suit. The Ten of Cups shows us an abundance of love and all things associated with the suit of cups, but in the Ten of Swords we experience an abundance of the mental activity found in the suit of swords, in other words.....overthinking.

By the time we reach the ten, we have traversed through the grief of the Three of Swords, the psychological warfare of the five, the endless rumination of the nine, and have been left flat on the ground, immobilised by the swords we have collected through all of these battles.

In the ten, we have fought to the point of exhaustion, and discovered the futility of fighting any further. There's a hard earned wisdom and maturity in this card, which urges us to accept when the battle is over. Ultimately, the Ten of Swords is a card of surrender and peace.

So next time you see The Ten of Swords in a reading, instead of freaking out and throwing your tarot deck out of a window, remember the wise words of British '90's Pop- Rock band, Chumbawumba, "I get knocked down, but I get up again. They ain't never gonna keep me down."

-Jenni Mclaughlin Art.

The Ten of Swords from The Falling Card Tarot (left) available from https://www.jennimclaughlinart.com and the RSW deck (right).