Swords · minor arcana · Air
The Five of Swords tarot card meaning: upright, a hollow victory; reversed, reconciliation, walking away from a pointless fight, or lingering resentment. Its Rider–Waite picture shows five swords.
Waite, Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911; Golden Dawn, Book T.
A hollow victory. Someone wins the argument but loses goodwill, and the cost may outweigh the gain.
The Five of Swords is conflict with a hollow victory: winning at all costs, arguments where everyone loses something, and tension that lingers. Someone may walk away with the prize, but the relationship or the reputation pays for it.
Reconciliation, walking away from a pointless fight, or lingering resentment.
Reversed, the conflict ends: reconciliation, regret, or walking away from a fight not worth having. It can also mean letting go of a grudge that has outlived the fight.
18 pages · printable
Every retrograde, eclipse, new and full moon of 2027 to the minute, already converted to your city. A month to a page, ready to print.
Primary source
“Degradation, destruction, revocation, infamy, dishonour, loss, with the variants and analogues of these.”
“The same; burial and obsequies.”
The Five of Swords sits where the Fives row crosses the Swords column; its cell shows Venus in Aquarius, the Book T decan.
How this card is built
Golden Dawn correspondences
In Book T (1888) the Five of Swords is Venus in Aquarius: the first decan of Aquarius, 0°–10°. In 2026 the Sun passes through it from Jan 20 to Jan 29, (UTC).
| Book T decan | Venus in Aquarius |
|---|---|
| Zodiac span | 0°–10° Aquarius decan 1 of 3 |
| Sun in this decan, 2026 | Jan 20 – Jan 29, 2026 UTC |
| Sign | Aquarius Sun there Jan 20 – Feb 18, 2026 |
| Other decans of Aquarius | Six of Swords Mercury, 10°–20° Seven of Swords Moon, 20°–30° |
| Major arcana card of Aquarius | The Star |
The Aquarius page lists the modern decan rulers (Uranus, Mercury, Venus); Book T keeps the older Chaldean order — Venus, Mercury, Moon.
Data, not interpretation
Few cards come up more often in 2026: the Five of Swords is drawn 8 times against an even share of 4.7, three times reversed — joint 6th of 78, level with 5 other cards. The draws bunch in August, which has 3 of them. During its decan, it is drawn once.
Dates in 2026: Jan 25 · Feb 7 · Apr 24 (reversed) · Jul 5 (reversed) · Aug 24 · Aug 26 (reversed) · Aug 31 · Nov 11
The image
A smirking man gathers up swords while two defeated figures walk away toward the water. Two swords lie on the ground and the sky is torn by wind.
Upright, arguments, power games or hurtful words. Reversed, making peace after a fight.
They feel resentment or tension after a conflict.
Office politics, ruthless competition or conflict that leaves everyone worse off. Workplace conflict or a win that costs too much.
No. It reads as a no whichever way up it lands. It has little company among the Swords, where only 6 of the 14 say no. Among the other Fives, the Five of Wands says maybe, while the other two agree.
Health: like every card of Swords, it points to mental strain, sleep and worry. The suit of Swords →
If you drew it today
Ask whether being right is worth what it will cost.
How neighboring cards change the reading of the Five of Swords →
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
AstroHot. “Five of Swords Tarot Card Meaning: Upright and Reversed.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/tarot/cards/five-of-swords/
{{cite web |title=Five of Swords Tarot Card Meaning: Upright and Reversed |url=https://astrohot.com/tarot/cards/five-of-swords/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-27}}
Free · PDF · 18 pages
Every retrograde, eclipse, new and full moon of 2027 — to the minute, printed in your own time zone.