Ten of Swords

Overview

The Ten of Swords is one of those cards that stops you in your tracks. There's no getting around the direness of the situation - ten swords piercing a fallen persons's back. This card shows the overwhelm and pain that comes from an ending. Worry, pain, and sadness have caught up with us. We can't go any further with all these swords sapping our energy and inhibiting our movement, growth, and life. So instead we have nothing to do but surrender - to feel, rest, and let go. The ending shown in this card isn't happy in the moment, but there's also a sun rising in the background, pushing the dark night sky away.  The pain from this conclusion is powerful, but not permanent. 

Keywords

Loss, sadness, overwhelm, injury. surrender.

Appears As

Giving up, being overcome by anxiety, worry, or sadness, an inescapably painful situation, a sad ending, darkness before the dawn, a dark night of the soul, bad thoughts catching up, admitting defeat, feeling helpless.