Tarot

The conflict that was brewing in the preceding Swords cards has come to its zenith in the Ten of Swords. Changes were not made or we haven’t moved out of that difficult situation so events seem to have made sure that we are freed from oppression. The only problem is we cannot see the positive reason for the universe suddenly delivering the ‘no’ card.

The Tens relate to abundance and while in the Cups and Pentacles, being overwhelmed with love and resources can feel good, in the Wands, we can have too many irons in the fire. In the Ten of Swords, we are overdoing our response to the way life challenges us to grow.

Something has been stripped from us that we desperately believed we needed. Until we discover that ‘no’ usually precedes a period of greater fulfillment, we will suffer. The most unusual thing about the Ten of Swords is that the man not only has a back full of swords, he has one in his ear! He seems to have cut off his ability to hear good advice from others and would rather wallow in his depression.

This card can appear when others have tired of listening to our problems and so not only are we depressed, we have no friends left to console us. We sound like a broken record, stuck in a rut of repeating only the negative. If you'd like life to present its positive aspects - stop dwelling on the negative.

The energy surrounding the Ten of Swords has absolutely nowhere to go, but up. The worst has already happened, but we make the choice of when grieving stops and healing begins. If we are turning to others for guidance, we need to listen. If we have problems with one person in our lives, the conflict can be equally shared. If we have problems with everyone however, chances are the condition is our own.

The Ten of Swords is a wake up call that we are being melodramatic and if we could pull our face out of the mud puddle we would see that the sun is rising. All things change and in time this too shall pass. Today is a perfect day to start believing again. It is a perfect day to begin a perfect day.

Keywords: The darkest hour before the dawn. Rock bottom. Feeling victimized and helpless in rectifying a bad situation. Overly critical, fearful or over dramatizing defeat. Allowing others to walk all over you. Feeling like things cannot get any worse. Not recognizing the valuable lesson in losing. Not seeing that there is nowhere to go but up.

Reversed: Surviving a difficult situation. Wallowing in negativity after a period of conflict. A change in outlook that comes from crisis. Seeing adversity as strengthening character. Things are not as bad as you make them out to be.