54-Five of Athames – Upright Salem Deck

When upright, the Five of Swords indicates that you are dealing with some type of loss, defeat or abandonment. There is an important spiritual lesson to be learned from this mournful experience. Sometimes this card indicates that you are the victor who is gloating over his triumph without regard for the feelings of those whom you have humiliated. Alternatively, you may be the loser who is feeling affronted, rejected, abandoned, or treated unfairly. Social science has demonstrated that experiences of humiliation can lead to feelings of anger and sometimes violence.

Keywords Upright: Winning in a dispute, the ability to do what you want without regard for the feelings of others, learning a spiritual lesson from losses and defeats, a parting of ways, burying the dead; to the victor belong the spoils.

Timing: 0 Aquarius–10 Aquarius. Tropical, 20 January–29 January. Sidereal, 13 February–22 February.
Astrology: Lovely and affectionate Venus in the first decan of airy Aquarius, realm of the Waite Knight/Thoth Prince of Swords (Air of Air) and the Star (Aquarius). Venus is linked to the Empress.
Number Symbolism: 5 – instability, disruption, loss, crisis, tension, competition, conflict.

Crowley/Thoth: Defeat, loss, unfavorable outcome, malice, treachery, slander, evil-speaking, intellect defeated by sentiment.

When Five of Athames is upright you can pretty much take it that life is going well but that’s when life takes us by surprise.  If Five of Athames is unclear it may help to choose a card from the Major Arcana to provide more insight into what it is Five of Athames is trying to tell you.  If you had a particular issue in  mind, or want to seek clarification on something else, you can also choose again to get more guidance.

This chosen card is part of your upright card reading for Five of Athames using cards from the Salem Tarot Deck. You will find many more tarot pages that will be of great help if you need tarot card meanings. Use the search at the bottom of the page. We have some amazing tarot books for you to browse. Please see below.

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Here are some snippets from a few of my favorite books

Complete Book of Tarot: A brief example of an accurate prediction might be useful. In my teens, I did not know my exact time of birth. It was not recorded on my birth certificate, and my father could only recall that I was born in the morning. My mother died when I was eight years old, so I could not ask her. Using a technique I found in an astrology book, I calculated that I must have been born around 9:04 in the morning. Years later I found my father’s notebook in the attic and discovered that he had written: ‘Anthony, born 9:05 AM.’ I was astounded that the astrological calculation was only a minute off from the time recorded in my father’s journal! Either this was an amazing coincidence, or there was some truth to all this astrology stuff.

Tarot Books

Complete Book of Tarot: When reversed, the Five of Swords suggests that you have been licking your wounds for too long. The time has come to confront your sense of defeat and humiliation and see if there is a way to effect reconciliation. Wallowing in self-pity only prolongs your hurt feelings and sense of inadequacy.

Complete Book of Tarot: A commentary from Yale’s Beineke Library states that ‘I Trionfi’ reflects Plutarch’s ‘contemplation of the successive victories of Love, Chastity, Death, Fame, Time, and Eternity. The poet becomes the moralist and philosopher who searches for meaning, as life passes from one stage to the next.’ 3 Similarly, the tarot’s major arcana reflect the triumph of love over secular powers and religious authorities as well as the struggles between vice and virtue on the journey toward the ‘promised land’ depicted on the final trump card.

• Do get in touch if you looked for Five of Athames and we don’t have it listed. We would be more than happy to source the information for you. We hope you visit again for more online tarot information!

Complete Book of Tarot: Four court cards in each suit, modeled after the European royal court consisting of a King, Queen, Knight, and Page.