Ten of Swords

Meanings according to Rider-Waite:

ASTROLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Mars/Saturn as a symbol of an artificial, violent end.

TEN OF SWORDS Like the Death card, the Ten of Swords personifies completion, the end of something, a separation. The difference lies in the fact that Death signifies a natural end, while the Ten of Swords represents an artificial, sometimes violent end — that is, one that comes "out of its proper time." And although such an end is often accompanied by heavy, painful experiences, this is not necessarily the case: such a multitude of swords symbolizes the mighty power of the mind, which has decided to "draw a line" under something. These could have been important, enriching experiences, but they could also have been unpleasant situations, bad habits, or a difficult, unfavourable period in life. One way or another, this is a bitter moment of parting with someone or something. What sensation arises within us at this point — tragic loss or relief, as after a surgical operation — can only be determined by context. Likewise, whether such an intervention was necessary or not, whether it was timely or not, will be told to us only by the remaining cards of the spread.

From the book: Hajo Banzhaf. THE TAROT HANDBOOK. Translated from German by E. Kolesov. Publisher: Centre for Astrological Research, 1999.

TEN OF SWORDS Ruin, Destruction The third decan of Gemini, from June 11 to June 21. Astrological equivalents: Capricorn, Saturn, Mars, the Tenth House. The last decan of Gemini symbolizes the transformative work of thought within concrete reality. Gathering information about everything and actively engaging with pressing everyday matters, consciousness comprehends its participation in the vast world, strives to overcome its detachment from it, and learns to act without disrupting the harmonious connection of its parts. Vitality is given to this decan by its ruler, the Sun. The third decan of Gemini possesses a practical grip, an unrestrained curiosity (both for household trifles and for world problems), and a readiness to bustle about for any reason: consciousness lives in the outer world, and everything affects it. This sifting through diverse information about the world and the desire to embrace the unembraceable is connected with literature, giving representatives of this decan literary inclinations or making them book-lovers. Endless life experiments often leave no time to draw serious conclusions from them — and the recorded word helps to attune oneself to a more responsible attitude toward oneself, one's duty, and one's true life task. Tactics must be accompanied by strategy: calculation of action — by self-comprehension. Life and thought are two sides of a single whole, and the classic phrase "being determines consciousness" can be understood in two ways: our thinking reflects the world, but thought also influences life. It is characteristic of a person to "catch oneself in a thought," and yet at times one's hidden intentions are embodied in life before one has had time to realize their consequences. Thought, striving toward the new, destroys the former stable existence: the spirit proves to be ruinous for inert matter. The worst evil — the thought that brings DEATH to the outlived for the sake of another existence — is hidden within the human being himself. On the TAROT card a fallen man is depicted: ten swords have pierced his body along the spine. They pour around the figure a white light that disperses the gloom. Thus is symbolically depicted the descent of spirit into matter, which destroys all that is perishable so that the eternal may be revealed. But this is also the nailing of thought itself to the earth: spirit in matter finds its death. Overcoming external bustle and comprehending deeper values gives the opportunity to find one's concrete path of life-creation and to pass from the airy element of thought to the dense matter of earth. The TEN OF SWORDS symbolizes a certain obstacle, a certain height that must be taken at all costs; a certain abyss into which one must descend (or not fall); in any case, one must overcome it, one way or another. This card fully embodies the sign of Capricorn and its antagonist — Cancer. At the level of the TEN OF SWORDS you see the physical result of your previous actions. What they will be — pleasant or unpleasant — depends on your actions. In the life of a person who sets high goals before himself, the trials may be stronger than in the life of one who is content with little. At the level of the TEN OF SWORDS occurs the division of what is called the "middle path," the "upper" and the "lower." When this card falls in a spread, a person, as a rule, is frightened. But this card will manifest strongly in people with "great ambition." Temporary financial constraints and depression may be regarded as weak manifestations of this card.

UPRIGHT POSITION Meaning of the card in the upright position: grief, sufferings, complaints, consolations, attachments, love, home, peaceful way of life (Cancer). This card contains a dilemma: here before you stands an obstacle; you may try to overcome it, or you may not overcome it, but pitch your tents before it and rest content with that. You have already gone far enough that there is no need to be ashamed of such a decision, and so the TEN OF SWORDS is, in a sense, a gateway to the upper, transcendent world. At the same time, overcoming the obstacles symbolized by this card opens the gates to a new level and elevates (or returns) us to the ACE OF PENTACLES. According to researchers, the TEN OF SWORDS is the most terrible card of the TAROT. It signifies a broken vessel. And yet this is by no means always as terrible as it seems. To break the vessel of bondage does not necessarily mean something dreadful. It may also be the concluding stage of liberation.

REVERSED POSITION In the reversed position, the TEN OF SWORDS may yield an absence of results. At the same time, it also signifies the impossibility of further advancement. Moreover, the obstacle may consist not only in a barrier, but also in success. At the level of the body (health) this card may play out as fever, inflammation, high temperature. Capricorn is connected with height and trials. At the social level, the TEN OF SWORDS may also signify such a terrible trial as the trial of power, honour, popularity. The TEN OF SWORDS is a sophisticated trial, and it is worth thinking carefully before entering into single combat with it — for one may rise very high, and one may fall very deep. Both are equally dangerous. In the reversed position, in the TEN OF SWORDS Cancer plays out through the planet Jupiter: gain, winnings, a gift, success, power, authority — and at the same time an unwillingness to go further — resting on one's laurels.