The Five of Swords as How Someone Sees You: An Opponent

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Five of Swords as how someone sees you means they see the figure holding the swords. Here is what the picture includes, upright and reversed.

If you want the short answer, the Five of Swords as how someone sees you means they see you as an opponent: someone who won at their cost, or someone they are trying to beat. It is a combative picture. Whether it hides hurt is worth asking, but the surface is a contest.

This is you as either the figure holding the swords or the ones walking away. They see a fight.

The Five of Swords upright as how someone sees you

Tina Gong's the Five of Swords guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with conflict, defeat, winning at a cost and walking away. When the card lands in a position that asks how someone sees you, I read those meanings as the image the person holds of you, which is not the same as who you are and not the same as what they feel. the Five of Swords as feelings covers what they feel; the Five of Swords as intentions covers what they plan. This page covers the picture. The general card meanings at Biddy Tarot are a useful second reference.

Upright, I read the Five of Swords as a person who sees you through a conflict: as someone who hurt them, outmanoeuvred them, or whom they need to outdo.

What I would not read into it is love in disguise, though sometimes it is.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm the person is right about you, or that the picture cannot change. No card lets a reader see inside another person's head. What a card can do is describe the kind of image that fits the person's behaviour toward you, and give you something to check against how they actually treat you.

The Five of Swords reversed as how someone sees you

Reversed, the Five of Swords as how someone sees you means the fight easing: they see you with less hostility and maybe regret, or they are still keeping score silently.

In your own question, ask whether anyone has moved toward repair. A reversed card here is a prompt to notice whether the picture the person holds has gone sour or gone wrong, not a verdict on you.

The Five of Swords as how an ex sees you

Asked how an ex sees you, the Five of Swords suggests they see the breakup as a contest and you as the other side. That is not a return. My guide to asking a psychic whether an ex will come back explains what a reading can and cannot say about that question.

The Five of Swords as how a new person sees you

For someone new, this card is a caution: they may see you as something to win. Watch disagreements.

How to check the picture against reality

Look for point-scoring and a need to be right with you.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the question you asked, the last disagreement and who walked away with what, and whether you feel safe disagreeing.

For comparison, the Seven of Swords as intentions and the Five of Wands as how someone sees you describe different pictures. The the Five of Swords card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Five of Swords as a yes or no and the Five of Swords as timing cover the other questions people most often ask of it. For a personal interpretation, my guide to a love psychic reading online explains how I work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.