The Five of Swords as Intentions: To Win, Whatever It Costs You

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Five of Swords as intentions is a plan to walk off with the swords. Here is what I would read in it, upright and reversed, and why it should be taken seriously.

If you want the short answer, I would read the Five of Swords as intentions that are competitive and self-serving. In an intentions position the card suggests the person means to come out ahead in whatever is between you: to have the last word, to keep the upper hand, to win the breakup or the argument or the comparison. The intention is not warm. It may contain hurt, and hurt that plans like this is still planning to hurt.

This is the figure collecting swords while the others walk away. They intend to be the one left holding the blades. They have not asked what the blades are for.

The Five of Swords upright as intentions

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 what someone intends toward you, I read those meanings as the shape of their plan rather than as a promise about what they will do. Feelings and intentions are different questions; the Five of Swords as feelings covers the first, and this page covers the second. The general card meanings at Biddy Tarot are a useful second reference.

Upright, I read the Five of Swords as a person who intends to prevail: to be right, to be seen to have moved on first, to take something from the situation even if it leaves the situation in ruins. There may be a wound underneath. The intention is still to win rather than to connect, and the card is honest enough to show it early.

What I would not read into it is love in disguise. Sometimes it is there. More often the Five of Swords describes a person who would rather hold the swords than hold you.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm the person is deliberately cruel, that they cannot change, or that the hurt in the picture is only yours. No card lets a reader see another person's plans. What a card can do is describe the kind of intention that fits the person's behaviour, and give you something to check against what they actually do.

The Five of Swords reversed as intentions

Reversed, the Five of Swords as intentions describes a plan to make amends or a grudge that will not die: a person who has realised the win cost them something and intends to repair it, or one who lost and intends to keep the score forever. The first is a genuine move toward you. The second is the fight continuing by other means.

In your own question, ask whether the person has made any real move toward repair, or whether they are still keeping count of a fight you thought was over. A reversed card as intentions is a prompt to compare what is said with what is done, not a diagnosis of bad faith.

The Five of Swords as an ex's intentions

Asked about an ex, the Five of Swords as intentions usually describes someone still in the contest: wanting to be seen as the one who won, who moved on first, who was wronged. That is engagement without warmth. It is not an intention to return, and if it became one, the swords would come with it. 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 a new person's intentions

For someone new, this card is a caution: the person may intend you as something to win, and in winning there is no room for you. Watch how they treat you in a disagreement. That is where this card proves itself or dissolves.

What their intentions look like in action

Look for point-scoring: needing to be right, bringing up old losses, charm that ends when challenged. A Five of Swords intention looks like a person collecting swords. If you walk away from conversations feeling defeated, trust that.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the question you asked, the last three disagreements and who walked away with what, and whether you feel safe with this person when you are not agreeing with them. The third note is the one that matters.

For comparison, the Seven of Swords as intentions and the Devil as intentions describe different intentions. The the Five of Swords card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Five of Swords as timing and the Five of Swords as a yes or no 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.