The Two of Swords as Feelings: Torn, Guarded and Refusing to Look

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Two of Swords sits blindfolded with two blades crossed. Here is what I would read when it appears as someone's feelings, and why the blindfold is chosen.

If you want the short answer, I would read the Two of Swords as feelings that are conflicted and defended. In a feelings position the card suggests the person feels something for you and something that pulls the other way, and has dealt with it by not looking at either. It does not tell you which sword wins. It tells you the person has decided, for now, not to decide.

This is a card of feeling held at arm's length by the person who has it. It is frustrating from the outside and uncomfortable from the inside.

The Two of Swords upright as feelings

Tina Gong's the Two of Swords guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with indecision, stalemate, a difficult choice and avoidance. When the card lands in a position that asks how someone feels about you, I read those meanings as the shape of the feeling rather than as a verdict on the person.

Upright, I read the Two of Swords as a person who is torn about you: there is a pull toward you and a reason against, and rather than weigh them, they have put on the blindfold and sat very still. The feeling is there. It is being actively not felt.

What I would not read into it is coldness. The figure's heart is not absent; it is guarded by two crossed blades, and guarding takes effort. Someone who did not feel anything would not need the swords.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm what the person is torn between, that they will ever take the blindfold off, or that choosing would go your way. No card lets a reader check a real person's private feelings. What a card can do is give you an honest picture of the feeling you are hoping for or fearing, and a prompt to compare it with how the person actually behaves.

The Two of Swords reversed as feelings

Reversed, the Two of Swords is often read as a decision made, information revealed, or overwhelm. As feelings, I read the reversal as the person finally looking at what they feel about you, which can bring them toward you or settle them away, or as the stalemate collapsing into confusion rather than clarity.

In your own question, ask which fits. Has the person recently become clearer about you, in either direction? Or have they become more overwhelmed and less able to say anything at all? A reversed card is a prompt to notice which of those is true from what you can see, not a diagnosis of the other person.

The Two of Swords as an ex's feelings

Asked about an ex, the Two of Swords can suggest that they still feel torn about you and are managing it by not thinking about it. That is common after an ending that was not clean. It is not a sign of return. It is a sign that the person has not finished, and may be in no hurry to. My guide to asking a psychic whether an ex will come back explains what a reading can and cannot say about that question.

The Two of Swords as a new person's feelings

For someone new, this card describes someone who feels something and has a reason not to act, and is sitting between the two. Pressure makes the swords cross harder. Honesty about your own position sometimes lets them take the blindfold off.

What to watch for in their behaviour

Look for guarded stillness: they are not cold and not warm, they avoid the subject of what you are to each other, they seem to be holding something very carefully. A Two of Swords feeling is visible as a refusal to look. Whether it ends is up to them.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the question you asked, what the person might be torn between, and how long you are willing to wait beside someone who will not look. The third note is yours. Another draw will mostly reflect the same blindfold.

For comparison, the Hanged Man as feelings and the Seven of Cups as feelings describe different feelings. The the Two of Swords card meaning page covers the card outside feelings questions, and the general card meanings at Biddy Tarot are a useful second reference. You can practise a single-card reflection with the free daily tarot tool. 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.