Rock bottom is a springboard

The final card in the Swords sequence, the Ten is a bleak sight. No matter the deck, this card shows us a scene of devastation, darkness, woe. Ten swords is a lot to bear, and this suit has been a heavy and difficult one.

There’s no getting away from it – this is a tough card to see. This is what rock bottom looks like – all hope seems to be gone.

Except it’s not. Hope is on the horizon, in the form of the sunrise. A new day will soon begin, and there is nowhere to go but upwards from here. Be with your feelings, sure, but it will soon be time to stand up, dust yourself off, and embrace the dawn.

In this way the Ten of Swords can sometimes (though not always) represent melodrama. Sometimes things just really are the worst – immense grief or pain takes over our lives. Other times, though, there is a light at the end, and a positive, can-do kind of attitude is needed to get past this bump in the road.

This is number ten, and so, is about endings. The closure of an especially tough chapter in your life, one that may have been dominated by your mind, by any or many of the issues we’ve dealt with in this suit. With the Ten of Pentacles, I talked about a shift of energy being on the horizon, and it is the same here. By the Ten, we’ve spent so long in this airy, heady suit of Swords, and it’s time for a change – to earth, fire, or water.

In a reading…

If you’re having a tough time right now, know that this is a moment in life, and like every other, it will pass. You will get through this. Be with how you feel, acknowledge that you are finding this hard. It’s okay.

If you’re feeling very ‘woe is me’ about something smaller, consider the role your mental attitude is playing in all of this. Are things really as bad as all that? Is there really no way forwards? Is it possible to downsize this issue a little, make it more manageable? Dig deep for the energy to stand up and take action, to overcome your feelings of despair and find positive routes forwards.

Be ready to start over, with a different kind of energy. Maybe it’s time to shift to a more emotional way of looking at the world – a little less logic and thinking, a little more feeling your way through. Maybe it’s time for some fire, inspiration, energy, dynamism. Or it could be time for physical movement, or to get out into nature. You’ll know yourself where you’re going when the time comes. For now, know that a chapter is ending and something new and different will soon be here.