Five of Swords
Previously on this thread I made a brief comment regarding Robin's "Five of Swords." I still feel the figure in the foreground has a personality I wouldn't want to be around for any period of time. Words and phrases such as: smug, nasty, gloating, full of himself, cares not for the feelings of others, winning at all costs, laughing behind one's back, having something over on someone, and more come to mind when I see the guy's snarky smile.
I'm reminded of childhood, where relationships and situations weren't always as rosy as we adults would like to remember them as. Children could be and occasionally were cruel. Their unkind words could cut deeply, resulting in wounds such as that which could be inflicted by the swords the guy is carrying. And nasty words are not easily forgotten forever...they surface (sometimes unbidden) years later. Of course adults are also capable of such cutting remarks...both to other adults and to children. Terrible damage can be done in such cases...even irrevocable damage. It's not surprising that the two men in the background of the Five of Swords don't even want to look at the guy in the foreground. Heaven knows what someone like that distasteful fellow may have said or done.
Since the Five of Swords is an air card and knowledge has a way of figuring into cards with this element, perhaps the foreground figure knows something that is damaging to the other two...even to the point of using blackmail. The laughing fellow is very dangerous in this case, using information to obtain power over others. No matter what, it seems communication has been severed completely and possibly forever between the two men in the background with the guy in the foreground.
When this card comes up in a reading (depending on querent, question, spread and where it lands), I have more than once gently warned the querent that someone in their life may be capable of cruelty, cheating or may be deceitful (not on the up and up), whether the querent is aware of it or not. Interestingly, Robin wrote in her book that, "The two swords next to him represent wealth and ability. He hasn't taken them up, because he hasn't earned them fairly..."
While I pride myself that folks wouldn't generally describe me as someone who acts like this rotten fellow, at least not regularly, if this card comes up in a personal reading and it seems the guy MAY represent me...I think over the situation long and hard, a self-evaluation so to speak, to see if or how my actions may have evoked someone to see me in this light. We're all capable of thinking unkind thoughts, but every so often such thoughts may creep into our facial jestures or body language or even our writing. After all, everyone is capable of a bad day! In that case, it's up to me to make matters right again.
If the guy in the foreground doesn't change his attitude or ways, it would be hard to see a sunny future for him. Instead, loneliness and despair would eventually cloud over any of his so-called victories...