Keywords: Accepting what you can't change, Starting where you are at, Leaving an Adversarial Situation Behind, Winning the Battle but Losing the War
The Five of Swords Sucks. It represents a situation that you wish would change, but it won't. What to do? Well you have three options: Accept it. Change it. Leave it. If you can't accept or change it and haven't left it, this situation will drain you (and may even make you ill eventually). This card can represent a relationship, a job, an addiction, a dynamic or a self-defeating belief. When you know you want something to be different but can't or won't change it or accept it, this causes cognitive dissonance=pain. Prolonged suffering is not good for you! So do what you need to do to resolve this situation as soon as you can. If this card shows up representing a partner, it is someone who will need to win at all costs...even the relationship.
Reversed: I don't use reverse cards, as every card has inherently positive and challenging aspects, depending on the client and the reading.