I’ve written pretty extensively about the Five of Swords before. Essentially, it is a card of change and conflict.
It turned up again for me today, as I faced contention and disdain over some of my political convictions. I won’t go into the specifics here, beyond disclosing that I sometimes express what I consider to be well-informed and heartfelt opinions that defy whatever is left of American political consensus. When one expresses disdain for both of the major political parties, and for our political economy in general, it seems to ruffle a lot of feathers.
I’m trying to find a way to be more deliberate in expressing such opinions. I do believe that it’s important that someone challenge conventional wisdom, particularly when that “wisdom” has led us to increasing disfunction, unpleasantness and peril. On the other hand, I do not like being the target of folks’ ire, particularly when some of those folks are people with whom I have shared moments of friendship, inspiration and joy.
So this card, for me, at this time, represents questions about the nature of conflict in political discourse and how to approach it. I don’t have the answers yet, or maybe even all of the questions – but at least I’ve begun to consider the problem in an intentional way.