Transmuting Dark Cards: 10 of Swords

A reflection in the ten of swords and integrating sympathy magic. Fear is not a prophecy.

Article · 5 min read · Aug 29, 2026 · 07:00

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Illustration for Transmuting Dark Cards: 10 of Swords

The 10 of swords. One of the more globally 'feared' cards of tarot. It is said to be the only actual card in a tarot deck that can truly represent real death. We're going to discuss it today, and the ways in which you can deal with this card if it comes out for you. This is transmutation of dark energy; from fear, back into love and protection.

One morning, I pulled this card, and then later that day had a conversation with someone who was telling me that three people close to them had recently passed away in a very short proximity. In that moment it was their grief that came through in the card.

Another day I pulled it when I was debating whether cutting a journey/trip short by one day and I was asking about the possibilities of those different options. The card came through in response to cutting the trip short, and I chose to read it as the death/ending of that trip before the next stage of abundance. On my bus home from the trip there was a man that got on the bus holding a knife, and he also had some heavy energy that I quite clearly felt. I was reminded of the ten of swords card in that moment, and took it as a warning to put up protection. I said in my head, "He hops off the bus on the next stop". Surely enough, he did get off on the next stop. And all in all, the continued outcome did work out better to cut that trip short.

I have previously mentioned sympathy magic in another article, but that is by far the best way to deal with this card. Sympathy magic holds some core concepts, one of which being "the belief that mimicking an intended result causes it to happen (e.g., using red items or fire to evoke passion or courage)". [Reference]

So an example with this card, depending on the tarot card you have, you review the imagery and the colours. Most ten of swords cards are heavy with their imagery.

The one I regularly use is in the Thoth deck, representing "the logical destruction of false, rigid, or over-extended mental constructs" and shows "the chaotic collapse of reason when thought goes too far and becomes toxic to the self" [Reference].

Tetragrammaton's explanation of the card is also fascinating. They write, "When we pull this card, we can expect the end of a project. If executed well, it will be a great thing. Otherwise, the plots and schemes we’ve formed will come crashing down. Our ideas, good and bad, will here be brought into reality."

How to do sympathy magic with the ten of swords and transmute the energy:

Transmutation here is the alchemy in shifting the energetic meaning of a symbol.

You want to reflect on the card that you personally have, as mentioned previously, different cards have different colours and imagery. All however will have ten swords, which represent strength and the power that comes apart in order to step into a new chapter.

For a real example, my card in the Thoth deck is red and yellow, like the energy of fire. It is the astrological symbol for the Sun in Gemini, which is reflecting the internal mind and intellect (as well as could be reflecting travel experiences). The ten swords are all pointing towards the center, but they are jagged and breaking, and there are shards in the background. The visual is dense.

With doing sympathy magic, we could look at this card and think, okay, this card reflects mental strain, the sharp feeling of the sword - I'm going to take a sharp pencil and visualise it as the sword, and then scribble on a piece of paper for 10 seconds (or minutes). I'm going to keep scribbling until my thoughts and energy is clear, and I feel ready to move on with my day".

That is a simple form of sympathy magic you could do. You're using the sharp pencil as a representation of the sword, and you're using your mental energy to scribble on the paper. You could even choose red paper, or another colour that's on the tarot card.

Next time you pull a card that's 'dark' or 'heavy', try this out. This is a technique to help you not be afraid of your own shadow side.

Another example of how this all plays out is the number 666. Widely feared and associated with dark forces. In numerology it can have multiple meanings. I held a lot of fear around this number for a long time because I had experiences that I saw the number and then later on certain things fell apart. More recently there's been a shift. I had a mentor say to me, "You know, the 666 is actually a reminder to stay positive?"

This was a fascinating perspective change. Now if I see the number, instead of reflecting on what I have to change or if I'm doing the wrong thing, I instead will see it as a synchronicity reminder of keeping positive with my energy, and the infinite ways that reflects back in my life.

As we go on, we need to differentiate fear and intuition from the ego. There is a strong difference between made-up fear (including anxiety) or actual danger. We'll dive deeper into that another day soon.

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