Ten of Swords

Ten of Swords – The Earth’s Lament

From the branch, the cockatoo tilts its head and watches. Where once the sky carried songs of wind and the rhythmic cries of flocks, now it carries a heaviness. Below, ten swords are driven into the very map of the Earth, piercing her oceans, forests, and the lands that cradle all living beings. This is the card of endings, of betrayal, of being brought low—and the Earth is the one lying beneath the weight.

The cockatoo, a creature of air, speaks for the winged nations: “We see it from above—the burning forests, the drying rivers, the scars carved deep into the land. What was once sanctuary is now pierced by your relentless blades. Each strike a mine, a war, a forest felled. You do not realize that with every sword, you wound not just Earth but yourselves.”

From the crystal sphere, the alien peers in. It does not judge with human sorrow, but with the cool gaze of one who has witnessed civilizations rise and fall. “We came once in curiosity, thinking you guardians of a rare jewel. Instead we see a people who pierce their own world in pursuit of more. You are the swords. You are both the victim and the betrayer. Yet endings also contain seeds. The Ten is final, yes—but what is final for one cycle births the possibility of another. You may yet choose differently.”

The Ten of Swords in this deck does not allow us to look away. It demands recognition of how far the damage has gone, how deep the betrayal of our home. But it also whispers: dawn follows the darkest night. If the swords are lifted—if the lesson of their weight is truly learned—new light can come, and with it, renewal.

Message: The Earth cries under the weight of humanity’s betrayal. From the perspective of the birds and the visitors from the stars, this is a moment of reckoning. What has been pierced cannot be undone, but the cycle need not end in despair. It can be the turning point—the last sword that awakens us to withdraw our hand and heal the wound.