Often this card reminds me of the famous Japanese proverb “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”
That is the short answer to the core message of the Ten of Swords: What do you do when things go wrong. What do you do when you are face down in defeat?
It said STAND. Not leap up. Not bounce back. Not return to the same battle. STAND includes dragging yourself up after taking time to figure out how to get back on your feet. STAND includes limping off in another direction to do something entirely different.
Today’s card also reminds me of something author Chuck Wendig said on social media during the era of his book You Can Do Anything Magic Skeleton. I remember it as having this Tarot image and the advice that when life has you face down on the floor, look under the sofa for those keys you lost last week – or something like that.
If there is a theme song for this card, it’s Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping “I get knocked down. But I get up again. You’re never gonna keep me down.”
Getting up is the important part. This doesn’t say anything about when or how you stand up again.
It’s ok not to be ok. You don’t have to leap up and be happy about what just happened.
Here I am also reminded of a photo of Sidney Crosby just sitting on the ice, exhausted and dejected after a Stanley Cup loss. He was the picture of defeat kind of like our Ten of Swords dude. He wasn’t all spitfire and overjoyed after he stood up from the ice. But he did stand up, keep playing, won more Stanley Cups and is a record setting athlete. To put it mildly.
The important thing isn’t about when or how you stand up again. The important thing is that you do – eventually – stand up again. Sometimes when you have nothing left in the tank, you just sit with the nothing. Sometimes when you feel depressed, then you just by damn be depressed for a while. When you are laying face down on the floor with metaphoric knives in your back, the best thing to do is stay down there and look under the sofa for your car keys.
Feel the feels. Sit with the nothing. Do what you need to do to get ready to stand up again. You are allowed to move slow, hold on to something and make old man noises while you do.
Thanks for reading! See you at the next sip!
A portion of the proceeds are donated to a different wellness, food support or civil rights organization each month. September 2026 Brew It Forward is for the American Library Association for their promotion of freedom to read and this years upcoming Banned Book Week
Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot 
You must be logged in to post a comment.