Ace of cups clarified by 5 of swords as husband's feelings?

Midsummereve

Hello all,

As part of a larger reading for a friend, I asked, among other questions, what her husband's feelings are for her right now.

I pulled the Ace of Cups clarified by the 5 of Swords.

Ace of Cups = outpouring of emotions
5 of Swords = feeling dominated/ manipulated?

I usually see the Ace of Cups as a positive card but am stumped here by the presence of the 5 of Swords - which I don't personally see as a positive card.

Anyone have a different take on this?

Grizabella

I think this is pretty simple. He loves her but he's mad at her right now. He feels like he's in a battle for who runs the show and he doesn't like that but at the core of it, he does love her. Often people don't understand that just because you get really mad at someone and have a fight, that doesn't mean they don't love you. It just means they're mad.

Midsummereve

Grizabella said:
I think this is pretty simple. He loves her but he's mad at her right now. He feels like he's in a battle for who runs the show and he doesn't like that but at the core of it, he does love her. Often people don't understand that just because you get really mad at someone and have a fight, that doesn't mean they don't love you. It just means they're mad.

Thank you, Grizabella. What surprised me with the Ace is that it describes the feelings a married man has for his wife of many years... I thought that the Ace only referred to the beginning of a love interest, the initial spark? I would expect the 2 of Cups, or, better the Lovers, to appear for a real strong bond between a husband and wife? Or even Temperance?

But here, the Ace of Cups? And its clarifier is about discord, hostility.
That's why I thought in this case it meant that this man's heart is full (Ace of Cups) of negative feelings (5 swords) for his wife. Would that make sense too? Or how would the same idea come up in tarot? Would the Ace of Cups not show up at all? I'm a novice, so forgive my basic questions, please

rwcarter

Midsummereve said:
Thank you, Grizabella. What surprised me with the Ace is that it describes the feelings a married man has for his wife of many years... I thought that the Ace only referred to the beginning of a love interest, the initial spark? I would expect the 2 of Cups, or, better the Lovers, to appear for a real strong bond between a husband and wife? Or even Temperance?

The Ace suggests that he loves her. Period. If he had to he probably couldn't put his finger on why he loves her or what about her makes him love her. But he has general feelings of love for her.

Midsummereve

rwcarter said:
The Ace suggests that he loves her. Period. If he had to he probably couldn't put his finger on why he loves her or what about her makes him love her. But he has general feelings of love for her.

Thank you, Rodney.
So the Ace is Love, whether as a seedling or as a full-grown feeling. Now I know

And obviously it makes a big difference when trying to make sense of the 2 cards I pulled.
Thanks again.

Girl Archer

Midsummereve said:
Hello all,

As part of a larger reading for a friend, I asked, among other questions, what her husband's feelings are for her right now.

I pulled the Ace of Cups clarified by the 5 of Swords.

Ace of Cups = outpouring of emotions
5 of Swords = feeling dominated/ manipulated?

I usually see the Ace of Cups as a positive card but am stumped here by the presence of the 5 of Swords - which I don't personally see as a positive card.

Anyone have a different take on this?

The love is still there, he isn't feeling too great right now as he may be left feeling emotionally manipulated and he doesn't know where he stands with her games and what not. Any "victories" in this situation are hollow, and they should carefully pick their battles, whatever is really important. The rest are just minor details in the larger picture that is their marriage.

Midsummereve

Girl Archer said:
The love is still there, he isn't feeling too great right now as he may be left feeling emotionally manipulated and he doesn't know where he stands with her games and what not. Any "victories" in this situation are hollow, and they should carefully pick their battles, whatever is really important. The rest are just minor details in the larger picture that is their marriage.

Thank you, Girl Archer.
Your insight about the 5 of Swords, picking one's battles, is an interesting one. I read that this card symbolizes self-interest. So here it would mean that they are swallowed up by discord, by the battles they wage, forgetting, as you put it "the larger picture that is their marriage".

MandMaud

Midsummereve said:
So the Ace is Love, whether as a seedling or as a full-grown feeling.

I think of the Aces as "essence" - only sometimes as "beginning"/"genesis". So to me the Ace of Cups says "essence of love", or pure love.

Although people can "fall back in love" after many years, or after a period of doldrums.

I tried to find a way these two cards reinforce one another, working as a pair, rather than "X despite Y" if you see what I mean. And I think he's feeling trapped. The first thing the Five of Swords says to me is defeat. Something has made him feel his love, feel how strong his love for her is - you know how you look away, then something reminds you of what's important? And I'm not sure there's the anger that others have mentioned, the 5S to me is colder... but there's something negative, maybe he's even thinking longingly of getting out (careful if you decide to suggest this to your querent) - but he loves her so strongly, he feels he cannot leave. The "cannot" is the 5S. The love is definitely there and it unmans him, perhaps, makes him feel powerless. (Maybe he's a guy that thinks lovey-dovey = soppy and weak?)

I don't think the Ace of Cups would show up if there wasn't real love, that's the good news.

Sometimes with the 5S, it's about the defeat of the other person rather than the querent. So another interpretation of this pair would be that he feels instinctively that the amount he loves her wins, or should win, all arguments. "We disagree, but I can't be wrong because my love for you is true!" kind of thing. You'll have a better idea how to decide which interpretation is correct in this case, because you have the rest of the cards supporting your reading.

Midsummereve

MandMaud said:
I think of the Aces as "essence" - only sometimes as "beginning"/"genesis". So to me the Ace of Cups says "essence of love", or pure love.

Although people can "fall back in love" after many years, or after a period of doldrums.

I tried to find a way these two cards reinforce one another, working as a pair, rather than "X despite Y" if you see what I mean. And I think he's feeling trapped. The first thing the Five of Swords says to me is defeat. Something has made him feel his love, feel how strong his love for her is - you know how you look away, then something reminds you of what's important? And I'm not sure there's the anger that others have mentioned, the 5S to me is colder... but there's something negative, maybe he's even thinking longingly of getting out (careful if you decide to suggest this to your querent) - but he loves her so strongly, he feels he cannot leave. The "cannot" is the 5S. The love is definitely there and it unmans him, perhaps, makes him feel powerless. (Maybe he's a guy that thinks lovey-dovey = soppy and weak?)

I don't think the Ace of Cups would show up if there wasn't real love, that's the good news.

Sometimes with the 5S, it's about the defeat of the other person rather than the querent. So another interpretation of this pair would be that he feels instinctively that the amount he loves her wins, or should win, all arguments. "We disagree, but I can't be wrong because my love for you is true!" kind of thing. You'll have a better idea how to decide which interpretation is correct in this case, because you have the rest of the cards supporting your reading.

Thank you, MandMaud

Your insights are very interesting. My friend has a love/ hate relationship with her husband, punctuated with quarrels (during which at times she said they don't talk to each other for days) and disagreements. She has a strong, Queen of Swords- type personality. It's basically her way, or the high way... I think that he is more a King of Pentacles type of guy, with a dash of passion added in for good measure... I personally think my friend is manipulative with people, although I can't come out and say that to her openly, for obvious reasons.

I love how you see the Ace as the essence of love, pure love. As Rodney says, he just loves her; he might not be able to explain to himself why he does.

And I can see also why you'd say that he feels trapped. Some say that the 5 of Swords indicate waging a losing battle or having a defeatist attitude, i.e., knowing that one is being manipulated but giving up on trying to remedy the situation. But the Ace of Cups being the primary card I pulled, I guess that this essence of love is stronger than his willpower...

Girl Archer

Also wanted to add... That five of swords can suggest that your querent is so far in her mind games that she is bringing a kind of situation where the two people who originally fell in love with each other do not recognise each other any more as they are not being true to themselves even though the feeling of love and good will is still there, towards one another.