Interesting observation. I don't think that I would have noticed it, had you not pointed it out Diana.
I also noticed that the base of the sword is closer to the left than the right, making the whole sword diagonal. The whole uncentred sword is so 'off centre' that I agree with you that it must been for a reason and cannot be a mistake.
I havn't read with this deck yet but will look out for this when the card comes into a reading. Maybe it is like a hint; pointing at another card in the spread that is a little to the right of the centre and giving the reader a little nudge, saying 'thats the one to look at - thats where the message of this card is at - thats the niggling problem'. The way that it edges to the side like that is kind of sly, don't you think?
I was also thinking (or grabbing at straws, more like) of the Waite '9 of swords' and how that image of the women in bed is related by a lot of people to mean anxieties. If that card was taken from an image such as this, maybe the 'non-centred' sword suggests an inbalance of the mind and a tendancy to see things in an unrealistic way, due to the anxiety. Things can often seem very unclear when you are upset, distraught or confused and maybe this sword is highlighting that; how what is in your mind has somehow become dislodged for that period of time and your focus is not aligned properly.
Am I correct in thinking that the direction of 'right' is the future and left is the past. If that is so, maybe it is worries about the near future that is a problem in this card as well.
I probably have got it all wrong, but working through these cards is becoming very enjoyable and fascinating and opening up so many possibilities for me. I am sure that there will be many more as I get deeper into them. The possitioning of the suit symbols in the cards I have been researching so far are already becoming recognisable and throwing out tons of new and fresh ideas at me.
Best wishes
Yaboot