[I drew this card reversed.]

Artist: Alexandr Ukolov

Author: Sophie Nusslé

Designer: Karen Mahoney

In this image, a cockerel wearing a bonnet to cover his comb and coat to cover his plumage entices a large moth with a candle flame. On the table is a box of coins and a note. On the wall hangs a picture of a wasp trouncing a beetle in swordplay. Why doesn’t the cock show his true nature to the moth? Perhaps because he knows the moth is hypnotically attracted to the flame; he uses this knowledge as an unfair advantage in this battle of the sexes.

This morning I woke up with unusually large feet and ankles. All my bones had disappeared into a puffy, swollen mass of flesh. I went for a walk to improve my circulation, something I had avoided yesterday because my sacroiliac joint pinches on a high note and my pubic symphysis sends low, throbbing undertones of imminent dislocation across my hips and down my inner thighs.

The Five of Swords reversed says:
My body-mind is engaged in a humiliating battle. There is little I can do to alleviate the crises enacted by my body in these last few months of pregnancy aside from change my mind about how I approach life. A battle against hormones is lost from the start. I am open to changing my behavior in order to avoid further humiliation. I surrender my mental blade of determination and watch in pained amusement as my body charges forth with its strange changes. I look forward to the day when this mock-battle is over and I can focus my energy on healing.