Like the corpse on the Smith Rider-Waite 10 of swords, the finality of death is not recent, new, nor is it breaking news. This death occurred some time past, and its finality was inescapable. We have already sat with this death, and felt something once very alive and real to us slip away. The 10 of swords carries an inevitability that no other card, save Death itself, can rival. But it also brings with it the birdsong of the breaking dawn.

The Tarot is always an ally. But it is not always the gentle touch we hope for when we are hurting. However, we can approach the Tarot in a way that is gentle and supportive for a triggered, sensitive heart and body, that is less likely to add to the charge we already carry in our overwhelmed state.