I suppose my perspective comes from looking at the progression of swords throughout the suit. The first one is generally seen as positive, but as time goes on, the swords get progressively “heavier”. In the Seven of Swords, the person has embraced the swords, making the choice to take swords from other people to carry as many as they can. They know that the swords won’t stop coming, so if they get as many as they can, they won’t be caught off guard when another one shows up.
The Nine of Swords is the anxiety and fear, knowing that there’s only so much they can take and that another sword is likely on its way. The Ten of Swords, however gruesome in appearance, is the release that comes from knowing that there’s nothing left to come for them.
It’s also interesting to note that, from my perspective, not every art style for the Ten of Swords depicts a death. For example, here are the Ten of Swords cards from several different decks.
The top row shows the following decks from left to right: Hanson-Roberts Tarot, The This Might Hurt Tarot, & Somnia Tarot. The bottom row shows, from left to right, Shadowscapes Tarot and The Traditional Manga Tarot.
Out of these five, only two show a true depiction of blood, while one is implied, and the other two are symbolic.
There’s also more symbolism that I pick up on in the card. In the original RWS deck, the person is lying on the ground facing away from the viewer. They look out toward a flowing river with mountains and a potential sunrise in the distance. To me, this symbolizes renewal and hope for the future.
I think my perspective also comes from looking at the cycles as just that, rather than a positive or negative ending. The ending just is. Each suit has its own story to tell based on the element and associations with said suit. Each story also has its own ending based on the same concepts.
Cups lead to emotional fulfillment.
Wands lead to burnout.
Pentacles lead to a stable foundation.
Swords lead to a dead end.
Anyway, that’s just how I see them. I figured I’d explain my perspective a bit.
And also, just as a general note, my way isn’t the “right” way, either. I know most everyone is going to understand that, but I feel like I should make it clear that I’m not offering a correction, just a different perspective 