Lies and Amends

From the Russian Lubok Tarot, the Five of Swords; from the Marseille Oracle, Amends:

We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter. 

—Denis Diderot

This fellow has been swindled in a game, losing all of his money. Of course, the con man first had to convince the mark how skilled he must be and how he could easily take the swindler's money. The Five of Swords is often viewed as a forceful argument yet lies also work - both often end with the self-congratulatory pride of a winner and the shame and anger of a loser. Amends suggests that the offender realizes his mistakes and wants to apologize. As the 12 & 12 (AA) tells us, "He can make little headway in this new adventure of living until he first backtracks and really makes an accurate and unsparing survey of the human wreckage he has left in his wake." The hurt party would likely prefer a living amends (sustained, honest and positive behavior) rather than a moment of humiliation.