Three swords pierce a red heart. Behind it the clouds are grey and the rain is coming down. There is no figure and no landscape, only the wound drawn large, so there is not much room to read around it. This is a card about hurt — usually hurt that came from one sentence or one fact.
When it shows up, the blow has often already landed. Something a trusted person said, a message you happened to see, news that the result was not what you hoped. There are three blades, and that fits how this kind of pain works: it does not happen once, it happens again every time you replay it. The rain can be read simply as permission to cry.
Reversed, it is usually healing. It still stings, but no longer takes over the day. There is a second direction, though. The hurt was never admitted, only covered with 'I'm fine', and so it does not heal; it leaks out sideways as irritation over unrelated things.
The question this card asks is whether what hurts is the event itself or the meaning you attached to it. 'They said that' and 'so that is how little I am worth' are different sentences. The first is a fact. The second is a blade you added yourself.
It is often read as a breakup card and nothing else, but the range is wider. A harsh review at work, sharp words with family, a moment of being disappointed in yourself — they all belong here. It confirms an injury more than it predicts an ending.
With the Star the turn toward recovery has already begun. With the Five of Cups you are counting only what was lost, so it is worth counting what is still standing at least once.