Three of Swords: What does it mean to you?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 19 Nov 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Novice23	19 Nov 2004
The three of swords pops up repeatedly in my daily 3 card spread. I'm new to tarot and that particular card seems to have a fairly negative meaning. What does it mean to you when you see it in a spread? Thanks

ros	19 Nov 2004
~ choosing thoughts over emotions ~ the beginning of healing after heartache ~ words hurt the heart ~ 3 people involved in a heartache situation Just ideas for you

katie_here	19 Nov 2004
its definately a heartbreak situation where three people are involved.

jema	19 Nov 2004
Separation, making a clean cut, leaving something or someone behind even if it hurts cause you know you have to move on. Letting go of blame, facing up to your own part in a bad situation. Going to the dentist! (You know it will hurt but in the end it is for the best...)

Ace	19 Nov 2004
I see it as soap operas and making mountains out of mole hills sometimes. What deck do you use? That can be important.

Rhiannon	19 Nov 2004
It would also be helpful to know which position it keeps occuring in. Are you doing a "Mind, Body, Spirit" or some other type of daily 3 card spread? Taking the card out of context might be a bit confusing, although I like Jema's thoughts on the dentist. :D

Imagemaker	19 Nov 2004
If swords are seen as words, how words can pierce the heart--a sad and painful message

ren	19 Nov 2004
I definately take it as meaning heartache on whatever level. The clouds behind do show that there is always hope. I liken the three swords to be three sides to every story. IE, your perception, the other sides perception and then the truth.

Mesara	20 Nov 2004
Emotional distress, anxiety, hearrtbreak all due to a separation or absence of some kind. To me, this is one of the most painful cards in the tarot. When reversed I interpret it as a separation that will be permanent, that there is no hope for the querent to re-gain what was lost. If it showed up reversed in a reading, I would advise the querent that while it is okay to grieve for what is lost, acceptance will ultimately be the key to overcoming the situation.

TemperanceAngel	20 Nov 2004
Ace wrote: What deck do you use? That can be important. Indeed this is true, if you tell us the deck you have used and card position we may be able to give you more insight...

BlueLotus	20 Nov 2004
jema wrote: Going to the dentist! (You know it will hurt but in the end it is for the best...) So very true Jema. In my case I have had this card show up during a recent root canal treatment :mad:

jmd	20 Nov 2004
If one looks at the Marseille three Swords card, what is striking is that this is the only sword card that seems to achieve a totally simple balance and complement between the even curved swords and the single straight sword. In another post, I mention this also visually hints at the sexual union: the sword within the vesica piscis (Cf the threads Study of the Marseille pips 2 of swords summary & Gender/Number associations - Pips). In the former of those two threads, I write: With regards to the shape of the vesica piscis (and the central straight sword in the three), it does seem to indicate the fullness of the meanings implied in such iconography. Such, of course, also includes the hidden and sacred gnosis or knowledge of sexual intimacy, whereby the rending by the sword allows for a total intimacy of open-ness. For myself, the swords (and the other implements) are not to be primarily correlated with any of the four elements (and in fact the suit of swords has been correlated with each of the four elements by differing authors and artists). What is rather of primary importance is on the reflections which the implement represents. Swords are primarily designed as a weapon. Unlike a knife, which is principally designed to help individuals with mainly food preparation, a sword is primarily designed for the purpose of assaulting other individuals: the enemy. Of course, and as such, they are also to be used to defend one against such assault, and the bearer of a sword therefore has not only great responsibility, but also an enormous trust thrust upon him (and usually a 'him') that it will be used only for the protection of his social group against the assaults of other social groups. Though this is now taken metaphorically, it nonetheless bears quite dramatic consequences as one reflects on this symbolic and actual tool. The three of swords also has, for myself at least, often a clear meaning (in reflection - in the course of a specific reading, it may refer to a far broader range of possibilities, including each and every one which may be posted here and elsewhere): that of communicating in creative synthesis the impulse desired or held by disparate parties. I have attached a version of the Marseille - the Payen - for ease of reference.

dadsnook2000	20 Nov 2004
I view this card in terms of its numerical meaning and the prior two cards; the Ace and the Two. ONES indicate a unit, a single person, a single thought, a creative impulse that emerges or is about to emerge. This represents energy building and being released, a force represented by spring, awareness of what will be, etc. The sword may then represent this primal thrust into being. TWOS indicate a relationship, possible or actual, but at least an opportunity for one. The Two of Swords can represent a decision to be made, fight or flight, a confrontation or a recognition that each can give and receive -- what is given or received is to be determined. In the cold war of past decades, mutually assured destruction was the theme. Thats a little extreme for most situations we encounter in tarot. But relationships are painful and cutting at time, they force change, they force growth, they promote team action in one way or another. The THREE indicates that which comes from a relationship; a birth, something that was jointly created or built. A new "one" perhaps. Sooner or later those in the relationship and that which was created from the relationship continue to grow and change -- parting or separation or a different result of growing becomes apparent and sometimes painful. This is where heartbreak comes in. Three, for me, is a point of change, a point of fruitful (even if unwanted) development, a time to let go. Dave.

Novice23	20 Nov 2004
Thanks for all that folks. Its given me some different perspectives on the 3 of swords that I hadn't considered. At the minute I'm using the Rider Waite Original deck. And to answer Rhiannon's question, in the 3 card spread the three of swords appears in different positions. Yesterday it appeared in the Spirit or Future position, with the Hermit in the body/past position, and the two of cups in the mind/present position. Thanks again for all the insights. It's much appreciated.

Rhiannon	20 Nov 2004
Well, now taken in terms of: Mind: 2 of Cups Body: Hermit Spirit: 3 of Swords I'd say that it probably means that you are not feeling quite right, maybe a bit discouraged, disappointed or disconnected. If this card appeared in the Spirit position in one of my readings I would take a look at my connection to deity to see how I was feeling about that. I'd also take a look at any negative feelings and other emotional baggage that might be weighing me down. I'd probably do a ritual bath or at least a smudging of myself to make me feel better. If it appeared in the Body position I'd say you are not feeling well physically, Jema's toothache for example. If it appeared in the Mind position I'd look at how I was thinking about things, figure out what I was seeing as negatvie and try to find a positive way to think about it. What lesson could be learned from it, for instance. I'm not sure how clear that is, but I hope it helps. :)

firemaiden	20 Nov 2004
jmd wrote: The three of swords also has, for myself at least, often a clear meaning [...] that of communicating in creative synthesis the impulse desired or held by disparate parties .. plaît-il?

Keslynn	20 Nov 2004
I find that the 3 of Swords comes up most often when people are trying to take a mental approach to an emotional issue. This is a situation where someone is trying to logic away emotions or keeps touching the wound so to speak by thinking about it all the time. Sometimes it can be good to think through your emotions, but more often than not, this approach doesn't work. Emotions don't respond well to trying to be boxed in and explained by logic. :) Kes

noby	20 Nov 2004
My take on this card is that in moving from innocence to experience, we develop a tender core of pain at the center of the heart. This pain is transmuted into passion and deep feeling for the world. At the center of every powerful emotion we feel is that twinge of pain. We tend to see pain as something bad, something to get over and put behind us, but it is vital to our experience and ability to deeply feel the meaning of life. It is there in the experience of love, compassion, and being moved by great beauty, all of our most powerful experiences. Kahlil Gibran writes in The Prophet, "The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain." But even this eloquent quote doesn't quite fully get at it - joy is inextricably intertwined with pain and sorrow. Sorrow doesn't just carve out the capacity for joy, it is one of the strands in the braid of joy. The feeling of pain and sorrow is there at the core of even our moments of greatest joy. I see this card as a reminder of that, that our sorrows and troubles in the end are what make us the most deeply human, and what give us the capacity to feel life to the very core. As such, our avoidance of pain becomes an avoidance of the wisdom and experience that will allow us our greatest moments of joy. As Rilke writes in his Tenth Duino Elegy (translated by Stephen Mitchell), "Someday, emerging at last from violent insight, let me sing jubilation and praise to assenting angels. Let not even one of the clearly-struck hammers of my heart fail to sound because of a slack, doubtful, or broken string. Let my joyfully streaming face make me more radiant; let my hidden weeping arise and blossom. How dear you will be to me then, you nights of anguish. Why didn't I kneel more deeply to accept you, inconsolable sisters, and, surrendering, lose myself in your loosened hair. How we squander our hours of pain. How we gaze beyond them into the bitter duration to see if they have an end. Though they are really our winter-enduring foliage, our dark evergreen, one season in our inner year-, not only a season in time-, but a place and settlement, foundation and soil and home."

bigcaat	20 Nov 2004
Keslynn wrote: I find that the 3 of Swords comes up most often when people are trying to take a mental approach to an emotional issue. "A mental approach to an emotional issue." That's great. I love that. Depending upon where it lands in the spread, I look at the three of swords as a cleansing of a recent past hurt. There is no blood dripping and the rain, to me, looks like it is cleansing a wounded heart. But I love that mental approach thing, as well. Caat

The Three of Swords: What does it mean to you? thread was originally posted on 19 Nov 2004 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.