Discussion Group - Threes

Hello!

I've been at a conference all weekend and therefore completely unable to continue this until now. We are on to the threes - so how do you see the threes? How do you interpret each of them and what themes tie them together? Any interesting imagery that you focus on? What about the Empress? World?

What do you think of the threes?

Poledra

PS - I will add my thoughts once I have scraped them back together!

OK, here goes

Three of Swords - I think the swords going through the heart is sort of in some sense resembling getting to the heart of things, you know, sort of like the bottom of things, or at least, even though Swords is a thinking suit, how you feel about something. Well, then if that is the case, then it would indicate making a decision about something, something that would be for your best interests in the long run, but in the short term can be very difficult, upsetting and heartbreaking for you. The thing that makes me think of that, even though there are clouds in the sky, there is like light around the heart. It could indicate that the clouds can indicate that things have been cloudy and now things become clear. Sort of crystal clear, the moment that you realise the truth about something, rather than some sort of illusion.

Three of Cups - Getting together with a group of friends to celebrate. The cups are raised as in giving a toast, so it could be an actual celebration, whether that is a wedding, engagement, wedding anniversary or a birthday. Or it could be, simply, due to the fact that there are fruit in the card, indicates a time when you can get together with your friends, and what not, to celebrate the start of something that you can get to see some of the fruits of your labour.

Three of Wands - Tend to think of this waiting for your ships to come in. A sort of time where you can see if there is going to be any sort of outcome of the efforts you put into something. At the same time, it could indicate a sort of partnership, like a business partnership. Or simply, you might have to wait for something, whether that is an arrival of something, or just simply making a decision.

Three of Pentacles - It looks like the man is learning a trade of some sort. And he has supervisors that is watching his process, so that could indicate that the boy is an apprentice, student or amateur in a trade, of some sort, where he is being supervised. Also, I tend to see this, since the card is quite dark, that it could be in relation to like a shadow, as in your thoughts, and like you have to contend with your own criticisms, and what not, probably placed there previously from either other people being critical of you, or failures in past experiences. As for it being in a church, then it might indicate that there is a need to look at the morals and ethics of such a thing.

I tend to think that this is a time to stop and kind of evaluate after some initial completion, to see whether it is worth going on with it or not. I have no idea, basically. But, I would say that it has got a lot to do with other people, whether there is an influence as such.

The Major Arcana associated with 3 is obviously The Empress and to a lesser extent the Hanged Man, as you would reduce that down to 3, as it is 12, and possibly the World, since that is 21, and that would be reduced down to 3. So, if that is the case, then all the themes are taking place. In the Empress there is a sense that you need to nurture, protect and encourage the growth of something. The Hanged Man may indicate the need to sacrifice something. The World indicating the time where you are in between ending something and starting something new, as well as moving on and assessing where you are, where you were, where you want to be, what you have achieved and accomplished.

When I think about the three's, I see where the two has come together and made a third. By that I mean that the idea expressed and carried out in the two bears fruit in the three. The Three becomes the creation of the two - this is also an interesting concept as the Major Arcana Card for No. 3 is The Empress. The Empress of course shows the creative energy in the combining of the various elements.

Just to illustrate what I am talking about and hopefully to make it clearer than mud I'll use each suit as an example:-

In the Two of Cups for instance we see the idea of combining two opposites together so that they can work as one and theThree of Cups shows us the celebration and harmony this can create.

Two of Swords shows us the tension caused by the duality in thoughts and if not resolved the Three of Swords shows the sorrow this conflict can create.

Two of Wands shows the duality of choice and when the choice is made the Three of Wands shows the setting in motion of that choice.

and last but not least,

Two of Pentacles shows duality and balance of different elements in life, while theThree of Pentacles show how one can employ that creativity to work for them.


Just my thoughts on how the three's fit into the Tarot Sequence.

~ HoneyBea ~

HoneyBea said:

When I think about the three's, I see where the two has come together and made a third. By that I mean that the idea expressed and carried out in the two bears fruit in the three. The Three becomes the creation of the two

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I've thought it in that context as well. Makes sense as it is supposed to be a "succession" afterall they wouldn't be numbered would they. It is like taking steps, so obviously the first step is aces, the second step is the Two's and the third step is the Three's, and so forth.

I see almost two categories in the Threes as well. The 3 of Cups and Pentacles have three people on them doing things, while the 3 of Swords and Wands only show one (none). I think this reflects some of the essential characteristics of the suits, with emotions and material concerns intrinsically involving other people while one's passions and thoughts are purely one's own.

I really like the idea that the fecund Empress is added to the Two's to create the situations in the Three's:

The addition of the third person to the immediate connection apparent in the Two of Cups creates a celebration and sharing.

The addition of the fertility to the passions of the Two of Wands sees a growth of an enterprise and the stress and excitement that goes along with it.

The addition of a third sword to the ceasefire of the Two of Swords creates a period of realization of truths.

The addition of a third pentacle to the Two of Pentacles, the person has stopped juggling and is creating something with their skills.



Some interesting things have come to me while looking at these cards. The heart in the Three of Swords is really an ideal, child's drawing. This to me really emphasises the fact that this card is about sweeping away ideas and concepts held dear and moving towards a more realistic and mature mindset.

Do you all think that the three people in the Three of Pents are working together or that the lower two have employed the upper one?

The man in the Three of Wands is wearing this wild composite gown, how do you understand his clothes?

Poledra

Poledra said:

This to me really emphasises the fact that this card is about sweeping away ideas and concepts held dear and moving towards a more realistic and mature mindset.

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Wow, never really thought of that. Yeah, but you are right, that is the sort of way we learn to draw hearts when we are very, very young! My boy is only 6, in year one, and well, from before even kindy, when I had him in child care when I was working that is how they drew hearts. Of course we all know that a real heart resembles a fist more!

Yes, well, it is a difficult process that you have to go through when you get the Three of Swords, there are some difficult decisions, heartbreak and a lot of sadness. But all of that is necessary, so then we can have the "light" again. No point holding on to something if it is not right for you and is only going to make you miserable, better to face the facts rather than living in la-la land!

poledra said:

Do you all think that the three people in the Three of Pents are working together or that the lower two have employed the upper one?

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The lower two have employed the upper one. I mean, he is the one that is doing all the work, the other two is just standing there watching, supervising. The look on the woman's face is that of disgust or even distaste, the one on the man's face is not so harsh. Having said that it could be a lot about status, I mean, well, look back at the olden days, where there were socio-economical classes, so to speak. There are the ones that had money, and most probably inherited it, and those that are from the slums, if you can say that, worked themselves into the ground to stay afloat.

3s

the Chinese say three represents life,action...............We've noticed that the 3.o .swords is red, this to us is desires and passions,the clouds you've noticed,stormy weather for the desires and passions, swords to us becomes strife,trouble.........the 3.o.wands if you notice has the right hand extended to form a "H".this indicates to us hopes and desires ,passions again.A merchant desiring to expand his empire,his robes are predominantly red..............3.o.pent,we've noticed there are also three arches and three people, the "MASON" on the platform is above both the monk(organized doctrines)and the intellectual,(plans).We've also noticed the abundance of red on the intellectuals robes,ego ? The monks garb is dull ,no colour ,indicating to us that there's no spirit growth.(indocrination)...............three ways of growth,the larger because of the masons height is the preferred way......We agree with you that the mason is employed by the others with capitol,but the position in life doesn't grant placement in spiritual growth..................3.o.cups again sees the abundance of red ,(forefront),passions,wants,desires celebrated.We've again noticed that the left hand of passion is placed on the white robes of purity at the waiste,around them is scattered the fruits and abundance of the work,the third is predominatly gold being growth in spirit,all have a part in growth.We've viewed these cards using Hermetic Lore signs,and are nowhere near complete.WE do like the view you have put forth.we haven't seen it before that way,a compounding of events.

Poledra said:

The man in the Three of Wands is wearing this wild composite gown, how do you understand his clothes?

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I tend to see this as what the colours represent. Red is about passion, energy, action and all the "fiery" things. Not necessarily anger, but more passion, if I had to say anything. Green, I view that as something new. Blue, I view that as kind of spiritual, and probably more to do with your emotions, like how you feel about something.

rcb30872 said:

I tend to see this as what the colours represent. Red is about passion, energy, action and all the "fiery" things. Not necessarily anger, but more passion, if I had to say anything. Green, I view that as something new. Blue, I view that as kind of spiritual, and probably more to do with your emotions, like how you feel about something.

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Red is often associated with what you state above but also it is a coloured that signifies self assurance within that person.

Green because it is the colour of plants etc. it can be associated with growth, potential and the ability to adapt and also with those things relating to the earth element. As you say it is a colour that can be linked to renewal.

Blue because it is related to sky colours and air is more than often associated with the Swords suit, also the colour of the throat chakra links it to communication skills, another swords character.
Now according to Pictures of the Heart by Sandra A. Thomson "Blue sky can refer to overseeing spirit, or heaven (often modified by whatever appears in the sky), the inner spiritual process and cosmic consciousness."

"As a garment colour, it often gives a clue as to the possible emotions of the figure in the card."

"As the colour of water, blue can symbolise unconscious processes at work, emotions, ideas flowing form the unconscious intuition and the process of reflection."

As we are talking about the 3 Wands it is interesting to note that Robert M Place in his book Tarot, History, Symbolism and Divination says that the figure is "A Knight caped with heraldic pattern" so he wears his coat of arms of which we have through colour association tried to work out what it may stand for. Also worth noting in the Original Rider Waite Three of Wands he holds one stave with an armor-clad arm (not in my Radiant deck though!) Armor can represent for us protection, defensiveness - the Esoteric Title for this card is Lord of Established Strength and I think when we look at the fact that this Knight has already planted the ideas from the previous card and is holding one stave with his armor-clad arm it show that he is prepared to protect and defend his ideas.

So putting these colours together here on his heraldic cloak we could say, that he has had the passion and energy and confidence to set his ideas in motion, now he needs to be prepared to watch and wait for the seed to grow and the potential of his idea to expand (blue appears on the Radiant and maybe other clones of this deck but not the original however if we add blue to the equation and he is wearing that colour maybe it also tells us that he is aspiring to achieve higher goals).

Not to forget that this card there is a predominance of yellow a colour more often than not representing, positive mental activity, willpower, intellect and awareness - it is also like solar energy therefore as again Sandra A. Thomson tells us could be linked to radiant energy.

This Knight is definitely thinking about things, hopefully in a positive way!

Again unfortunately Mr. Waite in the PKT gives little information about Pixie's symbolism.

Any help to any one?

~ HoneyBea~

runs

It's not often that one ends up with runs in sequence in a spread, we've come to the understanding that cards do relate to each other in the overall,at this point in our understanding each card stands alone to tell its story and help promote flashes of insight according to its position...........We open ourselves to other suggestions and lines of thought on this///////////