Three of Swords

April 14, 2007

This will be the first post in a series I’m calling Dreaded Cards. There are cards we all hate to see turn up in a reading, be it for ourselves or others. My idea is to take each of these cards and see what I can discover about them that will take some of the fright out of them.

I use the Tarot as a tool for insight and answers. I like to think that there is always something positive in every card no matter how negative it may first appear.

This is the Three of Swords from the Rider Waite Smith deck. It is obviously a card that does not evoke a warm and fuzzy feeling. Traditionally we are taught that this card represents heartache, pain and sorrow. Swords being mental energies, this suffereing originates in the mind, possibly caused by a broken relationship or promise. It can be sadness caused by the loss of a loved one. I remember one book I read stated it may denote a heart-attack when found in a health reading.

My initial reaction is to cringe. It hurts to look at it.

Here is part of the interpretation to be found at tarot.com:

General Meaning: Traditionally, the Three of Swords signified separation or the breakup of a significant relationship, including the tragic emotions that come along with such an event. Some cards show the horizon filled with storm clouds and flashing lightning.

This past week I read a book called Stories in Stone. It’s a study of the symbolism and iconography to be found in graveyards. It’s a fascinating book, well researched and highly informative on the subject. It is most helpful to anyone interested in the study of symbols and icons used throughout the world.

A particular passage caught my attention in the section on religious symbolism. It states,

In religious and cemetary symbolism, a flaming heart symbolizes religious fervor, a pierced heart indicates repentance and devotion, and a heart wrapped in thorns is associated with the Great Promise of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (Italics mine).

It got me thinking about the Three of Swords in a different way. Yes, it would still represent pain or difficulty but not neccesarily sorrow or grief. If you see it as repentance and devotion, perhaps it symbolizes this to a degree of completeness signified by the number three - as represented by the three swords that pierce the heart. Maybe in a spread it could be speaking of self-sacrifice because of devotion to the point where it hurts. It could also be speaking of true and absolute repentance that affects not only the mind but the heart as well. That the heart is seen in the clouds could show that it takes place on a higher level of conciousness. The rain can represent tears, not of sorrow, but of true repentance that truly seeks forgiveness. The tears could be of the higher joy that comes from sacrificing everything out of devotion to a person or a higher cause, or of the kind of religious devotion that strips away everything but the love that emanates from God.

Depending on it’s position in a spread it could be asking the querent to make such a sacrifice or choose a path of devotion. It could the cause of a situation, the reason things are happening they way are. It could be warning, if someone is giving too much in a relationship out of a false sense of devotion, not realizing they are hurting themselves in the process.

These are just a few ideas, and I’m sure it could be elaborated on with further study and reflection. I find comfort in this new way of seeing this card, because it can mean something positive resulting from something that may seem at first read to be negative. That pain and difficulty can sometimes serve a purpose for good. It’s the silver lining I was searching for in this particular cloud.

Posted in Dreaded Cards, Interpretations