TAROTThree of Swords
Upright
A time of emotional pain and discomfort.
Being drowned in sorrow and hurt after a major emotional upset in your life.
A period of upset after a major emotional argument, breakup or losing something or someone important.
The card suggests a period of sorrow today, but tomorrow you should rationalize the pain so you can begin to move forward again.
Intuition
This card is often seen as a card of emotional pain, but note that it is in the suite of Swords and that relates mainly to thoughts and intellect
The card is therefore about moving on from emotional pain by making sense of it.
Also notice that the three daggers in this deck do not pierce the heart (as per most decks). They instead protect it.
Reversed
Beginning the process of renewal after a major emotional upset in your life.
Acceptance of negative events as scars that in the future will harden into your warrior armor.
Releasing emotional pain and beginning to rationalize a way forward.
Astrologia
Relationships as a focus. Diplomacy and justice. Personal growth, especially through adversity (assuming there is a path to move on through intellect overcoming emotional wounds). Can become clingy in relationships. Reacts badly to feelings of being treated unfairly (i.e. when intellect does not win against emotional wounds).
Three of Swords
After the difficult decision of the Two of Swords we now have to suffer the aftermath; emotional pain and distress.
This card is however not about emotions because emotions are for another suite (Cups). Instead, this card is about rationalizing past hurts and coming to terms with them. It is about seeing all wounds that have left scars on your heart and body as markers that define turning points in the story of your life. None of them define the end of the story but instead changes and transformations, and moving forward. To deny them is to wish you were someone else.
That may be what you would rather have, but the way to do that still means moving forward to create that person and not backward to remember the person you once were.
Akhlys
Akhlys is a primordial Goddess representing sorrow. Her name literally means mist and this refers to the clouding of the eyes in the moments before death via a death mist.
On the card we see a frieze at the top of the wall. It depicts men dressed and ready for battle, with a woman trying to prevent some of them from fighting. This conflict may be the cause of the sorrow the card depicts; a major upheaval with drastic consequences.
The traditional heart shape with three daggers is also shown. The daggers are authentic and were used during the Peloponnesian war between Sparta and Athens (around 400BC), suggesting this may be the conflict depicted.
Lower down the card we see the mist of Akhlys. It connects the eyes of three women. A closer look at the women reveals they are the same person.
The one on the left appears untouched by grief or physical damage. The middle one is noticeably thinner and has lived through a serious catastrophe. Her body is covered in dirt and soot. The figure to the right is the same woman in death.
This all points to the woman being a victim of the conflict in the frieze but we cannot be sure of this because we do not know the order of the three images.
What you make of this card (like most Tarot cards!) is up to you and the question you ask:
- Perhaps the images go from left to right as the woman suffers the brutality and suffering of ancient warfare.
- Perhaps the images of the woman are from right to left, where she recovers from a place where she would wish she was dead to one where she is whole again.
- Perhaps the mist simply shows death always hangs over us. Our time is limited and the way forward in any mortal life is to make the best use of the time allotted to us.
Finally, there is a candle below each figure. It never goes out whatever happens, and the hearts at the chest of each of the three figures never diminish.
Whatever happens, there is always hope for those willing to accept it.
Description and Symbology
As noted in the previous section, the card denotes a catastrophic conflict and a victim of this conflict. We see three versions of the same woman: untouched by the catastrophe on the left, seriously affected in the center, and dead on the right.
What we don’t know is the order of the versions. Although the left-right version of events looks the most likely, emotion doesn’t work that way. A person can feel like the want it all to end and die, but the healing process can bring them back from that brink if caught in time. This is the point the Three of Swords makes.
An emotional disaster can be a difficult and very uncomfortable time, with injury, pain and argument. It is important to let that phase die down so rationality can take place. Even if you want retribution there are impartial rules (that come from places such as the law, common sense and clear head, or patience and a plan) that make for better resolution than hot tempers and barely restrained emotions!
The heart
The heart represents emotion, with the three daggers/swords representing pain or distress. However that is not what swords mean in any other card - they represent the element of Air and the mind and intellect. The message is that a clear head that looks to the future is the only way to fix the emotional pain. This is shown in the card by the daggers protecting the heart rather than being the cause of its anguish.
The three women
The three women are in fact the same person as seen through three stages: previous to any pain, full of pain and death through the anguish. What the card does not say is the order; it could be scenes towards death, or it could mean a transformation back to normality after catastrophe.
The frieze
At the top of the card we see an image depicted in an ancient Greek style. Armed men appear to be setting off to war. A woman tries to convince some of them to stop. This could be the beginning of the catastrophe that befalls the woman.
The hearts and candles
Below each woman is a candle, and at the chest of each of the three women is a heart. The candles are always lit, and the hearts never diminish. The message is clear - there is always hope and there is always love.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
This card denotes a difficult time within your relationship (which may have already happened). There will be emotional problems: an argument, loss, revealed secret, unfulfilled promises or similar.
There will be a period of hurt and sorrow. You will need to think about your position when emotions die down as that is the only real way forward. This is best for you in the long run, rather than getting into further emotional contests.
You have come through a difficult period with respect to a relationship and that period may still be ongoing.
But however it may seem right now, you are over the worst.
It is time to now start thinking of the future and moving forward towards it, despite the fact that you may still be reliving the past.
There will be personality or emotional problem at work; being belittled, demoted, personal attacks, or unfair or one-sided expectations.
These will make you stressed at the very least, but in the longer term, this card suggests there is a period of venting in private or discussion with close ones to calm your emotions. After this you must emotionally detach whilst you spend a period to decide what your best next step is and the options in front of you.
Consider what is best for you rather than apologies without actions and/or more of the same behavior, and whether or not you had some part in the problems.
These are not decisions to take lightly but removing yourself from the situation whilst you make up your mind gives you all the time you need and frees you of pressure.
Something within your career is leaving you with bad feelings: a demotion or lack of expected promotion, clash of personalities, unfounded criticism, micro-management… the list goes on!
Whatever the cause and even though you might not like what has happened, it is now a done deal and stability has returned.
Spend this time removing yourself from the blame game, personalities and emotions and consider your real options for moving forward.
This will mean spending some time considering what you want rather than reliving past mistakes and failings, or changing your plans so they include some level of revenge or just actions.
Better to clear your head then make plans, and move on.
Emotional events will cause stress or grief soon (and the initiating event may have already occurred).
It is important to deal with the emotional hurt and then consider your situation with a clear head that is as free of emotion as possible. This is the quickest way to move forward and minimize the emotional impact to the shortest possible time, and safeguard your health.
Past events have taken an emotional toll and both your body and mind may not be in the best place right now.
The good news is that the situation has stabilized (even though emotions may still be strong). Take time out to realize the worst is over and now is the time to start thinking of the future. Part of that future should include regaining yourself and your health.
Events have occurred or will soon come to a head, and these could be about a loss, arguments and disagreements, or failed promises.
Whatever the cause the result will be the same; a period of emotional distress.
The card suggests a time of grief but after that a time of clear headed thinking regarding your way forward and your real goals in life must occur.
Most breakups and losses are the end of a chapter but also the start of a new one. Your aim now is to concentrate on writing that new chapter.
Recent events have pushed your emotions and your previous beliefs of what your future would be like, and perhaps even who would be present in it.
Although there may still be issues, the worst is over. It is now time to live with what you have rather than what you had.
Make peace with your old self and the world they inhabited. Start making a future with what you have now.
This should be undertaken with a clear mind and the understanding that what was done should now be laid to rest. That is the only way you can move forward.
Emotional events such as a breakup, loss, disagreement, an unexpected truth or reneged promise will affect both your finances and your emotional state.
It is important to separate the emotional side of things from the financial, by a short period of venting and calming down, as the emotion and planning do not normally mix very well!
After that, the difficult task of sorting out finances can begin, but not without a clear head and rational thought!
A difficult and emotional period has dented (or is in danger of denting) your finances. Although you may be tempted to fight emotion with emotion, the worst is already over and there is no need to fan the fires.
Instead, it is time to begin fixing the problem. This requires a more rational mind at the helm.
Spend time considering real implications rather than hurt pride and reneged promises and start the slow process of fixing the future.
No because you are not in the right frame of mind.
Yes. Although the cause of the issue has died down, the task will be difficult because there is much to fix.
Reading the Card
The Three of Wands is a difficult card to discuss in a reading. It describes an emotional event of the heart yet sits within the suite that relates to intellect (Swords) rather than emotion (Cups). This is a very important point that many forget, but it points to the card being concerned with how you think and act tomorrow to overcome the impact, rather than how you feel today.
The card is difficult to read because when it comes up, the person who the reading is for may be understandably emotional (or on the verge of it), yet this card asks you to let it all out today, but also to build yourself up tomorrow. This leaves the Tarot reader in a somewhat difficult position in a reading being carried out today. To be read correctly this card requires a very sympathetic Tarot reader!
The Three of Wands communicates the need to release emotional pain and begin to rationalize a way forward where you become stronger. Think of acceptance of negative events as scars that in the future will harden into your warrior armor. In years to come they may become something that protects you from future harm.
Think of acceptance of negative events as scars that in the future will harden into your warrior armor.
Be sorrowful and let it all out today, but this card tells you there should also be time set aside tomorrow to be level-headed in preparing for a better future.
The upright card
The upright card predicts a time of emotional upheaval caused by loss, broken promises and betrayal, arguments, or an accident or event beyond your control. This event will clearly cause a period of anguish and high emotions.
Although the card predicts this event, it is not the real message of the Three of Swords as swords are the element of Air and the mind/intellect rather than Water and emotion. The card instead advises that emotions cannot help you to get out of the problem. The way forward is to bring out your common sense and mind over heart.
Your heart wants to go back in time and rip out the eyes of the people who wronged you, and bring back from the dead what you have lost. That is fine (and often good entertainment thinking it through!), but not a plan.
The future needs to be planned by your head and not your heart. That is the only way you can get away from past hurts and move forward.
The reversal
The reversed Three of Swords gives much the same message as the upright card except that you are over the worst of the initial problem.
In some ways, this is a trickier position than the upright card because there is a temptation to go back into the past and re-attempt to fix it whilst still in an emotional state.
The card advises let the matter go cold and get some distance from the emotion so you can truly heal. Your mind right now is full of scars that need to heal and that is your priority. Step fully out of the boxing ring and allow yourself a space without emotion to heal. Then carry on forward without looking backwards.
Card Design Process
The message of this card is a little different from many other decks as this deck sees the Three of Swords as suggesting rationalizing emotional pain to allow moving on from it (because this explanation is the only one that shows why this is a Swords card and not Cups).
This assumption appears in the design via a subtle detail. Most decks have the three daggers piercing the heart. If you look at the card in this deck, the daggers are protecting the heart.
Finally as a technical aside, the reason why the three daggers have very thin handles is because this is how ancient daggers were often made. The blade has a very long and thin tang, so the blade metal runs throughout the length of the handle, making for a very strong weapon despite its apparent fragility. The original design is taken from a real dagger that was probably owned by a Spartan warrior.
Final Words
The Three of Swords considers the effects of an emotional upset in your life. It suggests getting the balance between emotions of the heart and the clear thinking of the head in balance so you can move forward. Without this, your heart may always drag you back to the past.
