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The Three Of Swords Tarot Meaning

I have seen this card pop up when a player has been in the house or someone close to you has really messed up and fucked stuff up. Okay, this may look super negative but this is about strength, in the face of challenging heartbreak problems. It is saying to me you have had to survive.

You have had to keep going in the face of everything that has been going on.

When the Three of Swords is present in your reading you are either having major stress at the moment or things you thought were happening did not turn out to how you envisaged them happening. This is a card that is symbolic of heart break, of betrayal and separation when it comes to relationships (sorry to say). There is a level of general upheaval that has been in your experience at this time. This is a challenging time of your life. 

The Three of Swords depicted in my Tarot decks (both Moondust and Flora) is an image of a heart that has been stabbed by three swords. The sky behind it is a melancholic storm and there is a feeling of unrest as a result of an upheaval in your environment. There is a level of argumentativeness in your life both with your friends and also with a romantic partner. Usually this card will present itself if you are in need of learning the lesson of letting go of that which does not serve you.

Ok here is the truth....we all have to deal with a level of heartache in our lives, whether someone has proved to be distrustful or whether you are just growing apart from a longtime friend. Life is nothing if not a cycle, and in this part of your life you are cycling out of something and moving into something else. This change, however, being that we humans tend to be extremely uncomfortable with change causes us to resist. The resistance of a mandatory change in relationship status with someone is inevitable and it is the fight, the resistance to say goodbye that causes the most strive.

Within this card there is wisdom because all things change from birth to death. Consider that your physical self, your internal organs, your skin, your muscles, are all constantly sloughing off and stimulating the new growth of cells in order to form and take the shape of the parts of our body that sustains us. If we had heartache every single time that our body went through this natural cycle, we would constantly be crying. In this, whenever a relationship goes through a big change, one way to think about this is that the change in an interaction or a connection is just as natural as the body’s physical processes. We are rocks, bumping into each other in a tumbler, making it possible for us to develop a shine.

The scratching and cracking against one another may hurt in the process, but in the end you become something deeper, more beautiful, with more sparkle then you would have had you stayed separate and alone in your own little rock garden. In this, the Three of Swords is recognizing the painful situation that you find yourself in and it is also giving you the added perspective that this pain is a natural part of life and you should not allow it to take you over completely. As we all know, the stormy clouds can only thrash about in the sky for so long, inevitably the sun must come out and shine down on us. The rain from the storm, watered the garden enabling more to grow. This is the perspective that must be kept if you feel as though you will never heal from this heart break. This situation is clearing the way for you to allow for bigger and better things. It may be hard for you to acknowledge at this time, so allow yourself to grieve over what you have lost, but come up with a time frame in which you should begin putting yourself back together again and then stick to it. Do not allow yourself to be broken forever.

Now is the time for you to learn how to be receptive to the circumstances that are in existence to change you. While you are in the healing process, you must refrain from participating in anything that makes you feel unhappy or unwell. Negative vibrations will only cause your sorrow to last longer. You must be gentle with yourself right now and do not put yourself in situations that will make you feel worse. Grieving is also a part of life and it is fair and good to honor this process by taking the time that you need to have some time out of your normal every day interactions. You have a strong ability to hone in on creativity at this time. Find a project that makes you feel good, as this will be very therapeutic for you.

The Three of Swords in Love

If you are single there is a possibility that you are still stuck in a perspective regarding a past love, which is making it very difficult for you to move forward into a new relationship. In a love reading the three of swords are associated with fear of loosing a partner, separation, love triangles, jealousy, divorce, arguments, miscarriage, wisdom, conflict and difficulties. As we covered in the paragraphs above the three of swords encompasses the picture of pain and heartbreak, in addition to grief and regret. In the centre of the card we see a beautiful heart which is broken and still pumping blood which implies that the pain of love is alive.

There could be a separation in love or parting of ways if this card is in the future position. Turning back to the image itself we can see the heart suspended in mid air. The rain pouring heavily behind the heart signifies ones tears and destruction. The swords themselves are representations of heartache. But do not lose faith! Even though the three of swords in a love reading is associated with separation and divorce only new beginnings can surface. In regards to love, it is important to analyse the three of swords in the journey of the tarot. Looking back at the two of swords we see either a woman or a man crossing their heart and is blinded to the truth. The two swords is a representation of protecting against heart pain, but in the three of swords we see the perception of pain coming to the surface.

This is a wake-up call card. If we approach life as a closed person, as depicted in the two of swords we will never be truly happy. We need to undertake the wisdom of the three of swords in order to find the foundation of love. Pain should not be feared, without pain we are not able to focus on the happy and content times in life. The separation highlighted in this card is required, the rain seen in the card can not only represent a difficult and challenging time in love but also the fact that with rain comes the necessary nourishment of change is on the horizon. The three of swords is a card that gets right down to the heart of the matter. Applying the card’s interpretation to love suggests that we need to let pain in our hearts, accept feelings and pull the three swords out of our heart and eventually heal. When this card is drawn in connection to your love life it indicates that you will surface as a stronger person emotionally. When you are in a relationship, then there is a level of upheaval present that you could be feeling, the three of swords has also been connected to possible infidelity of a partner. Are you being cheated on?

The key is to try to move through the pain of separation. If you are in a relationship, make sure that you are vocalizing your needs and boundaries, to you partner. Do not let the strife of a break up (if you are in the middle of one) affect your overall life experience. There is a warning in this card to not allow yourself to sink to low levels because you are feeling unhappy. Often, the pain is based on reality but at times the card can appear when we fear loosing a lover.

Three of Swords as Feelings

This is quite an interesting card when it comes to feelings. This can mean that people feel that they will be heartbroken by you. Maybe even they are out of the others league? This card suggests that this person will be anxious about you hurting them and this means you will hurt them. What you have said may have damaged the relationship. This, in a nutshell, is a card that represents hurting someone in communication.

The Three of Swords in Health

When the Three of Swords presents itself in your reading about Health there is going to be a level of disappointment that you are going to have to work through. This is a result of possible ill health. If you examine your health with care, it can lead to a better approach to get yourself back on track. This could be a challenging time because you really need to feel better, or you would like someone in your life to experience wellness. Unfortunately, this card is saying that there is more time required in order to feel healthy again. You need to get to the heart of the matter! Try to look at this from the perspective of a brief moment of life, everything will eventually pass. You must have faith now.

The Three of Swords in Work, Money and Wealth

When the Three of Swords appears in your reading regarding Work and Wealth you will not be get what you expected. You planned on receiving money or pursuing a business relationship and you are stuck in a cycle of perpetual drama which bears no fruit. Now is the time to grieve over the financial losses and come up with a new plan.

Reversed Meaning - Three Of Swords

When the 3 of Swords can appear in the reversed position, it is time for you to experience what it is like to be the peacemaker. Try not to allow yourself to get too stuck in your pride. If you need to apologize, then do so. Apologizing and righting the wrongs you have inflicted on others is good for your spirit and the 3 of Swords reversed shows that you need to have that experience to better your possibilities for the future.

Upright Three of Swords Meanings in Keywords

• Separation
• Heartbreak
• Loneliness
• Feeling betrayed
• Hurting on the inside
• Hurting innocent souls
• Emotional pain

Reversed Three of Swords Meanings in Keywords

• Complete mess
• Painful breakup
• Backstabbing
• Broken promise
• Asking for forgiveness
• Accepting the truth
• Overcoming heartbreak

The Eight of Swords is commonly known as the card of victimization.

This means that you are currently going through a phase where you are completely bound by your circumstances. You feel as though you are not capable of getting yourself out of the destructive phase that you are in and that in fact if you were to try, devastating repercussions would follow. You fear pain and restriction, yet that which you fear is exactly what is blocking you the most. You are going through a season where you do not trust anyone and you worse you are constantly doubting your own abilities. You are perpetuating this cycle by trying to battle more than one issue at a time and that is part of what is causing you debilitating indecision.

You need to stop thinking that your emotions make up who you are entirely. Drowning in your emotions, which are as fluid as the tides, is not an appropriate way to work on your goals. The 8 of Swords can at points be harsh to take in because there is a level of personal responsibility that you must recognize on the role that you play in your own life’s miseries. The maiden that is depicted in the card is blindfolded as well as tied up. She is surrounded by swords and for all intents and purposes is indeed stuck. However on closer inspection you can see that her binds are only loosely wrapped around her, and there is a clearing in the swords behind her which would make escape possible if only she allowed herself to try. The key to this card is the lack of the desire to try, exemplifying where you are right now. You have complete control over your circumstances at this moment but you have allowed yourself to get addicted to the way things are even though the way things are causes you to be a complete stress case.

You are absolutely consumed by a victim mentality. And up until this point it was working for you. Now you are seeing the issues that can arise from this lack of decision making and a belief in your own ineptitude. It may be a way to survive, but it is most certainly not a way to live. The only opposition that is holding you back is your mental training, the habit from the practice of victimization and a certain level of blind acceptance or even ignorance to this very fact. Perhaps this was how you were raised, or you developed a habit due to a series of negative experiences, however now the 8 of Swords is giving you a warning, letting you know that it is time to improve your circumstances, and if you choose to ignore this warning, life will get worse for you.

The way out of this cycle is to balance your mind and your spirit. Recognize that you are actually an extremely creative individual who is absolutely capable of handling their life and can have anything that they want. The mind is going to open for you to include the extensions of your personal self with a partner and children as well as the necessity to widen your circle of close friends. You must stretch passed your comfort levels. The first response that you have to new situations is to close your eyes and hide because there is so much to do. But you must meet these challenges head on should you hope to escape death by swords.

The Eight of Swords in Love

When the Eight of Swords has appeared in a reading regarding love and relationships, you will find that you feel as though you are completely stuck in your situation. This card often comes up regarding the potential end of a marriage. Usually there is a deep level of unhappiness that has been going on for a long time, but the lack of deciding to leave the marriage is what creates a situation that is not easy to simply resolve. Many in love are afraid to change their circumstances because they have grown so comfortable with the unhappiness and worse, are afraid to be alone. Question yourself at this time; are you perpetuating something that makes you unhappy so that you do not have to be alone? How are you keeping yourself in chains? How are you behaving as if you are a victim? How could you better strengthen yourself and take control of your life?

The Eight of Swords in Health

The Eight of Swords in a reading about health is referencing a hypochondriac nature. That of a person who is constantly saying they are sick enough that they actually become sick. These are the people who are overindulging in medication that is prescribed by a doctor and who have a million ailments. In essence these issues that they have are self-created and self-perpetuated, and if you find yourself stuck in this kind of situation then you are going to need to learn how to live without believing that you are just a sick person.

Consider learning how to break the habit of indulging in these medicines so that you can perpetuate your own health. Some medications are important to survival, this is true, but some take medication just to dull out life. If this is you, seek substance abuse health. The Eight of Swords makes this recommendation so that you can gain control over your life before matters get worse.

The Eight of Swords in Work and Wealth

When the Eight of Swords shows up in a work and wealth reading, there is a feeling of being victimized by coworkers or supervisors. You feel as though you are entitled to have more than what you have received thus far. Sometimes you are being overlooked for promotions because there is nowhere to go in your position or money issues with the company. Other times you are being looked over because you are not working hard enough. When the Eight of Swords is influencing a work reading, the latter is more probable. If you are struggling in your work environment, consider how much time you actually spend working and see if there is a gap or you are taking too many breaks and the like. See how you can become a better employee.

The Eight of Swords in Outcome / Future Position

The eight of swords in an outcome/future position is connected to our own limitations in life. In a positive spread, the outcome can indicate that their have been emotional upheaval and that you will not give up and that you need to face the truth of the matter. There is also a focus on over-analyzing elements and this becomes a cycle of problems. In the future, it is likely that you still will not see things that you don’t wish to see. If she actually could see what has happened in the past there is no reason for her to continue. In terms of an analogy, it is telling you to open your eyes in the future to all the things that tried to hold you back.

Reversed Eight of Swords in a reading

The 8 of Swords reversed is blessing you with the energy of freedom. You have done the work to improve your circumstances and you are now able to take off the blindfold of victimization and you can see clearly what is going on around you. Now you can truly use all of the creative energy that you have inside of you, freely. You are able to focus on wonderful ideas that set you apart from everyone else. You are no longer backed in a corner, so make sure not to fall back in old habits. You also might be so excited by your new found freedom that you may preach too strongly this message to others and this could prove to alienate yourself. Expressing gratitude and thankfulness for your healing is one thing, trying to recruit others against their will is something else. Keep this in mind. 

Upright Eight of Swords Meanings in Keywords

• Limited by obstacles
• Mental barriers
• Feeling trapped
• Wrongly accused
• Seeking for freedom
• Confusion and anger
• Feeling lost

Reversed Eight of Swords Meanings in Keywords

• Inner strength
• Awaiting salvation
• Escaping problems
• Being the victim
• Feeling comfortable
• Carelessness
• Avoiding issues