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.
![The Three Of Swords Reversed]()
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
