“Love has reasons which reason cannot understand." --Blaise Pascal
The Swords never fail to make a dramatic entrance into your reading (and our week), and the Three holds no mysteries to its meaning. One of the few cards with no people portrayed, it is the universal understanding of the heart broken, love triangles, betrayal, love grief, and all matters of love lost. This universal experience of lost love is expressed by the heart pierced thrive by three swords swallowed by a storm. It needs no other symbols or explanations. We know this pain. Under the clouds and rain, we look at three swords--three betrayals--my lover, the other person/thing capturing the attention of the lover, and myself.
As with the Swords, suit of Air, nothing is this straight forward. Air, the sign of perception, communication and reason, complicates when it interacts with love. As the quote says, "Love has reasons which reasons cannot understand." Yet Air is about reason, logic, and our "unshakeable knowledge" of things, which is why Air is often about perception. I put that in quotes, because can we ever truly KNOW what another is thinking? One of my favorite speakers often says, "It isn't what we don't know that will kill us, but the things we know with absolutely certainty that just aren't so." And Three of Swords is about that heartbreaking disconnect which resides between our heart and reality. The Threes, numerologically, represent the Trinity, the bringing together of forces. Of course, the Three of Swords circles around that concept by dealing with the issue of betrayal. It questions one's true unity, one's loyalty, the trust so deeply needed. Whether perceived or real, the heartbreak is there.
Therein lies the real start of the journey with Three of Swords. This betrayal, whether real or perceived, demands you change your relationship. It absolutely insists that things not continue as they are. If there is a love triangle, bow out of it. Cut out all that is no longer serving. If you are lacking in trust, examine that. Is the person unworthy of trust? Or are you in need of healing energy around your root and heart chakras? Often, this card comes when you have to "cut to the truth of the matter." And what I mean by that is when you need to find out whether your perception of betrayal is true or not. You have to put yourself out there, risk pain, to see the reality of your relationship. The Three of Swords cuts the B.S. out, and opens you up to heal. This is the distinction between keeping that heart in your chest and allowing it to be rained upon. You allow the hurt to be exposed to air. You allow it to heal. You allowing those vulnerabilities and secrets to poison your psyche.
Of course, the other option for this card is that you are the one betraying another. You love two equally, or at least, are engaged in two relationships. Perhaps clandestinely, or perhaps everyone knows, this card reminds you that someone will be hurt, and it is time to make a decision. Often this card comes in readings for those going through a separation or divorce, or through a break-up. Sometimes, it just is a symbol for me that the a relationship is in need of healing. Other times, this card indicates grief and loss, even on large scale loss, like where our nation is grieving.
Less frequently, this can be about heartbreak about career, moving house, familial relationships. I would look at the other cards in the reading to get a better understanding of this heartbreak. I have pulled this card for people having heart issues, or surgery. It often bodes well, rather than negatively. It means the bad is being cut out to make room for the new growth. And therein lies the truth and the meditation for this card--releasing the old to make way for new. Whether it be true love, real heart connection, or new tissue growth, when we let go of a relationship that isn't serving our Highest Good, we open the door for one that is.
Ironically, the Three of Swords asks you to open your heart more to heal heartbreak, to soothe yourself with love. It is the opposite of what Swords energy is, which is to heal the heart with the head, and that is why it is so cloudy in this card. Heal your own perceptions and feelings of vulnerability, before dealing with another. This cannot be done through a new relationship, it must be done through self-compassion and self-love. Rhodocrosite would be an amazing ally in this work. A great meditation for this card might be to work on the heart center with Reiki or other energy healing, or heart chakra crystals.
I forgive and release all those swords that have pierced my heart in the past, in the present and in the future. I align my heart center with the Universal Love, Light, and Compassion.
Let me know your experience with the Three of Swords. or anything else you would like to discuss about Tarot, crystals and more.