MINOR ARCANA
Three of Swords Tarot Meanings
The Three of Swords can divide a lot of people when it comes to its meaning. Traditionally the Three of Swords is a card of disappointment, heartache, mental struggles, and heartache. It is essentially the collaboration within the element of air, so things like communication, ideas and thoughts. Collaboration in these areas isn’t always plain sailing, there can be many conflicts to overcome, hence the Three of Swords traditional meanings.
However, this card flows into the Four of Swords, a card filled with rest and healing, so it’s safe to say that the Three of Swords is the point where we really start to see what we need to let go of, what is causing us mental anguish and taking up space that it doesn’t deserve. It’s only by working through this Three of Swords energy that we will be able to get to that place of peace and understanding.
Three of Swords Upright Meanings
In the upright position, Three of Swords offers a lot of places to direct our mental energy. Some of the standard meanings of this card are:
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Mental health
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Disappointment
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Mental shift
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Detachment
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Self-doubt
The Three of Swords is a very present card, it doesn’t often symbolise a heartache coming into our lives, it relates more to the way we think or see our situation. Remember it is a swords card, not a cups card, so even though it has the imagery of the heart, is an energy that is very much in your headspace. It is your mind’s reaction to the problems of the heart.
Three of Swords Reversed Meanings
In the reversed position, Three of Swords can be a mix of both positive and negative, but all of its energy is very much directed internally. It becomes less about what is happening in your external world and more about the obstacles within your internal world. Some of the reversed meanings of the Three of Swords are:
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Self-blame
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Failure
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Self-healing
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Paranoia
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Delusion
The Three of Swords can be a tricky one to read, however, it’s important to remember that it is the first step on a journey of self-healing. It is the internal fight between head and heart and the communication that we have with ourselves. It often symbolises those thoughts we have around being ‘good enough’ or being overly self-critical. It’s the way we speak to our inner child.
Reading Three of Swords in a Tarot Spread
Usually, when I pull this card for my clients they are automatically worried about what is to come, however, I love this card. The Three of Swords has such a powerful healing energy to it and always pops up when we need to show ourselves some much-needed self-love and compassion.
It’s a great card for internal medicine, showing us where we need to focus our love and attention. Let’s have a look at some of the ways we can frame this card in order to get the most from its messaging.
Three of Swords as An Invitation
Three of Swords is a strong invitation to pay attention to your inner self, especially your inner child. The caregiving/adult brain may not have been showing that emotional inner child the love and attention it really needs at that moment, so the Three of Swords is here to invite us to start a conversation with that side of ourselves.
For Three of Swords, this invitation could be the following:
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An invitation to spend some time thinking about how we really feel, practising mindfulness and allowing emotions to flow without interruption
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An invitation to look at how you speak to yourself and how you could change that to make it more positive
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An invitation to start the healing process after a traumatic event
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An invitation to explore the pain being carried by the inner child
Three of Swords as Sage Advice
The Three of Swords may look like a harsh lesson, but it’s actually very gentle energy that helps us to see things from the perspective of both the heart brain and the head brain. A lot of the Three of Swords advice revolves around taking time for yourself and learning the art of acceptance.
Some advice Three of Swords may offer is:
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In order to overcome heartache we have to listen to both the head and the heart with equal amounts of love and compassion
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All things must pass, nothing negative lasts forever and it’s time to start looking for the light in the darkness
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You’re being your own worst enemy when you should be your biggest cheerleader
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No matter how many times you think you fail, if you can get back up and carry on then you’ve succeeded
Three of Swords as a Lesson
Three of Swords can be a pretty big lesson for some and a gentle reminder for others, it really depends on where you currently are in your personal journey.
Some lessons that Three of Swords may offer you are:
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To understand that you create your reality and the way you approach something mentally will be mirrored by what happens externally
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Sometimes to turn a bad situation into a good one, we need to assess our mindset and see what changes we could make to shift our perspective
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The head and heart should work as one entity, one isn’t good or bad no matter what we’ve been led to believe as we’ve transitioned into adulthood
Three of Swords as a Redirection
The Three of Swords can be a welcome redirection, especially if we’re battling through a tough challenge. The Three of Swords is a great card for showing us that things are getting better and that the storm will soon pass, but it can also be quite jarring as it asks us to pick ourselves out of the darkness we have enveloped ourselves within.
As a redirection, Three of Swords could symbolise a need to:
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Remember that bad times never last and that we need to search for positivity, even if it’s far off in the distance, there will be a place where we can find the light and start to move towards it
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Try looking at how you’re approaching your situation within yourself, analyse your internal language and see if you’re being too hard on yourself
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Do some work on your inner child in order to heal fully and move forward with peace and tranquillity
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Reframe the way you see your current situation, are you making things more difficult for yourself than it needs to be?
Swords
The Swords are the suit of communication, intellect, ideas and beliefs. They rule our mental space and throat chakra helping us verbalise ideas, making the intangible tangible.
With the Three of Swords, we start to see how too many swords can start to clash and cause conflicts. With so many ideas, opinions and view points starting to come together, there is bound to be friction.
Air
The element of air gives the Swords its focus on the areas of communication and intellect. With the Three of Swords the element of Air starts to pick up speed, it starts to disrupt and stir things up.
The Three of Swords is the first time we start to see the good and bad side of elemental air. We can see how it can soothe and heal, bringing things together. We also start to see how it can disrupt and create messy situations.
Threes
In numerology the number three is one of collaboration, learning and growth. We move from the harmony of the number two, adding in another element to the mix and disrupting that balance and harmony.
In the Three of Swords we see this happening as more voices are added to the mix. If everything is on equal footing then we can achieve something incredible, if they’re not, it can be a muddy mess.
