Q. Which card do you dread pulling the most?
Three of Swords. Oh my, I do shudder when I see that card – especially the stark Rider Waite. Whilst I am aware of the positives, in practice I have found that it tends to show heartbreak or bitter disappointment – either from the past, present or in the near future depending upon position.
One of the best analogies I read regarding this card was that of lancing a boil – something is septic and poisonous and in order for it to heal, the wound must be lanced. It’s painful and it hurts, but it’s necessary. This can very applicable in situations where heartbreak turns to bitterness. Sometimes a relationship has broken down to a point where there is resentment on all sides so the Three of Swords can be very cleansing. But either way, it still seems to show up when you feel like you’ve been stabbed through the heart.
Once, this card showed up in a future position just before a friend had a heart attack. Thankfully, an operation fixed the problem and my friend recovered but had he not acted quickly to get help, it could have been a very different story. In that case the Three of Swords was very literally about ‘a broken heart’
Occasionally, surrounded by positive cards, the Three of Swords can mean a minor disappointment amidst generally good conditions otherwise.
All in all, the Three of Swords generally doesn’t tend to say anything ‘good’ to me. Yes sometimes cleansing is necessary, yes sometimes heartbreak can make us stronger, yes sometimes life’s big disappointments can be moments when we get a little older and wiser (this card is connected to Saturn in Libra)…
But I still get goosebumps when I see it and my heart beats a little faster.
