I know some people love the Three of Swords. I have a friend who got it tattooed on her… I don’t even know where. Her back? The other day this card came up in conversation — in one of my chat rooms. And one time I did ask my friend WHY? Why tattoo the card of separation and sorrow? But this card came up in conversation because a couple folks get a Tarot message emailed to them and it was the Three of Swords and one of the keywords used was BREAKTHROUGH and another woman chimed in that she didn’t think of the Three of Swords that way and yet I remembered reading it once before. BREAKTHROUGH.
So I grabbed a stack of Tarot books from my lovely personal occult library to research the matter. And it wasn’t as easy as I thought. And yet so clearly I KNOW I had seen this word.
What I found in the meantime: sorrow sadness hurt feelings alienation injury depression war negative thinking sorrowful past sorrow sorrow sorrow grief “piercing the lotus blossom to its core” writes Angeles Arrien.
From whence comes the breakthrough? How does the knife in the heart shape shift so?
Breakthrough: development, discovery, innovation, progress, headway, REVOLUTION.
That our tears become like rain to wash us clean? That our tears are God’s tears? That our tears run dry. Have you ever tried to cry ALL DAY? Someone dies and you feel like you’ll never stop crying but — trust me– breaks happen. Tiredness comes. Sleep comes. Is that the breakthrough? The break, the rip, in the grief moment?
How on earth can the Three of Swords be seen as progress?
I’ll tell you how. Because the Swords suit delivers TRUTH, values truth, honors truth. The Swords can be too picky, too edgy, too bitchy, but for those who despise trickery, the Swords are not only good tonic but CURATIVE. Healing.
Can you imagine? Actually being healed? From your wounds? All of them. The Three of Swords pierces all illusion, all lie.
Break patterns, writes Arrien. This sorrow, she says, is of the mind. Not the heart, not the body. Break through it.
And I love what she says about the Empress, that the Empress – our Lady of Nurturing Thyself – can help with Three of Swords pain. She is also a THREE. She’s OVER IT, baby!
So it’s advice, really. When you see the Three of Swords, it may describe your mind, that maze, and what you’re going through, but it also shows the door, the door handle, your hand on the handle, opening the door, the vista in the green distance, the pasture which is past all pain. You are sewn up there, intact. Perfection flawless.
A quote from Mary K. Greer: the gift of sorrow. Ability to experience emotions fully so that you don’t become blocked.
A quote from Vicki Noble: a dance of power in which difficulty precedes harmony.
A quote from Juliet Sharman Burke: clearing the ground for something new.
Wishing you good cards xx
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My next class, in December, is going to be on Saturn in Sagittarius and how this transit will affect you! I’m still working out the details now but you can always pre-register. Email me at moonpluto@gmail. My classes are on-line, study at your own pace. Lots of discussion, food for thought, and wisdom from the stars and cards.
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