Three of Swords
The Three of Swords symbolizes heartbreak, sorrow, and grief. It represents intense emotional pain and intimacy, extending beyond just romantic or sexual heartbreak. This card also conveys a sense of bittersweetness where emotional wounds, while painful, leave lasting marks and bring valuable life lessons.
Keywords
Heartbreak and Sorrow
This is a card of heartbreak, sorrow, grief and hurt. The Pamela Colman Smith design is so iconically simple and evocative that I could find little I wanted to change about it. The only major difference is that my heart is realistically anatomical rather than picturesquely symbolic. Aside from loving the fleshy gristliness of an anatomic heart, I think this representation lends literal rawness to the feelings the card is meant to represent. The wound is palpable when the blades sink into something this bloody. There is a sensuality there too. The Three of Swords can represent different kinds of heartbreak—not only sexual or romantic. But no matter what kind of heartache it stands for, there is an undeniable intimacy contained within this card.
Bittersweet Lessons
I find bittersweetness in the Three of Swords, as well. When wounds heal, they often leave a mark and change us forever—physically and emotionally. And for better or for worse, they teach us something. No card is completely negative in the tarot, not even the often dreary Swords. These are the more challenging paths of our existence, but there is always something new around the bend. We just have to get through the difficult patch, and sometimes we have to take our time with it and let the lessons sink in even when they are painful.
Fyodor Pavlov tarot
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