Three of Swords
Three of Swords, minor arcana. heartbreak, sorrow, grief, painful truth.
Three swords pierce a red heart in front of a sky of rain and storm clouds. It is one of the plainest cards in the deck: pain, loss, a hard truth.
Upright
- heartbreak
- sorrow
- grief
- painful truth
Three swords pierce a red heart in front of a sky of rain and storm clouds. It is one of the plainest cards in the deck: pain, loss, a hard truth.
Reversed
- recovery
- forgiveness
- releasing pain
- moving on
Beginning to heal, or holding on to the hurt. Reversed, the card points to recovery and, sometimes, to old wounds opening again.
Not every reader uses reversals. Many treat a reversed card as the same theme, blocked, delayed or turned inward.
Astrology and numerology
In the Golden Dawn scheme that most modern decks follow, each numbered minor card from two to ten is given a planet in a sign. For Three of Swords it is Saturn in Libra. The suit's element, air, comes from Swords.
Its number reduces to 3, which numerology associates with expression, creativity, sociability. See every card that reduces to 3.
Yes or no
In yes or no tarot, Three of Swords counts as a no when upright, and as a yes when reversed. This follows a common convention and not a rule from the deck's makers.
Tarot is a tradition of symbolism. This page says what readers traditionally associate with the card. It does not predict anything and it is not advice.