III of Swords

The III of Swords, like Death and The Devil, is probably one of the more well-known cards in Tarot. It's always the negative appearances that pull people in, ya know? Just looking at the card tells you pretty much what you need to know: the shit has hit the fan and whatever happened has been pretty devastating and left you with feelings of heartbreak, sorrow, and a serious case of the sads.

A lot of people tie this card to relationships - and understandably so. Relationships are one of the few situations in life where we make ourselves emotionally vulnerable. Love is a risky investment. You open yourself up, exposing the quiet, private parts of you, and hope that the other person will do the same. Sometimes you score and you have an amazing connection that surpasses friendship. Other times... well, you end up with the III of Swords.

The III of Swords is one of the few cards in Tarot that does not feature a person (the exceptions being The Wheel of Fortune, The Moon, all of the Aces, and the VIII of Wands). To me this suggests that the true nature of this card is broader than just relationships (as we would most likely see a person stabbing or being stabbed through the heart), but includes any event that can cause sorrow and heartbreak: job loss, disappointment, unwanted news of any kind really, the list could go on for days.

However, bear in mind, this IS Minor Arcana, so it's only a temporary thing, and like the rain in the background of the card, it won't last forever.

Message of the Day: This isn't a fun card any way you look at it. When I think on think on this card I'm reminded that this is a SWORD card and not a CUP. And while the Swords and Cups are often intertwined, a Sword is not an emotional card; it's a logical card.

The suit of Swords, if you recall, is about thoughts, words, communication, knowledge and beliefs. The idea in this card is that something you had hoped/believed/wanted/communicated didn't land like you had hoped or expected, and the reverberations are felt deep in the heart. So the unhappy event triggered an emotional response (as I mentioned, the Swords and Cups are deeply connected in many ways). The lesson here is that words, ideas, beliefs, and knowledge (or lack of) - like the Sword - are double-sided; they can hurt just as much as help.

Let's take a relationship as an example.

I met Ezekiel Young from Salt Lake City about two years ago, and he told me he was single and we hit it off right away. So we started living together. He'd go to work, he'd come home; I'd fix him a drink, we'd have dinner. And then I found out... "Single," he told me... Single, my ass. Not only was he married, Oh no! He had six wives! - one of those Mormons, you know? So that night when he came home from work, I fixed him his drink as usual.

You know, some guys just can't hold their arsenic.

A classic example of love lead astray, miscommunication, and unrequited love. Yes, I jest (that's part of Cellblock Tango from Chicago if you aren't aware), but it also goes to show the power in the III of Swords and how it can have an impact if emotions are left to run amuck (amuck! amuck!).

From another perspective, we can look at the craziness going on in the United States in regard to abortion. I am not looking for a debate or to upset anyone with this topic but want to use it as an example of how someone's belief and/or lack of knowledge can have a devastatingly painful impact on someone else (or an entire half of the US population). When someone else's belief is forced on you via "religious freedom" it leads to an emotional response. When abortion access was greatly limited by Republican-controlled states... when attempts were made to remove access to medication that can cause an abortion... it can be scary for people who find themselves in a position of needing such services for WHATEVER reason (their body, their choice - I guess I took my side #sorrynotsorry). It's a personal and private thing and is often, by itself, its very own III of Swords moment.

Look how many wars have been fought over someone's personal beliefs. The Crusades all the way up to World War II with Hitler and his anti-Semitic views and belief that the Aryan race (the purest form of Caucasian) was superior. I mean, those evolved well past the III of Swords, well past even the Tower. That was just throwing the whole deck in the fire. But it all stemmed from someone's personal beliefs and their corrupted desire to control. And it lead to SO much sadness (not to mention so many other more complicated emotions).

Lastly, I also want to present the III of Swords in a different light - and that is where WE are the ones delivering those swords, we are the ones doing the hurting. Words hurt, we know. And if you are in an unhappy situation, sometimes there is no easy way to move past it other than making that wound. This is a conversation I have had MANY times with my son. When he gets angry and he's in "trouble," he'll burn the world down around him (not literally). If he's hurting, you can sure as shit be sure he's going do his damnedest to make sure you're hurting too. (Again, Swords meet Cups; Cups meet Swords.) Apologies exist for a reason, but sometimes even an apology can be a Sword (just one more to jab in the heart).

So as we contemplate the III of Swords today, I think we have to ask ourselves:

When we've been hurt, how do we work through the reasons behind the hurt? At what point do we allow the logic to step in to analyze what has happened instead of living in our emotions?
How long do we let those Swords stay in the heart? What needs to happen to pull them out and chase that rain away? Remember, in these situations, the only thing we can control is ourselves and our responses.
When we are the cause of the hurting, what we can do (if anything) to mend the hurt? It's important not to just make amends with the person you've hurt, but to also be respectful of their wishes. Plus, sometimes when we hurt others, we hurt ourselves as well. It's a reminder that we have to be careful with other people's hearts, and that we must choose our words carefully.

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