Tarot Tongue Twister is Pain in the Heart…

3 of Swords! 3 of Swords! Th-REEEEEEEE of SWORDS!!!

Every time this card lands in a spread, it drives me to the brink of distraction and my jaw gurns into distortion as my eyes, tongue and brain all want to say different things and the battle of the words commences as to what will leave my mouth… swords? air? hearts?

But look at this card… Look how often it is depicted like this… Is it any wonder, that more often than not, I call it the 3 of hearts…

When I first started reading tarot for other people, the 3 of Swords caused me problems in another way… A sense of dread would creep in, as I knew I was heading into possibly an awkward conversation… Though with passing of time and the gaining of experience, that dread has slipped away. When the 3 of Swords appears, it will indicate that something has come to disturb the peace… A third influence driving a wedge between 2 things that are connected… It brings with it feelings of sorrow, loss or pain… and thoughts of fear, worry or anxiety… Which in early days, would cause me to pause and think… OK… how do I bring this one up? Especially, if the cards around pointed to an affair… No one wants to be the bringer of bad news… and be the messenger who gets shot 😀 So often, I would skirt around the issue and say things like… well… generally… when I see this card, these are the types of things that are going on with people…

And every time I did that, the person would leap in at some point and say YES!!! that’s exactly whats going on and then tell me the situation and one of my most memorable readings was when I said to a woman… I don’t know how to put this really… but I feel there may be a 3rd person involved in your marriage… and I waited to see her reaction… And she laughed like a drain and said – TOO RIGHT!!! Yes… my husband is a long distance lorry driver and he has had some woman  shacked up in the other end of the country for over 10 years and I’ve had enough…

So… It was a bit of light bulb moment for me, as I realised then, that when the 3 of Swords comes up… you’re not the bearer of bad news at all… They all ready know… In fact, they are painfully aware and often have come for a reading because they feel immobilised by the situation…

So… from that point, I would just say what I thought and every time, I told them something they already knew… And from there I gradually moved to simply asking – What’s causing you heartache? or – What are you allowing to disturb your peace?

And generally, the faces change, but the stories stay the same… though another notable occasion happened when I was reading for a man in his early 20’s and the 3 of Swords took a very literal meaning. I’d got half a dozen cards laid out and read the bunch as a whole, without pointing out individual cards and I spoke a while and there was an overwhelming sense of anxiety and a sense that he wasn’t living life to the fullest… I asked him – What’s holding you back from doing what you want?

He said to me… I don’t like that card! and he placed his finger on top of the 3 of Swords…

Why?

I’ve had open heart surgery 3 times and I’m always worrying I’m heading for a fourth…

It’s conversations like these, that have lead me to warm to the 3 of Swords… as  once the situation has been identified, you can start to look at actions…

So… when you have Pain In The Heart… you need some pithy advice… and I know just the lady to talk to…

Allow me to introduce you to the Queen of Swords…

Me: Your Majesty… May I be so bold as to ask you… What do you make of that 3 of Swords?

Q: Oh… I call those blighters ‘Been There’, ‘Done That’ and ‘Got the T-shirt’

Me: So you ignore them?

Q: Not at all… I keep them where I can see them… Look how they make a frame around me… I am aware of those thoughts at all times, but I never allow then to impact on me emotionally and disturb my space.

Me: I can’t help noticing your hands Queeny… are you wearing socks?

Q: Child… They are not socks… They are my polishing cloths… I keep my swords polished and sharp like my mind… I have rapier wit and love swift decisive clear cut actions… and any more of your irreverence or ridiculous questions and I will unleash the sharpness of my tongue or maybe summon the guards with a cry of  OFF WITH HER HEAD!

Me: OK… so a serious question… What is the best action to take when faced with a 3 of Swords situation?

Q: Remember that you always have choice! Remove your thoughts from your emotions and allow yourself to place the intellectual facts around you, so you can see, observe, analyse… Then ask yourself – How can I turn this situation around?

Me: So… Your Majesty… Do you think it’s possible to turn 3 Swords into 3 Cups?

Q: Oh yes! Very much so! Here… watch this… then close the door on your way out.