three of swords
01.31.05 (7:24 pm) [edit]The image of the three of swords is a painful one, full of dark undercurrents that could pull one under into the nether world of ones soul. For me the three of swords of represents the experience that no matter how good we are, no matter how hard we try and again no matter how true we are to another it can all fall apart. Relationships do not work out, the dishonest often get the advantage and we are often overlooked at work or perhaps at home. Life is not fair and this causes us great sorrow and suffering. It is what causes us to say “WHY ME?” It is a time to understand that there are no guarantees in life, bad things happen to all of us and being good has nothing to do with it.
The three of swords is connected to the “Empress” and the “Hanged Man” in the major arcana and it is there that we can delve into the lessons that the three of swords can bring us in our walk through life.
The Empress represents the great Mother, the one who understands and who will speak up out of compassion for the people who are under her and her husbands rule. I suppose mothering, while often looked upon as comforting and unitive in actual fact the exact opposite is often the reality behind this archetype, since separation from the mother is the beginning of our ability to grow in self awareness and from that the ability to choose the road that we wish to take in life. The feeling of oneness with the “mother” while acceptable for the infant is pathetic if it continues into adulthood since it makes independence impossible. So when bad things happen we have to look back and see were the seed of this ending was planted and allowed to grow. Each person has to find a way in which to embrace this experience of expulsion and try to grow and enter into a wider understanding of the world.
The hanged man is the experience that flows from what was expressed in the above paragraph. This card shows a man suspended by one foot over an abyss; in one deck it shows a man crucified upside down. The “WHY” question will often bring into the light our beliefs and with it the choice to either deepen them to the realities of the world, or to reject them since life does not work in the way we would like. In truth we are all hanging over the abyss, the unknown, and one day we will fall head first into the abyss we call death where everything will be taken from us.
I suppose one lesson to be learned (as a believer) is that while God is love, and although God truly dwells with us, it is wrong to think that God is provident in the often childish ways that only set us up for disappoint. Life is for growth and the pain that comes from the journey is most likely just as important as the pleasant aspects of life.
Since we are often shocked into facing reality I don’t think there is anyway we can prepare for this experience at least on the emotional level; however on the level of faith and trust in God preparation is possible. Pain cannot be avoided but the level of suffering we experience can be lessened by our focus and state of mind.
Peace
mitch