(i) Three of Swords YouTube Video
My new YouTube channel is : Thoth Tarot Videos. The Youtube presentation for the Three of Swords can be accessed by clicking on the image below:
(ii) Thoth Three of Swords
In the Three of Swords, the three swords meet in the centre of the rose breaking it up against a dark chaotic background.
(iii) Rider Waite Three of Swords
(iv) Three of Swords & the Tree of Life
Binah (ruled by Saturn) in Yetzirah
(v) Shemhamphorasch Angels of the Three of Swords
Hariel = Moral purity, innocence. When negative, dark, hardened attitude. Separatism. Failure, and collapse, fighting against natural order.
Hakamiah = Universal love, royal attitude. When negative, treachery, rebellion. Obstructs the realization of True Nature. Feeling of servility, diminishment. Agonizing struggle.
(vi) Astrology of the Three of Swords
1. Decan = 2nd Decan of Libra (11 – 20 degrees)
2. Saturn in Libra
Saturn is exalted in Libra and so we might expect good fortune in this card but Binah is ruled by Saturn and so we get a double dose of Saturn in this card. Saturn is associated with limits, restrictions, time, form, and the suit of swords is the first suit to manifest as the Vau and so represents separation from the Godhead. So the suit of swords is especially difficult. This is where Yarweh or YHWH the name of God comes from. Yod = fire, Hey = water (2 sides of same coin) giving birth to Vau (air = separateness from the Godhead) and Final Hey (Earth).
Saturn applies its characteristic ‘hard lessons’ on Libras desire to have relationships. So sorrow is a natural event that most people have to go through at some point. Libra is also associated with the justice/Adjustment card and so there is a link to sorrow in the universal law of KARMA or cause and effect. Buddha said all existence is inherently sorrow as we are separated from the father.
It is the only three that is ruled by Saturn and hence the only one with a negative connotation.
The number three represents the triangle ; manifestation in time and space and so Saturn influences are heavy in the Three of Swords.
(vii) Symbology of the Three of Swords
Main sword = resembles the sword in the ace of the suit but more damaged. So the purity of the ace is quickly replaced by a damaged element here in the three.
It holds the rose in place and represents the main event of hurt in the past that is still influencing us negatively now
2 curved swords = they pick the rose apart. They represent the fact that we are out of harmony with ourselves at the moment and they are sabotaging the present. They pick the rose apart.
Broken Rose = broken hearted felt to the core
Background = dark and chaotic. It shuts out the light of the present and envelops us in a dark situation that we cannot see out of. They are chaotic storm clouds.
Sorrow is like the dark night of the soul which many experience before a real breakthrough into a new more positive beginning in life.
(viii) Quotes from the Book of Thoth
- Binah here is not the beneficent Mother completing the trinity with Kether & Chockmah. She represents the darkness of the great sea.(p204)
- ..the womb of chaos. (p204)
(ix) Divinatory meanings of the Three of Swords
Three of Swords Upright
Sorrow over past hurt
s, losses or separation.
Melancholy, fears, unhappiness; a longing to be whole.
Fear of or actual abandonment
Three of Swords Reversed
A more deep rooted long acting sorrow, unresolved grief for a lost loved one or parent.
Long term depression
End of a marriage or long term relationship
(x) Suggested Crystals for the Three of Swords
- Apache Tear = often called the “grief stone”. Apache Tears can be exceptionally helpful when dealing with the loss of a loved one.
Rose Quartz = is the stone of love and the Higher-Heart Chakra, offering vibrations of compassion, empathy, forgiveness, and of course, unconditional love. As a pendant, Rose Quartz can emanate these energies to the wearer throughout the day. Rose Quartz is helpful in removing excess negative energies from people and environments, for the highest good. Please keep in mind that the crystal should be cleansed regularly if worn daily.
Rhodonite = transforms and stabilizes your emotions. It soothes and brings order to feelings that are scattered, imbalanced, or ungrounded.
(xi) Recommended Video Links
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