Three of Swords Tarot Card Meaning

The imagery of the Three of Swords Tarot card is simple yet haunting. The leaden gray background, heavy clouds releasing rain like bitter tears—all evoke thoughts of tragedy, unbearable sorrow, and loss. At the center of the Three of Swords is a scarlet heart pierced by three swords, symbolizing emotional anguish and upheaval. The heart is literally torn apart by the swords, trapped in a snare of pain, and it seems there is no way out of this situation...

The Three of Swords tarot card suggests that, depending on the circumstances, you might find yourself as either the victim or the wrongdoer in a conflict. Perhaps someone has hurt or betrayed you, or you have shown your less admirable side by offending a loved one, friend, business partner, or colleague.

This card can also describe a situation where there are painful disagreements between you and someone close, which might lead to a complete breakdown in the relationship. The situation might even be more severe—you may have recently lost a dear person and now feel overwhelmed, struggling to find reasons to keep going.

However, the Three of Swords tarot card suggests that inner strength, rational thinking, and time will help heal your emotional wounds. Kindness, understanding, and diplomacy can guide you to reconnect with the person you've hurt and make amends. The pain will pass like a summer storm, and the warmth of healing rays will dry your tears!

Key Meanings of the Upright Three of Swords

• Strained relationships, barriers of misunderstanding, betrayal, unrequited love, or choices made against feelings.
• Bad news, hardships, losses, health issues.
• Hatred, disgust, hostility, disappointment, cowardice, painful release.

The reversed Three of Swords Tarot card symbolizes the overwhelming grievances and disappointments that, like a slow-acting poison, seep into your soul. Within you is a wave of pain, making it hard to think or speak of anything else.

Perhaps your expectations did not align with reality, leaving you so disheartened by life that everything appears in shades of gray. Or maybe specific people have belittled or insulted you, triggering a spectrum of negative emotions—from oppression and helplessness to anger and a thirst for revenge.

When the reversed Three of Swords appears in a reading, it's time to dissect your grievances and analyze them thoroughly. The card suggests that many reasons for your anger are not truly justified and are largely products of your vivid imagination. It might be that you've crafted a personal tragedy for yourself, living with the mindset of an eternal victim. Isn't it time to shake off the weight of negativity that's causing you to wither like a plant deprived of sunlight?

The reversed Three of Swords urges you to demonstrate wisdom and reason, to live guided by your mind rather than emotions, ceasing to be led by feelings and those who have hurt you. Remove all the thorns from your heart and allow both yourself and the world around you to be a little imperfect! This will enable you to become the master of your emotions, thoughts, and actions, transforming your life completely.

Key Meanings of the Reversed Three of Swords

• Despair, a stream of troubles, challenges, alienation, emotional pain.
• Loss of property, losses, significant mistakes.
• Complete breakdown in relationships, betrayal, bitterness.
• Regrets, envy, pangs of conscience, delusion, sinking into despair.

In love readings, the upright Three of Swords card foretells heartache and disappointment in romantic matters.

Perhaps the person you're interested in isn't showing any signs of reciprocating your feelings, leaving you anxious and uncertain. Or maybe you're so self-doubting that you avoid social situations, missing out on potential connections?

The Three of Swords can also predict a new romantic relationship that may end with heartbreak. Relationships formed during this time may prove to be unstable.

In its reversed position, the card indicates being trapped in the mire of past negative emotions.

When reading about a suitor or loved one

When asking about a suitor or partner, the upright card suggests that your chosen one has gone through a heart-wrenching drama, with effects that linger. But time heals all wounds—eventually, they will open their heart to new, joyful love.

The reversed card reveals that your beloved is sensitive and easily hurt, sometimes overly so. They know all too well the agony of unrequited love.

In business readings, the Three of Swords card speaks of professional disappointment, property disputes, and failures at work.

Losses and setbacks seem to follow you, business relationships with partners break down, contracts fall through, and the business teeters on the brink of bankruptcy. Your job duties feel unpleasant and burdensome, you find yourself forcing yourself to go to a job you hate, snapping over minor issues, and clashing with colleagues. The only solution is to find work that aligns with your passions or even change your field entirely.

In a reversed position, the card indicates an exceptionally difficult and hopeless situation in business.

When drawn upright in a reading about a person, the card represents someone who has experienced a heartbreak or some disappointment. This individual still feels the weight of their loss and hasn't fully come to terms with it.

In its reversed position, the card signifies a person who is emotional, sensitive, and prone to dwelling on their troubles. Sometimes, they indulge in self-pity and hold onto grievances against an "unfair" world around them.

In its upright position, the card advises you not to focus on troubles and grievances. Dwelling on past hurts is a never-ending loop. If you want to change something, let go of your resentments and take action!

When the card appears reversed in a reading, it encourages you to learn from past disappointments and losses, ensuring that you don't repeat previous mistakes.

If the card appears upright, the outlook for your situation isn't very promising. A heartache, possibly from betrayal by someone close, might stand in your way.

When the card is reversed, the prediction for your situation is ambiguous. Disappointments, grievances, and regrets about things that cannot be changed may hinder you.

With the 0 Fool card - Love triangle, blatant betrayal, naivety in love.

With the 1 Magician card - Fierce competition in love or career, miscalculation, betrayal.

With the 2 High Priestess card - Uncomfortable truth, blow to self-esteem, unpleasant criticism from loved ones.

In combination with the 3 Empress card - Heading towards divorce, exposed infidelity, a sham marriage.

With the 4 Emperor card - Revenge, psychological pressure, fierce rivalry.

With the 5 Hierophant card - Disrupted wedding, serious conflict, love disappointment.

With the 6 Lovers card - The presence of a rival, a problematic past romance, engagement cancellation.

With the 7 Chariot card - Fruitless journeys or efforts, dangerous trust in a partner, a series of failures.

With the 8 Strength card - Love intoxication, enchantment, lack of common sense.

With the 9 Hermit card - Old grievances, the reappearance of an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, delving into unpleasant memories.

With the 10 Wheel of Fortune card - Painful animosity, envy that brings advantage, ambition, or choosing career over love.

With the 11 Justice card - Concealing a sinful connection, covering up for a criminal, complicity in injustice.

With the 12 Hanged Man card - Emotional drama, loss of faith in loved ones, destructive attachment or burning jealousy.

With the 13 Death card - Betrayal, a stab in the back, leaving a job or studies due to gossip.

With the 14 Temperance card - Internal disappointment, betrayal, going through difficult times.

With the 15 Devil card - Schemes of a rival, love spell or curse, playing dirty.

With the 16 Tower card - Unforgivable betrayal, loss of self-control, fixation on something irrecoverable.

With the 17 Star card - Attempting to justify oneself, disputes with an ex-boyfriend (girlfriend), a desire to quickly resolve difficulties.

With the 18 Moon card - Fruitless expenditure of energy, trying to salvage the relationship, tormenting oneself mentally.

With the 19 Sun card - Displaying an appearance of prosperity, living for show, boasting.

With the 20 Judgment card - Facing multiple accusations, a challenging trial, being emotionally broken.

With the 21 World card - Making a wrong choice, unrequited love, attempting to remain friends with a former lover.

With the Ace of Wands - Undivided love, being the third wheel, being late with a confession, or being deceived.

With the Two of Wands - Relationship break-up, bitter lesson, foreseeing the inevitable.

With the Three of Wands - Cruelly disappointed, becoming a victim of fraud, betrayal by a close person.

With the Four of Wands - Infidelity, discord in relationships, divorce and property division.

With the Five of Wands - Collapse of ideals, quarrels and insults, public clarification of relationships.

With the Six of Wands - Disappointment in one's profession, quitting a job, or giving up the fight, a hollow victory.

With the Seven of Wands - Unexpected betrayal, serious differences in views, a painful separation from a loved one.

With the Eight of Wands - Unpleasant situation, hurting someone, doing something thoughtlessly, a bad mood.

With the Nine of Wands - Hints of infidelity, emotional trauma, bitter experience.

With the Ten of Wands - Holding on with the last bit of strength, containing pain, hiding emotions, or carrying a heavy burden.

With the Page of Wands - Holding on with the last bit of strength, containing pain, hiding emotions, or carrying a heavy burden.

With the Knight of Wands - Not watching one's words, causing great offense, having a heated argument.

With the Queen of Wands - Final separation or divorce, internal resentment, venting anger.

With the King of Wands - Offending a vulnerable person, acting impulsively, strained relationships.

With the Ace of Swords — Egoism, not caring about others' feelings or beliefs, wielding power as one pleases.

With the Two of Swords — Parting with a loved one due to lack of information, making a drastic decision, being not entirely objective.

With the Four of Swords — Going through a breakup, complaining about fate, craving solitude.

With the Five of Swords — Contemplating or carrying out revenge, acting against conscience, engaging in unsavory behavior.

With the Six of Swords — An untimely journey, departing against one's wishes, parting out of necessity.

With the Seven of Swords — Cheating or facing deceit, clever justifications for unscrupulous behavior, joking or inventing a plausible story.

With the Eight of Swords — Being left out, an unusual state and reevaluation of what has happened, a depressive state.

With the Nine of Swords — Stirring up an unpleasant past, overwhelming emotions, feeling sorry for oneself.

With the Ten of Swords — Shattered hopes, lost love, a treacherous blow of fate.

With the Page of Swords — Unpleasant clarification of relationships, pressing issues, misunderstandings with a significant other, tangled grievances.

With the Knight of Swords — Aggressive behavior, acting maliciously, open mockery.

With the Queen of Swords — Personal disappointment or loss, becoming disillusioned with a relationship or partner, a woman with a broken heart and a complicated past.

With the King of Swords — A loner, a bachelor, defending oneself or not allowing harm, a guarded approach to love and relationships.

With the Ace of Cups — Unrequited love, suffering from a romantic relationship's breakup, resentment towards a rival.

With the Two of Cups — Betrayal by a close person or partner, deceitful behavior within a couple or significant differences in interests and characters.

With the Three of Cups — A rift within a group, conflicts within a team or lack of information, becoming disappointed in close friends.

With the Four of Cups — Not noticing betrayal, extreme selfishness or naivety, living off of someone else's success.

With the Five of Cups — Going through a separation from a loved one, mourning the betrayal of a significant other, a harsh lesson.

With the Six of Cups — Lack of foresight, causing more harm than good, misunderstanding with the younger generation, childhood grievances.

With the Seven of Cups — Getting rid of illusions, unfulfilled expectations, maturing due to difficult circumstances.

With the Eight of Cups — Overcoming heaviness in the heart, a forced abandonment of the familiar, changing social circles.

With the Nine of Cups — Getting involved in a complex problem, receiving help from an authoritative person, maintaining optimism in any situation.

With the Ten of Cups — Confirmation of betrayal, becoming disillusioned with family life, relationship breakdown.

With the Page of Cups — Bad news, receiving a refusal, lack of like-minded individuals.

With the Knight of Cups — Disgust or disdain, condemning a bad deed, standing up for justice.

With the Queen of Cups — Walking away from a significant other, valid grievances, divorce following betrayal.

With the King of Cups — Causing someone suffering or offense, suddenly finding out about betrayal or getting caught in an affair.

With the Ace of Pentacles — Miss out on a benefit or a good offer, lack self-belief, lose a bonus or commission on your salary.

With the Two of Pentacles — Ruined business relationships or agreements, lose a contract, be deceived by an employer.

With the Three of Pentacles — Lose business partners, lose a contract to competitors, terminate a contract.

With the Four of Pentacles — Lose financial stability, lose regular sources of income, risk losing property and savings.

With the Five of Pentacles — Harassment from banks or collectors, higher interest rates on loans, unable to repay debts.

With the Six of Pentacles — Refuse or receive a refusal of help, broken promises, avoid taking responsibility.

With the Seven of Pentacles — Ran out of patience, futile efforts, become disillusioned with new investments.

With the Eight of Pentacles — Lack of professionalism, a poor specialist, workplace injury, or poor working conditions.

With the Nine of Pentacles — Suffer financial losses, an unhelpful piece of advice or renunciation of previous promises, become disappointed in a patron.

With the Ten of Pentacles — Damage to family well-being, unforeseen family expenses, a difficult family situation and disputes.

With the Page of Pentacles — Deterioration of health, declining productivity, unrealized plans or opportunities.

With the Knight of Pentacles — Wasted efforts and time, unexpected difficulties and disappointments, poor planning.

With the Queen of Pentacles — Break off relationships, waning feelings or interest in a venture, a significant blow to the budget, a streak of failures.

With the King of Pentacles — Loss of reputation, limited opportunities, a decrease in the standard of living or a transfer to a less well-paid position.