52-Three of Swords – Reversed Rider Waite Deck

Your Chosen Card – Three of Swords Reversed Rider Waite Deck

When reversed, the Three of Swords implies that you are not allowing yourself to grow as a result of your suffering. Rather than hanging on to hard feelings and keeping a dispute going, it may be time to bury the hatchet and clear the air. Clinging too long to rancor and sadness will only result in prolonged heartache. Consider the five stages of grief outlined by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1969): (1) denial and isolation, (2) anger, (3) bargaining, (4) depression, and finally (5) acceptance. The Three of Swords is about the process of grieving and ultimately accepting and letting go in order to restore balance in your life (Saturn in Libra).

Keywords Reversed: Stormy weather for the emotions, heartache, breakup, anguish, tears, sadness, loss, grief, sorrow, alienation, lost friendship, miscarriage, death of a loved one, painful separation, rupture, loss of love, divorce, unhappiness, betrayal, a broken heart, distress, affliction, feeling under the weather, illness, quarrels, disruption, interrupted plans, disappointment, wounds, a broken heart, misfortune, suffering.

Timing: 10 Libra–20 Libra. Tropical, 3 October–12 October. Sidereal, 27 October–5 November.
Astrology: The stern taskmaster Saturn (exalted) in the second decan of airy Libra, also the realm of the Queen of Swords (Water of Air) and Justice (Libra). Saturn is linked to the World.
Number Symbolism: 3 – fertility, creativity, a triadic relationship, the first fruits of a joint venture.

Three Of Swords: Separation And Heartache

When Three of Swords is reversed you can pretty much take it that life is going well but that’s when life takes us by surprise.  If Three of Swords is unclear it may help to choose a card from the Major Arcana to provide more insight into what it is Three of Swords is trying to tell you.  If you had a particular issue in  mind, or want to seek clarification on something else, you can also choose again to get more guidance.

This chosen card is part of your reversed card reading for Three of Swords using cards from the Rider Waite Tarot Deck. You will find many more tarot pages that will be of great help if you need tarot card meanings. Use the search at the bottom of the page. We have some amazing tarot books for you to browse. Please see below.


Here are some snippets from a few of my favorite books

Complete Book of Tarot
Book Details
Complete Book of Tarot: Astrology: The expansive benefic Jupiter in the second decan of fiery Leo, realm of the Waite King/Thoth Prince of Wands (Air of Fire) and Strength (Leo). Jupiter is linked to the Wheel of Fortune.

Tarot Books

Complete Book of Tarot: When reversed, the Three of Swords implies that you are not allowing yourself to grow as a result of your suffering. Rather than hanging on to hard feelings and keeping a dispute going, it may be time to bury the hatchet and clear the air. Clinging too long to rancor and sadness will only result in prolonged heartache. Consider the five stages of grief outlined by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1969): (1) denial and isolation, (2) anger, (3) bargaining, (4) depression, and finally (5) acceptance. The Three of Swords is about the process of grieving and ultimately accepting and letting go in order to restore balance in your life (Saturn in Libra).

Complete Book of Tarot: Myth 7: The tarot is always right (fate), and there is nothing you can do to change the future revealed in the cards (free will).

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Complete Book of Tarot: An alternate method for calculating birth cards also appears in the literature. Unlike Mary Greer’s method, this alternate technique involves simply adding together all the single digits in your birth date rather than adding the day plus the month plus the year.