Three of Swords

Three of Swords ("tre di spade") from an Italian deck

Three of Swords from the Rider–Waite tarot deck

The Three of Swords is the third card of the suit of swords. The suit is present in Italian, Spanish, and tarot decks.

Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games.[1] In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes.[1][2]

Card reading

This card depicts a fundamentally sorrowful experience—tarot readers suggest this may be in the form of a lost relationship, an accidental death, or some other form of not just depression or malaise but deeply emotional sorrow. When the card appears "reversed" in a spread, this is not usually read as meaning the "opposite" of sorrow, but rather a sorrow that is somehow mitigated by its circumstances or that is not as bad as it could have been. It is among the most negative cards within the tarot deck.[3]

References

1. Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd. ISBN 0-7156-1014-7.
2. Huson, Paul (2004). Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage. Vermont: Destiny Books. ISBN 0-89281-190-0.
3. Raven Willowmagic (15 July 2010). Tarot: Tips of the Trade: Tying It All Together. Raven Willowmagic. pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-1-4536-4855-1.