The Three of Swords

I once heard this card referred to as the Trance of Sorrow, which always intrigued me. Apparently, this is the state required of the individual who wishes to discover their inherent divine purpose. It is considered an aspect of Binah on the Sephiroth, shown on the left here. Binah, of course, is the Great Mother, the Eternal Sea which is the source of all manifested existence in its original form as semi-shaped potential - if that makes any sense. The Golden Dawn attributed qualities of both the moon and Saturn to this sephira, as the moon represents fertility and Saturn represents time and limitation. Binah is the door of manifestation, the womb in which all existence gestates. As she is the gateway to matter, she subjects all things to limitation through the influence of time and death.

Anywho, the Three of Swords is notoriously one of the most depressing cards in the Tarot pack, but why? Paul Huson in his intriguing (albeit only slightly convincing in certain areas) book Mystical Origins of the Tarot argues that the Golden Dawn actually messed up the divinatory definition for the 3, switching it with the definition for the 4. Traditionally, the characteristics of the astrological decans, one of the systems by which the Golden Dawn organized the minor arcana, were drawn from a 14th century astrological text translated from Arabic entitled Picatrix. Now, according the Golden Dawn, the 3 is the second decan of Libra (10 degrees-20), and is ruled by Saturn. As Saturn is exalted in Libra, it would make sense that this decan's traditional definition is characterized by "quietness, ease, plenty, good life, and dance" (taken from Mystical Origins, pg. 204.). Clearly this is not the definition given the card by the GD or even by Arthur Edward Waite. Rather, their definition associating the card with suffering and tears seems more congruous with the final decan of Libra ruled by Jupiter: "ill deeds... mirth and gluttony, sodomy and following of evil pleasures." (Mystical Origins, 206).

My theory is that the Golden Dawn, Waite, and Aleister Crowley weren't stupid, and knew exactly what they were saying. Saturn is associated with Binah in her sterile form, and embodies the "Mourning of Isis." As the 3 of Swords is the only card associated with Binah ruled by Saturn - meaning that it's the only 3 in the pack that is ruled by Saturn - it makes sense that the GD would capitalize on this and conceptualize the 3 along these lines. Lately I've been reading Mary Greer's amazing book 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (a must-read for anyone interested in intuitive and life-changing reading using the Waite-Coleman Smith tradition), and in it, she uses numerology to give further insight into the cards. Because of my Sephirotic studies, it's been inevitable to study some of the old Pythagorean divine characteristics of numbers 1-10, but one can overlook their significance sometimes. Threes represent manifestation, the creation of a spatial triangular plane, which therefore establishes time and being (the Saturnine quality of Binah).

Keeping this in mind, if we then look at Saturn (The World/Universe) as full physical

manifestation and Libra (Justice/Adjustment) as the law of the universe, or the karmic result of an action, then we can clearly see that the emphasis of the card is on the rules or inherent nature of the physical universe. Furthermore, swords are the suit of division, separation, as air is the first element to separate itself from Godhead (fire and water are really only two sides of the same coin). This of course relates to the revolving Tetragrammaton formula YHVH. In conclusion, the three of swords is representative of Buddha's spiritual plight: all manifested existence is suffering, because it is divided from union with God.

Therefore, we can see that the card represents a universal bleakness, an oppressive grief that perhaps comes from seeing the hopeless limitations of one's situation and wanting more. The Eternal Mother weeps and mourns over the loss of her children (the lamenting Mary at the foot of the Cross), and awaits reunion with them. Julian of Norwich echoes this sentiment when she explains that Christ wants only to be reunited with all of us, but simply cannot - "sin is befitting." The struggle of living is that which makes us desire spiritual change, and causes us to strive for our personal perfection in order to change and better the universe. In the words of Aleister Crowley, "Whatever horrors may afflict the soul, whatever abominations may excite the loathing of the heart, whatever terrors may assail the mind, the answer is the same at every stage: 'How splendid is the Adventure!'" (Book of Thoth, 113)