Wednesday, April 4th 2018

3 of swords (R) 
 The Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot

OUCH: Welcome To Being A Human!

The Three of Swords​ is that classic card nobody likes to see. It is a card of heartbreak and sorrow. When you come across this card and when you are experiencing this level of sadness or frustration it's really easy to feel like everything has gone to crap, your life is over and things will never be right again. It certainly is a dramatic image with the three blades stabbing the heart and storm clouds with a torrent of rain pouring down. But it's important to keep in mind that just like tumultuous weather, the clouds eventually part and the sun comes out! With time, patience and care even the most painful wounds do heal!

This card can symbolize the end of a relationship, the sudden painful loss of someone or something, a frustrating wrench thrown into an important project or dream, plans gone awry, or any kind of situation that seems irreconcilable. So step back, acknowledge your pain, recognize that no matter how big it seems it's a distracting blip in the long span of time. So give yourself some of that time recognizing that it will pass and be open to the idea that either a better situation will come along or the possibility that the clouds will roll away and reveal a new path to what you need. If you feel stuck in painful emotions, keep in mind that some of the most amazing works of art have blossomed from unhappy experiences. Even if it’s just for you, try making something or writing something that will help you get your feelings out. Creativity is good medicine!

Here's what the old original book from Arthur Edward Waite in 1911 said:

“Three swords piercing a heart, cloud and rain behind.
Divinatory Meanings: Removal, absence, delay, division, rupture, dispersion, and all that the design signifies naturally.
Reversed: Mental alienation, error, loss, distraction, disorder, confusion.”

Again I'm including a picture of the two cards next to each other the Centennial Deck and the Universal Waite. I think the antiqued wash makes the card look a little bit softer.

I sat and meditated with this card this morning, like ya do, and in combination with April 4th, I  found myself reflecting on loss and on things that might have been. I lost touch with a close friend when I moved to the bay area, someone who meant a great deal to me. Our friendship came close to nudging past platonic friendship a few times but never quite made it. But mostly, I just regret the loss of connection and hope he is well, happy and loved, but not knowing makes me sad and wistful. His birthday is April 4th. Happy Birthday, Eric Mewhirter, wherever you are!

Quotes to think on:

This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

Sadness flies away on the wings of time.
― Jean de La Fontaine

Heartache is very fertile ground for song-making but so is happiness, so is absolute bliss.
---K. D. Lang

I know that in life there will be sickness, devastation, disappointments, heartache
​- it's a given.

What's not a given is the way you choose to get through it all.
If you look hard enough, you can always find the bright side.
---Rashida Jones

Heartache often drives us to consume things we wouldn't otherwise, such as an entire pint of Caramel Pecan Perfection high-fat ice cream, covered in ganache, the crack cocaine of frozen dairy. Twelve hundred calories per pint, six hundred and eighty of which are fat calories, but is only dulls the pain for the moment, there's that carb fog while you're standing at the sink shoving it in your face, and then it's over and you feel...used. Like a cheap pickup the Dove people seduced and abandoned in your kitchen, leaving you with sticky hands and an empty cup and a still-broken heart, except now you're mad at Dove, too.
― Jennifer Crusie