AUTHOR’S NOTE: As an esoteric tarot-reader, my aim is to get “under the skin” of the imagery on any card to see if there is more substance hiding beneath the surface of popular opinion. This is nowhere more appropriate than with the Waite-Smith 3 of Swords and its interpretation (I would say misapprehension) as emotional trauma or “heartache.”

I’ve always viewed the pierced heart on this card (and the dismembered rose on the Thoth version) as a “red herring” that is automatically assumed to mean that the seeker is (or will be) traumatized in the wake of a heart-wrenching emotional experience. But the suit of Swords (and its traditional element, Air) is the realm of cognitive perception and communication that promotes “thinking” over “feeling,” so to me this card suggests mental distress that can range from uneasiness to debilitating anxiety. (It is usually transitory since Air is volatile and Three is not a number with a lot of “staying-power.”) In past conversations, other readers have described the scene as implying “malicious gossip” or at most fierce disagreements and vigorous arguments. But I’ve just had an epiphany in that same vein.

Suppose the image signifies “harsh words that can’t be taken back.” We may have (or will) hurt someone else deeply with our inconsiderate comments, and that individual will experience the full-blown negative impact of the indiscretion while we will suffer “only” reciprocal or secondary consequences (i.e. “blow-back”) from our blunder. This casts the event in an entirely different light that places the querent squarely in control of how the situation plays out rather than merely being portrayed as a hapless casualty of Fate.

When this card shows up, we must either “watch our tongue” going forward or “make amends” for something we said in the past. I don’t think it insists that we marinate in the remorse of having shot ourself in the foot, or twist in the wind of someone else’s disparagement or animosity, both of which are completely passive reactions. If tarot is truly about empowerment, this card should make us feel motivated to “think our way out of the box” rather than merely whining and playing the victim. I once described the scenario as “knowing exactly where it hurts, and pulling the blades out to assist in healing.” If we’re self-aware and also sensitive to the ramifications of our deeds, we can accomplish the same thing for someone else we’ve inadvertently damaged.