Three of Swords: tarot meaning, upright and reversed

Three swords pierce a heart beneath clouds and rain.

Upright

sorrow · separation

A painful truth or separation needs to be faced directly.

Reversed

lingering hurt · repair

Pain may be easing or repeated through an unresolved interpretation.

In a reading

The position gives this card a particular task: a description of the situation, a challenge, or guidance. Read its image and meaning alongside the other cards and the question that brought them together.

Golden Dawn correspondence

Saturn in Libra, 10–20 degrees. This is the attribution in Book T.

Sources

A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. These notes are original interpretations of the Waite–Smith imagery, informed by that text.