afrosaxon
I always like to tackle the 3 of Swords in any deck...mainly because I am in the (relative) minority camp that this card does NOT automatically mean heartbreak, sorrow, loss.
This card is more in line with the interpretation found in the World Spirit deck.
The woman has three swords piercing through her chest, and they protrude thorugh a red heart that looks to be painted onto her dress. She is fingering the tip of the topmost sword, and there is blood on the tip of her finger. Her face is partially turned away from the window (there's lightning outside, in the distance), like she doesn't want to see what's going on out there. Note that there is some sort of light shining from outside, because it casts a shadow behind her.
The symbolism in this card is interesting.
The woman is turning away from the window, but it is her left side that is most dominant and in the light. Left side=intuition. The right side, the logical side, is in shadow. Also, her eye is wide open...she sees but doesn't want to see. Turning away doesn't make the storm outside go away, even if it is farther off.
Her shadow: bigger than she is, which is usual for our fears. And she's turning toward that big shadow.
Her dress: gray and drab, except for the heart. Also, the dress is closed by 11 gold buttons going up the right side. In numerology, 11 is a master number, signifying mastery of a task. Combined with the grays and blacks of the dress, this tells me that this woman has mastered the art of gloom and doom...she's a bit of a drama queen. She may have also mastered her logical side (the buttons are on the right), and needs to further develop her intuition. She may even be afraid to do so (as some of are when we come into our psychic gifts).
The swords: they are piercing her from the back, like she didn't see them coming. Also at her back is the big shadow...it's almost like the shadow (her fears) is stabbing her with the swords; the hilts face the wall. And she's feeling the tip of the topmost sword with her finger, bloodying herself in the process, like adding insult to injury. This reminds me of when as a kid, and your tooth was loose, you would wiggle the tooth despite the pain it caused...there was an odd comfort in the pain. Again, this goes back to the drama queen aspect; she LIKES the pain, on some level, or else she'd be making moves to get the swords out of her instead of standing there (especially if the storm is coming; lightning and metal don't mix!). It's more comforting (and familiar) to keep the pain coming, rather than stop it.
Standing in front of a window during a lightning storm isnt' the smartest move, either.
Her tripod feet: lend a sense of stability. So despite the piercings to her breastbone, heart, etc, she's still standing and stable. She isn't laid out on the ground, writhing in pain. She's upright.
I keep coming back to the heart and the fact that it looks to be painted on (although, on further glance, the piercings could be causing a heart-shaped stain of blood). Again...is this woman really bleeding, in pain? Is it truly a pain from the outside, as it first appears? Or is it of her own making (the piercings coming from the direction of HER shadow, not someone else's). She seems afraid of the storm; storms are disruptive and herald change, but they also clear away stuff that doesn't need to be there. They also nourish (via rain). Note the crescent moon that heralds the onset of the new moon, which is associated with beginnings. This can be exhaustive and lends necessity for the 4 of Swords (rest and recuperation).
T.
This card is more in line with the interpretation found in the World Spirit deck.
The woman has three swords piercing through her chest, and they protrude thorugh a red heart that looks to be painted onto her dress. She is fingering the tip of the topmost sword, and there is blood on the tip of her finger. Her face is partially turned away from the window (there's lightning outside, in the distance), like she doesn't want to see what's going on out there. Note that there is some sort of light shining from outside, because it casts a shadow behind her.
The symbolism in this card is interesting.
The woman is turning away from the window, but it is her left side that is most dominant and in the light. Left side=intuition. The right side, the logical side, is in shadow. Also, her eye is wide open...she sees but doesn't want to see. Turning away doesn't make the storm outside go away, even if it is farther off.
Her shadow: bigger than she is, which is usual for our fears. And she's turning toward that big shadow.
Her dress: gray and drab, except for the heart. Also, the dress is closed by 11 gold buttons going up the right side. In numerology, 11 is a master number, signifying mastery of a task. Combined with the grays and blacks of the dress, this tells me that this woman has mastered the art of gloom and doom...she's a bit of a drama queen. She may have also mastered her logical side (the buttons are on the right), and needs to further develop her intuition. She may even be afraid to do so (as some of are when we come into our psychic gifts).
The swords: they are piercing her from the back, like she didn't see them coming. Also at her back is the big shadow...it's almost like the shadow (her fears) is stabbing her with the swords; the hilts face the wall. And she's feeling the tip of the topmost sword with her finger, bloodying herself in the process, like adding insult to injury. This reminds me of when as a kid, and your tooth was loose, you would wiggle the tooth despite the pain it caused...there was an odd comfort in the pain. Again, this goes back to the drama queen aspect; she LIKES the pain, on some level, or else she'd be making moves to get the swords out of her instead of standing there (especially if the storm is coming; lightning and metal don't mix!). It's more comforting (and familiar) to keep the pain coming, rather than stop it.
Standing in front of a window during a lightning storm isnt' the smartest move, either.
Her tripod feet: lend a sense of stability. So despite the piercings to her breastbone, heart, etc, she's still standing and stable. She isn't laid out on the ground, writhing in pain. She's upright.
I keep coming back to the heart and the fact that it looks to be painted on (although, on further glance, the piercings could be causing a heart-shaped stain of blood). Again...is this woman really bleeding, in pain? Is it truly a pain from the outside, as it first appears? Or is it of her own making (the piercings coming from the direction of HER shadow, not someone else's). She seems afraid of the storm; storms are disruptive and herald change, but they also clear away stuff that doesn't need to be there. They also nourish (via rain). Note the crescent moon that heralds the onset of the new moon, which is associated with beginnings. This can be exhaustive and lends necessity for the 4 of Swords (rest and recuperation).
T.