Does 3 of swords always mean cheating/infidelity.

Hey! I'm actually a bit confused with the meaning of this card, I mean, I think it is really clear, but I'm wondering if this card ALWAYS means cheating/infidelity.

Could it be possible if it means just a classic breakup/separation but not neccesarily caused by infidelity? or does it always mean infidelity?

No, it doesn't always mean cheating/infidelity.

In fact I don't know of a single Tarot card that means exactly the same thing every time it shows up. Tarot is much more eloquent than that, and the cards have a lot of nuances that you will begin to see as you use them to answer more questions.

Frequently, 3 of Swords simply means feelings of heartbreak. It doesn't even have to be a sore heart because of a romantic relationship. It can have to do with many kinds of heartbreak.

And it doesn't always mean 'heartbreak' either. I've seen it show up to indicate surgery in the querent's future.

oceane said:

Hey! I'm actually a bit confused with the meaning of this card, I mean, I think it is really clear, but I'm wondering if this card ALWAYS means cheating/infidelity.

Could it be possible if it means just a classic breakup/separation but not neccesarily caused by infidelity? or does it always mean infidelity?

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I see this as a heart matter.

It could be a situation where it breaks your heart. If you find out someone you thought was close to you has been saying bad things about you.

If you find out some terrible news that hits close to home.

It definitely doesn't always have to be cheating.. it could be bad news you hear or being in a bad situation that's bad for you to hear.

Remember swords are the mind. So it could just be something that is troubling you.

Hey O,

I had three of swords show up for a month once and it was fantastic for me.
It involved a lot of heartbreaking healing, privately gone through mostly, and wasn't related at all to the man in my life. It was a time for me to face me and the honesty was what burst my heart open in albeit painful tears of sorrow that led to joy.

...beautiful time in my life ! Not easy. But magnificent.

Bonny

not infidelity at all; though it could be; to me there's conflict. In the two of swords you have conflicting or differing ideas held in balance; in the three, the balance is upset and it's causing drama - hence the heart in the stormcloud.

The 'third thing' might not be another person, but might be an idea or a situation, other life demands and responsibilities, depending on the context.

@Crystalseas Uhm a heart surgery too... interesting. Yeah sometimes we have to take the cards as graphic as it seems, just sometines

@Femenine_mystique I personally think all those situations are other kind of "Heartbreak" too. Thank you

@Bonny So sometimes can be personal, a kind of troubled times too.

@Euripides "The third thing might not be necessarily another person. Yeah, I'll remember that.

But now that you know not necessarily means another person involved... How do you know the difference? How do you know when there might be cheating or just a normal heartbreak? By the surronding cards, right?

oceane said:

@Crystalseas Uhm a heart surgery too... interesting. Yeah sometimes we have to take the cards as graphic as it seems, just sometines

@Femenine_mystique I personally think all those situations are other kind of "Heartbreak" too. Thank you

@Bonny So sometimes can be personal, a kind of troubled times too.

@Euripides "The third thing might not be necessarily another person. Yeah, I'll remember that.

But now that you know not necessarily means another person involved... How do you know the difference? How do you know when there might be cheating or just a normal heartbreak? By the surronding cards, right?

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Absolutely. Surrounding cards or even clarifying cards. Although I only use them with courts.

I haven't had the chance to do an infidelity reading. But I did a reading for my mum who was always constantly cheated on by my dad and her situation was 3 of swords meaning her heart had been hurt in the past but like surrounding cards are definitely very important to look at.

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All interpretations start with the exact question asked. If you are answering "what does he think" that's a very different question from "how does he feel". So the 3 of Swords as an answer to 'what does he think' is going to have a different meaning than 'how does he feel'. And both of those will be different from 'how does my boss view my work'.

Then, if you're using a spread, the next most important thing is the position meaning. A card in the 'past' position is going to mean something different from the same card in an "outcome" position.

And, as you say, the surrounding cards influence your interpretation.

So, is it a job/career question, a romance question, a spiritual advice question? What position is it in? What surrounding cards are influencing the situation?

Lots of different ways to interpret the same card.

3 Swords can represent getting to the heart of the matter, or an honest and probably painful conversation that has occurred or needs to occur. It could also be a cathartic experience that needs to occur so that healing can actually begin.

It can mean infidelity, but as others have mentioned already none of the cards always means the same thing.

Rodney

oceane said:

Hey! I'm actually a bit confused with the meaning of this card, I mean, I think it is really clear, but I'm wondering if this card ALWAYS means cheating/infidelity.

Click to expand...

No.

It can mean deep thought. It can mean pain, for any number of reasons. It can mean negative thinking. It can mean cardiac surgery - my brother got it for a TRIPLE (3) bypass. It can mean many things.

In fact, I've rarely seen it come up for infidelity: other cards are much more likely. Five Cups for the feelings of the one cheated-on, Seven Swords for concealment, Eight Cups for walking away from what you have, etc etc. Even the more traditional Lovers card is more likely, the ones showing one person standing between two others.