The Study of the Marseille PIPs - the 3's

Interestingly, Diana, your empathetic reaction to the 3 swords is exactly how A. Arrien interprets that card. Sorrow that is held in the mind, reworked, like mental cud, over and over. Rumination. she claims we are stuck in things of the past here.

Also, I notice on my Thoth 3, that two of the swords are curved and one is straight.

Do the curved swords indicate the mental confusion, bending backwards? Is the one straight sword representative of the focused mind that must (and will) prevail?

Does this card represent our human struggle with Spirit?

Further thought:

A third element has been added to the equation. we had the first flowering of idea in the 2 of swords. Then there is that confusion of orientation, possibly, in the 3, as we develop the idea, or search for a way to develop it further.

We look to the past, we anticipate the future. We worry. Oh, gosh, can I do this?! We become temporarily overwhelmed as we ignore the central idea, the path.

Then, in the 4 swords, we find peace and stability.

Do we have trouble with odd numbers?

I was thinking, too, of the Empress, Ms. Capital 3, III. She is multiplicity (fertility and growth). As an aspect of her, in the 3 swords, we tend to think too much in pursuing ideas, plans, relationships. Rather than stay focused on the moment, our minds tend to run everywhere, looking at the past... "if only", looking at "what ifs", predicting scary futures.

We will learn, according to the cards, to find that central focus and regain our balance in a fuller sense! The 2 shall become the 4 by adding a 1!!! (Magician) Tools. finding out how to use them effectively......

skytwig said:

Interestingly, Diana, your empathetic reaction to the 3 swords is exactly how A. Arrien interprets that card. Sorrow that is held in the mind, reworked, like mental cud, over and over. Rumination. she claims we are stuck in things of the past here.

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skytwig: Does A. Arrien say how he/she reaches this conclusion? I would be most interested to hear.

As to your interrogation: "Do we have trouble with the odd numbers?", I think that would be a too broad assumption. However, when it concerns the Swords, my feeling would be just the opposite. Do you see how in all the odd cards (except for the 10s), all the straight Swords cross through the others, and point outside of the oval shape that the other swords make? (I'm wording it badly here - can't find the correct English words.) As if they have overcome any obstacles. (And do you see how the straight swords change colour?)

She refers to the triangle, of course, and points, here, to triangulation between mother/father/child. the past. She also refers to Saturn in Libra for this version in Thoth. So I am referring to Crowley's interpretation, not ours......

Yes, I see that the focal sword reaches beyond the upper 'crossing' of the 2 swords surrounding it. I also like the fact that the seedling is now an actual plant. It appears that any wrangling that may occur is 'overruled' by the growth already apparent.

I just purused several books, Eden Grey, Liz Greene, Evelyne Donaldson... they all have sorrow or negativity. Only Wanless (Voyager) attributes a positive... Creativity!! which makes sense as an aspect of Empress.

Creativity flourishes when you place yourself in interactive situations with different environments and people. Creativity is the product of synthesis, of your union and communication with energies outside of yourself.

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I like that.

giving impression of the cards without reading any text.

so i dont' precloud my mind. therefore i might reliterate what some of said.

three of pentacles.

THE HOLY TRIANGLE, when i saw this , i immedialty thought of al the traingles i associate, god son holy ghost my old aunty use to say. god goddess, son, mother father child, self, higher self innerself. yet it is manifested in the material world.

so one can see the material holy triangle, son mother father, sister brother mother, sister brother father, see that it forms triangles upon triangle,s

looking at the plant in the three of coins, the harmony is still there,, the two coins pefectly opposite of each other,, and the coin in the higher middle perfectly seperating the two other coins, and the plan grows in harmony making almost a full circle around the top coin.
this gives the impression that perfect physical harmony allows on to reach the principle of extension to a higher form.
to put this in laymans terms.
the efforts of two people gives the results of the higher pentacle.
so this card doens't necessary mean three people.. but the aspects fo physical work.

still if one seeks a partner, it is clear that it completes the circle, bring harmony to the traingle and if the person doens't have the harmonizing energies look elsewhere. if one is more equal then the other it becomes the three of coins reversed, one having dominion over the other.
so reversing the card, sees two people overpowering the one coin who is being ousted. (this happens a lot in business one creates and i am sure back then as well in the guilds and such )

three of swords.

the mental stalemate of war and strife , (or on the mental level inner and outer strife to create a tempory balance,or perhaps permant )
has evolved into a sword in the middle.

the part where the swords meets with the other two swords in the top reminds me of the one for all and all for one of the three mouse ..umm you know what i mean. (can't figure out to spell it )
this is a message the person mind must take into account the the group as well as himself, if the group falls so does he ,, if he fails so does the group. and perhaps it won't be a group no more.
the power falls to him to see that mental harmony is kept.. perhaps to play the peacemaker.

a though occurs to me,, why this swords is differnt then the other two swords, this sword is straight , for fenching, and the other swords are curved for slashing,
to get to the heart of the matter is the key here to get straight to the point.

three of wands.
A TEEPEE.
that is what i see here, put a robe or a some cloth over the bottom have of the wands and one has a teepee.
a place of living, teaching, and experiencing.

again where they meet is the blue colour of peace.. the wands of spiritual action finding peace among each other.

here i see spiritual teachers coming from peace sharing, and combining their knowledge to expand into a greater purpose is to provide spirtual shelter for others.

three of cups.

an emotional traingle. the lovers triangles ? me , my friend, and my lover? or me and my friend and his lover ?

it speaks of love transcending attachements. for how many of us love our friends lovers as well as they do ( i dont means to plot to steal them away or covert them )
but to have non attachement and acceptance that they have choosen to be together i am just here to provide harmony and interaction and freindship.

so our friendship has transcended the reversed lover triangle of distrust, forbidden desires.
and evolved into a fully trusting relationship , where he trusts me to go pick up his mate, to protect her if need and she trusts me to go save him if he needs it.
and more importantly i trust myself when i am with them to keep the frienship.
or if i am the lover, this is the sign to trust emotional friendships that harmony is the key for emotional love.
perhaps it is a sign to two children that mother or father loves them equally . or that both my parents love me equally and without me the triangle would fall apart.

yes it is a sign that good foundation for family and friendship is we all have a part to play and we need each other. this love is unconditional, and when we put conditions on it is when it falls to break triangle.s

French tradition on the 3 of Swords seems to be different. The Sédillot book on the TdM came this week, and she gives both positive and negative views of the 3 of Swords. Her keywords are vague in French, and probably worse in English, but they are:

Positive:
Sending, meaning (enseignement), a new idea, the spirit of discovery, decision and direction, writing, something new, rediffusion, new edition, relationship;

Negative:
Overwork (surmenage), writer's block (sécheresse d'esprit), antipathy, character flaw, psychological problem, failure to communicate, disturbance, disorder, scattered-ness.

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These keys are fairly close to my personal take on the card. As I said, the threes represent moving forward with what was started in the twos. This is well-handled in the Waite-Smith deck, where on the 2 of Wands you see the merchant watch his ships go out, and on the 3 his ships come in.

With 3 of Swords, the 2 represents equally matched alternatives, ideas in balance, considerations that seem equal and contrary. With the 3, the equilibrium is shattered. Ideally, the conflict resolves itself by moving from "thesis" and "antithesis" to "synthesis," the new harmonization of the old conflict.

The 3 Swords represents the fruits of thought, the new synthesis of opposed ideas;

The 3 Coins represents the fruits of prudence, the payoff of weighing and dealing with resources in the 2;

The 3 Cups represents the fruits of friendship, the payoff of the meeting in the 2;

The 3 Wands represents the fruits of venture, the payoff from the speculative enterprise launched in the 2.

Hi everyone! I spent the weekend upstate at my parent's house and enjoyed very much delving into the 3's. I found that putting them side by side with the 2's provided a lot of insight also. I had not yet looked at anyone's posts when I wrote this and I know there will be some redundancy, because I read the thread last night, but I am going to copy this from my journal as is.

Swords - Where the flower was in the 2 now we have a sword that cut right through the flower. The ends of the stems are cut off. 2 stems, 2 edged sword cuts both ways. Now that the stems are cut the flowers are withering up and turning to seed. We still have the four buds without stems in the courners. Not grounded as was noted in the 2's by Khat. No stems, no connection to the earth. What was onece potential - the flower - has now become a solid tangable result. The potential has become reality. A decision has been made (the solid, straight sword) and there is no going back (the flower's stem has been severed).The stems of the flower have been cut off preventing any further ideas from coming through. The leaves on the 2 twigs are in 2's and the (are they berries?) are in 3's.

I see as an interpretation for this card stubberness, lack of open mindedness. One way thinking. The illustrations on this card reflect how powerful our minds can effect things. They can produce beautiful ideas or flowers of potential and just as quickly cut things off.

Extra note on the swords - The sword protrudes from the enclosed, bowed swords perhaps meaning starting to think outside the box? or indicating that what was an idea in the 2's is now being expressed.

Cups - Now that I look at the 3 of cups, I see the flower in the 2 of cups was starting to form into a 3rd cup. The 2 fish have become pods. The 2's now form a solid base for 3. The third cup has bloomed from the 2. The 3rd cup seems surrounded or protected. The pods facing the stem of the cup, like they are feeding it. The 2 have become 1 is the meaning I get from this card. A marriage. The flowers surrounding it show haow even though something new has been created from the 2's it still must be protected and nourished by the energies of the 2's.

Wands - The first thing I noticed is the flower or future potential created by the flower or future potential created in the 2's is replaced by a solid object. This seems to follow the pattern of the 3's in general (except coins). The leaves on this card are now facing ouward on the 3 of wands. This portrays the wands as the suit of action to me. Flowers on the other cards are pointing in as if to indicate the manifistation is internal. The wands themselves are also wider in this card than in the 2. More solid now. The blue area where they all cross is longer too. The wands cross in the center and the buds bloom from the center. What does the center mean? Action has been taken and we now await the results.

Ooops, forgot the Coins

Coins - The only one where a flower has not been replaced by an object of the suit. I notice similarities with the 3 of cups. The base of 2 coins on the bottom. Coins have a solid base that have produced a result . I also noice how the growth on the card supports the base and surrounds and seems to protect the third coin. This is similarilly found in the cups card. There is some green on the stems which indicates growth and nurturing to me. Although the flowers are pointing outward, they are still enclosed within the vines. The Cups are enclosed also. The wands and swords seemed to be extending outwards. The sword protrudes and the wands are open ended. Again indicating to me that Swords and Wands are outward expressions and Coins and Cups are inward expressions. The question here is will we let the 3rd coin free?

When I think of the 3 of Coins, I think of the young adult who has completed elementary and high school and now has to choose what profession to learn in college (University). During elementary and highschool days we are exposed to many areas of learning. It is like the hor duerves (spelling?) of life where we sample everything. It is also the time in our lives where we define who we are. It is based (the 2 coins as the base) on these two things that we decide what we are to become in life to support ourselves and eventually our family (the 3rd coin). We decide what profession will best suit us based on what type of person we are and what our accademic interests are.

Perhaps when one is done aquiering the skills for their profession, they will aquire the fourth coin, confidence (ego) and be able to 'set the coins free' in the four's. A new base from which to move forward from.