THE THREE OF SWORDS, LORD OF SORROW

   A red heart floats in the sky in front of rain clouds. Three swords have pierced the heart, two crossing each other and one straight down through the middle. Strangely, no blood flows from the heart; only rain falls from the clouds. The storm is not raging; the rain gently falls and continues the cycle of life within the physical realm. The Threes correspond to the third Emanation on the Tree of Life, known as Binah, meaning "Understanding." Binah is the celestial Mother of creation (the second Emanation being the celestial Father). Binah is the female principle still “above” manifestation, but from her womb, all of creation issues forth on the lower planes. The third sphere restricts (a quality of Saturn) free-flowing force. From the perspective of spirit, the limiting boundaries of form create a kind of imprisonment. The third sphere also ushers in death because everything that is created on the physical plane is eventually destroyed (hence Saturn’s association with the grim reaper). From this knowledge comes the Vision of Sorrow. Suffering is inevitable: destruction follows creation. But regeneration follows death in an endless cycle. The image is simple and balanced (a quality of Libra), like the cycle of birth, death, and regeneration itself. The cosmos would remain static without this cycle, and the soul would not experience the contrasts that enable it to know true joy and understand the meaning of harmony and beauty. The suit of Swords represents the element of Air, the plane of the conscious mind, which is aware of change and loss, an awareness that leads to sorrow. But though suffering may be painful and debilitating, from the changes--and the recognition of mortality--we slowly learn to accept and establish balance and harmony within ourselves.

CORRESPONDING COLOR: Dark brown.

Reversed: inability to accept change or to recover from grief; inability to let go or move on