Life Lessons: 3 of Swords pt2

August 17, 2018 Off By Katie Horn

Again. This card came up 6 months ago for a Valentine Life Lessons post I wrote for the TABI blog. And my heart broke back then. But we looked deeply into the lessons this card had to teach us, and it wasn’t all bad in that case. There were lessons to be learned. But the question asked that month was different.

This month I asked “What do I need to learn from the mess I have created?” And there was no doubt that this card wanted to be seen today… it jumped right out of the pack and landed face up on the floor.

This card was taken from my new “Create your own Tarot” deck which cost less than 4 quid from The Works.

Colouring this card was a depressing experience… the only colour being the colour of blood. Although this version of the RWS clone is very child friendly so it doesn’t portray the dripping blood from that heart one might expect, I will admit that I added in the droplets of blood myself, because my heart does indeed feel as though it is bleeding. The three Swords piercing a heart leave us in no doubt about the message of pain and heartache being portrayed. In fact when my shared this card with my students, one of the class suggested “Beware of someone chipping in and spoiling the equilibrium however good intentioned they appear”. That is uncannily close to what has actually happened…

Well, if you read my last Life Lessons post about Temperance, you’ll know that I was struggling with a new colleague at work who wanted to make changes which would make my job harder. Although she had been the Social Media Secretary for a good while, but who had never actually done anything with the blog. Which suited me fine, since I had gotten into quite a swing, with a strong team of a dozen contributors who each sent me a post a month, so we had a regular flow of good, strong articles, and I had dreams of making that site one of the best resources on the internet.

But then she decided to take control, and tried to implement changes in how the communications were managed which would make my life harder…

So I contemplated leaving…

But the card offered for last month was Temperance, which spoke of blending together harmoniously. Of innovation through combination. So I was hopeful. I was ready to put my pride aside and bite the bullet. I did resign from my position as editor of that site, but was prepared to hand over the reigns to someone else and simply help out where required. To contribute my part to the new mix. To continue training up my new apprentice. To hand over work with existing contributors in good time. Unlike my predecessor who simply disappeared without a trace. Not sure what happened there… but it seems I wasn’t the first to be elbowed out!

But rather, I managed to offend my colleagues. In defending my stance, I was obliged to point out flaws in the system. And the system being based on people, this meant causing offence. What should have been a reasoned and logical discussion turned into a cat fight. Egos were bruised, and harsh insults were thrown. I’ll be honest, I called my oppressor an overlord and told her I felt she ran an oppressive regime. She took offense. And then refused my apology.

So what should I do? This is clearly a relationship which no longer has a part to play in my life, so I have left the team entirely and moved on. It has been a painful parting, but the vindictive behaviour I witnessed from the team left and bad taste in my mouth, and I have no doubt that these are spiteful swords that I don’t want to be playing with any more.

But… before I walk away let’s see what I have gotten out of it After all, tarot is about taking a deep look at the lessons life has to teach us..

I had 9 months working for a tarot team of national repute. I participated in a forum which was intended to help newcomers to tarot develop their reading skills. I looked deeper into individual cards than I ever had before.

I also hooked up with my Tarot Mentor, who is an amazing tutor and I am pleased to say that I will be continuing my learning relationship with him, since I will now move on to his Astrology class; and he will be mentoring me through the first Tarot reading class which I am due to start teaching next week.

So what do I think I am learning from the 3 of Swords this month…

1. Although the process of breaking up is painful, I can help alleviate that pain by accepting that things are exactly as they are supposed to be. This card often tells us that we are struggling to let go. We need to learn to let go. Everything is exactly the way it is supposed to be, so who am I to argue and try to make things go my way? Yes, it feels as though I have lost friends, but at the end of the day, the friends who were truly friends are STILL my friends.

2. When the signs to move on appear, I should simply accept the situation and walk away. Not all relationships are intended to be lasting. But all relationships have something to teach us which we can take away. And this relationship certainly helped me blossom.

3. I should review the situation looking for what I have learnt and take away the positives. In other words, I can learn from my mistakes. I can take what I want (the positive relationships I have formed), and leave the rest.