Welcome to Tarot for Scholars, a resource that helps you weave the deep wisdom of tarot into your daily life and work. In each post, we offer reflections and prompts for exploring your own inner world and unlocking the unique creative power of your scholarship.
3 of Swords
About this card
At first glance, heartbreak or disappointment. Upon closer examination, the process of registering pain, finding meaning in it, and transforming it into wisdom — and the long-suffering deliberation that process requires. Relatedly: contracts, agreements, oaths; a commitment from the heart.
Other interpretations
Margy’s cards, clockwise from top left: Radiant Tarot; New Chapter Tarot; Cosmic Slumber Tarot; Shining Tribe Tarot; Elemental Tarot; Navigators Tarot of the Mystic Sea; Spolia Tarot; Tarot of the Spirit.
Helen’s cards, clockwise from top left: Moon & Stars Tarot; Light Seer’s Tarot; Japaridze Tarot; Canes Arcanae; Star Spinner Tarot; Muse Tarot; Tarot of Mystical Moments; Forest of Enchantment Tarot.
You can read Helen’s personal 3 of Swords story here. 🩷
Questions and prompts
Which meaning for this card resonates most with you today: disappointment, contracts, or a fusion of the two — heart-led commitments arising from painful experience?
What oaths have held you in your work over the long term? How do they relate to pain you’ve experienced? Did they grow out of past sufferings, and/or have they sustained you through times of pain?
How do your commitments help you find meaning in the struggles you must work through in your scholarly process?
Thanks for joining us for Tarot for Scholars! Your hearts, restacks, and comments brighten our day. 💫
Yours in scholarship,
HELEN SWORD is a scholar, poet, award-winning teacher, and founder of the WriteSPACE, an international writing community with members in 30+ countries. Her research-based books, articles, and online tools empower scholarly writers to write more clearly, confidently, prolifically, and with greater pleasure.
Visit Helen’s website here.
MARGY THOMAS is the creator of ScholarShape, a body of work dedicated to elucidating the patterns of Story-Argument across genres, disciplines, and life itself. Through services and DIY resources, Margy helps scholars use Story-Argument patterns to design their work — and to find its deeper meaning and higher purpose.
Visit Margy’s website here.
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