Three of Swords
Strife. Upheaval. Upset.
Yikes!!!! Not a card I ever like to see. Since I’ve begun this blog, however, I must remain true to the cards I choose. I need to face these swords bravely. I’m in a deliciously happy mood as I pick this card and I refuse to let it bring me down. If something negative happens, it will be completely extraneous and not stem from me! I recall a book that claimed The Three of Swords offer clarity. That the swords cut straight to the heart of the matter. My eyes are drawn to the storm clouds in the background of the card. We are having a Nor’easter today. Perhaps, the card is referring to the weather and not my life. Nervous, I pull another card for clarification. I receive the Ace of Swords. I’m stumped on what it all means but note the Ace of Swords referred to an incident that occurred in my country house. I can’t figure it out. I wait and see what develops.
Avoiding the sleet and snow, my daughter and I stay cozy at home. A lazy afternoon of hot chocolate and finger-paints creeps by and my cell phone rings. I see it is my husband calling. He must be on his way home. I hear the dread in his voice the moment he speaks. Our country house has a freeze alarm connected to our phone. If the temperature drops below a certain point, if the heat stops working, the house calls us to let us know. If the pipes freeze, they could burst and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. The house had called him, the heat was off and the pipes were on the way to freezing. Our country home is nestled on a mountaintop two hours driving distance from NYC and there were blizzard conditions outside.
The next hour was tense but my husband and I each handled the emergency with a surprising grace. We both tend toward the histrionic side. Resisting these childish impulses, we rose to the challenge at hand. He got in touch with our handyman and emergency plumber. I spoke to the electric company and sheriff’s department. The house was safe and secure by midnight and we didn’t have to brave the elements to do it!
My lesson was quite obvious. A frightening drama had presented itself. We dealt with it in an efficient and calm manner. We laughed together and congratulating ourselves for being so mature. We haven’t always handled stress so well. The lesson lay not with what was in the card but how we were able to deal with it. We cut right through to the heart of the matter and in the face of adversity, broke out of our old pattern. Working together, we handled a scary situation in a new, better way.