When Stephanie decided to begin this project, she decided to begin with the suit of swords, for a number of reasons. But the first quick consequence of this was that the third image we were shooting was for the Three of Blades.

Three of Blades 1.3

For those not familiar with the tarot, the three of swords is typically a card of pain and heartbreak, depicted in the Rider-Waite as a heart pierced by three blades. Stephanie being occasionally of a literal bent, we accordingly acquired a heart and blades.

Three of Blades 2.3

In order to engage with the specific loss and heartbreak aspect, Stephanie wore clothing that had significant emotional meaning to her. She spent a lot of time meditating on personal loss and the release of past heartbreak.

Three of Blades 3.1

I especially like this image- I photographed her upside down, thinking of the Hanged Man card, and the idea of heartbreak and personal pain so often trapping us into holding patterns, whether we’re aware of it or not. She waits, inverted, holding her pierced heart, looking away from the camera.

Three of Blades 4.2

It was a long, interesting shoot. I think I learned a lot from this one about angles, and I think the cards capture the fact that it was a very emotionally difficult card for Stephanie to undertake (which she discusses more at her blog).

All images available at our Flikr, Black Widow Honey.