Three of Hawthorns (Swords) Tote
In the tarot deck i keep telling myself i’m NOT creating, the suits are represented by natural items, shedding some of the manmade values/narratives and attachments of swords, cups, wands, coins etc.
My swords are hawthorn branches: long-used in folk magic as talismans of protection, they’re adorned with long, sharp thorns. but hawthorn, much like the suit of swords, is not solely about it’s painful attributes - it’s a multifaceted plant whose berries were used to brew liquor, it’s bark to make sedatives, it’s branches in marriage and May ceremonies, and it’s flowers for a blood pressure stabilizing “heart tonic”
Three of Swords (Hawthorns) is a card that classically has folks moaning and wailing, ready for the heartbreak it portends…but that card, like hawthorn, is so much more. The Three of Swords acknowledges your pain while promising life beyond it - instead of seeing it as dooming us, what if we could be grateful for it’s validation of our experiences, and belief in our resilience beyond hurt? In that way, isn’t the Three of Swords a heart tonic in it’s own right?
original illustration by kita (thats me!) screenprinted in-house: gold ink on black tote, individually adorned with hand sewn blood drop beads.
tote is 15” wide, 15".5 inches tall, with bottom that expands to 3” deep. washing not recommended to preserve gold ink and beading, she’s a spot-clean girl.
In the tarot deck i keep telling myself i’m NOT creating, the suits are represented by natural items, shedding some of the manmade values/narratives and attachments of swords, cups, wands, coins etc.
My swords are hawthorn branches: long-used in folk magic as talismans of protection, they’re adorned with long, sharp thorns. but hawthorn, much like the suit of swords, is not solely about it’s painful attributes - it’s a multifaceted plant whose berries were used to brew liquor, it’s bark to make sedatives, it’s branches in marriage and May ceremonies, and it’s flowers for a blood pressure stabilizing “heart tonic”
Three of Swords (Hawthorns) is a card that classically has folks moaning and wailing, ready for the heartbreak it portends…but that card, like hawthorn, is so much more. The Three of Swords acknowledges your pain while promising life beyond it - instead of seeing it as dooming us, what if we could be grateful for it’s validation of our experiences, and belief in our resilience beyond hurt? In that way, isn’t the Three of Swords a heart tonic in it’s own right?
original illustration by kita (thats me!) screenprinted in-house: gold ink on black tote, individually adorned with hand sewn blood drop beads.
tote is 15” wide, 15".5 inches tall, with bottom that expands to 3” deep. washing not recommended to preserve gold ink and beading, she’s a spot-clean girl.
In the tarot deck i keep telling myself i’m NOT creating, the suits are represented by natural items, shedding some of the manmade values/narratives and attachments of swords, cups, wands, coins etc.
My swords are hawthorn branches: long-used in folk magic as talismans of protection, they’re adorned with long, sharp thorns. but hawthorn, much like the suit of swords, is not solely about it’s painful attributes - it’s a multifaceted plant whose berries were used to brew liquor, it’s bark to make sedatives, it’s branches in marriage and May ceremonies, and it’s flowers for a blood pressure stabilizing “heart tonic”
Three of Swords (Hawthorns) is a card that classically has folks moaning and wailing, ready for the heartbreak it portends…but that card, like hawthorn, is so much more. The Three of Swords acknowledges your pain while promising life beyond it - instead of seeing it as dooming us, what if we could be grateful for it’s validation of our experiences, and belief in our resilience beyond hurt? In that way, isn’t the Three of Swords a heart tonic in it’s own right?
original illustration by kita (thats me!) screenprinted in-house: gold ink on black tote, individually adorned with hand sewn blood drop beads.
tote is 15” wide, 15".5 inches tall, with bottom that expands to 3” deep. washing not recommended to preserve gold ink and beading, she’s a spot-clean girl.
