The number 3 symbolizes the generative force, creative power, multiplicity, and forward movement.  They are about planning and preparing, putting the details into place before beginning the work.  The suit of Swords is associated with reason, thought, logic, will, courage, verbal skill, matters pertaining to the mind, communication and the element of air.  It can represent getting all your plans and thoughts assembled in a coherent manner before presenting them to the public.  It's about deciding how to incorporate these plans and ideas into your current lifestyle.  The 3 of Swords can also indicate a conflict of the heart or a flash of insight that allows the seeker to perceive a situation for what it is.  Sometimes it suggests a sense of betrayal and heartbreak, something that our mind thought would come true has failed. 

"You are clarifying and articulating what you really think, prior to presentation or publication.  You are looking at your chosen lifestyle and planning how to implement it into your daily schedule.  You are figuring out how to communicate what you want to say." - Gail Fairfield

Sadness, heartbreak, betrayal - all of these have been associated with this card.  Certainly the images on the 3 of Swords from both decks conveys this sentiment.  The woman on the All Hallows 3 of Swords seems to be crying in the rain, her  arm bearing a 3 of Swords tattoo.  Who or what has broken her heart is not clear but her sense of sadness and loss seem clear.  On the Vampire Tarot the image is even more visceral - an anatomically correct heart is pierced by 3 blades.  One had a droplet of blood hanging off its tip.  The three swords seem to symbolize the three men who decided to avenge themselves on Dracula - cursed Lucy's suitors:  Arthur Holmwood, Quincey Morris and John Seward.  All three men vow to kill the demon who transformed their innocent beloved into an accursed creature who drank the blood of innocents.  In a sense it also represents what Dracula did to all three men - stabbing each in the heart by seducing Lucy and making her into a vampire, ultimately causing her death.

At the same time this type of situation can cause us to reassess and clarify our lives and our goals.  Once we move passed the initial grief and pain we are able to reach a more rational and logical place.  Our mind enables us to keep moving forward and not become mired down in the sorrow and loss we have experienced.  In some respects this card reminds me of how I felt when I was "downsized" or fired from PAL.  It was a devastating experience.  I felt as though I had been punched in the solar plexus.  Eventually, with time and distance, I was able to gain some perspective on the situation and realize that it hadn't been healthy for me for some time.  I hadn't been happy there and found myself unable to break free.  I was afraid and allowing my fears and self-doubts to keep me in a place I knew was no good for me anymore.  Of course that doesn't minimize the pain at all but it does allow the pain to become a cleansing process.  It is as though the three swords cauterized the wound for me.