When someone is suffering, sometimes it helps when the cards acknowledge that. We have all gone through suffering, and the mere fact that someone says: I see your pain - that can be a point of connection. The Three of Swords is a tough card and a tough reality, and when we're in the middle of pain, that's what we have to deal with. And when this card appears, it says: you're in pain, and the tarot sees it. Yes, it's true that going through suffering can make us wiser, more empathic, and if it's the pain of ripping off old bandages over festering wounds, it's a pain that can lead to healing. But all these "benefits" are in retrospect. While the pain is there, that's what we deal with. (Btw, suffering can also weaken us, make us bitter and result in isolation - a "beneficial" outcome is by no means a given). Of course, a lot depends on the context of the reading, the question, other cards etc. I'm sure that as readers, we all try to be supportive and caring towards our querents, but imo, it's the tough cards that show a tarot reader's quality. It's not hard to tell a querent their life is all rainbows and marshmallow, but we have to be able to talk about sorrow, grief and heartbreak without sugarcoating it or juggling with semantics to make it disappear. That's why I think that some life experience is needed for tarot reading, like for other arts. I didn't know all this when I was 18 and had my first tarot reading. I think one factor contributing to this dilemma is the constant message of "you can manifest anything", and this belief I heard from many people that when something bad happens, people have somehow brought it upon themselves. But **** happens to nice people, life is unfair, and all the healthy living in the world is no guarantee that you won't get a horrible disease. It's hard to accept this basic unfairness of life, and the Three of Swords is an important card because it reminds us that none of us are immune. In a reading with a client who is suffering emotionally, I would try to end the reading with some kind of uplifting message. I wouldn't let them go home with the feeling that life is bleak and that's it. But I wouldn't do that by putting a lot of rosy make-up on the Three of Swords. I'd do it by asking further questions like: what would help? where can you find support? or something similar, appropriate to the situation.

Welcome to the community @MoonHermit / Michael, glad you found us here 😃