We’ve all been there: putting in the effort, feeling sure of our path, only to be met with reality not measuring up to the expectations. If you’ve encountered setbacks and you’re feeling stuck, join me as we explore how to transform setbacks with smoky quartz and the 3 of swords.

 

In this episode, we’ll dive into the emotional complexity of setbacks and how they shape our view of what we “should” be achieving. You’ll learn how to navigate the uncomfortable feelings when things don’t go according to plan, and how the 3 of Swords offers a mirror for the deeper lessons these setbacks bring.

 

You’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of how to shift your mindset when reality doesn’t align with your expectations, and the tools to stay resilient in the face of disappointment. Setbacks don’t have to derail you—they can be the very catalysts for growth that you need.

 

WHAT YOU WILL DISCOVER

 

✨ What the Three of Swords teaches about disappointment and growth.

✨ How unhelpful thoughts contribute to emotional discomfort.

✨ Why setbacks are opportunities to recalibrate, not reasons to quit.

✨ How to release unhelpful thoughts with a simple ritual using Smoky Quartz.

✨ The role of Smoky Quartz in grounding, releasing negativity, and gaining clarity.

✨ How to align your goals and reality to create forward momentum.

 

Tune in now because this episode is your invitation to redefine how you face challenges, turning what feels like a roadblock into a breakthrough.

 

FEATURED ON THE SHOW:

 

Connect with Crystals that Support Your Unique Energy Needs – Shop Now!: https://www.threecharmedgems.com/shop/

 

Download the Charmed Morning Ritual Worksheet to help you get your life in order: https://www.threecharmedgems.com/charmed-morning-ritual-opt-in/

 

Register for the Crystal Witch New Moon Ritual: https://www.threecharmedgems.com/cwnmr-crystal-witch-new-moon-ritual-opt-in/

 

Join the Charmed Community and find your tribe: https://www.threecharmedgems.com/charmed-community-opt-in/

 

Want to take this work deeper and apply it to your life?  Inside the Crystal Self Healer Members Portal, you’ll discover how to relax your body, mind, and spirit through crystal healing, while learning to set healthy boundaries, build unshakable self-belief, and heal the wounds from past hurts. Click the link to learn more and enroll today, and take the next step toward lasting emotional freedom: https://www.threecharmedgems.com/crystal-self-healer-members-portal/

 

Want to know what crystal will help you right now?  Take the What Crystal is Best for You quiz and find out how you can start your own crystal practice here:  https://www.threecharmedgems.com/best-crystal-for-you-quiz/

 

Follow on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crystal-self-healer/id1727392795

Episode #53 – Transform Setbacks with Smoky Quartz and the 3 of Swords

Welcome to the Crystal Self Healer Podcast. I’m Corissa Weaver. On this podcast, we blend the magic of crystals with the science of psychology to help you break free from chaos, ditch the overwhelm, and master your emotions so you can have more energy, get more done, and feel better every day. Get ready to unlock your intuition and restore your true power as we cover how you can transform your life using crystals and self awareness.

Are you ready to get started? All right, let’s go.

We’ve all felt it. The point where reality falls short of expectations, leaving us feeling stuck and disheartened. It’s that gut wrenching moment where disappointment makes us question everything.

Whether you’re working toward a resolution, a goal, or a life change there’s always a point where the excitement fades and reality hits. It feels hard, heavy, and maybe even impossible.

But what if these moments of gap were invitations to grow rather than reasons to give up?

If you’ve been putting in the effort, but not seeing the results and you’re wondering if you should throw in the towel, this episode is for you. We’re going to explore how to transform setbacks with Smoky Quartz and the three of swords. You’ll learn how unhelpful thoughts cloud your progress and how you can move through the emotional and mental discomfort so you can keep moving forward toward your goals.

In the Charmed Community weekly crystal and tarot forecast, the three of swords came up over two consecutive weeks in two different positions.

The three of swords is one of those cards that you can feel when you see it. The heart pierced by three swords set against a gray stormy background. There’s no question that this card portrays a sense of pain and struggle.

While in general, the three of swords is a harbinger of heartbreak, not all heartbreak is a result of relationships as might be assumed.

At the heart of the three of swords lies, a theme of misalignment, specifically when our expectation isn’t matching with our reality. A key insight offered is that the heartache depicted isn’t purely emotional, but rooted in overactive or unhelpful thoughts. The swords piercing the heart serve as a reminder that much of our pain begins in the mind, not the external circumstances themselves.

So being inspired by the season and time of year when the shiny newness of resolutions is starting to wear off, the three of swords challenges you to face the thoughts and narratives you attach to unmet expectations.

It asks you to step back from self judgment and view the situation as a moment of growth, one that clears away illusions and allows you to focus on what’s real and achievable.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say you’ve been focusing on your business or personal growth, something that’s important to you. You’ve been pouring time and energy into it whenever you can.

Maybe it’s carving out an hour in the evenings for a course that excites you, or blocking off time to work on your dream project. You’ve been committed because you believe in what’s possible for your future. You even set expectations for how much you want to get done, visualizing how much closer you’ll get to your dream life.

But then, life happens, things don’t go as planned. Family obligations pile up, a sick child, a partner who needs your help, or maybe just the exhaustion of managing everything else in your life. Suddenly those sacred moments you thought you’d secured for yourself disappear.

Now as you look back over the last few weeks, it feels like all the effort you’ve put in, hasn’t moved the needle. Instead of progress there’s this creeping sense of disappointment. You start thinking, “Why can’t I just figure this out?”, “Maybe I’m not capable of balancing everything.”

These are the thoughts that stick, that hurt because deep down you know you want it. You start feeling torn, like you’re failing both your dreams and the people who count on you.

When the weight of guilt becomes heavier and you start to internalize the belief that you’re not capable of managing it all, you feel torn, questioning whether you’re failing not only your dreams, but the very person you aspire to be.

The frustration of not living up to the expectations you set for yourself weighs heavy, making it tempting to give up.

So many of my clients come to me because they hold expectations of themselves that have little to no room for variation and flexibility. When life doesn’t go as planned, they feel like they’re failing and then fall into a loop of negative thinking that feeds their feelings of guilt, keeping them stuck and unable to move forward effectively.

This is where the energy of the three of swords becomes a powerful ally for you, because it encourages you to take a look at the stories you tell yourself about failure, disappointment, and unfulfilled desires.

Reality doesn’t always reflect what you imagined. Sometimes it lacks, sometimes it’s better. What’s helpful is to find the nuggets that help to move you forward. To see the growth or the joy you’ve created along the way and the path forward to the end result.

When reality doesn’t match expectations, the goal isn’t to give up, but to gain clarity and recalibrate.

Notice the story your mind is creating about the situation, the result you’ve created, and the path you took to get there.

I’ve observed my client’s feeling despair and disappointment when they focus on missteps or detours they experienced along the way, especially when they aren’t realizing the dream they were pursuing.

When you’re quick to tell yourself that you’ve failed, instead of appreciating the richness of the journey it can be hard to appreciate where you actually are, or see the potential for your future.

Sometimes when you hold an expectation tightly, the gap between it and reality can feel overwhelming too. It’s okay to feel discouraged. Setbacks will always be part of the journey.

Every setback provides valuable information about what works, what doesn’t, and where you need to pivot. This perspective helps dissolve the emotional charge around disappointment and reframes it as a stepping stone towards success.

Going back to our example, it was family obligations that were taking priority, and for most empath and sensitive women, being there for your loved ones is a high priority.

But it’s our thoughts that create the emotional responses, which then fuel actions or inaction. So, if you’re telling yourself that you don’t have what it takes to make it, or you’re not seeing the power in your ability to allocate your time to things you decide are meaningful, you’ll miss the opportunity to see that the gap between your reality and expectation is a mirror reflecting what needs adjustment.

Moving forward isn’t about doing it perfectly: it’s about showing up consistently. Reflect on what this gap is teaching you about your approach, your timing, or your deeper desires. Maybe you need to adjust your timeline to account for being available to the people in your life. Maybe you need to establish and hold boundaries so you don’t fall into old habits and behaviors that you were trying to change. Maybe you need to decide whether the goal you set is actually the goal you want to pursue.

Through this process, you can move from a place of pain to one of clarity, and from clarity to closing the gap between your expectations and your reality.

If you’d like to watch the weekly crystal and tarot forecast live, be sure to join me inside the Charmed Community. You’ll be able to engage with me and implement what you learn in real time. You’ll find the link to join in the show notes.

So I’m going to suggest Smokey Quartz as a supportive crystal for overcoming the disappointment that arises when reality doesn’t match with expectation.

Smoky Quartz is associated with the root chakra and will help ground you into your situation with clarity while aiding in releasing negativity. This will support you in being able to see your situation and progress more clearly.

Smoky Quartz absorbs and transmutes negative energy by grounding it into the earth and neutralizing unhelpful energy.  By releasing resentments or what no longer serves you you’ll be able to discern your next steps with confidence.

Smoky Quartz helps you connect with your inner strength, allowing you to tap into resilience as you set about organizing and prioritizing how you plan to move forward.

Smoky Quartz will also help you stay present and rooted in your personal truth. It will clear the fog of distraction and fear, encouraging you to trust in the unfolding of your unique journey.

When it comes to handling the disappointment felt when reality doesn’t meet up with your expectation Smoky Quartz is the perfect crystal to work with, especially when you’re doing the introspective work offered by the three of swords.

So here’s a little ritual you can do to support you in releasing unhelpful thoughts.

Find a quiet space and hold your chosen crystal in your non-dominant hand.

Close your eyes, take a deep inhale, and on the exhale, imagine releasing a single unhelpful thought into your crystal.

Visualize the thought dissipating into the crystals calming energy.

Repeat this three times with three unhelpful thoughts.

Once complete, open your eyes and anchor in this release by repeating an affirmation like: “I release what no longer serves me and embrace the clarity to move forward. My path unfolds in alignment with my highest good.”

Then take some time to journal and reflect on what has been stirred in you. For my friends inside the Crystal Self Healer member’s portal there are journaling prompts you can use to take this ritual deeper.

When faced with reality that doesn’t match your expectations, it can feel like you’ve been derailed. But this isn’t the end, it’s an opportunity to recalibrate. Join me inside the Crystal Self Healer member’s portal where you’ll turn setbacks into stepping stones, creating clarity around your goals and how to achieve them. You’ll learn to set and hold boundaries that protect your energy, prioritize what truly matters, and bring balance to all areas of your life.

You’ll get access to all the tools and support you need to build a foundation where every part of your life feels supported and fulfilling, so you can step forward without guilt or feeling like you’re falling short. Use the link in the show notes or go to my website at www.threecharmedgems.com to learn more, and I can’t wait to support you inside.

Today’s episode has been brought to you by the three of swords, Smoky Quartz and recalibration. May we all embrace challenges as part of the journey, dismantle our unhelpful thoughts, and trust that each step leads us closer to the highest and best version of ourselves. Blessed be, my friends.

All right, my friends, that wraps up this week’s episode. Thank you for joining me here today on the Crystal Self Healer Podcast. If you haven’t already, hit subscribe, leave a review, and take the What Crystal is Best for You quiz linked in the show notes. Join me again next week as we continue to demystify crystals, how your brain works, and how you can use them so you can have more energy, get more done, and feel better every day.