Breaking down a card -- Ace of Swords

To the left is the Ace of Swords from the The Goddess Tarot. This could be the Excalibur card, couldn't it? A sword has been driven into the ground and awaits the right person to come along and pull it back out again. That's one way to view it, anyway. But keep reading to see another take on this card. Note that there are pyramids in the background, the land seems dry and cracked, and this sword sticks out from the parched land slightly askew. There's an ankh on the sword. In the Goddess Tarot, the suit of swords is given an ancient Egyptian theme.

Let's break this card down. To me, this card says that someone has come home, or perhaps has just woken up, to see what has become of their land. This person has thrust her sword into the ground and has sworn, "As God as my witness, I shall never eat carrots again!" Okay, bear with me. What I mean is that she's had it with the desolation and is bent on changing things. By thrusting her sword into the ground she is making her stand. The sword is askew, suggesting movement--forward hopefully. The ankh is an ancient symbol for life. Consider that a sword bearing the symbol of life has been "planted" in desolate land. The owner of this sword is planting new things, new life.

If you go back to the Excalibur analogy, one might see this card as a hint from the tarot to take new action. But this will all fall into place during an actual reading. You may draw this card for three different people and see it three different ways. (To the right is the Ace of Swords from the Hanson Roberts Tarot, notice how different it is compared to the other?)

Traditionally, swords represent thought, action, and logic. Aces represent newness and/or youth. So the Ace of Swords could be seen as representing new action.

When I reverse the card, it appears to me as if this sword is piercing the land. You may see it differently, it's just what I see. It doesn't matter what I see, all that matters is what you interpret. To me, when the card is reversed, the swords is like a thorn. It's as if there is a problem with things moving because of this thorn. A kink in the works, so to speak, and a rather problematic one. To me, this card reversed could represent interference or someone purposefully trying to cause pain or problems. To me, this card looks like pain when it is upside down. The words "beam in thine own eye" flutter through my head.

A word on reversals, it's important to learn them, but you don't have to read reversed cards. I don't. But getting to know reversals is important because sometimes you will draw a card in a reading and you'll just know that its negative aspects are what are going to apply in the reading. But we'll get to that later on.

Breaking down the cards -- Aces

These Aces are from the incredible Rohrig Tarot. Click on the image to see it much larger and more clearly. So few tarot decks have truly great artwork, this one does. My favorite touch being the notebook paper sketches and scribbles on every card. It adds something really special to the entire deck.

Aces=One. Aces denote beginnings, youth, newness, new approaches, new attitudes. Wands are about fire, passion, work enthusiasm, and I often associate Wands with friendliness. Cups are about emotions, love, feelings, the subconscious, water, and the sea. Disks=Pentacles=Coins. Coins are about the earth, material things, physical things, wealth, real estate, animals, and tactile things.

Starting with the Ace of Cups… in this deck I am always surprised that this isn’t a wands card because of the color and fire. Traditionally you will see red or “fire” colors associated with Wands. The artist who created this deck took a different tack with this card. There is a cup sitting on the sea, the woman seems to stand beyond the sea and to rise right out of the horizon. At the base of the sun that seems to burst from her you can see stars. The sea blends into paper on which is written words relating to the card. Not all of these words are in English but all of them relate to love and emotions. I suppose one could say that love and light is bursting forth from her heart. It’s a beautiful card even if I always have to do a double take to realize it’s not a Wands card. Looking at this card I see, simply, new love, new emotions, new attitudes about feeling/loving. If I reverse the card she seems to be almost swimming or diving into this ocean of red and gold. Her cup looks as if it could fall from what now looks like the light of the setting sun and into this ocean of emotion that she is diving into. I don’t know that in this deck I would interpret this as necessarily negative—that would depend, but it’s certainly a more powerful looking card when it’s reversed. She’s either falling into emotion (love) and/or she’s about to bite off way more than she can chew on an emotional level. This powerful ocean of feeling looks as if it could overpower her so easily.

Now we have the Ace of Wands. The wand on the card reminds me of a candle, although there is no wick. A feathery blossom of fire and fuscia spouts up from behind the wand. The paper has various messages of fire and empowerment written on it in various languages. A vast expanse stretches out behind the wand. There is so much possibility in this card. If I drew this card for someone I’d wonder what new enterprise they may have recently involved themselves in. Or, perhaps, I’d wonder what wonderful new empowering thing had just entered their life. When I reverse this card I am more aware of the abyss that sits at the bottom of this card—although it’s at the top now. The flame and fuchsia seems to be shooting at me rather than up in a celebratory way. The wand doesn’t look like it has anything to stand on anymore, now it looks more like a projectile than a candle. Even the paper appears to just be starting to burn in the center behind the candle. I see this card in this deck very negatively. You may see it differently. It doesn’t matter what I see. All that matters is what you see and what it means to you. But to me, reversed, Rohrig’s Ace of Wands looks like directionless, reckless energy. It also looks a bit like a face. The wand becomes a long nose, the hills become eyes, the fire and fuschia are like some kind of flaming facial hair. This has no particular meaning to me now, but it's important to note this kind of thing because, one day, someone may ask you to draw a card asking what, say, the burgler who robbed their house looked like and you'll draw a card like this and you'll remember, "Oh, yeah, this does look like a face... and this card doesn't make sense here except for this face... hmmmmm."

The Ace of Disks looks like a calm, cool salve after the reversed Ace of Wands. The cold rock mountain and the expanse of ice stretching beyond it are symbolic of the earth element that Coins nearly always represent. A man stands on the top of the rock mountain looking up at a bright and shiny star. Messages of success in various languages are written on the paper. The man has his eyes on his goal, in his mind he has reached a pinnacle of success, and he’s going to live into that vision. This card is an extremely good omen for material success. Reversed I am much more conscious of the Disk set into the stone. It holds my eye. I’m more conscious of how hard and barren the rock is. The man looks so small now. But the star is still there shining it’s beautiful light upon him. The possibilities are still there, but they may be more difficult to realize now. Reversed cards often indicate delays or that things will be more difficult than we had hoped or planned. All is not lost with the reversed Ace of Disks, but maybe more difficult.

Lesson 12, Designing a spread for Stephanie!

Tarot answers tend to be quite vague. So it's important that your spreads are clear. You already know the cards are going to be vague, ask a vague question for that vague card and you're getting a double whammy.

Sure, I ask some vague questions of the tarot, "What guidance does Cassandra need right now." I think it's always good to give Source the opportunity to speak its mind, after all. But don't let a vague question be the base of the work you are doing with a client.

A client comes in and doesn't know or says they don't know what they want to know. They just shrug and ask for a general reading. Maybe they're testing the accuracy of tarot. Maybe they are just getting a reading for fun. Maybe they really don't know what to ask. Ask them what they're main concerns are. It's usually love, money, their kids, or health. If they just aren't budging on information, no problem. Simply ask the tarot a few specific questions about your client. Some good ones might be,

"What question is on this person's mind right now?"
"What is s/he worried about right now?"
"Who is on her mind right now?"
"What should she be asking the tarot about?"

Voila, you've got a four card spread. I have a terrible memory so I'd have laid down four Post-Its already with these questions. I'd draw the cards and go from there. I'm asking the Hanson Roberts Tarot to help me with this lesson by playing along and pretending I'm really doing this reading for somebody. Oh, heck, Steph is the only one poking around lately. I'll do it for her. She can tell ME I'm off base for a change.

Six of Coins indicates she may be wishing for a little financial boost at the moment. This card indicates someone who is trying to lend a hand here and there. There is also the implication of someone trying to balance things out on a karmic level. The main character on the card is bubbly and joyous. The secondary figures are grateful to be receiving the older man's gift. Coins are the main feature, indicating money, health, land, or other material things. But my first impression was of Steph hoping for a little help and my feeling was that she was hoping for it from someone in particular.

The Ace of Swords is appropriate for a worry. This card often comes up to represent a change or shift in action or attitude towards an existing issue. Perhaps Steph is worried about a recent decision or perhaps there is some new issue that has just entered her life. The key points with this card are NEW and PROBLEM. So, if this card is right, the main worry for Stephanie right now is a new worry--or new worries on an old problem. Hard to be sure.

I asked who is on her mind right now and drew the Two of Swords. This gives me the impression that there is no one in particular who is weighing on her mind, rather, it's her own actions or choices (or perhaps waiting on the decision of another???) that weigh on her mind right now. There may be a who involved, but it seems that the center of this aspect of the question is about a choice or decision.

I'm always harping on how I'm not a fortune teller, but the appearance of The Wheel of Fortune for Steph rather clearly says, "She should be asking what's to come." Well, crap. I won't ignore fate. This seems clear. I'll ask what is coming around for Stephanie in the very near future. NOTE! I'm setting these cards aside. I'm still on the same reading so I don't shuffle these cards back into the deck. I may need to refer to them later in the reading. Sometimes what isn't clear at first becomes clear as the reading continues. Six of Cups. This card makes me want to put my hand on hers and tell her not to worry because balance is coming. Remember the Six of Coins? On the card the main figure holds a scale. Seems balance or harmony is an issue in this reading. This card says that the balance she is hoping for is coming.

Now, at this point I would rely on discussion of these cards to lead me to other questions or other aspects of the questions above. But I have to wait for Stephanie's input before I can do that.

Based on Stephanie's comments:

Ah, so the help is being given already. And more hours could be what you are counting on. Interesting. So, from here and since you aren't right in front of me where I can ask you for direction, I will ask what you can contribute towards harmony in your family situation and if the universe has any writing inspiration for you! Not that you asked for that, you implied more that it was a matter of organization and prioritization. I've switched to the African Tarot for it's bright colors in honor of Beltane.

I drew Five of Arrows and Judgment. Five of Arrows seems appropriate for your current family strife. My impression from this card is that there isn't a lot you can do except to stay out of the stuff that isn't important and only offer your input for the big stuff. Notice the smile on the adult figure's face. He's taking their squabbles lightly and is only standing by to keep anyone from getting hurt. He knows that, for the most part, he needs to let the kids muck through the little stuff on their own. The adult on the card isn't just an adult standing over children, I think there's a deeper meaning here. I hear the words, "Rise above it" in my head and feel like it's a message for you to just remain aloof of the more childish things. The adult isn't just taller because he's older, he keeps his head up and out of the drama the children have created. He hasn't distanced himself, he's still available, he's just not invested in their drama. And the interesting thing to me is that the adult doesn't seem to be admonishing the children, he's smiling. Yet the children still seem to be reacting as if they've been "schooled." It's possible that you need to lead by example and not through trying to point out to your family what should be obvious to them. The children are embarrassed not because their elder has told them what they've done wrong, but because he has set a higher example for them that makes them realize how foolish their actions have been.

As for your writing, the Universe seems to be listening! To me, Judgment is a wake up call. I think the only message for you here is what you already know, it's time to be working towards your goal.