Ace of Swords
A hand issues from a cloud, grasping as word, the point of which is encircled by a crown. Divinatory Meanings: Triumph, the excessive degree in everything, conquest, triumph of force. It is a card of great force, in love as well as in hatred. The crown may carry a much higher significance than comes usually within the sphere of fortune-telling. Reversed: The same, but the results are disastrous; another account says — conception, childbirth, augmentation, multiplicity.
A. E. Waite, Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911)
Creative source of the power of air and intelligence, conception of an idea. Cutting power of the mind towards both terrible suffering and sublime new resolutions. Unexplored potential movement and aggressive action. Awakening of mental power often means collision with old beliefs and patterns. Mind over matter. Initial eruption of a new world-view. The start of a completely new concept. Conquest, outburst, fight, struggle before peace.
Ace of Clouds: Consciousness
Most of the cards in this suit of the mind are either cartoon-like or troubled, because the influence of the mind in our lives is generally either ridiculous or oppressive. But this card of Consciousness shows a vast Buddha figure. He is so expansive he has gone even beyond the stars, and above his head is pure emptiness. He represents the consciousness that is available to all who become a master of the mind and can use it as the servant it is meant to be.
When you choose this card, it means that there is a crystal clarity available right now, detached, rooted in the deep stillness that lies at the core of your being. There is no desire to understand from the perspective of the mind–the understanding you have now is existential, whole, in harmony with the pulse of life itself. Accept this great gift, and share it.
Tarot of the Ages - Mario Garizio ©1988 U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
In the right hands, the sword is a powerful weapon that can serve the needs of justice and authority. But the sword cuts both ways, and when in the posession of those who seek to use it for evil, its power becomes wholly negative. Every Sword card in the Tarot bears the duality but the Ace is particularly susceptible to it. It is the beginning, the spark of potential that will influence all that lies ahead. The Sword by itself can never be positive or negative. The bearer of the sword determines whether he will wield it with clarity and truth of purpose, or with anger and aggression.
The Ace of Swords shows the beginning of a situation whose potential is as double-edged as the blade of a sword. There is great power, even excessive power at times, in both love and hatred. The Ace implies the use of such power to further one's ends, but what it does not imply is the manner in which those powers will be used, or the end that the means seek to achieve. No matter what the goal, there is always great power behind the attempts to reach it when these attempts are powered by the Ace of Swords. Very little can stand in the path of this energy without being destroyed. Unlike the force of the Ace of Wands, a natural force, the force of this Ace can be invoked and wielded by anyone whose heart is strong. Note that, in many cases, strength and purity do not necessarily go hand in hand. Weapons are borne by the violent and unjust much more often than the righteous, and this is perhaps why the Swords suit as a whole is full of grief and crisis. But the Ace does not show either triumph or defeat; it has the potential for both lying within it. It is up to the bearer of the Sword to tap that great potential, and it is his actions that decide what will become of it.
As a primarily spiriutal card, the Ace of Swords often represents an insight or a breakthrough in the world of the spirit. Lucid understanding and mental reasoning reach their peak under the influence of this card, and achievement of goals suddenly becomes a lot easier. You can clear away the fog that has kept you from seeing the inner truth, and you can cut away all the bonds of the past that have held you back. The time to act is now, and if you set your mind to accomplishing your goals, you can achieve anything you desire. But be careful that you do not cut yourself with the sword's two-edged blade.
Tarot of the Dream Enchantress ©2009 Lo Scarabeo