ace of swords

ace of swords

Before I discuss the Ace of Swords I need to make one more comment about the Major Arcana.   The first card in the Major Arcana is called the Fool and it is a “O”, it represents us all as we start on our journey and like all symbols it has both a “positive” and “negative” side.  For instances to be called a “Fool for Christ” is different from simply being called a “fool” for living ones live without any regard for consequences.  So being a “fool” can either be “wise” or “foolish” and perhaps both sides come to the fore as our journey in live continues. 

The ace swords is the beginning of the suit that represents “thinking” and because it is often our thinking that gets us in trouble the swords have a good number of “negative” cards.  By negative I don’t mean “bad” but simply how we experience some of the ups and downs the suit represents.

I suppose if I need to give the feel of the ace of swords it would be like experiencing the first spring morning after a hard winter.  A morning that feels like everything is alive, young and new.  New life abounds with all the promise that it implies.  It is a time of insight and hope, were the past is contemplated and lessons learned from past mistakes or wrong turns.  It is a time also for deep spiritual insight and deeper clarity about the road one wants to take.  I suppose it could also mean an experience of the “Holy Spirit” for those whose faith is central to their lives.  The ace points to a time of reflection without action or actual choice being needed. A time when one stops being a victim and blaming others.  This comes from taking responsibility and being willing to do what is necessary to improve ones life by striving to be more objective and rational in how life is approached.   To get help if necessary so one does not slip “back” to a life of merely reacting and blaming others for ones troubles; it is also a time for truly letting go of the kind of guilt that only leads to remorse but not to conversion.  True guilt is based on an understanding of what needs to be done after mature responsibility is assumed for ones life.  Of course these reflections have to be brought to bear on ones life and that is were the dificulty arises.

The ace swords also has a “negative” side, a side that will not allow one to move forward and by that to hopefully find freedom from the cycles that we can all get trapped into.  Instead of taking stock of ones life and striving to be more objective and fair the “reverse” ace of swords is turned on to oneself not in reflection but in resentment and perhaps self-pity.  Instead of learning and moving forward both in the spiritual realm and in the world of everyday realities one sets the stage for the cycle to continue and perhaps to cause the wheel to turn at a faster pace.  Like I said above the only way to change course is to take stock and to put responsibility were it is needed.  This of course is not magick since self knowledge is not a path of “peace” but of increased inner tension as one grows in the ability to make mature choices.

The Ace is connected to two Major Arcana cards; the Magician and the Wheel.  The Magician stands before an Altar and on the altar are the symbols of the four suits in the minor arcane.  The Magician is a man of the intellect who knows how to use his intellect, emotions, intuition in a way that allows his life to move forward and upward in the outer world.  This does not mean worldly success since many successful men and women lose a lot on their way to the top.  Worldly success could entail the loss of family, friends, innocence and even ones soul.   The power the Magician (in its best aspect) represents being informed by the Holy Spirit, the power to use ones gifts in accord with ones conscience and deepest desires.  The Magician reversed is one who loses his soul for worldly advantages at the expense to what is truly important and leads to joy, not just in the other world but also in this one.  For instances greed  is something we are all subject to can never be satisfied, it is a hard talk master that if allowed free reign can completely take over ones life and exact a high price; literally the loss of everything in the end that has any true importance.

The Wheel is always turning and until ones learns the lesson needed we are bound to its grinding influence on our lives.  The Magician can find a way out of this dilemma by delving deeply into the soul and bringing clarity to the situation and allowing us to learn and take responsibility for our lives.

The Tarot if used for insight always leads one to take stock of oneself and lessens the need to “change” others; an impossible task in any case.  The deeper we grow in self knowledge the less we seem to need to focus on the problems of others.  The paradox is this leads to actually having better relationships with others and also acceptance of who they are without the need to change or criticizes.

My next post I will deal with the “2 of swords” often called “peace”, however like I said lessons are often learned slowly so the journey through the swords suit is difficult.  The mind and out thought patterns can lead us into all kinds of trouble.

Peace

mitch