A New Direction or Recommitment: The Ace of Swords

It's interesting the Ace of Swords made an appearance today. I had just got off a video conference discussing how I can bring my classes to more students and how I can touch more lives through tarot. After the video conference and my morning coffee I grabbed my Rider deck to pull today's card. While shuffling this Ace flipped over. I turned it over and continued to shuffle the deck. Again, this Ace showed itself. This time by jumping out of the deck and landing face up on the floor.

Okay universe, you don't have to hit me over the head with a brick. Today's card is The Ace of Swords.

This Ace, like all aces, shows a hand giving us the object of the suit. A wreathed crown is pierced and sit atop the sword. The sword points rigidly upward while surrounded by the Hebrew letter Yod. The Yod is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet and is part of every other letter in the Hebrew alphabet. It could be said, therefore, that Yod appears in every word. Jewish mystics believe that God uses letters as the building blocks of creation and since Yod is a part of every letter than Yod symbolizes God's omnipresence. Indeed, one of the names for God, Adoni, is spelled with a double Yod in Hebrew, another name for God, Yahweh, starts with the letter Yod and Jesus' name in the original Aramaic is Yeshua, which also starts with the Hebrew Yod. This Ace, and all cards that show the Yod, represent being in the presence of Divine Creative Power.

The sword shooting straight up shows true perception, the ability to know the truth instantly. Under the influence of the Swords Ace your truth can not be fooled. The root of all swords is Intellect and our Ace is where this intellect starts. Whereas the remaining cards in the suit are under the illusion that life is nothing but pain and sorrow, the exception being the Four. The Ace shows untempered, raw intellect. The mountains in the background represent abstract thought and metaphorically reinforce this.

The Ace of Swords is a good card if you are putting together plans and strategies. It may also be telling you to look at things from a new, fresh perspective. You may need to cut your losses and start again. You may need to use the double edge of the sword and weigh the good and bad in a situation to take action.

Notice the grip on the sword is tight. This shows us that strength of will is necessary to control the energies of the Ace. You must be focused on your task.

Remember that all Aces are the Initial Spark and calls us to take action. Inaction is not an option once we have been exposed to the Ace's energy.

I think the Ace of Swords jumped at the chance to be today's card to remind me to not be afraid to change the direction I was originally thinking for my Tarot business. To remain focused on the ultimate goal of teaching and helping others.