The Swords suit in the Minor Arcana of the tarot is the one that rules thoughts, intellect, the mind, conflicts, and struggles.
This is linked to the air element associated with the astrological signs Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius.
And the first card I will go over is the Ace of Swords is one of the most powerful cards in the tarot deck, and it can represent several different things.
It can be a symbol of intellectual power or new beginnings.
It can also indicate the beginning of a journey, a new life phase, or success and victory.
Finally, it can also represent a breakthrough or a Eureka moment.
However, before delivering too deep into the meaning, let's go over the history and appearance of the Ace of Swords.
The History And Appearance Of The Ace of Swords
The Ace of Swords is one of the most iconic tarot cards and has a long and rich history.
The Ace of swords first appeared in Italy in the early 15th century, and it quickly became popular all over Europe.
The Ace was traditionally associated with great power and strength, and the Sword was often seen as a symbol of justice.
Therefore, many times the card represented legal matters. And in many ways, it still does.
Therefore, as you can see, the card has been used in many different ways over the years, but its meaning remains essentially unchanged.
Let's go over the appearance of the Ace of Swords in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.
First, if you see the white cloud, a hand appears from it, representing the Higher Power.
Next, the hand holds a sword that means smarts and your mind, and you will see a wreath wrapped at the tip of the sword, representing victory.
However, when you look at the background, you will see mountains that illustrate the challenges ahead of you.
So you will need to be up to par mentally to handle the path forward.
Now, let's go over what the Ace of Swords means in a reading.
What It Means To Get The Ace of Swords In A Reading
This card is often seen as a positive sign, representing the potential for success.
However, it can also be a warning sign, indicating that you must make difficult decisions.
The Ace of Swords can be a difficult card to interpret, but it is always important to remember that its meaning will depend on the context in which it appears.
If you get this card in a reading, it could mean that you're about to have a breakthrough in your life.
It could also represent someone coming into your life who will be very important. This person could be a teacher or mentor.
The Ace of Swords can also indicate a time of significant change.
If you've been feeling stuck, this card suggests that things are about to start moving for you.
So, if you get the Ace of Swords, be prepared for some significant changes coming your way!
I will do more storytelling with this as I did with the Wands suit.
The story in the Wands suit that I used was related to a host's party, which represented the Four of Wands.
I did not do any storytelling aside from the one I used for Risa Green's story in the prior cards in the Wands suit.
However, let's compare the Ace of Swords to an aspiring writer.
The Ace of Swords represents an idea about this writer wanting to write a book to tell their story to help bring awareness about something they are facing.
The writer landed on this idea, and the Ace means they are going with it.
The Ace is associated with the number one, which represents new beginnings, and the writer is beginning to write their story.
I will tell you something else very interesting about the Ace of Swords regarding mental health.
As you can imagine, you will not operate with a clear mind if your mental illness, regardless of what it is, is not appropriately managed.
However, once it is, the mind becomes very clear, which also means a lot of new ideas are swimming around.
That is why so many people with mental illnesses are pretty creative and analytical.
That is why so many of them become authors and write about their experiences and what works for them when helping mental health.
You can say that my starting this podcast was due to an Ace of Swords moment.
I would share my views on mental health while comparing it to each card of the tarot and some storytelling to help others who have an interest in tarot relate to it better.
So it is not hard to see how, once you can manage the junk in your mind, and once you end up with a clear head, you will have plenty of Ace of Sword moments.
What about Risa Green and the Ace of Swords?
You once again cannot expect her to have a clear head since she allows her illnesses and trauma to take over her and will enable others to take advantage of her.
But does that mean she will never have an Ace of Swords moment? Absolutely not.
What if she once and for all is pushed past her breaking point as I had experienced? She will end up with lots of eureka moments.
She will realize she can help improve her life if she stops allowing everyone to take advantage of her and make better decisions for her life moving forward.
However, she is not there, so she does not have a clear mind to do that.
Let's now talk about the Ace of Swords reversed.
Ace of Swords Reversed
When The Ace of Swords shows up in reverse, it signifies you are changing your mind over something.
You are giving something a second thought, or it can represent clouded judgment, as Risa Green continues to experience.
In reverse, the saying from this card is 'I don't know, or 'I need to think about this again.
This is because you are not confident in a decision you once made.
When it comes to the Ace of Swords in reverse, because of second-guessing yourself, you may have likely been influenced by another source to second-guess yourself, which means you never were confident in making that decision.
For example, you thought about applying for a job at a company that sounded good.
And you finally decided to apply to the company.
However, once you have heard from several sources that the company is not good, you would second-guess your actions.
You would then decline the interview if you were asked to have one. That is an Ace of Swords reversed moment.
So let's look at what you need to do to apply the Ace of Swords to your life.
How To Apply The Ace of Swords To Your Life
When you are not clear on what you want, but when you think you know what you want, you will want to take the Ace of Swords and ask yourself what it is that you want.
Also, if you know what you want, but you are unsure how you will make it work in your life, the Ace of Swords can help you.
Take a pad of paper and pen and begin writing down each word that comes to your mind when you think about what you want in life, whether it is a new job, a new relationship, or what you want when decorating your home.
It can be anything because everything you do in life results in you deciding to start something.
For example, you want to adopt a dog, but you do not know how you will effectively be the best pet parent because you are busy with work, kids, and other responsibilities, and you do want to travel from time to time.
You can take the pen and paper and write down every thought that comes into your mind about how you can manage to have a dog while not neglecting anything else in your life.
Eventually, you will come up with a eureka moment and realize that you can find a way to have that dog and not have to compromise anything else in your life.
Next, I will talk about the Two of Swords.
Episode 040: Ace Of Swords Tarot Card