Tarot and Your Daily Life:
Aces High
by James Rieklef
The cards in the Tarot’s
Minor Arcana are divided into four suits, much like the suits of
a deck of playing cards. In the Tarot, however, the suits are given
esoteric associations. The most common nomenclature and associations
for these suits are as follows:
• Wands/Fire — enthusiasm, passion, desire, confidence,
and inspiration
• Cups/Water — emotions, empathy, relationships, intuition,
and imagination
• Swords/Air — thought, intellect, reason, decisions,
communication, and conflict
• Pentacles / Earth — prosperity, health, practicality,
stability, security, and end results
The number assigned to each card in these suits also has esoteric
associations, and so our understanding of a card’s meaning
can be enhanced by a consideration of its numerological association
within the context of its suit’s elemental association. Let
us explore this process here through an examination of the Tarot’s
four aces.
The Tarot aces (or ones) are concerned with beginnings, opportunities,
initiative, and potential that needs to be realized. Also, they
can represent the highest ideals of their suit, so even though
every card has both dark and bright connotations, we will focus
here on the more positive aspects of the aces as we consider the
messages they hold for our daily lives.
The Ace of Wands can represent a flash of insight, a spark of excitement,
or a burning desire for something new, such as growth or change.
It may signify a new enterprise that can transform our lives if
we allow the inspiration of the Universe to flow through us and
into our efforts. But the Tarot’s aces are like seeds that
need care and nurturing in order to grow, so the Ace of Wands also
urges us to pursue our ventures with confidence, passion, and a
concerted focus of will.
In the suit of Cups, the ace can indicate a budding romance. Alternatively,
it may represent the love and compassion that lies at the heart
of a healthy relationship or that can heal a damaged one. Perhaps
this card’s best advice is to view all our relationships
through the eyes of love, which leads us to greater contentment
and fulfillment in them. Sometimes the Ace of Cups urges us to
follow the dictates of our heart, for, in the words of Blaise Pascal, “The
heart has its reasons which reason does not know.” This card
also stresses the value of love and compassion in solving issues
of conflict and anger since it takes water (this suit’s element)
to douse a fire. Finally, the Ace of Cups says that our truest
blessings may be our loving relationships, for it is through love
that we find our highest connection with other people.
The suit of Swords, with
its sharp-edged icon, is infamous for being the suit of pain and
strife, but, as we shall see, it has its own rewards as well. In
our search for truth, clarity, and understanding, the Ace of Swords
can represent the power of incisive logic and reason, or it may
indicate the out-of-the-box thinking symbolized by the story of
the sword that cut the Gordian knot. Most often, though, new ideas
and fresh insights are born out of struggle and strife, and are
learned in the “school of hard knocks.” And even more
difficult than this card’s advice to learn from our problems
and mistakes is its message that sometimes we must face up to some
uncomfortable truths. For example, in order to find fair and equitable
solutions to our conflicts with other people, we should consider
their point of view, but how many of us are willing to do that?
More vexing still is the fact that inevitably all understanding
is limited, since a concept is only a shadow of the reality it
seeks to express. Even our most firmly held ideals and beliefs
fall short of the whole truth and must be subject to reconsideration
and revision. So the Ace of Wands urges us to question our assumptions
and re-examine our ideals and beliefs with an open mind. This does
not mean we must reject them, but that we should reexamine them
now and then. Perhaps we will reaffirm them, but sometimes we may
refine or even reject them.
Finally, the Ace of Pentacles is concerned with our health and
prosperity. But the aces are like seeds that need to be nourished
and tended in order to grow, so we must make the best of the opportunities
that life presents us in order to enjoy their fruits. At the same
time, it is important to trust that we are supported by the Universe
and to let its gifts flow into our lives rather than desperately
grasp for them out of a sense of lack or greed.
The pentacle on this card, with its encircled pentagram symbolizing
the importance of the spiritual within the material world, warns
against becoming fixated on the purely material aspects of life.
Perhaps the most precious facet of this card, then, is its advice
to appreciate the blessings in our life. As Marianne Williamson
says, “It is when you become grateful for what you have that
you become an abundant person.”
James Ricklef is a Tarot reader, teacher, and writer.
His new book, Tarot Get the Whole Story explains how
to read Tarot cards through various spreads, giving ideas
for inventing your own spreads. For more information
about his work, see his website: http://home.att.net~jwricklef/
e-mail: knighthawk111@hotmail.com
