Ace of Swords

 

I love the different ways these cards are interpreted by their illustrators.

Ace of Swords in the normal playing cards would be the Ace of Spades, with its associated meaning of Death.  A strong association with rebirth is there too; I saw one such card depicting a Phoenix ( it was too large to copy into this post).

You could do a tarot reading with standard playing cards except for one thing:  There is no Major Arcana, so you’d lose out on the Moon, the Star, the High Priestess, the Magician, the Fool…

Ace of Swords, at any rate, has a different meaning from Ace of Spades.  The undertone of death is indeed there; if you look at the first two images, the association with Avalon and Excalibur is very strong.

Aces signify new beginnings; and also the completion of something (the ace is after all a trump card).

The third card shows a hero, and the standard tarot card (fourth card) shows the Ace of Spades as it usually looks in Tarot: with a laurel crown.

The crown indicates victory, as does the hero.

Ace of Swords indicates that an intellectual victory is won; triumph.  Perhaps the publication of a book (*wink at the NaNoWriMoers*) or the completion of a thesis.  Perhaps you win in a debate or solve a puzzle that has been plaguing you for a while.

Action card:  Knuckle down and put your mind to solving whatever it is that is worrying you.  You shall emerge victorious! 

What a lovely card to draw!