Editor’s Note: If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article tells you how to use the spread. You can visit Sarah’s website here. –efc
By Sarah Taylor
This weekend’s reading feels like a significant, if not major, initiation into something, and the caution of what can happen when that initiation is squandered through misuse or abuse.
Wow! Two Aces. What a pairing. An Ace symbolises an offering that is the epitome of the quality of its suit; a gift that, when used effectively, has the power to embody that quality in its purest form. Two Aces is not simply a two-fold offering: it can be substantially more than, because the potential of both Aces can play off each other, creating ‘alchemical reactions’ that they would not be able to do in isolation.
The Ace of Swords is about initiation into the power of thought. It is an idea, a plan, a moment of cutting insight and clarity. It is divinely inspired, coming as it does from a higher organising principle. (In the Aces, the symbol of each suit is presented to us, held in the palm of a disembodied hand coming out of a cloud. The hand, in its most literal sense, is the hand of God. It is the creator’s gift to its creation.) I wrote this about the Ace of Swords in an earlier article:
There is the intimation that truth is reached alone, and that it can often rise up from those parts of us that are not altogether knowable. It can be harsh medicine that asks to be treated with the utmost respect (yew), or it can heal (kelp, for instance). Either way, when wielded in service to a higher authority (the crown), its inspiration is empowering and liberating.
The Ace of Pentacles is the pinnacle of creative force as applied to the physical world. It is the gift of manifestation that works in tune with nature, rather than against it. It seeks expression while also seeking balance within a world where equilibrium is not always easily attained, and which is a process of constant adjustment and readjustment.
In terms of New Age thought, the Ace of Pentacles might be seen as the initiation into working with the Laws of Attraction. From a more practical viewpoint, it is about the harnessing, rather than the exploitation, of a resource that is available to us in its purest form. It is the ability to create something that prospers, yet remains supportive of the environment that brings it into being and nurtures it.
Having both Aces side-by-side in a reading implies something even more powerful. If thoughts are precursors to the creative process — if all action stems from thought — then here we have both offered to us. We can create consciously. An idea does not only sit in potential: it has the ability to be put into action. Our environment is not random or accidental, based on the wishes of others: it is driven and shaped by our own clear thinking and powers of reasoning.
And yet, a caveat in the shape of the 7 of Swords. Here, I see a man with five swords in his arms, creeping away from two swords that remain on the ground behind him. He is on tiptoe, as if he is avoiding being caught out at something. I have a feeling that he is unable to carry all seven, and it is only a matter of time before he returns for the other two.
It feels like deceit in order to gain the upper hand, whether out of shame or ambition. Whatever the motive, the result is the same: in this situation, we do not give of ourselves fully, and the energy of both Aces is subverted, unable to reach full expression. And both Aces are involved here: the sword in its physical form, and the pentacle implied in the bold yellow that surrounds the figure. The subterfuge does not just affect our thoughts, but also our environment. In short, it affects our experience of the world.
Which thoughts or beliefs that we are tempted to hold back or steal away for ourselves are we being asked to restore or to keep out in the open? How much more effectively could we put our ideas into action if we felt able to give all of ourselves to the process without fear of losing out or of recrimination? What, if anything, are we ashamed of? What power plays do we involve ourselves in when we are economical with the truth?
Great things have the potential to come into being if we resist the urge to stem the flow.
It could be a freaky coincidence, Sparky. Or, in the words of Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective, it could be an experience of the interconnectedness of all things.
Shucks, you guys!! I haven’t yet checked in on todays Oracle, nor Len… But had an unerving experiance this morning(11pm here ATM). I posted “Have the weirdest sensation, like it’s my birthday…” My cryptic humour describing an eerie discomfort. New Zealand was experiancing their devestating ‘quake at this time. 3hrs later, & still oblivious to the fact I posted “Now I don’t feel so good. Like I’m about to be hit by a big BOOMSHANKA.” I was sweaty & anxious. My heart pounding in my throat, (like I HAD been busted in the middle of a bank heist!) In NZ the dust was settling, & the destruction surveyed. Just as I write this do I realise a 3rd time today a significant occurance. Was at the stove(~7pm)browning mince for a meal when it exploded. All over my face, neck, chest, shoulders. On the ceiling, walls & floor..(was just about to drain the fat). My 5 hungry kids were fighting & yelling, so I had a quick cry as I bundled them into the car to go get Mc Donalds. Never has my mince exploded. Hoping it’s all just freaky co-incidence. Sure I’ll find out soon enough…
I did a reading with the 7S a few weeks ago where the card wanted to be interpreted from the figure’s point of view, and in a way that had little or nothing to do with theft. It seemed appropriate rather than self-serving.
And your view of it as a “calculated risk”, Sparky, has given me my own WOW WEEEE moment – from a purely personal perspective.
Charles, I think I used the incorrect phrase when I wrote “working together”, because it implied something that was altogether harmonious, when what I meant was more akin to my second observation of complementary colours. Thanks for keeping me on my toes — very apt here! And your comments about the festival and the two swords left behind? Yes! Absolutely! Perhaps the action goes so far as to eliminate the confusion caused by five extra swords. Now the swords are pared down, which might seem unfair and a bit brutal, but when all other options are removed, there is an elegance to a scenario where you simply have to act with what you have.
Sarah: surely the aces do work together, but being opposites and antagonists, they modify each other considerably. Perhaps instead of saying they neutralize each other to some extent (and aces are so powerful they would be almost impossible to neutralize completely) then perhaps we could say the two aces work on different levels that do not really connect, or perhaps that they are dissonant rather than harmonious. I guess there are lots of ways to look at the elemental analysis.
Sparky: you did something with the 7S that never ever entered my mind: you put yourself in the place of the thief. I always imagine this card as someone being a victim of the thief, never that they ARE the thief.
BTW, I did have one interesting random thought about the 7S. Notice that the thief is sneaking away from a bunch of elaborate tents with pennants flying over them. I get the impression this is some grand festival where knights are competing in a sword fighting championship. And he takes all but two of the swords, so at least there is ONE pair of swords left for someone to duel with.
I was looking at the card objectively, as a unit on it’s own. Taking the time to THINK(lol!) what I was trying to say, is that the 7S implies that a calculated risk is called for, in order to obtain those gifts the aces present.
Charles – thank you, as always, for your elemental interpretation. It adds a new layer on to the original reading — one that, as you say, is much more antagonistic, whereas I saw the two Aces as working together. Perhaps the two ideas are not mutually exclusive. Like two colours clashing, the Aces can either be in conflict, or they can create something strangely beautiful, and with an edgy and vibrant energy.
Sparky – I’m glad the cards are resonating so strongly for you! As for your question regarding the 7S … my first thought is that the swords are not his — or at least not fully. My second is that your own interpretation as to why and where he is taking them will be far more useful than mine.
What confuses me about 7S though, is that his dress implies those swords aren’t meant for him. Is he quietly disarming the enemy? Or does he just intend to sell them off for profit? Why/where is he taking those swords?
OH GEE GOLLY WEEEE!! The suspense is killing me Sarah!!
Again so perfect, so spot on! Am struggling for a legible explanation without making it sound like a bank heist! So will just offer that perhaps the aces grant the access & means, almost like permission is granted to take what you need, like a key thru the back door. Don’t be greedy, & make sure to close the door behind you.
This is an amazing spread, but the elemental analysis is even more interesting. You have a pentacle surrounded by swords, earth surrounded by air. Earth and Air are antagonists. Think of earth between two winds, blown away as dust. The Ace of Pentacles is very weak here, indicating trouble manifesting on the physical plane. The two pairs are air-earth, they neutralize each other. AS-AP shows a conflict between thinking and decision making vs. being and existence. Perhaps we are unable to decide on what we want to manifest. The AP-5S is also neutralizing, the 5S is deceit or thievery, someone is taking something he does not deserve. Something deceitful influence is stopping us from making our impact on the physical plane. Perhaps it is even our fear of someone else benefitting unfairly from our efforts, that stops us from getting the results we want.