The Aces:
The Minor Arcana, as I’ve stated is the mundane every day life, and these are the cards that guide us. The Major Arcana are outside influences that occur in our lives, while the Minor Arcana informs us of daily life. Taking the suits in order we will explore the meanings of each card.
Aces in all decks of cards are considered a beginning while artwork varies from deck to deck, the Aces generally are drawn with a hand reaching out of thin air holding either a wand, cup, sword or pentacle.
The Ace of Wands is depicted with the flowers of summer. Aces are new beginnings in all things. The Ace of Wands represent the beginning of the work needed to produce a successful conclusion. Wands are symbolic of the daily toil we go through with our work. An ace of any kind is to tell us that we have new energy with which we can use to create.
Wands represent work, business, career, and health. It can be a warning of impending changes in all these areas. The card in reverse might give some readers a negative feeling. but pay attention to your intuition and trust the direction in which it leads. In conjunction with other cards the Ace of Wands can guide you toward which aspect of career, work or health it will affect.
The Ace of Cups is depicted with flowing water and Spring and represents our emotional beginnings, it is representative of love or can represent new love or a new relationship, but Cups also represent our nervous system and are sometimes associated with our heart health as well as the emotional aspects of our life. In general Aces are positive cards, and more of a gentle finger point from the universe as it tells us what is happening in our daily lives.
Cups generally represent emotions, relationships, friendships, also religious affiliations of both organized and non-organized religions. Spirituality is strong with the suit of Cups. The Ace of Cups can direct us on spiritual quests or guide us through our relationships on any level. The Ace of Cups in reverse can portend a breakup, divorce, or simply arguments. It can also predict medical issues surrounding the heart and circulatory system. When any card points to medical issues, it will become clearer with confirmation cards.
The Ace of Swords usually has either a hawk or a butterfly depicted and is associated with winter, Swords are associated with legal matters and/or medical issues. They also warn of balancing emotions. A dual edge. the sword represents rigidity in thinking. Swords aren’t considered flexible.
The Ace of Swords, as with all Aces is a new beginning, or ongoing legal or medical conditions. If you are reading for yourself or others, always remember the person you are reading for may already have suspicions that will lead to the direction in which the cards take you. The cards also represent doctors and lawyers, and by extension the law enforcement and public service type of jobs including fire and other first responders.
Swords are a symbol that represent most medical issues, and due to modern medicine have become associated with cancer and Alzheimer’s, as Swords represent the mind and thought processes as well as represented weather, especially wind and storms.
The Ace of Pentacles is usually depicted a as a coin or pentacle with summer flowers. It represents money and financial security, the good life, enjoyment, and pleasure. The Ace can direct you toward your best financial future, and can, in reverse, warn of business failures, and financial ruin, depending on the other cards around it.
The Ace of Pentacles is most often considered auspicious in financial readings as it can predict the success of a project or business deal. However, it doesn’t predict lottery numbers, and I caution wasting your time on such a pursuit, and just plunk down your dollar like everyone else and concentrate on the non-money issues.