ACE'S INDICATE NEW SPACE

Dragon Tarot
@Peter Pracowink U.S. Games

A reading of aces is an uplifting experience.   The client is up for new beginnings, new starts and a new journey through the Minor Arcana. 

Often this is received with a sigh of relief.
Many readings contain both the ten and the aces which is telling the reader we are ready to let go of old patterns and begin afresh. I always look to see when I'm reading, if I'm dealing with the closure of the tens thus trying to get to the ace or if I'm at the beginning of new ventures.
The ace is a seed card; we don't know much but we do know the thought or emotion or action or vision has shifted depending on which suit we are dealing with. Every suit in the Minor Arcana begins with an ace; it is marking the start of

• new emotions if in Cups,
• new thoughts if in Swords,
• new vision or creative exploits if in Wands 
•                                              new projects or business if in pentacles.

We start our exploration of aces by looking at the Ace of Wands from the Dragon Tarot by Peter Pracowink who is the illustrator, and fantasy artist living in the English lands of legends. Read his biography at end of the blog. The co creator and writer involved with this deck is Terry Donaldson who's expertise allows us to journey and investigate Dragon Dreaming from all over the globe. I have often wondered what the truth is behind the Dragon legends as they are located in so many aspects of the globe. 

This deck would be a specialty deck created from many legendary sources.

However we are talking about aces so this ace sees our dragon ready for action as all Aces of Wands indicate. His door is open, we can see his equipment and know from this he has many tools to choose from. The symbol for fire the upright triangle sits at the title of the card and of course he carries an illuminating wand.

My next ace is an Ace of Pentacles and comes from an entirely different deck. This is the work of Leslie Casilli who's fascinating Tarot deck is emerging card by card on Deviant Art. Not only do we see her magical cards form but we hear from her blog what she is thinking. I love how she has kept the hand theme in her aces which is very Waite Rider but has added her own take on the realm of pentacles which of course is a very physical one. I also love how Leslie has extended the physical realm of earth, beyond the limitation of money to include our worlds of animals and plants; a lovely extension for the interpretation of the pentacles. 

Enchantress-LeLe @Deviant Art.

My choice of ace for cups is one of the most famous of aces. It comes from the Crowley Thoth Tarot, an absolute masterpiece of a deck especially for the knowledge it contains but also because of its controversial creator. I won't comment on Crowley the man but the deck is a must for every true Tarot  student. The accompanying book is a gem of knowledge. So some interesting snippets for our Ace of Cups. The title for this ace is the source of the soul. Instinctually it longs for union or affection and its goal is to merge with devotion and touching the secret of life. It has a shadow of vagueness, irrationality and hysteria and its quality is the mystery of love. This is a piece of the incredible depth of wisdom for every card in this deck. Crowley believes this card is a feminine pendant to the Ace of Wands. As with all his Tarot work it is closely associated with the Qabala and the beautiful image is called The Sea of Love.  This beautiful deck was painted by Lady Frieda Harris.

Thoth Tarot

Crystal Vision Tarot
@ Jennifer Galasso

Finally my Ace of  Swords comes from the Crystal Vision Tarot painted beautifully by fantasy artist, Jennifer Galasso. The Crystal Visions deck created in 2010/2011 does border on a faerie type feel. It could well fit under a banner of faerie decks of which there are numerous.  I fell in love with this ace due to its beauty and positivity. The suit of Swords can have bad press and are often quite harsh and dark. In modern times we tend to read them more as the mental realm and I often think the Tarot is telling us the issues that flaw us reside in our thinking. This ace though with its numerous butterflies and jewels on the scabbard offers promise. It is residing over roses, the perfume of new thought emerging form a thorny stem. It is rising almost Phoenix like from the bushes.

Aces are the beginnings of each suit. They are often the least adorned of the cards; thus my choice of these particular aces as I find them all really interesting with loads of detail. The aces are usually purely elemental. They represent the element of the suit only; other minor arcana cards have astrology planets in the sign or element contained within them but the aces are only elemental.
I will conclude with memory verses from the work of Eileen Connolly in her book Tarot: A New Handbook for the Apprentice. These are the memory verse for the Ace of Swords.

Success takes root, triumph is near

Soon your worries disappear.

Gently does it, do not push

You could lose all in a rush.

( Memory verse for reversed Ace) 

OF INTEREST.

http://www.peterpracownik.com/pages/biography.htm

http://www.jennifergalasso.com/CVT/index.html

http://lesliecasilli.blogspot.com/search/label/Minor%20Arcana%3A%20Ace%20of%20Pentacles