Meaning of Tarot Cards - The Aces in the Pack

Tarot Decks can be split into two areas, the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana deals with big issues going on in the life of the querant, whereas the Minor Arcana deals with more day to day issues.

The Minor Arcana contains 4 suits, each with an Ace. This gives us the Ace of Swords, the Ace of Wands (sometimes called Ace of Staffs), the Ace of Cups and the Ace of Pentacles.

Each suit is aligned to one of the 4 elements, air, earth, water and fire and takes on the characteristics of those elements.

Swords~ Air - deals with thought and reason, intellect and conscience

Wands ~ Fire - deals with action and movement, adventure and creativity

Cups ~ Water - deals with emotion and spirituality

Pentacles ~ Earth - security and material matters

 In the Rider Waite Tarot Deck the picture depicted on the Ace of Swords shows a hand holding an upright sword with a crown around its tip. The impression gained from the image is one of forth-rightness, strength, sharpness and clarity - and these are very much traits of the Ace of Swords.

Being aligned to the air element means the Swords suit is focused around mental clarity, thought, reason, truth, justice and ethical behaviour ~ and the Ace of Swords shows possibilities and opportunities within these areas.

The appearance of the Ace of Swords can indicate the beginning of something, something you may not be aware of yet. It may be an idea or a requirement for you to be honest - possibly with yourself.

Sometimes the Ace can stand for a challenge that will test you in some way, but with that test comes the reminder that if you face it with a clarity of thought and honesty and integrity in your actions, the qualities of the Ace of Swords, you will overcome this challenge and through it find opportunity.

Above all, when the Ace of Swords appears in a Tarot Card Reading it is a reminder to instill in your actions a sense of honesty, integrity and ethical behaviour ~ in other words, let your conscience be your guide. 

The picture on the Ace of Wands card in the Rider Waite Tarot Deck is of a hand holding a staff which is sprouting with leaves. The hand is surrounding by a sharp white light which looks light it is expanding. The impression it gives is almost magical, as if anything could happen - and this sums up the Wands suit.

Wands are aligned to the element Fire ~ and the constant moving of a flickering flame is a good analogy for the Wands suit - action, movement, creativity and adventure.

In Tarot Readings Aces depict possibilities and opportunities. The Ace of Wands is about possibilities in the areas of creativity and adventure. It could be a great idea, a feeling that you can conquer the world, a coincidence.

What the Ace tell you is that to succeed you need to display the characteristics of the Ace ~ be daring and brave, take a risk. Many of the Wands cards relate directly to the personal power of an individual and the Ace is no exception. It asks you to look beyond the boundaries of what you think you can achieve. Take the initiative and use the creative influence of the Ace of Wands to reach your potential.

 On the Ace of Cups card in the Rider Waite Tarot Deck the picture shows a hand holding a chalice, out of which water is pouring to the ground. Above the chalice a dove is descending to place a cross within the cup. The impression it gives is gentle, one of love, compassion and spirituality.

Cups are aligned to the element water ~ and water represents a never ending flow of love in the world.

The Ace of Cups speaks to possibilities in the areas of emotion, feelings and being attuned to your environment. It can show that you need to listen to your intuition, or that there are connections to be made between people ~ and not necessarily romantic ones.

The Ace can show that you need to be more in tune with your emotions ~ are you hanging onto something that you would be better letting go of ~ are you angry, do you need to forgive and move on?

The Ace of Cups is a card which represents the pursuit of self knowledge, a suggestion to become more aware of of your emotions and through that learn to trust your feelings and allow your feelings to guide your actions.

 There is a path on the picture of the Ace of Pentacles. The path goes through an arch and onto the mountains beyond. Above the path a hand holds cradles a  large gold coin.  The impression it gives is of prosperity and opportunity ~ that there is more to be gained from the future. 

Pentacles are aligned to the element earth ~ which represents security in material matters, prosperity, practical matters of the every day world, and the ability to turn dreams into reality.

In many ways the Ace of Pentacles is the opposite of the Ace of Wands. Whereas the Ace of Wands is about spontaneity, action, taking risks and being daring, the Ace of Pentacles represents the need to build solid foundations within your life. It represents a need to focus on practical matters, to stay grounded and secure and to work on making your dreams real.

The Ace of Pentacles shows that you can attract what you need to turn your dreams into reality, so long as you focus on the task in hand. 

As with all cards in the tarot deck the Aces draw a certain amount of their meaning in a reading from the proximity of the other cards around them.

Interpreting tarot cards requires a combination of the skill of a good tarot reader and the input of the querant as the cards pick up their meaning from what is on the mind of the querant. If you'd like to find out more information on the meaning of other cards within the tarot deck then this is a good place to start.

One final note, it is very important that you feel comfortable with your tarot reader, if you don't then your feelings may imprint on the cards and affect your reading.