The Power of the Tarot Aces

I have a huge affection and affinity for the four Aces of the Minor Arcana. Within these cards I find power and magick, and many opportunities for truth-telling.

Typically, in a reading we can see each Ace as a new beginning. The sort of new beginning is determined by the suit.

For example, the Ace of Pentacles might be a new job, or new money, or a new way to care for your health, such as a new diet.

The Ace of Swords might be a new idea, a new understanding, new information, new technology or a new sort of communication.

The Ace of Wands might be a new creative project, a new passion or a new energy or sense of vitality.

The Ace of Cups might be a new relationship or a new connection within a relationship.

Yet, there is so much more to be found in these four cards. Not only do they each speak of a new gift, or a new journey, they also speak of untapped potential. Each Ace can be like a seed waiting to sprout, or an egg waiting to hatch. Within these cards we can see the incubation, as well as the beginning.

Each of the Aces can also speak to a need to find the source, or the essence of something. Sometimes a journey leads us back to the root. In these cases, the Aces can each be the goal of a journey, or the successful end of a journey.

The power of each Ace is to hold the essence of their element. The Aces can tell us where we are going, they can urge us forward, and they can help us keep our goals firmly in mind.

The Aces can also tell us what we need to nurture in order to get to where we are going.

The Aces are the Four Tools of Magick. We can use them to invoke their elements and to create sacred space.

The Aces correspond with our chakras. We can use them in chakra healing and activation.

The Aces are archetypes. The Ace of Cups is the Holy Grail, while the Ace of Swords is Excalibur.

The Ace of Wands is the priapic symbol of life waiting to happen. The Ace of Pentacles is the Earth Mother herself.

It is easy to dismiss the Aces simply as the energy of new beginnings. They are that, and so much more.

There are many tarotists who find similarities between the Aces and the Pages. Some even have a hard time finding the differences between the Aces and Pages of each suit. I think when we fail to find those distinctions, we do a disservice to ourselves.

Both Aces and Pages strongly hold the energy of their element. Both Aces and Pages can speak of something new or young. But, to me, that is where the similarities end.

Pages are about youth, learning, and communication. Aces are about initiation, essence, and source.

We can also see a correlation between Aces and Tens, since they are numerologically the same. We might see the Aces as the beginning of the journey, and Tens as the end. Yet, we could also reverse that and see the Tens as the situation we find ourselves in when the story begins, and Aces and the solution to which we eventually arrive.

I often like to see the Tens as the higher octave, or next level, of the Aces.

It is always a good exercise to find more connection, information, and power within individual cards and sets of cards. This is especially true when we believe we know the cards well. I think the Aces are especially important to explore because their simplicity can cause us to miss their depth if we don’t take the time to look.

Authentic Voice

Writers struggle to "find their voice." But it is not just writers who need to know and use their authentic voice, it's all of us.

Many of us have different voices for different things we do; a "work voice" and a "mom voice," for instance. But what is your authentic voice?

Many people don't know their authentic voice because it wasn't allowed to develop in youth. Often children are told not to express their feelings, or that their voice doesn't matter.

Many people are shy, and afraid to use their voice.

But what does it mean to know and use your authentic voice? I think it means having the courage to speak what is on your mind and in your heart.

That doesn't mean being mean-spirited, even if you are angry. It does mean being honest.

The question is, is it possible to be honest and kind at the same time? And, if we operate with restraint, are we actually restraining our authentic voice?

As with anything else in life, using your authentic voice takes balance. It is possible to express feelings, even negative feelings, in a positive way. It is possible to be authentic and still have regard for the people around you.

Once in a while you run into a person who confuses meanness with honestly. A person who says "hey, I'm just telling the truth the way I see it," while indeed they are instead using their words as an opportunity to hurt someone.

The way to avoid this is simple. When it comes to communicating your truth, never have a second agenda. Never let it be about ego, or about trying to diminish someone else.

Your authentic voice, whether written or spoken, must be about expressing yourself, not your agenda.

The tarot suit of Swords, associated most often with the element of Air, is all about communication. That's why so many of the Swords cards often have very stark, unpleasant pictures. So often we are hurt by the words of others. Sometimes, the words we speak are hurtful to others.

Authenticity can be revealing - even shocking. But it is never intentionally hurtful.

In the literary world, and in the tarot world, reviews are an important part of our careers. Many of us write reviews of books, movies, tarot decks, and even restaurants. Reviews are important to writers and artists because those reviews help us to be better. One could argue that a bad review is the most helpful review of all. Constructive criticism is helpful when it is authentic.

When reviewers have a second agenda, their review is no longer authentic, and helps no one. Another way to honor our authentic voice is to dismiss the voices of others that are not authentic.

This is true, too, in the way that we see ourselves. We all have an inner critic. When that inner critic is authentic, it helps us to be better. When that inner critic comes from a place of anxiety and bad self-esteem, it is no longer authentic. When we think about the authentic voice, we must realize this refers to what we express to the world, and our inner dialogue that only we hear.

Finding your authentic voice is part of finding your identity. So many adults attach their identity to temporary things - things like raising small children, jobs and relationships. When that part of life is over, suddenly we don't know who we are anymore.

Sadly, sometimes we use the tragedies in our lives to define ourselves as well.

For me, tarot has been a great tool for finding identity, and finding the authentic voice, for both me and my clients.

Another great tool is to have an understanding of the chakras. To directly work with the throat chakra in meditation and breathing exercises is very helpful. To connect the throat chakra and the heart chakra is an amazing way to let the authentic voice present itself.

I often see the Ace of Swords as the "anti-bullsh*t device." I sometimes take this card and hold it to my throat chakra, breathing in its energy, that I may know my truth, speak my truth, and discern the things I hear as either truth or untruth.

This is one of the ways that tarot helps me find my authentic voice.

From my 78 Poems Project

The Ace of Swords

Forged steel of ingenuity
Communication, keen focus, acuity.
No tolerance for thieves in this blade
As Excalibur discerned a kingdom was made.
This Sword seeks no royalty
It 's a common but sacred thing, honesty.
This Sword of Air scourges lies
Reveals truth behind malicious disguise.
Questions ignorance, banishes confusion
And separates reality from delusion.
But do not take this Sword of Air
Without the strength the truth to bear.
And remember with faith, when truth is clear
It's never as dark as what you fear.

Tarot, Fear and Faith

When I posted my outrage at marketing decisions made by Doreen Virtue and Hay House for her new tarot deck I had no idea there was also a great deal of controversy in the tarot community about the deck itself.  As I said in my prior post, I personally don’t find anything troubling or offensive about the deck – it is not very original in its concepts, but it looks lovely.

The conversation that has arisen out of this controversy is worth tackling as a topic of its own.  The question is “Is tarot scary?” 

A few clients tell me that they are a little afraid to have a reading.  That is not because they are afraid of the cards, per se.  It is because they are afraid of what I might tell them.  Sometimes, for new clients, it is because they have heard stories of other readers who said very negative things.  Sometimes it is because they suspect something to be true that they don’t want to be true – and they know that a reading may confirm their suspicions.

Some people are afraid of tarot readings because of the Gypsies who use tarot to defraud people.  We should all fear and avoid fraudulent business people.

Some people are afraid because they have been taught by particular religious dogma that tarot is evil.  Sadly, religion can sometimes narrow our thinking instead of broadening our horizons.

People often fear what they do not understand, and tarot takes some time and effort to understand.

Some people find the actual cards scary because of the harsh images and words on cards like Death and Devil, for instance, or the upsetting images on cards like the Ten of Swords.

As a reader, I find that fear of the words and images creates a good teachable moment.  It is an opportunity to teach something about tarot, and an opportunity to teach something about fear.

For instance, in the Waite Ten of Swords image a person is laid prone and bleeding with ten swords in his back.  It is not a pleasant image by any account.  But when I explain to the client that those swords represent their own thoughts or their own reaction to unkind words, the client is empowered to change their thinking, or to take control of their reaction.

Sometimes it is helpful for us to see graphic images that represent our pain.  These images both validate us and give us clues to help us heal.

Sometimes people fear tarot, and tarot reading, because they fear all things unpleasant.  Once at my tarot table I asked a client what she wanted to know and she responded with “I just want to hear that my life is going to be happy and everything is going to be wonderful.”  She wasn’t kidding.

Another potential client told me she didn’t want to have a reading because the last time she had a reading she was told that someone around her was going to die within two years. Within two years, someone around her did in fact die.  The question I countered with was this.  Can you remember any two year period in your life when someone around you didn’t die?  The reader might have just as well predicted that you would breathe air.

From those two stories I take away two ideas.  One is that people may fear readings because readings generally don’t confirm unrealistic expectations.  Two is that people are not always in touch with the basic realities of life.

The reason people are not always in touch with the basic realities of life is – you guessed it – fear.

Fear can be disabling in many ways.

Perhaps some people fear tarot because tarot is a reflection of life, and of truth. 

Well-placed fear can protect us and keep us alive.  Fear of failure, success, change and growth can keep us from living.

When we walk in fear we lose so many opportunities for joy.  That may be the ultimate goal of the spiritual journey, no matter what the culture or belief set may be.  We all need to learn to walk in faith, rather than in fear.

Many of our modern philosophers, from great presidents to the Grateful Dead, have had wise words to say about fear.

My beloved Desiderata by Max Erhmann says something about fear.

"Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.”

I wrote about fear in my poem about the Ace of Swords.  Its final lines read:

But do not take this Sword of Air
Without the strength the truth to bear.
And remember with faith, when truth is clear
It's never as dark as what you fear.

For me, that is the truth about tarot, and about tarot reading.  Tarot is a reflection of life, in which some things are more pleasant than others.  But if we can face life from a perspective of love and faith, we never have anything to fear.

Tarot is a tool that can help us find the love, faith and strength of spirit we need to move forward boldly, and with joy.  And that’s not scary at all.