TAROTAce of Swords
Upright
The potential for new beginnings in intellect. Clear thinking and decisive action.
A new opportunity based on ideas and intellectual skills.
Breakthrough discovery or change that will increase your knowledge or pool of ideas, or change the way you communicate.
Intuition
The card shows the birth of Apollo. He is the God of many areas of thought: music and the arts, medicine, civil and religious laws, and prophecy.
Although associated with the bow (representing divine retribution) he was born as shown on the card; as a young man clutching a golden sword.
Reversed
Doubt or uncertainty in your thoughts and ideas that lead to failure.
Resistance or inability when it comes to new ideas and clear messages.
An overemphasis on logic and reason. Ignoring emotions and intuition.
A lack of assertiveness.
A lack of clear communication.
Astrologia
Ability to process difficult concepts. An expert in technical and strategic thinking. Intellectual and full of ideas. Works well in a team through strong communication. Possible emotional detachment and emotional superficiality.
Ace of Swords
As with all the Ace cards, the Ace of Swords represents a major change or new beginning in the area associated with the suite. With swords that subject is the intellect and mind, so the change will be to do with ideas, thoughts, communication and rationality.
These changes could include new projects or career changes, entering a new social or other group that follows a new set of ideas, or a physical move that comes with a change of environment, culture or ways of living.
It could also point to looking at your life in a new way, having a new plan or a breakthrough creative idea. It also represents changes in longer lasting thoughts such as fundamental beliefs.
The card can also point to a new clarity in your dealings. A veil of misinformation or old way of thinking about a situation is lifted and causes a new start. Like the double edged sword on the card, this can be both good and bad as it reveals the hard truth.
The God best associated with higher ideas, the arts and rational thought is Apollo.
Description and Symbology
Apollo is noted as the epitome of the arts, medicine, moral virtue, harmony, moderation and reason personified. He was particularly associated with music and carried a lyre. He was associated with divination and the Oracle of Delphi
On the reverse, Apollo was also the god of divine distance, and threatened or destroyed from afar with his bow (and was thus associated with disease and plagues as well as medicine). He handed divine retribution to the guilty, especially those who insulted the Gods. Apollo is often seen as very heavy handed in this respect!
The messengers of Apollo are shown beside Apollo; the wolf and the raven (according to myth ravens would have been white at the birth of Apollo). Both animals are ancient symbols of divine guidance and higher intellect.
Apollo himself is shown at his birth, born fully formed as a young man holding a golden sword.
The symbology of this card is simple. As the God of the higher arts and intellect, the birth of Apollo represents the birth of new ideas.
The birth of Apollo
Apollo represents the intellect. His birth symbolizes new ideas and their impact on our lives. He was strongly associated with the Sun, so can represent a positive feeling for the future that can often be as strong as a good idea!
The raven and wolf
The raven and wolf are often seen as magical creatures and messengers from the divine, not least because both are very intelligent and often exhibit forethought and personality. Their appearance were seen as omens for our thoughts and actions. Either the Gods were pleased or retribution was close.
The sword
The sword represents ideas and the intellect, and their ability to cut through our lives and make sudden changes. The sword is also double edged. Decisions we form from our thoughts and beliefs can help us, but they can also hinder if we get them wrong, or they reveal a truth we don’t like.
Tips for Readings
The following table shows the upright and reverse meanings for general questions. The last row ('Yes/No') is useful when you are picking a single card to decide a yes or no decision.
Upright
Reversed
This card can represent either a meeting of minds and common goals and interests, or clarity in communications that reveals a truth. Either option can cause a new beginning (but it is worth noting that the revealing of a truth can be either good or bad for those who hear it).
One of the biggest indicators of a breakup is not caring about your partner or not trying to understand them, and this shows itself most by a lack of communication or lack of thought. Unfortunately the reversed Ace of Swords suggests all these situations. Check what you say and see things from other people’s point of view otherwise you may end with more problems than you started with.
You may see a new project, promotion or change of career that represents a change requiring you to either upskill or learn new workflows and processes.
The card notes that this may be difficult and require problem solving or growing into the role, but the change will be for the better for those who see it through.
There is the possibility of failure caused by lack of confidence or skill, or a sense of boredom (because your career does not stimulate you mentally).
For those looking for a career change there may be failed interviews and lost chances for promotion.
Bad as all these outcomes are, remember they have not happened yet. The card is a warning of what will happen if you do nothing, and there is time to fix the issues.
Although not specifically related to health, this card predicts a time of clarity of thought and new ideas.
This will either create a fulfilling or intellectually challenging period that represents learning and mental growth. This can lift your spirits by giving you goals. The clarity of thought can also be used to set plans for health routines and thinking about the future.
Stress caused by other areas of your life may be affecting health.
Take time for yourself and if possible give yourself some time or distance to maintain energy.
The card can suggest you are over-rationalizing and not allowing your emotions to have a say. It is worth considering what you want as opposed to what everyone is telling you to do!
The Ace of Wands tends to reveal truths and these are important for peace of mind (although you may be seeking forgiveness just as much as granting it after the big reveal!).
More importantly, the power of thought is the thing that allows us to find our place in the universe. If your question to the Tarot was about such subjects and this card came up, expect personal revelations, an epiphany and new paths opening to you.
Your current path is causing you problems. Either you are questioning your beliefs because of recent revelations or they do not give you any sense of joy or mental stimulation.
There is no easy solution (as you have probably got here over a long period of time), but there is a need to start reflecting on what you want rather than what others tell you to want. The biggest issue may be that you have not been thinking for yourself.
The Ace of Swords represents a period where you are ruled by rationality over emotion and this is a perfect time to make financial plans.
Be sure to allow a little fun in your life though. Save money for the future but also live for the present as we only get a thousand months in this life!
The reversed Ace of Swords is not a good card for finance as it often denotes failure.
Check your plans carefully and assume anything left to chance will fail.
It may be better to wait if you can and if you can’t wait, check the details carefully.
Yes through clarity of thinking.
Indeterminate because you may need to make some significant changes before you get where you want to be.
Reading the Card
The upright card
The upright Ace of Swords represents a period rich in new ideas. It suggests a problem fixer or clear communicator.
The upright Ace of Swords represents a period rich in new ideas. It suggests a problem fixer or clear communicator.
It signals you are ready to address challenges with an eye to rational thinking and solving issues with a clear head. This makes it a good time to make plans that set achievable goals. There may also be options to learn something new, discover a new career, or move to a place that opens new avenues through different perspectives, way of living, or mindset.
The intellect and open communication often reveals the truth. This can work to our benefit, but not always - the truth can be a double edged sword that cuts both ways!
The card overall suggests victory through intellect and ideas, but also suggests that the way forward will not be easy. In the original Rider-Waite-Smith Ace, this is suggested by the mountains in the distance. In this deck it is suggested by the wolf as a symbol of obstacles that may be (or have been) in your path. There are gains to be made but that does not mean the path to success is clear. The wolf can represent our inner fears and secrets and the Ace of Swords can reveal them. The wolf is also a symbol of two shades; messenger from the gods or consummate trickster, and revealing the truth can go either way.
The reversal
The reversed card means the same as the upright, but there is a strong chance of failure through your actions.
This may be because your plan is flawed, or the route forward does not match your true aims. It may also point to incorrect assumptions on your part.
Whatever the cause, the card notes that although there will be new ideas and solutions, you need to consider them carefully, and may even need to delay moving forward until a better time and more favorable conditions present themselves.
Card Design Process
The depiction of Apollo is based loosely on the Belvedere Apollo, a marble sculpture in the Vatican. It is thought to be a Roman copy of a Greek original bronze created around 330BC.
The statue was probably holding a bow, but as the card shows the birth of Apollo, he is shown holding a golden sword as per myth. The sword is a bronze xiphos, a very common ancient Greek sword worn as a close-quarter sidearm by hoplite spearmen.
Final Words
The Ace of Swords represents a new phase in ideas, clear and rational thinking and communication, and mental breakthrough moments and epiphanies that will drive you forward.
It can also denote the revealing of truths that do not agree with everyone, plus implies that the route ahead will always require work, but that work will be worth it in the end.
