Passion: Which Suit?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Osher	02 Feb 2003
This might sound like a funny question, but: I have seen Cups as being emotion, hence, emotion can also be passion, so the Ace of Cups is passion. However, I have seen the Ace Swords described as passion, as well as the Ace Wands (but never the Ace Coins). So, can more than one suit be a passion suit, or I am just barking up the wrong tree? In which case, which suit is the passion suit?

Alissa	02 Feb 2003
Hmmm, I would say, define "passion". There is, of course, romantic passion. That seems applicable to the cups suit. But... Blood lust is passion (swords?). A religious zealot is passionate about their beliefs (wands?). And I've known many type-A business folks who are quite passionate about their careers (pentacles?). What about when passion is an addiction? (Devil) Or blinds you from reality (7 cups)? I guess I don't subscribe to the concept that any suit really captures "passion." There are sexually/romatically passionate cards -- 2 cups, Lovers, even Knight of Cups (to me). But there are other passions, so lumping every passionate response into a suit wouldn't work for how I read.

Osher	02 Feb 2003
Good point! However, would you consider that within a suit, the Ace represents passion (of whatever sort)?

Thirteen	02 Feb 2003
There is as Alisa points out, passions for what? The aces would point out a passion for something like science (swords), spirituality (wands), romance (cups) or the physical (pentacles). But when it really comes down to it, I think Wands has it hands down. Why? Because it's the most active suit. Knight of cups might sit for hours and write a poem, forget to eat, that sort of thing. But they're not going to go out and change the world, not in a dramatic sense; if they make any change at all in the world, it will be because that poem gets published and slowly but surely tansforms those who read it. Neither, really, is the hard working Knight of pentacles, who changes the world by actually building the Brooklyn Bridge rather than inventing it. The Knight of swords might well try to logic and argue folk into changing, and might succeed-- But the Knight of Wands...the Knight of Wands is Don Quixote, trusting that those windmills are giants no matter what anyone else says--also Mr. Smith in Washington, standing for what he believes in till he drops from exhaustion, or a Freedom rider going into the middle of Alabama to put an end to Jim Crow laws. He's the explorer, willing to endure frostbite, starvation, glaciers in order to plant a flag at the north pole. Or, on the negative, the Inquisition guy burning witches or jailing communists. Imagine this: A woman goes away for a week on business--leaving behind the man she loves. If this man is a Knight of cups, he will call her every night, send her romantic letters, maybe even a dozen roses, pine for her return and be waiting at the airport to take her out to dinner. The Knight of Wands, however, will drive all day and all night through a blizzard to end up knocking on her hotel room door. He'll fall to his knees outside her window and cry, "STELLLAAAA!" Wands are all about passion and action, about burning hot as hot till you burn out. Not necessarily a good thing as they DO burn out. But it is exciting while it lasts--and it does move mountains.

Laurel	03 Feb 2003
I have to agree with the "Aces" and "Wands" as being the epitome of passion, to me, with the "7s" as typically the outcome/side effect of "passions without temperance". ~LAS

lawguy51	03 Feb 2003
Like Thirteen said. Couldn't agree more or say it better.

Francesca	03 Feb 2003
Passion is a complex thing. I think you need both cups and wands to have real passion properly represented. The emotion of the cups with out the fire of the wand is useless. Wands without the cup is just sound and fury. For a passionate love, cups and wands together. Throw in the down and dirty pentacles for some hot sex. Francesca

sagitarian	04 Feb 2003
I have to agree with Alissa. Passion can be found in anything, thus in any suit. The aces to me represent a beginning, thus there is always passion in the beginning of something that is new.

Khatruman	05 Feb 2003
Using passion as a general concept, I would go with the suit of wands also. The word, as all words in a language, must be taken in context to be understood, but passion by itself is a drive with furious action towards something. If a reading is focusing on a relationship and the Ace of Cups appears, I would see a passionate feeling involved, but there is always the possibility that it is merely felt, but not acted upon. If it were surrounded by many wands, then I would feel that the passion is a strongly acted upon emotion. There is a difference between feeling passionate and experiencing passion, and I think Wands epitomizes passion as an action. Peace!

The Passion: Which Suit? thread was originally posted on 02 Feb 2003 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.