REVERSALS: The Aces Reversed

Thirteen

So now we move onto the minors. I'll be taking them 4 at a time to get us through them quickly--and I won't be spending as much time on the Opposite/blocked/upsidedown. So do Chime in if you see anything I seem to be missing on those scores.

I'll also be viewing Wands as Fire/Energy and Swords as Air/Mind/Communications. If you view Wands as Air, Swords as Fire, just flip them.

Aces: Aces are the spark, the initial energy of the suit. Unfocused, undirected, pure and new. So for Wands, new energy. For Swords, a new idea. For Cups, a new emotion. For Pentacles, new luck (or health).

If we reverse the Aces then the most immediate, opposite meaning is that there is no spark of energy, idea, emotion or luck. Or that the potential for these is blocked. In image, the reversed card shows these aces pointing down--going down, instead of rising up. The overturned cup is emptied of all it's liquid.

So what does this mean in a reading? It likely means that the querent SHOULD be feeling a stirring of that ace, but isn't. So, the querent should be feel excited at a new prospect (energy, ambition), but doesn't (reversed wand). He should feel the start of a new idea, or a new speech he wants to give, but there's nothing (reversed sword). He should feel emotions stirring as he, say, gazes at attractive people or his newborn child. But he feels nothing, empty (reversed Cup). He should feel that his luck is turning, the beginnings of renewed health but doesn't (reversed pents).

Reversed Pents, in addition, could indicate a failed anticipation--the querent anticipated a hint that money would be coming his way, and there's no such hint. Things remain speculative, rather than real and solid.

Reversed Aces are like trying to start a fire, and getting nothing. No smoke, no spark. It's the hope of a hope that never comes. There's not even the feeling that something was there and died--it was never there in the first place. You just feel that something that could have become "it" ought to have been there.

Other thoughts?
 

obsidian_queen

Can a reversed Ace of any suit also imply a "delay" in having the essence of the suit manifest? I guess this would also imply a block..but still referring to the fact that the energy of the card is still there, but in a lesser/ diminished form for some reason...other surrounding cards would confirm if this is the case I should think...am I making sense Thirteen? Like a reversed Ace of Pentacles in a spread where the 7 of wands and page of pentacles might appear could imply trouble finding work at first, but overcoming obstacles and remaining focused to eventually get a job? Or what if the Ace of Cups is reversed but the Lovers or the Star shows up with it? Then would there be hope for the relationship?
 

Thirteen

obsidian_queen said:
Can a reversed Ace of any suit also imply a "delay" in having the essence of the suit manifest? I guess this would also imply a block..but still referring to the fact that the energy of the card is still there, but in a lesser/ diminished form for some reason...other surrounding cards would confirm if this is the case I should think...am I making sense Thirteen?
Perfect sense! Absolutely the "blocked" interpetation includes a delay of some sort in a suit trying to manifest itself. Kind of like going for a job interview--you wait to see if you've got it, only to hear that your file has gone into someone else's pile and you'll have to wait some more. Sounds like a reversed Ace Pents to me.

Or what if the Ace of Cups is reversed but the Lovers or the Star shows up with it? Then would there be hope for the relationship?
Hm. I think that Star & Lovers in that case would indicate that the person has to go looking elsewhere for their true love; that the hope they had of something coming of, say, that date they had over coffee is a no-go.
 

squeakmo9

Thirteen said:
So what does this mean in a reading? It likely means that the querent SHOULD be feeling a stirring of that ace, but isn't. So, the querent should be feel excited at a new prospect (energy, ambition), but doesn't (reversed wand). He should feel the start of a new idea, or a new speech he wants to give, but there's nothing (reversed sword). He should feel emotions stirring as he, say, gazes at attractive people or his newborn child. But he feels nothing, empty (reversed Cup). He should feel that his luck is turning, the beginnings of renewed health but doesn't (reversed pents).

Sounds like a bit of depression or an apathetic nature has set in. So perhaps it would be best to reflect or withdraw since the needed energy to take advantage of an opportunity just isn't there.

Thirteen said:
Reversed Pents, in addition, could indicate a failed anticipation--the querent anticipated a hint that money would be coming his way, and there's no such hint. Things remain speculative, rather than real and solid.

I can also see this as losing faith in oneself which could effect how one can productively function in the world. You lose the ability to attract good fortune/money.
 

stpcarly

Sometimes I feel the Aces indicate that it isn't a good time for whatever the ace stands for.
Like:
Wands: not a good time to start anything new (business, project, etc)
Cups: not a good time for a new romantic relationship
Swords: not a good time for confrontations or new projects
Pentacles: not a good time to change career or spend money unnecessarily.
Of course these could also be delays and that is why it isn't a good time. There is something else either more important or something that needs to be done before they can begin whatever new thing the card is suggesting. This could mean getting finances in order before spending more money, or letting go/finishing up with a previous relationship before getting into a new one or maybe even just too soon. Along those lines. But of course it doesn't always mean that, depends entirely on the other cards and the person I'm reading for.
 

Little Baron

Thankyou Thirteen. You are a complete 'Ace of Swords' - everything you comunicate is so perfectly understandable. I really enjoy your threads and learn a lot from them. You make me look at things in a completely different way and your messages are so uncluttered. I often see reversals as delay but the way you described a person looking at their new born child and feeling nothing for the 'Ace of Cups' really made a new sense to me. Thanks again. I will check out the other threads.

LB
 

mythos

I have been focussing so much on painting, that I haven't been reading these threads - thanks so much Thirteen for you reversals information. I have trouble with Aces generally, but by seeing how they operate in reversal has actually given me a greater understanding of how they operate upright as well.

mythos:)
 

afrosaxon

Another take on Ace of Cups rx.

I recently had an Ace of Cups rx (which is the RWS equivalent in my deck) come up as the outcome of a relationship reading. But what I got from it was not in line with the meanings ascribed by everyone else here.

The first flash I had was that the Ace of Cups rx did not refer to a blockage or delay, per se...but rather of a non-youthful love. The Ace is the first flush of emotion...could be that first butterfly feeling when you see or meet someone you really like romantically..."puppy love", if you will. Reversed, that love is not caught up in such fleeting feelings...the love is more established, seasoned, mature. Grown folks' love, not Valentine's Day love (which is more akin to romance).

If one uses the premise that a reversal means that one should go back to the lesson of the previous card, then Ace of Cups rx would mean go back to the 10 of Cups (if you break the minors down into 1-10, then the courts). The Ace is the beginning of the suit and matures/progresses into the 10 of the suit. The 10 is the culmination of the journey from the Ace. Maturation...from baby to adult. Romance to true love (with all its dichotomies and paradoxes).

Just my $.02.

T.
 

Pique Dame

Afrosaxon: I like and agree with your interpretation. I've been seeing the reversed Ace of Cups a lot in readings concerning an old relationship (as in decades old, not months or years). To me, I think it could mean the re-beginning of something old because in reverse it's the opposite of something brand new.
 

Tabaka

Couple of days ago Ace of Swords showed up in my reading. Quite accurate because some new thought has come to my mind, it was sudden and negative/painful thought that made me realise the truth and let go of the case I was obsessed with for a long time.
Also, this rx hit me because it reminded me of the phrase "give up your weapon!"
It's like when the knight (btw Emperor and Knight of Wands were next to the Ace!) is told to hide his sword.
So I let things be.