Pearls of Wisdom - Ace of Swords

Rede Seeker

Whoosh!!

I can feel the air move around the blade our Lady here wields. It's point is dipped into full moonlight, then draws whisps of that clear, cool light to Midgard/Earth, swirling it around the sword's scabbard. Some of the Moon-whisps seem to follow the path behind her. The swirling energy catches her hair.

Our Sword Lady smiles - the smile of one born to wield a sword and has one in her hand. You can see that smile in any fencing or martial arts/weapons class. Those born to the sword can't suppress that smile or the gleem in the eye that comes with it when they have a sword in their hands.

The Sword Woman wears a bright blue, sleeveless shirt - it might be silver chainmail. She wears gold bracelets on each wrist and on each upper arm. More gold - her necklace, earrings, headdress, sword hilt and scabbard. Her skirt looks to be square panels bound together. She wears sandals bound at the ankle and just below the knee.

She stands in the middle of a dirt road. The surrounding countryside is a rich green. There is no sign of water. There is a high hill in the background, it 'feels' like a burial mound or Tor. The sky is dark purple with a twinkling star on the right side and planets, perhaps, on the left. The moon shines like a pearl of wisdom. There are green leaves swirling along the moonlight whisps that she draws down.

There are shelves on the upper corners of the card's border. The left-hand shelf holds a green and gold crown and has a circlet/necklace of pearls hanging from one corner; the right-hand shelf holds a lit candle in a jar. The light brightens the right-hand side of the card, leaving the left hand a little in the shadow. The left-hand column holds a golden bracket from which a crystal point hangs from a leather-like thong. There is a sword with it's tip embedded in a stone in the lower left-hand corner. There is a yellow flower, not a sunflower, beneath it. The right-hand column holds three onions braided tobether, a flower similar to the one in the left corner, but this one has a stalk and greenery with it. This flower is alive and continues to grow; the other has been plucked. There is an ornate shield resting in the lower right corner. The shield center is gold with a central stone and 'S' shaped designs scribed on it; the middle ring is silver-blue similar to the Lady's shirt. There are sixteen round decorations (embedded gems?) set in this silver-blue outer ring - eight are green; eight are red. The shield has a third ring, this time in gold at the outer edge of the shiels. The shield rests against a clump of greenery.

Concerning the sword in the stone - only the destined hero can draw it out. An article in the Journal of Indo European Studies (JIES) a few years ago discussed evidence of an ancient Celtic manhood ceremony where a dagger, placed hilt-deep in the earth was to be drawn by the initiate as part of the ritual. It's presence reinforces my rede that the ground behind the Lady is hallowed ground.

The moon has a shield-like quality to it. In the Havamal (found in the Poetic Edda) we read:

Stanza 156
'I know an eleventh: If I lead
old friends into the fray,
I sing under the shield
and they fare into battle mighty and whole,
they fare from battle whole,
they are whole, wherever they go.'

This stanza refers to the Rune, Sowilo, the Sun as an exernal guide which resonates with inner wisdom. The Moon as guide of the subconscious may also serve as a shield and inspiration when the traveler is in a dark country.

The sixteen circles on the shield's middle ring reminds me of Stanza 161 of the Havamal:

'I know a sixteenth. If I want the heart and pleasure
of a winsome lass, I turn the mind
of the white-armed lady to me,
and wend to bed with her.'

I don't think so - not with this lady. Bring it on, she's ready and able to deal with you. The sixteenth Rune of the Elder Futhark is Sowilo, the Sun Rune described earlier. A further oddity is that our Sword Lady isn't using a shield. She appears to be drawing vitality from the full moon through her sword but standing vulnerable upon the road. Her shield is her Spirit. She seems to be guarding the path to hallowed ground.

The Rune Elhaz is marked on the left-hand column. The Old English Rune Poem for Elhaz reads:

'Elk's sedge has it's home
most often in the fen,
it waxes in the water
and grimly wounds
and burns with blood,
anyone
who in any way
tires to grasp it.'

Located as it is, above the crystal point and embedded sword, it reminds us that seemingly innocent items can bite if we don't approach them with respect. The crystal point an an energy focus; the sword in the stone as token of kingship.

Elhaz is also the Rune of the Valkyrie who watches over the hero on his adventures. Often referred to as Swan Maidens, you can see the swan-in-flight shape in Elhaz.

A Valkyrie as guardian of the Ace of Swords is an interesting choice. In the realm of ideas and the intellect, you are warded well.

I wonder what the Celtic intrepetation of a sword maiden is?
 

Marli

Freedom to Choose

Another beautiful description RS, I have very little that I can add to your description beyond some ideas that keep hitting me, when compared to other figures in the Swords suit, she must be royalty (her beautiful Sword Case, the ornate shield and the Crown in the corner).

I get trance like joy from this picture - on a high from her joy, she feels fearless, as though she could take on the world, and has the skill to carve out her future, yet there is no one with her, is this a solitary journey that she's embarking on, or is it just a momentary "break" from the pack and her usual obligations?
 

Rede Seeker

I get a 'Photo Op' Vibe

I get the 'joyous' vibe, too. I think she is posing for those who follow. She's marking the way. What I am doing, you can do, too.

Maybe this is a portrait at a holy site. She draws energy and returns it with interest through her swirling sword.

Odd that the Ace of Swords should be so enthusiastic. Most of the cards in this suit are depressing. The price of too much wisdom isn't felt in the Ace, just the excitement of being on the journey. Either our Sword-Maiden is just beginning, or she has somehow come through the Ordeals of the Suit of Swords and kept her integrity and sanity. That's definitely worth celebrating.
 

shadowdancer

I had this in a reading and my thoughts were along the lines of "whipping up a storm". So, she may be at the start of something where she needs to get wielding to show she is not to be messed with. Let people know she is there eh :) The smile does say a lot - she is more than ready for it. SHe has travelled that path and is now not prepared to take any s**t if that makes sense.
She is not using that tiny dagger on the left. Oh no - she has gone in with the biggie straight off the bat so she wants this to not be drawn out any longer than is necessary.