Tarot & Sexuality Study Group: Ace of Swords

Ok From a sexual point of view:

The imagery was pretty blunt to me when looking at the card sexually. A sword penetrating a crown, as a after thought i considered a crown ridding a sword. Either way it is sex.

But the symbolism of the card says different to me. Aces are often new beginnings. Swords are more masculine. The crown is higher knowledge. The garland in the crown mercy and severity. The hand enters the card from the left is that sinister or artistic? The six Yods mean creation. This card for me represents aggressive victory,triumph and success.

In a sexual context this card would be a conquest as in a one night stand, a planned and calculated seduction that WILL be successful. I do not read it too darkly as seduction can be fun, but the seduced is only a sex object, not a person in the context of this card.

Well thats my take, feel free to rip it apart! That is how I learn.

All of the cards apply to both men and women, and all aspects of sexuality.

One cannot simply state that the Ace of Swords is force, or brutality; nor can one state that it is male and only male oriented. Women are included.

There is also the ‘force’ by which a woman takes a man.

Swords, being air, thought, and data (information) encompass less limiting aspects of sexuality.

We could be thinking of sex, or thinking of ‘conquest’ (be it male of female conquest); it could be ‘cybering’ (think of the crown and sword as the 0 & 1 of the binary world), it could be sweet nothings whispered into the ear of a lover that excites or titillates.

Here, there is a thought process illustrated, and on one level it is the thought of union.

Brutal sex, with absolutely no thought consequences perhaps belongs over in the suit of Wands.

But of course, in reading Tarot – no card exists in a vacuum – everything depends on both context and surrounding cards.

One cannot date an Ace of Swords, but one can have Ace of Swords thoughts or experiences.

So many takes. This is great.

However, I'd like to pick up on what Elvenstar said, about Athena on the Ace of Swords in an attempt to balance the positive to negative ratio out some more.

There is a sense of unity too with the Ace of Swords.

Using Athena as a spring board here, The Ace can represent a person who feels fulfilled without the need for sexual contact. The sword and crown, the male and female aspects, are integrated - the person is content.

(Though onanism may have something to do with that. )

It could also be a period in one's life where sexual expression is sublimated into other activities, or even expressed or experienced through writing. I'm not sure how far to push this, but a cybersex relationship could theoretically be indicated by this card.

Along similar lines, there are also platonic relationships - lots of chemistry, but no actual consummation. The minds meet and party, but the bodies abstain.

(Athena's attraction to Prometheus, to return to Elvenstar's example.)

Then there is also this bit, from the general group discussion thread:

franniee said:

I see the ace of swords as a pop! Soooooo I see it as a loss of viginity or a conception ~ when the sperm breaks the barrier of the egg.

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The theme of unity again, at a very fundamental level.

Apocalipstick said:

The theme of unity again, at a very fundamental level.

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Just another thought...Ace being One - perhaps there's a message about unity with and of self (and no I'm not talking onanism).

Perhaps...there is a difference in ourselves, in our sex and sexuality, once we become internally united - instead of fractured.

A Sword and Crown mean one thing to a soul united - and another in a fear based fractured soul.

As an event, it could also be a fleeting encounter.

Or one not based on something solid, or feelings, or passion per se, but the fact that the 'idea' of being with the other person was attractive.

Sex on an aeroplane?

When woman gives birth, the baby's head crowns, it is when the head appears as visible and does not push back in...it can only move outward to be born...and at this moment, the woman is asked to stop pushing...so as to not tear the opening....

So...we have the symbolish of the sex act, (sword entering the crown) and at the same time, the symbol of birthing....when things can only move forward, the crowning of the newborn.

Aces ...new beginnings, birthing, moving forward from that point.

terri

Umbrae said:

All of the cards apply to both men and women, and all aspects of sexuality.

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Yes but this card leans towards masciline or Yang if you prefer.

Umbrae said:

One cannot simply state that the Ace of Swords is force, or brutality; nor can one state that it is male and only male oriented. Women are included..

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True, as it is not a force always and definitely not brutality.

Umbrae said:

Swords, being air, thought, and data (information) encompass less limiting aspects of sexuality.

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I agree and really feel under normal circumstances the Ace of swords has very little to do with sexuality, but replied in the spirit of the post, it was a good eye opener for me.

Umbrae said:

Brutal sex, with absolutely no thought consequences perhaps belongs over in the suit of Wands.

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..or you are in deeper then you thought, but real good point.

Umbrae said:

But of course, in reading Tarot – no card exists in a vacuum – everything depends on both context and surrounding cards.

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So true!

Umbrae said:

One cannot date an Ace of Swords, but one can have Ace of Swords thoughts or experiences.

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AS a personality I wonder if you could date an Ace of swords in the context of the study groups goal.

Completely bizarre thought on this one (and correct me if this has been stated before), but the unity of two minds. Extremely balance of two outwardly bodies into the same mind set.

There is those people that you automatically click with because you're both so in "tune" to one another, both non-sexualy (mentioned above) and also sexual. You can have a very indepth converastion with this person and feel very satified by that and nothing more, on the non-sexual side. But on the sexual side, there is an intense matching of wants, needs, and desires. True this rarely happens with the same person, or at least not in my experience it hasn't.