The negative side of Aces?

nisaba

All cards have a negative and positive side. But most times, I see Aces as neutral. To me, they're the spark, neither good nor bad.

I'm sort-of in this camp. They show what element is at play most. Of course, if one element is most at play, then it is out of balance, either overwhelming the others or, perhaps, telling you that it is desperately needed in the situation (if it is an advice-card).
 

Barleywine

I'm sort-of in this camp. They show what element is at play most. Of course, if one element is most at play, then it is out of balance, either overwhelming the others or, perhaps, telling you that it is desperately needed in the situation (if it is an advice-card).

I always pay close attention to out-of-balance situations that may look like over-compensation, when that "sharp-stick-in the-eye" kind of stimulus may be exactly what the situation needs. I'm thinking mostly of instances of self-defeating complacency that won't respond to anything short of a shock to the system. I'm not sure the Aces alone are capable of delivering it, but they can certainly set the stage.
 

Quest85

I've also been trying to unravel the aces, been drawing them a lot lately, as 'centre'cards (theme/situation, upcoming event).
For now I've had the Ace of swords mostly come up as communication of some sort; this could be an (job)interview, a serious talk/discussion, or even a police interrogation.

The Ace of Cups had actually come up once for a 60+ woman who was having emotional/ low-confidence issues, because of aging.. it was in a reading with, 6 of wands and 8 of swords and the World.
The ace of cups+ World represented that (life)cycle...
When I first saw the Ace C I Thought whats it doing here, its normally a nice card to see right?! but I could feel something 'negative vibe' in the reading...so my first thought about a possible negative interp of the Ace was 'heavy emotions'... in the 8 of swords an 6 of wands we discovered why..lack of self confidence.. (so these aren't 'positive' emotions)

Ace of Wands has come up as sex(ual energy), but also as a lack of sex(ual energy) with other certain cards.



I usually see the Aces as good cards to have, but they can represent so many things, even turn out to be not so positive or just be there as additional info to another card.. So in my readings ( and the way I read cards) it really depends on the other cards, and its position and the question asked.... I dont do rx cards so i always turn to other cards for info first thing ...and sometimes I'll do a raeding on the Aces potential itself and what its representing or how I would recognize such opportunnity.

the Ace of Pentacles is still under investegation ;)
 

SunChariot

In most books that I've read and most sites that I've visited...Aces are almost always described as great cards of new beginnings, etc. What I'm curious here is...do you guys mostly read it as a positive card? Or have you come across an Ace where it's clearly resonating a negative meaning in a particular case? If so...what/how is it? I'm not talking about reversed cards here...I'm talking more just about Aces in general.

I know some people who read Ace of Swords as a bad card...where they say it's the beginning of hard times or conflicts, etc. What are your takes on that? Are there different levels of positive and negative in each of the Aces according to how you read them?

Another thing I've been wondering about....is receiving the Ace cards in positions that heeds advice or positions that are "negative"....how do you read those cards? I actually did a reading recently where the negative crossing card is Ace of Swords, the positive crossing card is Ace of Pentacles, and what is hidden that needs attention is Ace of Wands. An extra clarification card on the current situation later pops out as Ace of Cups. That was quite an overwhelming amount of Aces that popped up in all positions. In this case, then...how do you read the positive crossing of it, the negative crossing of it, etc?

The Aces are not really negative OR positive to me.They really just represent the element of the suit in its purest, most undiluted form for me. Although I don't believe any cards actually have negative meanings. It really depends on the question and my intuition as to whether it's a good or bad thing. And on what the card image says to me in relation to the question. But they just mean that to me: the energy of the suit in it's purest form. Period. They are just that. Nothing more or less. There are no happy or sad connotations associated with them for me.

Of course, if the question is "What difficulties will this relationship face?" the answer of course is going to talk about difficulties and not happy things.

So let's say the answer to that was the Ace of Cups, it could say one partner acts purely out of their emotions without thinking things out rationally first. They feel these strong undiluted emotions and act out on them without thinking first about of the feelings are rational or if acting on them with help or harm the relationship. As in feeling an undiluted pure sense of rage and acting on it. For example. Not too fun for the other partner at all.

On the other hand, the same card in a different reading could say that the person's feelings are pure like a child's and have been untouched by pain. No walls up, no shields. The person just feels free and open to show their real inner self to the world. Now that is a good thing.

It really all depends....

As for the rest, I don't use spreads and haven't for over a decade, so not sure how all the crossing cards work or even what they are... I seem to find I read better without spreads.

Babs
 

Yarnzipan

I've had the ace come up referencing a pain from my past (a tendency to keep repeating the 'beginning' stage of things, like a groundhog day loop where nothing grows past that first spark) as well as symbolizing an attack out of the blue/an argument that came from out of nowhere (the ace of pentacles and the ace of swords, respectively). In one case, it wasn't that starting a new home and planting new roots was a bad thing so much as it was painful that I kept having to do it over and over again without getting to watch things come to fruition. In another, it was literally just a 'new' problem come after me.

So yeah, I think the Aces are all about context, as much as anything. New isn't always better, after all.
 

Ace

Nothing in Tarot is ever exactly the same each time you read. So sometimes it is good and sometimes bad. I love ACES, myself (can't you tell?) because I love new beginnings and Ace are the starting line. Aces REVERSED are being stuck, mostly. Refusing to get off the stick as the phrase goes.

I can see Aces as confusion--since they can go in any direction, you are not sure where to go with it. Ace by itself could be an issue: all that energy and where should I direct it? But in a reading, I like Aces, they mean you have enough to get moving forward--now GO!

Someone earlier mentioned "holding all the aces," that is a more modern phrase about poker--where aces are high cards. In Tarot they are LOW cards. Not lowly but bottom rank, not top rank. One not thirteen.

Barb
 

SunChariot

Nothing in Tarot is ever exactly the same each time you read. So sometimes it is good and sometimes bad.

Barb

Very true. Meaning is somewhat fluid and changeable in context. A lot of it you have to just feel the nuances of it, the way I see it.

Babs