Sacred Circle - Ace of Swords

Phoenyx*

Ace of Swords - Intellect

Description of the card: A beautiful clean golden sword, whose handguard (whoever knows the proper term for it, jump right in :) I know its some sort of guard) is simply jewelled with two red stones, one on either side, with the pommel having one larger red stone. All the stones are circular. From the sword emits four rays of light, very precise, very geometric, making the sword's blade seem to be a fifth middle ray. The background sky seems to be dawn, slightly cloudy. There is a type of building, I'm not sure what kind, or which one it is. An old stone highway seems to be leading windingly to it.

Random thoughts from the card: The sword seem to be newly forged. Its beautiful, sharp, and my guess is, unblooded. The rays of light portray the light that is shed on dark places through thought, maybe the dark places of ignorance? The card seems to portay the best that intellect and thought has to offer. The stormy night has passed, and now the dawn of a clearer day is coming. Maybe this refers to the phrase "to sleep on it". How it all seems to be clearer in the morning. As for the building, I have no idea, I'm going to look in the book to see which place that is.....ah, Saint Micheal's Mount in Cornwall.

Quote from the book (pp.150-51): The Ace of Swords is the root powers of air. It is the magickal weapon brought from the mystical city of Gorias, which no eye has seen but the soul knows. It appears in various guises as the sword Excalibur, the athame, and the curfane.
The suit of swords corresponds to the element of air, the season of spring, the dawn, and the direction of east. Its station on the wheel is the spring equinox, which we call Ostara, when new life germinates and emerges with the increase of light and warmth. Magickally, air rules all mental activity, from the inception of an idea to the abstract knowledge, to the questioning of established theories.
Air is the inspiration of life-giving breath, the gentle breeze on the plain, the rushing wind on the mountaintop, and the destructive hurricane. It is the power of sound, the vocalization of ideas, and the communication of knowledge.
In this card, the Ace of Swords is shown over Saint Michael's Mount, a snall island off the coast of Cornwall, which is linked to the mainland village of Marazion by a causeway. For the ancients, an island like St. Michael's were often sites of initiation snce they were places between places-neither part of the mainland nor islands proper. It is the termination of a long ley or dragon line called the St. Michael's Line which strentches halfway across Britain. This earth energy line is oriented to sunrise at Beltane and Lughanasa, when it is activated as the sun rises and oriented to sunset at Imbolc and Samhain, when the energy is discharged. The southern aspect of this line is called the Great Dragon Line, where churches dedicated to Saint Michael and Saint George abound. Both saints are known as dragon slayers, overcoming the darkness and remembered by torches and bonfires. These sites where our Pagan ancestors invoked the fertile dragon power of the earth were later superimposed with Christian churches dedicated to dragon-slaying deities, a statement that Paganism has been overcome in that area.
Saint Michael is the patron saint of Cornwall and is associated with overcoming winter and death. He is said to have appeared on May 8 on Saint Michael's Mount in 590 CE. Nearby, the Helston Fury Dance, a serpentine dance that banishes winter and winds up a spiral of energy, coiling up the summer, is celebrated on May 8.
 

Kazz

ACE OF SWORDS - (intellect)

The Power of thought!
I pulled this card as my daily card about a week ago, and this is what I got from it.

The initial "feeling " I got from it, was powerful but a little uneasy, not bad, but just not 'happy, happy, joy, joy', type feelings. On this day that was my ace of swords day, I had just come out of a situation which wasn't getting better or easier, and that morning I went for a walk for around 45 min, and did nothing but think and think!, and plan, and then came to a firm decision that I must stick to and know that this will change things as they were previously.
Now from other decks, like RW, the ace of swords is "new plans" thought, change, beginning of new ideas. So I find this card to be similar to other decks.
This life changing decision that I made, came with alot of thought, and I mean deep thought, and it came from something that wasn't all that great, and that is what I think the Ace Of Swords is all about.
This is some of the divinatory meaning that is in the book, which I found relevent to how I interpret this card.

The Ace of swords inicates an awakening of mental powers, a surge of new ideas and concepts that will change you view of the world and your life forever..
However, the sword can be a ruthless weapon, it can cut away dead wood or living flesh.
History shows us that new ideas have often led to terrible wars and conflagrations, though it is sometimes out of adversity that the most creative ideas arise, and it is possible that out of present disagreements something better will be forged


I found this card to be quite powerful and not to be taken too lightly when it comes to thought and planning.




Cheers
Kazz
 

Nitegoddess

Sacred Circle ~ Ace of Swords

I posted this on the other one... So I copied to here...

When I first look at this card I see the illumination off the sword..
It is pristine condition... The sky is transforming but yet is calm at this point..
The land and surroundings are tranquil.... which a perfect setting for thought...
Being that the Swords season is Spring which like Mj said is right around the corner. The skys are coming out of the "gloom" associated with winter..
The element of the Swords is Air...
inspiration of life... the gentle breezes... or rushes of wind at the moutain tops... and the destructive forces of a hurricane.
The Ace of Swords to me is a surge of ideas, or concepts.. changes in the world which could effect your whole thought process ..
Possible conflict with those around you that dont want change. You have the power to shape your world with your intellect..



~~This is just my personal opinion and I have just started to use these cards so I am trying to feed off what feelings I get when I look into them..~~
Look Forward to more posts..
 

starsongs

Ace of Swords ~ Sacred Circle

When i first looked at this card, what popped out was the three red stones that make an inverted triangle pattern. Its interesting that the upper stones are even with what apprears to be a line in the sky.

the sky below it is rather foggy and cloudy looking, and in the foreground is a road that curves so that you can't see where it ends...the handle of the sword is directly above a castle type structure on an island/mountain (an upright triangle pattern).

All suggested to me that it would take strength and will power (red) drawing from previous experiences to access the intellect and heal mental structures from the past. The New beginning seems represented by the Swords blade above the horozon line where beautiful glowing rays of light fan out in a pink lit sky...and the meeting of all that has gone before and what is to come...

starsongs
 

Nitegoddess

Starsongs, that was beautiful.. Great reply :) I have already written down your observations.
Thanks!! :D
 

Phoenyx*

Starsongs, that was absolutely beautiful!
 

mooncat2

Ace Of Swords

The card appears to be divided in two with that very definite line across it. The area below gives a feeling of great calm and stillness but shadowed - life accepted and not questioned.

The red stones speak to me of the courage it takes to grasp the hilt of the sword - to mentally challenge one's belief structures and begin to think for oneself. To reach out and explore new ideas and concepts.

The unsettled sky indicates how difficult this can be but the rays of light and the soft pink sky, like the moment before sunrise, hold the potential of a new day dawning - clarity and understanding.
 

starsongs

Nitegoddess, Triquetra, Kazz, Mooncat2...

I didn't read any of this purposely before I posted. I've gone back to read now, and it so cool that we've all captured some different elements of the card, along with some parallel meanings!!

I enjoyed all of your posts too, they are wonderful! and I am going to take note on the cards...(great idea, Nitegoddess) :D

I think I'm really going to enjoy this group. Its a beautiful deck and a great way to learn and share! Many Thanks to everyone!

Starsongs
 

mj07

Everyone else has written such beautiful, and profound, observations. However, for some reason, today I thought of the most blatant, for me: this is a big sharp pointed object. Since it symbolizes the intellect, sometimes I need a blade to hack open my brain and figure out what goes on inside. Yes, it looks very calm and serene and beautiful floating there, but I suspect it has the potential to do some [necessary] damage, when needed!

And yes, the red stones, it takes courage to do this!
 

paradoxx

the old stone road leads to a coastal shore, and the castle/tower is on an island.