AT Comparative Study - B - Ace of Swords

[mercenary30]

The Egyptian Tarot by Alasia

Symbolism and imagery – A single double edged Egyptian sword is the center piece of this card. Behind it is Hathor’s Crown. Stylized bull horns with the moon as the center piece. Coming down off the bottom of each horn is a hooded cobra on the left side the cobra is wearing the crown of Upper Egypt. The right side cobra is wearing the crown of Lower Egypt.

Comparisons/contrasts with other decks – The single double edged blade is the same as the symbol used in many tarot decks, although this one is Egyptian. The same with the crown, except this crown is behind the sword and again is Egyptian.

Initial reactions – My initial reaction was to look up Hathor as I didn’t understand why she would represent the Ace of Swords. After doing some research I discovered that this is not RWS, but closer to Marseilles. Egyptian tarot has been around long enough to have its own sub-genre.

Book Notes – This head covering, which represents the moon and its phases, is one of the highest symbols of royal power, a symbol of conquest, even erotic and of fertility.
Positive: dynamism, bitter struggle, exaltation of strength. Fertility, seduction.
Negative: break with society, divorce, abortion of initiative. Legal actions.

 

[Laura Borealis]

aquarian

In the Aquarian Ace of Swords, there is no human hand holding the sword -- it stands alone without human agency. The hilt and part of the blade can be seen, but not the point. The sword faces point down. The hilt has decorative curves and several jewels, though the jewels are rather a dull brown in color.

To each side of the blade is a white rose in full bloom, with leaves and thorns on their stems.

The sky is a lovely mixture of pink and pale blue, suggesting dawn and spring. The blade seems to reflect the rosy light in the sky, shading from pale blue to pink and back to pale blue.

An element of the design that confuses me: there are three straps connected to the hilt of the sword. Two thicker ones lead to the left, and one thinner one to the right, going to the border of the image. I know that a sword belt may have straps, but I have never seen them attached to a sword hilt.

There are also decorative curved shapes at the bottom corners of the image, heavy black curves with thick borders in blue-grey. These heavy black bordered shapes appear in nearly every swords card (and not in the other suits) so I am sure they meant something important to the artist.

Compare/contrast with other decks: no hand holding the sword, no clouds, sword points down. Two white roses.

Interpretation: I see a element of constraint or bondage (the straps) and potential for heaviness (the black shapes). Swords can be a portentious suit; pure thought can lead to depression or madness. Yet there is also a lightness and freshness apparent in the image (the rosy sky, the white roses, perhaps symbolizing purity). Checking against the LWB, it says "Triumph of great force, either love or hatred; may signify a birth of special significance."

 

[paradoxx]

New Palladini

description:
A hand with a slender wrist, more than likely female, protected by a bronze gauntlet holds a single sword upright. The edge of the sword pierces the opening of a crown adorned with blue gems. Wild plant growth with purple flowers surrounds the blade. A crescent moon hangs in teh starry night sky partially blocked by grayish clouds. The Swords is adorned with three gems, oen at the base of bottom edge of the hilt and one each on eithe rside of the hilt guard.

analysis
Hand is that of a woman and is wearing a gauntlet. The embedded Gem is common theme in this deck.
The moon is a common theme throughout the deck
The wild plant growth is a common theme throughout the deck

comparrison
This version of the Ace of Swords takes place during the night time. As mentioned before the hand is wearing a gauntlet and has a firm grip on the swords handle. While the hand is not being emmited from the clouds cartoonishly like say the RWS, it does integrate the clouds in a traditional Tarot design.

 

[mooncat2]

Animal Lords - Ace of Swords

Description

A walrus man stands on an ice floe with his hands on top of a sword which has broken through the ice. He is dressed in brown heavy wear with shoulder epaulettes and knee covers with spikes on. A penguin stands beside him. The background is more peaked ice floes - or perhaps they are mountains - I don't know.

One does get the feeling he has had to overcome the odds to reach the point when the sword cracked through the ice. The black and white of the penguin showing the unknown moving through to consciousness.

Initial reaction - In a deck I really love I don't like this card. It is dismal and depressing with none of the uplifted feeling I get from other Ace Swords.

Comparisons

The sword is pointing down .
There are two figures in it.
The sky which often has an important part to play in other cards is just gray.

 

[Imagemaker]

I'm arriving late to this discussion, so I laid out a bunch of decks, some not mentioned yet, and decided to do a summary list of swords/hands/other things:

1. A Sword pointing up (like the original RWS)--with a hand:
a. Spiral--with hand and eyes peering through the blue wind
b. Londa--heavy glove on hand
Victoria Regina's gun, muzzle up
c. Motherpeace--also a butterfly and a naked woman doing a yoga balancing posture

2. Sword pointing up, no hand:
a. Tarot of the Old Path--crown encircling tip
b. Robin Wood--blade encircled by flowers and greenery

3. Sword pointing down:
a. Fey--sword is floating above the crouching fey's hands
b. Haindl--blade only, no hilt or hand
c. Animal Lord--as mentioned before, the walrus has the point down into a ice floe with accompanying penguin
d. Acquarian--Hilt and part of blade only, no point, with 2 flowers

4. No sword at all--Osho Zen, of course--where the Ace has a buddha figure and the keyword "consciousness"

That's 5 up and 4 down--pointing up seems more "active" to me. More potential for the ideas--having the point of your weapon buried in ice or not shown seems to blunt its potential.

On to the 8!

 

[lunalafey]

Symbolism and imagery –
An exotic female fey sits deep within an earth cavern, it seems to be more of the cavern of a volcano. Above her, floating in the air is a glowing sword, red like it was just forged and has yet to be cooled. The Fey kneels, and has her hands out to recieve the sword. They way she positions her hands is different. She does not cup them together, nor, hands side by side, palms up fingers open and pointing forward. The fey has the heels of her palms together and fingers bent to piont up.
It is like she forms a shape for the sword to slide into and come to a rest.

Comparisons/contrasts with other decks – one sword in the air- common, there is a female in the card which is non-traditional.
Where a humn hand has a hold of the sword, there is no contact with the hand and the sword. The image is under the earth and not over it. No crown.


Initial reactions – I see this as an initiation and the sword as a gift given once one has reached a specific place in thier life time.
I see the sword as the initation symbol for one to go out into the world and do what they where born to do. Just as the sword is 'born' so is the next step in one's life.

Book Notes – simple meaning- force, violence, conquest, control.
Concentration of thoughts upon a single focus. Will, decision, resoluteness.

expanded meaning- the fey calls upon the sword of her own life and being, done alone because it is her own responsibility.
Signifies the decision to obtain something, get involved, and accept any consequences. Knowing when there is a need to act and deal with the issues & problems on one's own and to not lean on others to come to the rescue.

 

[lionette]

Tarot of the Master

This is the first deck to have partially illustrated Minors, before RWS, from 1893.

Imagery - one sword in an elaborately decorated hilt and scabbard is in center of card encircled with a wreath of leaves and tied with a mauve-colored ribbon. a banner in Itallian says "Guerra Porto Amo Pace".

In contrast to TdM, the sword points down and the blade is protected in scabbard.

Keyword - Conquest

From LWB - Swords were considered the symbol of nobility and symbolic of rights and civil law. The swords are rational and coldly intellectual. The ace's banner is translated as: "I Love War, I Bring Peace" or "I Bring War, I Love Peace".

Symbolism - laurel wreathes indicate victory (either inner or outer), ribbons have heroic significance (Dictionary of Symbols, J.E. Cirlot)

Impressions - The sword is in its scabbard, not ready for battle or being brandished. The symbolism implies the end of battle, the celebration of a victorious struggle. Altho, as the first card of the suit, I see it also as the beginnning of the struggle, when we are still fresh and thinking only of victory. This makes me think there's a sense of innocence about the card -- none of the trials/tests have yet begun, so one it's easy to think of ourselves as victorious and thinking only thinking of a positive outcome. The power of positive thinking, I suppose

 

[WooMonkey]

Tarot of the Cat People

Symbolism & Imagery - A man stands on guard at the top of a hill. His sword is out and his shield up. The shield has a large face of a jaguar on it. The man wears a spotted catskin which apparently used to belong to a companion cat that "died a natural death".

Comparisons/contrasts - The sword on this card, while large, seems secondary to the shield with the fierce picture of the jaguar on it.

Initial reactions - I don't get much of an "air" or "intellect" type feeling from this card, although the man does appear to be cool and in control of his situation. It is hard to avoid looking at the jaguar face staring back at you!

LWB - Great determination. Initiative. Strength. Force. Activity.

 

[hyatt]

The secret tarots

Symbolism & Imagery:
It is dawn and sword is firmly planted in stone. The stone is square and carved with relief of a human with a bird head eating a fish and to the left a human face. There is town with castles in the background. Faint trees seperate the foreground from the town.
Comparisons: (to Waite) There is no hand offering the sword. It is almost a warning of something to come.

Initial Reactions:
I think of how much strength it took to put a sword into the stone like that. It must have been superhuman. The colors are crazy - a pale yellow and blue. It makes me think of early morning - something new and on the horizon. The stone being square gives it the feeling of stability and strength. I wish I knew more about the carving - it sort of looks like the god Thoth.

From The Book:
Keywords:Triumph, strength, power, grief.

 

[contrascarpe]

Tarot of the Journey to the Orient

Symbolism & Imagery - There are three people in this picture, all of Eastern background. The colors are soft, as are most in this deck A man of seeming influence stands gazing at the two women in the picture. The older woman, in the middle, stands and talks to the gentleman. She is waving her hand at a younger woman who has her back to the other two. She kneels, apparently doing some work, perhaps in a garden.


Comparisons/contrasts with other decks - The difference between this and most Aces is evident - there is a story happening here, not simply a single Sword, such as the one being held by a hand and emerging from a cloud in the RWS.

Initial reactions – This could be the beginning of a relationship, however, one that is arranged, or forced. I sense something happening which will be against will of someone else. In this case, I see it as more of an end than one of a beginning. True, there is a sense of beginning, but the young girl's world as she knows it is about to end. This could be good, but it could be bad. The unknown is strong here.

LWB - Family, work or growing activity. Charisma, determination, achievement and charm. (Text copyright Lo Scarabeo).