'Exalting' the Aces

[chat_noir]

Hello,

I'm very new to this forum, so please be patient with me!


I was just wondering if many people 'exalt' the Ace if one comes up in a reading?

 

[starrystarrynight]

Hi, and welcome to AT!

I don't exalt the ace any more than any other card (although I feel that trumps carry more weight than pips.) Some readers see the aces as being the compendium of the entire energy of the suit, but I tend to see them as merely potential or starting places of the energy of the suit--young and often unformed energy, at that.

But everyone reads his own way, and that is just my opinion and what seems to work well for me.

 

[GryffinSong]

May I ask for a clarification on what you mean by "exalt" the ace?

 

[starrystarrynight]

Actually, I just took the term at its face value--exalting meaning to elevate or to intensify in rank. If you meant it in a different way, chat_noir, I apologize...and look forward to your clarification.

 

[nisaba]

I like the Aces, and I enjoy them. But then, I like and enjoy all the other cards, too.

If I were to play number-based games with Tarot decks, I'd be tempted to give Aces a value somewhere between the Tens and the Pages, but in a reading I read them, and I read the other non-ace cards.

 

[DrDave]

Be careful to exalt the ace or hold it in very huge awe.

The ace is a potential of something it can become. It is number 1 ,the beginning.
It is not a given, like an Ace Trump in playing cards,which is a ten.

It is a consiousness,a first glimmer of an idea that has become manifest as a thought.

Like a seed ,it may become the Oak tree from the acorn, but that will require
planting at the right depth,temperature, sun ,rain and loving care.

Remember there can also be competition to grow, and it needs space.

If all things are right,it has a good chance to grow up beautiful.
That is my take
I used to wax lyrical about the ace when it came up ,now I explain what it will take to take an ace................to an ACE.
DD

 

[chat_noir]

To clarify what I mean by 'exalting' the ace is this:

"Many Tarot readers prefer to pull any of the Aces off the table and hold them above the reading, an act referred to as exalting the Ace. Aces are considered so powerful that they cannot mix freely with other Tarot cards and therefore serve as a subtitle for your entire reading." I found this on a website that I like to use.

I've had my cards for years but have never really studied them in this way, so I still have a lot to learn. I did a reading whereby I exalted the Ace and it gave the spread a different dynamic.

 

[GryffinSong]

To clarify what I mean by 'exalting' the ace is this:

"Many Tarot readers prefer to pull any of the Aces off the table and hold them above the reading, an act referred to as exalting the Ace. Aces are considered so powerful that they cannot mix freely with other Tarot cards and therefore serve as a subtitle for your entire reading." I found this on a website that I like to use.

I've had my cards for years but have never really studied them in this way, so I still have a lot to learn. I did a reading whereby I exalted the Ace and it gave the spread a different dynamic.

Oh. I never would have thought of that, so thanks for clarifying. I thought you were referring to the fact that in many card games the ace is both the least number and the greatest. I was imagining that in a reading one might see it as both the beginning of the journey and the end.

I can't imagine myself ever doing this, but I'm more interested in reading intuitively than in following a particular ritual.

 

[starrystarrynight]

Yes, thanks for the explanation...and no, I never do that.

 

[Alissa]

The Empress told me she ought to be exalted for all the work she does around the house, but I ignored her. Tell it to the Emperor, darlin.

Then there was the day the Hanged Man wanted to be exalted and I had to explain to him that to do so might give him a nosebleed. He didn't take it well either.

I offered to exalt the 8 of wands but he was in a hurry and said let's do it another day. When I talked to the Knight of Pentacles he said he wasn't going anywhere, including anywhere that might make him exalted. So that was a no go.

Only the World Dancer smiles when I tell her of exaltation. She gets that beatific look in her eyes and says we're all already there, we just don't know it. (Show off).

(All of the above is meant to be humorous, let's add that caveat before anyone goes off on me regarding proper Tarot theory).

...And no, I don't exalt an Ace, or any of the other cards. I tell my cards if you can't play nice and sit next to each other in a spread, not even for a few minutes, then no more readings for you... you can just stay in your box and have a time out to think about your choices.