How to Read the Aces in a Tarot Reading

Do the Aces confuse you? Do you draw a blank when they appear in a reading? If so, you’re not alone!

The Aces are kind of like the Court Cards in that they all look very similar to each other. Also, there isn’t really much going on in the Aces.

In the Rider Waite deck, each Ace shows a hand holding the symbol of its suit – pentacle, sword, cup or wand. Other than that, there’s not much excitement happening. So what are you supposed to do with that?

Aces signify a fresh start, a new beginning – but you probably already knew that, right? So in this post, I’m going to show you how to go beyond this so that you can come up with specific tidbits of juicy info and craft a compelling story!

So the next time an Ace shows up in a reading, instead of being all vague like “uh, a new beginning is on the horizon…” you’ll be able to say something much more intriguing and explicit…

Step #1 Get your Aces out!

For this exercise, I want you to rifle through your deck and get the Aces out. Yeah, I know it’s a pain in the ass – but DO IT!!!

Okay, now lay them all out on your table and take a good look.

Step #2 Know your suits!

There are four suits in a Tarot deck – Pentacles, Swords, Cups and Wands. Some decks get creative and rename these suits, but that doesn’t matter – the meanings of the suits remain the same. So if Swords are renamed Daggers or Cups are called Seashells, don’t freak out. It changes nothing.

Get to know each suit and its qualities:

Pentacles = body/health/sex, money, material stuff

Swords = mind, thoughts, communication

Cups = feelings, emotions, relationships

Wands = spirit, passion, creativity, action

Step #3 Combine Suit + Ace

Next time you get an Ace, think new beginnings + suit qualities. Let’s do this with the Ace of Swords…

Ace = beginnings
Suit of Swords = mind, thoughts and communication

When we combine intellect and communication with a fresh burst of newness, what do we get?

• New, brilliant ideas!
• A fresh perspective
• Feeling inspired to write something
• A surge of fresh mental clarity in which you find a solution to a long-standing problem
• Having the urge to send someone a text
• Filling out important paperwork
• Instigating an ongoing communication with someone
• Hatching a plan.

Try this exercise with all four Aces and see what you get. Below is a little cheatsheet I made. You can print it off or better yet, make your own.

Print this!

Influence of Surrounding Cards

How you interpret an Ace will also depend on the other cards in the reading. For example, if the Ace of Cups shows up alongside The Lovers, that could signal a new romance. But if that same Ace of Cups shows up with the Three of Swords it could be all about healing a broken heart.

Practice pairing the Aces with other cards and play around with how that changes your interpretation.

Aces = Opportunities & Offerings

I always get excited when an Ace pops up and I always read it in an optimistic light. But really, the Aces just symbolize an opportunity – what you do with that opportunity is up to you. And not all opportunities need to be taken.

Going Deeper….with Symbols!

Look at each Ace and pick out two symbols on each card that stands out to you. You can go into these symbols – almost like you’re communing with them – to get a deeper understanding of the card and it’s meaning.

For example, I got the Ace of Cups in a reading I did for myself this week.

I was thinking maybe it meant gratitude, releasing emotional blocks or being more heart-centered. But I didn’t feel satisfied. My attention kept going to the dove at the top and to me it represents peace.

Then I asked the dove what it’s message was and it said “first you must be at peace with your emotions in order to feel harmonious.” No, I wasn’t high on mushrooms. I actually think up shit like this when I’m stone cold sober!

Experiment & have fun!

Now that I’ve given you a couple of exercises to try out, have fun with it. See if you can incorporate these techniques into your next reading and see where it takes you!

xoxo
Kate
Daily Tarot Girl