Ace of Swords

Ace of Swords from the Rider–Waite tarot deck

The Ace of Swords is a card used in Latin-suited playing cards (Italian, Spanish and tarot decks). It is the ace from the suit of swords.

Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. ^[1] In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. ^[2]

Description

The card consists of a sword overtopped by a crown with which, depending on the side, an olive and a palm branch are present. These symbols represent mercy and severity. ^[3]

References

1. Dummett (1980).
2. Dummett (1980); Huson (2004).
3. Mathers (2008), p.  5.

Works cited

• Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd. ISBN   0-7156-1014-7.
• Huson, Paul (2004). Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage. Vermont: Destiny Books. ISBN   0-89281-190-0.
• Mathers, S. L. Macgregor (2008). The Tarot: A Short Treatise on Reading Cards. Weiser Books. ISBN   978-1-60925-571-8.

Further reading

• Crowley, Aleister (1991) [1944]. The Book of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians . San Francisco, CA/Newburyport, MA: Weiser Books. ISBN   978-0-87728-268-6.
• Hazel, E. (2004). Tarot Decoded: Understanding and Using Dignities and Correspondences. Red Wheel Weiser. ISBN   978-1-57863-302-9.
• Hughes-Barlow, P. (2004). The Tarot and the Magus: Opening the Key to Divination, Magick and the Holy Guardian Angel. Aeon Books. ISBN   978-1-904658-60-3.
• Place, R. M. (2021). The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism (3rd ed.). Hermes Publications. ISBN   978-1-7360688-1-6.
• Wang, R. (1987). The Qabalistic Tarot: A Textbook of Mystical Philosophy. S. Weiser. ISBN   978-0-87728-672-1.

External links

Media related to Aces of Swords at Wikimedia Commons