T of Prague cafe club - Ace Wands...

Moonbow

Hope no one minds me butting in on the cafe club. I have some ideas on the Ace of Wands:

First the colouring... red, gold, glowing, fire. The fruit (grapes) on the wand representing earthly fruits and therefore growth. The thrusting hand meaning energy and creativity and artistry. The plaque is made of wood - carving = artistry, creativity. The buildings meaning mans development, with two church towers - could these be mans passion - religion? The competition of the two towers also comes back to energy and force of the suit.

These ramblings are what my first thoughts were on the card, without reading the book.

Moonbow*
 

punchinella

Mmmn Moonbow, interesting choice of card. Without going hunting for it (I'm in a hurry) I'd just like to add that the 'wood' looks, to me, much more like molten lava . . . Probably a trick of the camera, but that's all I ever manage to see!

Something about this card disturbs/bothers me, but I'm not sure what it is . . . Will have to analyze this later . . .

P.

. . . p.s. about the molten-looking wood--anyone see that movie The Red Violin? --blood in the varnish . . . &--yes!--the tarot reading--?!?!?

hmmmn . . .
 

Jewel-ry

I agree, it doesn't look like wood to me either. The book says 'the relief is taken from a wood carving' so maybe it is made of something else. This card doesn't bother or disturb me but I just dont see anything else in it really except, as already pointed out by moonbow*, the creativity side of the card. It doesn't make me explode with ideas like many of the other cards.

J :)
 

Moonbow

Punchinella

No particular reason for choosing this card to start a thread other than I wanted to start with a minor and it is the first one in my deck.

I see the water in the plaque as being carved by a chisel type of tool which is why I thought wood but I can now see that is could look like a mould in places or that the 'sea' could look like moulten lava. Actually, come to think of it, either way, is very appropriate considering the card is the 'Fire Ace'.

MoonboW*
 

punchinella

Yeah, maybe it's this lava thing itself that's disturbing me. Pompeii/Herculaneum (sp?) & all that--sort of implicitly--anti-life . . . Which is pretty much the opposite of what I 'think' Ace of Wands should be about . . .

It's worked for me in readings though as FIRE (yeah moonbow you're right) so I guess I really can't knock it.

P.
 

Moongold

Ace Wands

This is a very powerful card. Look at that human hand holding the Wand which looks as though it has been fashioned in gold. Has it been made by this artisan? How beautiful it is and how must it feel to hold?

And the background of the rock…..Is this rock not still pulsating with energy? See ……the red still holds movement and the other objects are being carried by it. You can still see movement in this rock. What memories does it hold? Where are our chaos experts? They could go to town on this one :D :D . Even without an understanding of chaos one must feel the energy in this card.

I think this image is a very powerful representation of fire energy that is barely contained. There is real genius in this card. The human hand holding the wand says to me that YES – it is up to us to control and use this energy creatively. Look at the beautiful Wand that has been crafted. It looks like a sculpture or carving in gold with exquisite detail. Considerable power and artistry would be needed to make it. And it has been made by a human being. The juxtaposition of a human hand against the dynamic rock and the gold itself is fascinating. With determination and energy, what can be achieved? We start with the basics - raw energy. It is up to us what we do with it.

This is one of the nicest Ace Wands I’ve seen, but I am a Fire person and understand Wands energy well having lived with it for so long :).

Moongold
 

Jewel-ry

Moongold,

Probably stating the obvious here but when looking again at this card, I noticed what looks like an explosion in the bottom left corner. Never noticed it before. Is it a volcano? Also if it is, could the island have just appeared too, as they do sometimes? New beginnings...The wands also represent spirituality and aspirations which I think of when I look at the white spire. The red can be seen as passion and as the newness, the development of ideas. However, much of the city is tinged with a darker colour which could be seen as carrying a warning against getting 'burnt', or ruined.

Yes Moongold, your right this is a powerful card. I'm getting more into it now! Just needed pointing in the right direction :laugh:

J :)
 

Moongold

Jewel_ry..

This is very interesting :)

I didn't see the city in the same way that you do because of the monotones.

It seems to me that the city is something carved into the rock. In fact I simply saw shapes before, and not necessarily in the form of a city.

It shows how differently people perceive things. The more I look the more these shapes take the form of buildings. I havn't got the book but maybe this image also shows, as Punchinella may have said, a city overwhelmed by lava.

Aren't the layers of meaning in these cards, amazing?

I suppose I was driven in my first look at this image by the assumption that Ace Wands symbolizes that raw fire and power of the Wands sign and the overt comment (to me anyway) that it is up to us as to how we use this energy.

You know, Wands also symbolize intuition, and I am struggling to see this right now in this image.



Moongold
 

punchinella

Moongold said:

I suppose I was driven in my first look at this image by the assumption that Ace Wands symbolizes that raw fire and power of the Wands sign and the overt comment (to me anyway) that it is up to us as to how we use this energy.

Yes Moongold, I was thinking about this all day today. I'm disturbed by this card because I tend to, as you point out, see a city being covered over/destroyed by lava . . . but really, raw wands energy is just as likely to destroy as it is to create--right??--so the image of destruction is not really inappropriate.

You know, Wands also symbolize intuition, and I am struggling to see this right now in this image.

I'm struggling to see this right now in ALL wands images! --Really, you know, one reads about the association of wands/intuition, but it never really works for me because--well, doesn't it seem like the creative/destructive, passionate, sexual, action-oriented energy of fire would not have the time & attention to allow itself to intuit?? Doesn't water, or even earth, seem far more naturally intuitive than fire--by virtue of receptivity, if for no other reason (isn't intuitive perception--sensitivity--an inherently receptive/passive thing?)

--Food for thought anyway. I guess that question is sort of general (off topic)--sorry.

P.
 

Moongold

You raise some interesting questions, Punchinella.

The association of Wands with Intuition seems to be quite Jungian.

If you think of Wands as fire energy, however, you can make a connection with intuition - creative ideas, imagination, inner vision and the energy to make it all real.

And there is also the intangibility if fire, its quickness, warmth and light which can easily be ascribed to intuition. We often speak of flashes of intuition but I know also that intuition can bubble up from quiet reflection (Cups and Pentacles).


Moongold