Nicoletta Ceccoli ~ 1 (Ace) of Swords

Kat Moon

At first glance we have an image of a girl eating a lollipop. Upon closer look, the lollipop is in some distress. With an expression of needing help. Also, where the girl has taken a bite, he is bleeding. The blood is not just running down the lollipop, but also on the girl's face, her hand and on her dress.

~~~ FROM THE LWB ~~~
"Happiness that is won at the cost of another's misery is not worth the price. Consider any new possibilities presented to you and weigh their potential harm.

Key Concepts-
Force, Triumphant, conquest through cleverness"

~~~ My Thoughts ~~~
This is not my normal read on the Ace of Swords. Normally I think that this card represents a new idea, a new thought, a new way of thinking, and the energy to move those new ideas into more concrete everyday. So looking at this card and in the LWB it is not an exactly match up. It seems like a lot of this deck is about warnings, so not sure how I like that in this particular card.

But I do like the idea of not having blood on your hands. Don't act or think in ways that would harm another. Finding your own truths, without infringing on others.
 

Hemera

The name of the original artwork by Nicoletta Ceccoli is "Dolce amara", "Bittersweet".

For me this card is about gaining new knowledge. The girl looks surprised, maybe because the lollipop tastes so good but is bleeding. Somewhere at the back of her mind I sense something a bit mischevious. Like a new idea is dawning in her mind and she wants to test it. It's like Eve tasting the apple. Or maybe like Lolita?
I can't help noticing that the stains of blood on her dress are around her genital area. Maybe this new knowledge has something to do with that although I do not think this card should be interpreted in just that way. I think it would not be very helpful to interpret this card from just that viewpoint. I think it is generally about gaining new knowledge and the bittersweetness that it may include. It maybe something we did originally not want to know -but that we *need* to know in order to mature and get on in life.

From this viewpoint I think almost everything in the AT Tarot Meanings page for the Ace of Swords can be applied to this card. The mind is opening for new challenges. The fledgling wants to try its newly feathered wings. The sword (of knowledge) is lifted and the querent wants to test its edge. Yes, I think that's exactly how I see this card.
 

skywatching

When I first got this deck and did the new deck interview spread I got the Ace of Swords for the main characteristic of the deck

Her eyes always stood out to me, they are very piercing like she see's right into you and is examining your thoughts. To me she seems to know more than her age leads people to believe, she knows a lot more than she's letting on because she has a sharp wit.

As the decks characteristic I think it fits well, because to me the deck is not as sweet as it looks, the little girls and all the sweet treats throughout the deck are not what they seem and I spend a lot of time examining each card in readings looking at every detail to figure out it's meaning.
 

AnemoneRosie

In addition to your wisdom, I see the pain of learning. Learning isn't easy and often the most valuable lessons are hard-won. This is in keeping with the swords in general, where learning is coupled with fear, anxiety, or restlessness.

Here, learning is coupled by surprise and distress.
I also see this card in particular as perhaps representing menarche because of her dress and because you hit a point where you leave childhood and candy doesn't taste as sweet. Her distress at the change is represented in the lollipop.
 

Hemera

In addition to your wisdom, I see the pain of learning. Learning isn't easy and often the most valuable lessons are hard-won. This is in keeping with the swords in general, where learning is coupled with fear, anxiety, or restlessness.

Here, learning is coupled by surprise and distress.
I also see this card in particular as perhaps representing menarche because of her dress and because you hit a point where you leave childhood and candy doesn't taste as sweet. Her distress at the change is represented in the lollipop.
I agree! -And then it could also represent menopause, couldn't it. Learning that now the only red stains in your dress are just from the lollipop :D
It could signify learning in moments of transition, when you are at some turning point or crossroads.