Aces As “Regressive” Outcome
I recently came across mention on one of the tarot web sites that some readers consider an Ace in the “outcome” or “end of the matter” position of a reading as meaning that the situation will not progress and will instead remain stuck in an early stage of its development. I can see how this might be true if the Aces are interpreted solely as an aimless impulse with no direction or movement, since they typically represent the perceived need to take a definite step forward but not yet that inaugural move itself. They reflect the fundamental “seed idea” for an initiative rather than a fait accompli in their own right. In that sense, they might be envisioned as retreating from the brink of a decisive effort and regressing to a more inert state, “sitting on their hands” as it were. (This would be much more likely when a series-ending Ace is reversed, implying that it resists being shoved out the door to “take its lumps.”)
I’ve always considered the Aces to suggest a germinal “prelude to action,” during which we contemplate our options and muster the resolve to actually do something about a situation; they are ripe for enterprise but won’t actually commit to it until we get our act together to begin. Once an Ace’s potential is triggered by emerging events that give it a “kick in the pants,” it can indicate a refresh or reboot of some kind, the compulsion to undertake something new if it’s in an element that’s different from the bulk of the spread or an urge to begin anew in the same groove if it’s an expression of the dominant element. In either case the spark of ignition is present, but until the car is put into gear and the pedal goes to the floor it’s going nowhere.
On the other hand, as a kind of “trailing indicator” at the end of the reading, an Ace could merely describe a trivial or abortive inspiration that doesn’t take root in practical soil and is thus likely to wither. Therefore I sometimes pull a “post-outcome” card or two so the Ace’s insistent but blunted prowess has something to work with, an extra step I often take when I get an inconclusive answer since it can reveal the “rest of the story” as a postscript to the main narrative. I can understand why a rootless Ace might be read as “trending regressive” if it begins to backpedal into apathy, but I don’t typically handle it that way. If one shows up in the “outcome” position, I treat it as an invitation to theorize about where circumstances might be taken next with a little ambition and enthusiasm. The challenge is to turn latent power into a kinetic force for progress, and sometimes a second reading is warranted with the underachieving Ace as the Significator card.
It’s much more popular in common practice to read the Aces as a propulsive thrust that kicks off an activity, but I think this is too simplistic a view. It’s the linear number Two that symbolizes movement and direction; the Ace signifies the static point of origin for the Two’s Pythagorean moving line. We might conclude that the Aces confer a “state of being” and the Twos a “state of doing and becoming.” But the Ace is not entirely dormant, it’s just mulling over how and where to start.
Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on December 11, 2022.
