The Tarot of Eli, LLC-Minor Arcana: The Ace of Swords & Santa Muerte Tarot-1 of Swords

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The Ace of Swords represents the Root of the Element of Air which is also representative of the Seed of Consciousness. Consciousness is compared to the Universal Element of Air and when lacking the Will that is Spirit, consciousness behaves like Air, which blows whichever way of the common current or heat of the moment. In nature, Air lacks the concentrated will of Fire to unite with water and it lacks a corresponding passion to unite with its twin, earth. Air has no self-generated impulse, and is totally dependent on the heat or lack thereof in the moment. But when set in motion by its Father-Fire and its Mother-Water, it magnifies their power into something horrific, such as tornadoes or hurricanes, or the Princess of Swords/Tempest. Wind in this state, is comparable to Mind as all embracing, all penetrating, all wandering and all consuming. Hence, the dark-fluffy-whipped up clouds on this card.

The Status of Air, as compared to the other Elements of alchemical origin, would seem minor but in reality, Air is the first Element to follow Spirit. Spirit is the Will of the Element- Fire that begins with the Logos (Word of God). Air is also attributed to Mercury and most properly, the Breath of Life. Then there is the Hebrew statement embossed on the Sword, "Achath Ruach Elohim Chiim (777) which means," One is the Spirit of the Gods of the Living". In this case Air is the medium that carries the Spirit of "the gods of the living" which is called Prana in Tantra Yoga. Thus we can see the empowerment of Pranayama and/or yoga breathing exercises. Oh, and each of us- The Souls of the Body, are the Gods of the Living as we make manifested organic forms alive.

When thrown during a reading, the Ace of Swords is an Invoked force for good or evil. It represents the whirling force and strength through trouble. It can be the Sword of Wrath upholding Divine Authority and therefore, an affirmation of justice in the querent's life

The 1st Sephiroth-Kether is the Crown, the Observer, the Dark Energy, that is. It is the Unknowable God of many religions, and yet as many of us know, religion is not God, but a man-made attempt to appease a Creator both terrible and self-satisfied. . Kether is the Idea of the Big Bang, the point, the Singularity and has no "conversation" abilities. The Aces are also essences, so they too are not easily explained.

The Four Aces are related to Kether, thus they are representative of the Pure Forms of Energy Frequency that are elaborated by the other cards of the Tarot Deck and/or Sephiroth. The consecutive elaboration of the Numbers/Sephiroth are Forces being woven together to form the Harmonic that is the World and Universe; a World that is 96% invisible to us. However, by combining the colors of the visible spectrum of electromagnetic light, we see that different combinations, make different color changes, such as blue combined with red makes purple, etc. This combination is the necessary diversity of creation and can be called harmonies. To a Qabalist, the numbered Sephiroth are either Force or Form and sometimes both in union depending on the Masculine expressive and Female receptive aspects of a particular Sephiroth.

Each Ace is unique and is distinct in its degree of density and in its ability to do work as a specific function in the One Energy. Thus, each Ace is the Seed of an Alchemical Element. We think we know what seeds are, but when we look at one, we don't see the Tree it represents. We just "kind of" know the pattern of the Tree is in there. That is also our conceptions of Kether, we just "kind of Know" that it is infinite, but then infinite is a human concept and Kether can't be known...so this gets a bit tricky. Obviously open mindedness is required and the courage to keep asking questions until answers emerge. The Influence of Kether is all around us, we just have to trust its infinite presence, even if we know it or not. Obviously we exist, and we are a combination of many factors, some if not most, unknown to us, so it is easy to trust the subtle. All in all, Knowledge built us, and that knowledge is ours to understand. For there is no manifestation without information and we are the in-form-action of the Soul.

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The Unknowable Kether, is often depicted as the Point, The Crown and the Swastika, as explained in past chapters; however, these symbols only direct us into a journey of understanding that has no goal. For instance, the point is a singularity, the 22 diadem Crown (diamonds) is the number of all the Major Arcane or Trump (The Fool is counted as both O- and 22 as it is the beginning and end). The Swastikas is a Buddhist symbol of the Whirling energy. When examining the concept of Kether (Eheieh meaning "I Will Be") we may say the goal, is to understand the Infinite, but the word infinite, even if understood, is a human invention and means "unmeasurable" and therefore, it is not understood. No matter how open minded we are, it is inadequate to explain the "No-Thing" before Time. The point that is Kether, is the Singularity that was before the Big Bang but as the words may imply some vast understanding, this explanation is empty of experience and incomprehensible.

Yet, we are also potentially anything, which makes us not as comfortably understood as one would like. It Seems that the Divine Collective Unconscious, wishes us to be as vast as our forms seem to be limited. This is seen by the Imagination's ability to expand concepts so far beyond reality, that maybe, reality is just an imagined collection of “comfortable limits”; One moment we are the Human dreaming of being Spiral/Spirit Energy, the next we are Spiral/Spirit Energy dreaming we are a human. Much like that old Chinese tale of a man dreaming he was a butter fly, then upon awakening he wondered if he was a butterfly dreaming he is a man. Considering Kether, is much the same, for it is the One- energy that is transformed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi_(book)#/media/File:Dschuang-Dsi-Schmetterlingstraum-Zhuangzi-Butterfly-Dream.jpg

he Zhuangzi (Mandarin: [ʈʂwáŋ.tsɹ̩̀]; historically romanized Chuang Tzŭ) is an ancient Chinese text from the late Warring States period (476–221 BC) which contains stories and anecdotes that exemplify the carefree nature of the ideal Taoist sage. Named for its traditional author, "Master Zhuang" (Zhuangzi), the Zhuangzi is one of the two foundational texts of Taoism, along with the Tao Te Ching.

The Zhuangzi consists of a large collection of anecdotes, allegories, parables, and fables, which are often humorous or irreverent in nature. Its main themes are of spontaneity in action and of freedom from the human world and its conventions. The fables and anecdotes in the text attempt to illustrate the falseness of human distinctions between good and bad, large and small, life and death, and human and nature. While other ancient Chinese philosophers focused on moral and personal duty, Zhuangzi promoted carefree wandering and becoming one with "the Way" (Dào 道) by following nature.

Though primarily known as a philosophical work, the Zhuangzi is regarded as one of the greatest literary works in all of Chinese history, and has been called "the most important pre-Qin text for the study of Chinese literature". A masterpiece of both philosophical and literary skill, it has significantly influenced writers for more than 2000 years from the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) to the present. Many major Chinese writers and poets in history—such as Sima Xiangru and Sima Qian during the Han dynasty, Ruan Ji and Tao Yuanming during the Six Dynasties (222–589), Li Bai during the Tang dynasty (618–907), and Su Shi and Lu You in the Song dynasty (960–1279)—were heavily influenced by the Zhuangzi.

See also: Dream argument

The most famous of all Zhuangzi stories—"Zhuang Zhou Dreams of Being a Butterfly"—appears at the end of the second chapter, "On the Equality of Things".

昔者莊周夢為胡蝶，栩栩然胡蝶也，自喻適志與。不知周也。
Once, Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering about, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn't know that he was Zhuang Zhou.

— Zhuangzi, chapter 2 (Watson translation)^[19]

The well-known image of Zhuangzi wondering if he was a man who dreamed of being a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming of being a man is so striking that whole dramas have been written on its theme.^[20] In it Zhuangzi "[plays] with the theme of transformation",^[20] illustrating that "the distinction between waking and dreaming is another false dichotomy. If [one] distinguishes them, how can [one] tell if [one] is now dreaming or awake?"^[21]

The Qabalist knows that all is Mind, and we are not talking about the human consciousness, but the Mind that the Dream of the Universe floats in.

The Ace of Swords is a "seed or essence of Mind". The Root Powers of Air and symbolizes the influence of Kether in the Mental World. This may be understood as the motion in the Currents of "Astral Fluid" and/or The Great Dark Sea of Binah; However, that is just the ***"elephants foot print in the jello" (old joke) and not the Power itself. The Astral are the Mental realms of Fleeting Forms...nothing solid but can be imagined so. Thus the Ace of Swords is a potent card which can be extremely good or extremely evil. Evil, is live spelled backwards, and basically implies devolution rather than evolution. To move forward progressively, is Living, to Move backward, is "living in the past" which is a form of "living dead", since the past isn't now. Thus we have philosopher's saying. “Let the dead bury the dead...".

*** OLD JOKE: "How do you know if there is an elephant in your refrigerator? By its footprints in the jello".

The Mind is called the Element of Air, for it is heated by Passions, as Air is heated by Sun, and thus it can become violent and life threatening. However, this is avoided if the Will of I AM, is the controller of Passion, then the Mind becomes Life Expanding and Liberating. The currents (microwaves) generated by Kether on the Astral are both dynamic and erratic, having the potential to be applied at will to different situations. Thus, we have the description of a "whirling force" that gains strength through trouble. To Qabalists, this is an affirmation of Divine authority and may become the Sword of Wrath, punishment and affliction. Pure mind has no conscience; it is up to us to supply discrimination to thought.

The Ace of Wands represents a natural force, while the Ace of Swords represents that which is invoked; a force called upon.

But let us not despair, for the One Energy, doesn't care what you do or become, as it has no need of result. For the Qabalist, the Ace of Swords represents the Sword of the Magus crowned in the twenty-two diadem of light. To those of magic, the number 22 refers to Atu known as 22=2x11, the Magical manifestation of Chokmah, Wisdom, and the Logos. In Hebrew letters that are numbers is the Word of Law that blazes forth clearing the dark clouds of a Mind based on fear, or survival thinking. I would suggest getting the Book 777 by Aliester Crowley to further study this, as the words "Achath Ruach Elohim Chiim" are the numbers 777 and as previously stated, means in English translation, “One is Spirit of the Gods of the Living". The Ruach being Tiphareth, the Solar Logos. There is a lot of investigative Geomatria to understand here so get the book!

The Kether is God not living and or Spirit, Achath Ruach Elohim Chiim, is the One Spiral Energy that produces the I AM of Living Creation. 777, is also the number of the Scarlet Woman. The Red Goddess, the Blood of Life. Crowley named her Babalon. The God of the Living is the Goddess, the Mother of life, who knows you into existence. She is the one aspect of the Divine Self- who "Understands", and thereby, creates information, which in this universe, becomes form/in-form-action. Hence, you are a form of Self and/or the I AM. Kether is the "I", the I AM is the Union of Chokmah-Will to Force and Binah-Will to Form and the One Energy ; a union which becomes the one who I call the Divine Creative. Each of us is a Self-Awareness of I AM.

The Advice of the Dead:

Evaluate and choose carefully the direction in which you choose to channel your abundant intellectual and subconscious energies.

The Santa Muerte- 1 of Swords, also places the Swords in the element of air, and the color yellow, that is applied to this element. Just as the Thoth- Ace of Swords, is known as the intellectual energy and rationality, implying all the associated aspects of language, the word, and the realms of ideas and knowledge , so does the 1 of Swords imply. Even communications and culture are seen as direct consequential actions of this suit. The Ace of Spades is shown on the hilt of the golden skull-sword, as that is the playing card designation of swords. The hilt glows as if a sun, symbolizing the 22 diadem crown of Kether.

Therefore, the 1 of Swords represents a strong conquest, force, and a genuine penetrating and aggressive intelligence. This cards energy is usually understood as motion towards high ideals but being dynamic, this energy can also be applied to sinister behavior, bringing on violence, excessiveness, and/or extreme behavior.

WHEN THE ACE OF SWORDS or 1 OF SWORDS IS THROWN DURING A DIVINATION, it is implied that:

• The Querent is experiencing mental clarity and inventiveness.
• Problems being overcome with Original thinking.
• The dawning of a new intellectual process.
• Acting with logic and discrimination
• Strength in adversity. 
• Out of evil some good will come.
•  Something that looks bleak can surprisingly turn out to be promising.
• Doom. This is the card of Morgan the Fate. Finality, Tragedy, and ultimate fate; However, it is release, freedom from past restraint and a new lightness and/or a kind of salvation.
• The beginning of an idea or information. 
• The arising of Inner insight.
• This card depends on the surrounding cards to show whether it is fate or mental rebirth.
• Mental clarity. 
• Objectivity.

If ill defined by surrounding cards:

• Restlessness.
• Premature and subjective thinking.
• Belligerence.
• Hardening.
• Weakness of Will. 

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