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VERSION 2.0 IN PROGRESS

Temporary, for editorial feedback only - please do not bookmark or download

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Ace of Swords
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A stern-looking Archangel holds a sword with the blade aloft. A small crown is impaled on the sword and the angel holds a trailing plant in his other hand. A butterfly flies in a clouded sky.

My Interpretation: Inspiration. Clarity of thought, inspired solutions. Problems solved and goals reached. Action, power and strength. (Reversed: Significant negative forces at work. Take care to guard against hatred, resentment, abuse of power)

Edit notes to self: Different to v1.0 card as I've added more symbolism to assist readers. I have used Angels for all of the Aces. This card is different to the Rider-Waite card, although hopefully still easily recognisable as the single Sword is fairly obvious. There are some of the symbols from the RWD - crown, clouds/air, hanging plant. There are butterflies on several of the Court cards of the suit of Sword in the RWD, so I've included one on the Ace as well. Still to do - quite happy with it.

Sources:

Base Pic: Simone Martini, Italian painter, Sienese school (b. 1280/85, Siena, d. 1344, Avignon); Polyptych 1320-25 Tempera on wood, 59 x 35 cm Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

Plant: Dieric Bouts the Elder, Flemish painter (b. cca. 1415, Haarlem, d. 1475, Leuven); Paradise 1450 Oil on wood, 115 x 69.5 cm Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lille.

Butterfly: Pisanello, Italian painter (b. 1395, Pisa, d. 1455, Roma); Portrait of a Princess of the House of Este 1436-38 Tempera on wood, 43 x 30 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Crown: Niccolo Semitecolo, Italian painter, Paduan school (active 1353-1370); Two Christians before the Judges 1367 Tempera on wood, 65 x 72 cm Sacristy, Cathedral, Padua.

Sky: Fra Angelico (b. cca. 1400, Vicchio nell Mugello, d. 1455, Roma); Deposition (Pala di Santa Trinita) 1437-40 Tempera on wood, 176 x 185 cm (full painting) Museo di San Marco, Florence.

Sword: Hans Memling, Flemish painter (b. cca.1440, Seligenstadt, d. 1494, Bruges); The Archangel Michael c. 1479 Oil on wood, 37 x 16 cm Wallace Collection, London.

Parchment Text Panel: Unknown Illuminators, England; The Aberdeen Bestiary (Aberdeen University Library MS 24), written and illuminated around 1200. Aberdeen University, Scotland.

Gilt Border: Conrad Witz, Swiss painter (b. cca 1400, Rottweil, d. cca. 1445, Basel); King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 1435 Panel, 84 x 79 cm Staatliche Museen, Berlin.