The Beginning: Ace of Pentacles
Day 1 of the #dropm78 Tarot Challenge from Mindful Tarot
Decks used: Terra Volatile by Creo Quia Absurdum & The Nameless One by Xia Hunt
Traditionally, most tarot decks follow the Golden Dawn’s approach to the Minor Arcana, which is Fire / Wands, Water / Cups, Air / Swords, and then Earth / Pentacles.
Left: Ace of Coins from the Terra Volatile; right: Ace of Coins from The Nameless One Tarot
In the #dropm78 challenge, created by Esther Frienkel Tishman of Mindful Tarot, I’ll be exploring the suits in a completely different order. One that’s more based on body-awareness, so the obvious place to start would be with the elment of Earth and Pentacles. If you’re just joining me along this tarot challenge, be sure to check out the intro post I made about it.
As a quick recap, here’s what points I’ll be covering each day:
D1 — Definition: The widely accepted interpretation or definition of the card
D2 — Detail: Taking a closer look and picking a detail or two dive into
D3 — Day: An invitation to find the meaning of this card in my day
D4 — Discovery: Using a second / calibration deck to build even more understanding of the card
D1 Definition: Beginning. Potential. Opportunity. Abundance. Prosperity.
The Ace of Pentacles is widely interpreted as the seed — of new beginning, of abundance, of potential, and of prosperity. It can be taken as a sign that we’re on the right path, and that this path will see us either create or come into the resources we need to turn this opportunity into a fully-fledged achieved goal.
D2 Detail: This is no little thing to behold.
The woodend Atlas here on the Terra Volatile card makes the coin / disc seem very, very heavy. It’s taking place of the globe of the Earth in a sense.
This is not something that’s simply being handed to us by the Universe.
It’s not simply a seed to be nestled into a few millimeters of topsoil.
Ace of Coins; Terra Volatile
It’s much more than that — it’s not only an opportunity, but a responsibility, should we choose to nurture it and persevere in caring for this potential.
This is about choosing to undertake this role as a caretaker, prime the environment so that this potential flourishes into a force that can continue on under its own volition, with or without us.
D3 Day: I sometimes get overwhelmed at new beginnings.
I do feel like this is the perfect time to dive into this challenge — to not only give me something to ground my tarot practice in for the next couple of months, but to help give me the resolve to really putting in the work to take my daily life where I want it to go.
So yes, today, I have the feeling of limitless potential and opportunity to make this (and Twixt Tarot) what I want it to be, for myself.
This is a rare feeling for me, and one that is exciting, exhilarating, and daunting, all at once. I want to do things right. I don’t want to make mistakes. This can make me hesitate until I feel prepared, or until I know how to do the thing perfectly. That being said, I enjoy learning new things and mastering new things.
On a more physical level, I often have trouble feeling my feelings and this presents as a mixture of excitement and anxiety, because sometimes, these feel similar to me physically. I’m learning how to get better at distinguishing between these.
The juxtaposition between these two decks, and feeling both excitement / potential (I see this more as The Nameless One), and sort of overwhelmed/daunted by the weight of all the possibilities that lie before me (the figure in Terra Volatile) is so spot on.
Ace of Coins; The Nameless One Tarot
The message though, is clear: Start at the beginning. All things, big and small, have to start somewhere. I have to start somewhere. It may as well be here, laying the groundwork for success.
But maybe, my goal shouldn’t be to succeed here, in this first iteration. Maybe it should be to learn all I can, through the process of doing, rather than researching and not doing. Things to think about.
D4 Discovery: Where the focus is one, there are actually two.
I find it also interesting that both cards actually feature two spheres / circles, and not only one, even though this is the Ace of Discs / Coins / Pentacles — by focusing on a single point, we’re actually already on our way to separating ourselves from what we observe (where we move into the two). I also want to say something here about everything being interconnected and interdependent, but I’m not quite sure how to phrase my thoughts on that yet.
Both also have an inverted triangle shape in their imagery, a nod to not only the element of earth, but also the direction of receiving and directing focus down to a single point. In The Nameless one, this is obviously the sigil of Earth, but in Terra Volatile, it’s the shape of Atlas’s arms holding that wide v-shape that’s also framed by the tree branches. I guess this makes me think of being open to receiving new opportunities, and to doing the work it will take to make them grow.
