ace of wands // number one

hello, friends. this month we're examining the our card of the month, the ace of wands, through a few different lenses. in the first piece i shared some general observations about this card, specifically as a spark that ignites the story of the suit of fire, and offered some different perspectives on how this tale could unfold.

this week, we're going to look specifically at the ace of wands as a one card, and consider how the numerology of the number one shows up in this pip.

if you're interested in learning more about numerology, i've got a free tarot by the numbers lecture up on my website that you can download and enjoy anytime!

one is the number of initiation. it's the "once upon a time," the "i wish," the "what if...?" energy of the cycle: opening a possibility, starting an engine, looking at something through a new set of eyes. with one, a beginning is usually present, either in the form of a desire or an opportunity, a realization or a change.

one finds us standing in a familiar place, considering unfamiliar paths.

when we are working with the energy of one, we are thinking about the individual as well as the collective, a contradiction that reminds us of how impactful even one person's actions have the potential to be. one is an opening, an offering, an endless series of options.

with one, the sky is the limit. anything we dream feels possible, anything we want is within our grasp. one doesn't care about limits, or rules, or fears.

every number has its ups and downs, but one's gifts are big ones: boldness, innovation, potential, vision, imagination, optimism, courage. one is not concerned about what other people might think, or how other people might judge or question our choices, our actions, our transformations. instead, the number one longs to be seen as unique, as a visionary, as someone who is willing and able to disrupt the status quo and do something that's never been seen (or even considered) before.

one wants to be a catalyst for something revolutionary, something radical, something unexpected: something that can change the course of the future.

in the tarot, one is the number that we see the most often. the magician serves as our core archetype, that brilliant and energetic figure of anticipation and confidence, who encourages us to dream and do. many other cards fit into this constellation when we consolidate their numbers into a single digit, including the wheel (shimmering with possibility, reminding us of the greater forces that we work within and around) and the sun (clarity and integration, celebrating all that we are, letting ourselves be seen). add in the four minor arcana aces and the four minor arcana tens (which we will talk about near the end of the year), and you have the largest constellation in the tarot.

and aces embody this one energy beautifully. every ace opens the story of their suit, representing a gift being offered, an idea being extended. whether you imagine aces as opportunities from the suit itself, a flash of something that manifests within you, or the beginning of an important new journey, aces hold all that the suit can be, all that the element has to share.

the ace of wands in particular feels so high energy because we are combining the raw potential of one, with its bold and radical vision, with the heat and light and brilliance of the fire element. the suit of wands is all about the soul, the light within, the fire that keeps our ego and courage and passion and purpose burning bright.

what might a gift of fire look like? this could be a new dream or hunger or desire being ignited, a creative vision that you might want to realize, or a craving, either new or renewed, to pursue a specific dream.

but remember the number one, and its drive towards innovation, towards distinction, towards trailblazing. what might a gift of fiery initiation look like? as exciting as the ace of wands card can be, i'd like to posit that beginning an initiation is sometimes a much larger endeavor that we may paint it as in our tarot readings, and that an invitation to begin a story of fire can be more than just having a fun new idea for a creative project.

the number one, and the ace of wands, isn't just a burst of energy or inspiration: it's a call to begin a journey, and in this case, a journey of transformation.

the brilliant amaya rourke has been talking recently about different paths to witchcraft. regardless of whether or not you identify as a witch, amaya's writings on initiation are beautiful and inspiring, because she repeatedly emphasizes just how significant this call is. she writes about becoming a witch as a right of passage, reminds us that the initiation itself can be a scary moment of surrender.

initiation as an othering, a liminal experience, a transformation.

initiation is not for the faint of heart. it changes us on a profound level. and if we think about the ace of wands as a gift or offer of initiation, it can open up new possibilities into how we interpret this card during readings.

the ace of wands feels limitless, profound, infinite. we have a new kernel of fire that we can activate and feed and grow into something magnificent. but by choosing to intentionally and consciously accept that gift of fire, and by taking that active flame in (or allowing that fire that is already within to grow and consume us), we will transform.

i'll even go a step further and say that it's simply not possible to work with the number one (or with fire) and not be transformed by it. and the ace of wands offers us the chance to do both.

what does it really mean to take in the full scope of what the ace of fire offers, and requires? when we say yes to this card, exactly what are we saying yes to? just like the magician doesn't always know what every ripple of impact their actions might have, the ace of wands isn't really about sitting with every single option, about careful planning or thoughtful resource allocation. (there are other cards for that.) with the ace of wands, we find ourselves bursting with excitement, overwhelmed with possibility, and already feeling those first sparks of transformation flickering at our fingertips, waiting to grow into something impossible to miss.

when we say yes to one, to the ace of wands, we say yes to everything.

the ace of wands is the feeling, the invitation, the offer, the potential, the ability to both create and destroy. the ace of wands is considering every single thing that fire has to offer: the good and the bad, the scary and the safe, the profound and the mundane.

through this lens of the number one, the ace of wands offers us the potential for both creation and destruction simultaneously. and when we work with this card, we are empowering fire to transform us. we are holding space for all of the possible avenues that fire could open up for us. and we are also grappling with how far we're willing to go to feel that fire burning within us, to keep it alive, to walk through it and be changed by it.

as we sit in this first month of the year, as we consider all that 2024 might hold and offer, i want to remind you that with the sheer number of one cards within, the tarot itself holds so much one energy: courage, possibility, imagination, vision. with tarot as our tool, we can easily step into this energy anytime we like, can claim it for our own and do with it what we will.

which doors are opening to you, at the beginning of a new year? what is igniting you from within? how might the ace of wands begin a process of transformational initiation, one that helps you find the power and fire and imagination within yourself?

i'll be back soon with another piece, this time exploring the ace of wands alongside its element of fire. be safe and be well, friends.