Illustrating an Idea: the Ace of Swords
The meaning of the Ace of Swords
Have you ever been struck by an idea so clear and crisp that it stops you in your tracks? Or had a moment of such mental clarity that everything else around you faded away?
That’s the Ace of Swords. A moment of clarity so bright you may feel momentarily blinded by it’s light. ⚡️
Since Swords rule the realm of the mind, and Aces are the beginning of a journey, the Ace of Swords is just that: a new beginning in your mind.
💡 My concept for this card is a single light bulb, with a glowing sword as the filament. The single bulb is a “ghost light,” traditionally left on a theater stage overnight to ward off evil spirits and keep midnight visitors from falling off the edge. One half of the room is pitch-dark, the other is dazzling white, representing the black-and-white nature of the path forward.
Scroll to the end of this post to see my full card design!
Ace of Swords tarot card examples
POW! The Ace of Swords is usually illustrated with a single sword emerging from the clouds, like a bolt of lightening. Here are several examples from tarot decks I use.
See footnotes for artist credits.
How I made this card
I painted this illustration on two phases: first, I painted the left side with black ink (see video). Once that was dry, I added hand-painted watercolor to the light bulb using Ecoline watercolor brush pens by Royal Talens).
The tricky part of an illustration like this is keeping a tidy line between the light and the dark sides. I accomplished this by applying masking fluid to the right-hand side of the center line before applying two coats of black ink (Dr. Ph Martin Black Star ink in Matte.)
I layered the scanned painting under my linework drawing, then added the yellow glow of the light as a final translucent layer in Photoshop.
Painting the Ace of Swords tarot card with black India ink.
The final illustration
What do you think? Leave me a comment below! I love to hear from you.
The Ace of Swords card illustration from my forthcoming Tarot of These Times deck, anticipated late 2026.
© Registered copyright Molly Chidsey, all rights reserved.
My dog Milo helping me in the studio as I wrote this post.
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Footnotes
Materials and technique notes from this post
Blick Hot Press 100% cotton watercolor paper; EcoLine liquid watercolor paint and brush pens by Royal Talens; Winsor & Newton masking fluid. This illustration also includes black ink by Dr. Ph Martin, Black Star in Matte. I use an Epson Workforce Pro printer to print my drawings onto watercolor paper, using their water-resistant Durabrite ink.
Linework is drawn by hand with Apple Pencil on iPad Pro using Procreate app, and added as image layers on top of scanned painting using Photoshop.
Roman numerals, hand-drawn linework, and all calligraphy were drawn by hand using Procreate, Apple Pencil and iPad Pro.
Artists of other tarot cards featured in this post
Clockwise from top left: Rider-Waite Tarot, illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith; Modern Witch Tarot Deck by Lisa Sterle; The Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans; The Gentle Tarot by Mari in the Sky; Rainbow Heart Tarot by Rachel Rosenkoetter; and The Reclaimed Tarot, ReClaim it! PDX, collage by various local artists.
Learn about tarot
Want to learn more about tarot? I highly recommend the book Modern Tarot: Connecting with Your Higher Self through the Wisdom of the Cards by Michelle Tea.
A note about Ai and this project
I do not use Ai (artificial intelligence) to write the content of this blog or to create illustrations. I also do not allow Ai training. See here for my copyright notice.
