Lucky Ace

Good morning, friends! And now for another installment of “Fractured Tarot Tales” inspired by Ciro Marchetti’s “The Gilded Tarot Royale”. This week we hear a tale about The Ace of Pentacles.

Many years ago, there was a young boy named Ian who worked as a tinker’s apprentice.  That was not his original fate, but came about during a time when the crops in the land where Ian had been born and raised had been poor for many seasons. There was barely enough to feed his parents and his six older brothers so even though he was the fortunate seventh son of a seventh son, there was often little enough left over for him.

When Ian approached the age of twelve, the stars and planets moving inexorably in their courses placed the lucky and expansive planet of Jupiter into the same place in the sky that it had been on the day that he was born.  (Had he been in a wealthy family who could afford an astrologer, they might have known this omen for what it was!)  One day a tinker came through their village.  Despite hard times, everyone had plows and pots and pans that had to be mended, so the tinker could name a fair price for his labor.  His asking price, however, was unusual. 

“Here are my rates,” he told the townspeople, “but I can waive them for you today if you can perhaps provide me with one thing.  I am looking for an apprentice.  It’s an excellent opportunity to learn a trade because as you can see, everyone needs the services of a tinker. 

“But the living can be rough with so much travel, the work can be hard, and there is one additional condition that must be met.  I am the seventh son of a seventh son and I require that my apprentice be such as well.  I have looked far and wide and though I have encountered a few who meet this condition, I’ve met none who are willing to plant this particular seed of destiny and come away with me.”

Upon hearing this, all eyes turned to Ian for everyone in his small village knew that he was, indeed, a seventh son.  He looked around as his friends and family turned to look at him.  His mother was trying not to cry while his father had a more practical look in his eye.  Ian realized that it would mean one less mouth to feed and the other families who’d had repairs done with the tinker would surely share some of their bounty with Ian’s family if they did not have to pay the tinker, so his family would do quite well if he took this opportunity. 

So he stepped forward and said “I am a seventh son of a seventh son! But I do need to talk this over with my family and sleep on it for one night.” This the tinker was willing to allow. When Ian was home with his family, they assured him that he was under no obligation, but he told them that he was pretty certain he would go. He just wanted to see what omens he may receive in his dreams that night before he committed himself.

That night he dreamed that he was over the mountains and far away and there was not a human in sight, but there was a small weasel with handsome red fur looking at him almost as a human might.  Well, this was a dream; why not see if the weasel could speak to him? 

“I’m looking for an omen,” he said to the weasel in his dream. “Can you tell me anything of my future, or if I should go with the tinker?” The little creature said nothing, but slowly, he lifted his gaze to the tree over his head. Ian looked up and was startled that he’d not noticed it before, but he could now see a large gold coin that hung gleaming in the moonlight suspended in the branches of the tree. This was an excellent sign indeed!

When he awoke the next morning, he felt confident that this was truly the right path for him. He kissed his family good-bye, but he assured them that he would be fine and he vowed that one day when the moon was right he would return to show them what his investment of time and work had created.