Wands
The suit of fire: will, action, and what a person starts themselves. Fourteen cards about movement rather than its result.
What this suit is about
Wands are energy before it has become anything: an idea, an appetite, a quarrel. They almost always speak about what depends on you and almost never about what happens by itself. Reversed Wands rarely mean the energy is gone; more often it is there with nowhere to go, and it comes out as irritation or as haste.
When the suit dominates
A reading full of Wands resolves by acting rather than waiting, and usually faster than the asker expects. Many Wands and no Pentacles at all is a plan with a spark and no footing - the familiar shape of things begun and dropped. Wands beside Swords is an argument with both sides worked up.
How the numbers run
Ace - the spark, the offer, the very start. Two - choosing a direction, the view from the hill. Three - the first ships are gone, now we wait. Four - a celebration, a home, a stage finished. Five - scuffling, rivalry without real enmity. Six - recognition, coming back a winner. Seven - defence: more of them, but the higher ground. Eight - everything moving at once. Nine - tired, still standing. Ten - carrying more than was ever required.
The court cards
Page of Wands - news, an invitation, somebody young and alight. Knight - the dash, the move, the person who bolts. Queen - the one who lights others and does not go out. King - the one who leads and answers for what was begun.
Every card
- Ace of Wands A spark worth acting on, before it is reasonable · reversed: The impulse fizzles because nothing was started
- Two of Wands The plan is made; the world has not been touched yet · reversed: Endless surveying instead of a first step
- Three of Wands The first ships are out and the horizon is wider than expected · reversed: Waiting on a return that was never really set in motion
- Four of Wands Something built well enough to celebrate under · reversed: The home holds, but nobody stops to enjoy it
- Five of Wands Friction between people who all want to build · reversed: Conflict swallowed rather than had, and it festers
- Six of Wands Recognition that arrives in public and is deserved · reversed: Applause that rings hollow, or credit going elsewhere
- Seven of Wands Holding the higher ground against many · reversed: Defending a position you no longer believe in
- Eight of Wands Everything moves at once, and quickly · reversed: Momentum scattered across too many directions
- Nine of Wands Tired, wounded, still standing watch · reversed: Guarding out of habit long after the threat left
- Ten of Wands Carrying more than was ever yours to carry · reversed: The load can be put down; you have not tried
- Page of Wands Curiosity with no training and no fear · reversed: Enthusiasm that evaporates by the second week
- Knight of Wands Charging in, magnificent and unmeasured · reversed: Haste that leaves wreckage behind it
- Queen of Wands Warmth with a spine; presence that draws people · reversed: Confidence performed to cover the doubt
- King of Wands Vision others will follow because it is carried well · reversed: Authority spent on being obeyed