Learn Tarot · The Suits in Depth · Lesson 11 of 25

Wands in depth: the suit of Fire

All fourteen Wands, from the first spark of the Ace to the burden of the Ten and the four Fire courts, with their scenes, titles and decans.

The suit at a glance

Wands are Fire: will, desire, courage, ambition and creative drive. They describe what we want and how hard we push for it. In the Golden Dawn scheme they belong to Atziluth, the archetypal world, the first and highest of the four, because will comes before feeling, thought or result.

The numbered Wands run through the three fire signs: the Twos, Threes and Fours through Aries, the start of things; the Fives, Sixes and Sevens through Leo, the pride and heat of the middle; the Eights, Nines and Tens through Sagittarius, fire that travels far and grows heavy. The Golden Dawn gave each card a title, and the Ace is the Root of the Powers of Fire.

Fire's gift is energy and its shadow is ego, haste and burnout. Watch both sides in every card. The scenes described below are Pamela Colman Smith's, which is why this lesson shows the Smith-Waite deck.

Ace to Three: the spark catches

• Ace of Wands, Root of the Powers of Fire. A hand from a cloud grips a living staff that is still putting out leaves, with a castle on a far hill. Pure creative potential: an idea, an urge, a start that wants to happen. Reversed: false starts, delays, the spark that will not catch.
• Two of Wands, Lord of Dominion (Mars in Aries, 0° to 10°). A man on a battlement holds a globe and a staff while a second staff stands fixed to the wall. He has power and is deciding what to do with it. Planning, vision, choosing a direction. Reversed: playing it safe, fear of the larger world.
• Three of Wands, Lord of Established Strength (Sun in Aries, 10° to 20°). Seen from behind, a figure on a cliff watches ships on the sea, three staves planted beside him. What was sent out is coming back: foresight, expansion, early returns. Reversed: slow returns, plans that outgrew their footing.

Four to Six: celebration, contest, victory

• Four of Wands, Lord of Perfected Work (Venus in Aries, 20° to 30°). Four staves hung with a garland make a gateway; two figures raise bouquets, and a castle stands behind. A milestone, a homecoming, a foundation worth celebrating. Reversed: an unsettled home, a celebration postponed.
• Five of Wands, Lord of Strife (Saturn in Leo, 0° to 10°). Five youths swing staves at one another, but no one is hurt. Competition, friction, clashing egos, the useful heat of rivalry. Reversed: avoiding a needed argument, or tension finally released.
• Six of Wands, Lord of Victory (Jupiter in Leo, 10° to 20°). A rider crowned with laurel carries a wreathed staff through a cheering crowd. Public recognition and success that others can see. Reversed: lack of recognition, private doubt, or pride before a fall.

Seven to Ten: holding ground, then carrying it

• Seven of Wands, Lord of Valor (Mars in Leo, 20° to 30°). From high ground a young man fends off six staves rising from below. Standing up for yourself, conviction under pressure. Reversed: feeling overwhelmed, giving ground you meant to keep.
• Eight of Wands, Lord of Swiftness (Mercury in Sagittarius, 0° to 10°). Eight staves fly through open country with no one in sight. Speed, news, travel, events moving faster than anyone planned. Reversed: delays, crossed messages, rushing.
• Nine of Wands, Lord of Great Strength (Moon in Sagittarius, 10° to 20°). A man with a bandaged head leans on his staff, watchful, eight staves standing behind him like a fence. Resilience, the last push, firm boundaries. Reversed: exhaustion, or defensiveness that sees enemies everywhere.
• Ten of Wands, Lord of Oppression (Saturn in Sagittarius, 20° to 30°). A man bent nearly double carries ten staves toward a town. Burden and overcommitment: he will get there, but he cannot see past the load. Reversed: setting things down and delegating, or collapse under the weight.

The Fire court

• Page of Wands, Princess of the Shining Flame (Earth of Fire). A youth in a bare landscape gazes at the top of a sprouting staff, tunic patterned with salamanders. A new enthusiasm, an eager learner, good news about a venture. Reversed: dabbling, starting many things and finishing none.
• Knight of Wands, Prince of the Chariot of Fire (Air of Fire). A rider on a rearing horse, salamanders again on his tunic. Adventure, boldness, a move made at speed. Reversed: haste, a short fuse, plans scattered by impulse.
• Queen of Wands, Queen of the Thrones of Flame (Water of Fire). Enthroned between lions, she holds a sunflower and a staff, with a black cat at her feet. Warm, confident, magnetic, at home in her own power. Reversed: jealousy, insecurity, the need to be the center.
• King of Wands, Lord of the Flame and the Lightning (Fire of Fire). Seated on a throne carved with lions and salamanders, a small salamander at his feet. Visionary leadership and the courage to commit to the big picture. Reversed: arrogance, demands no one could meet.

Reading Wands in a spread

A spread heavy with Wands says the matter is about will and energy: work you care about, a creative project, ambition, competition, or simply a question of how much drive you have left. Book T read a run of Wands as energy, opposition and strife, so many of them can also mean a matter that is hotly contested.

Read the story in the numbers. Twos to Fours are a plan launched and celebrated; Fives to Sevens are the contest and the defense; Eights to Tens are speed, endurance and the load. If you draw the Five, Seven and Nine together, you are being asked how long you mean to keep fighting, and for what.

Try it

Lay out all fourteen Wands in order, or scroll through them in the card library. Pick the one that best describes where your own energy is this week and the one that describes where you want it to be, then write a sentence on what would move you from the first to the second.

Next lesson: Cups in depth: the suit of Water