Wands In the Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana is a slice of life and catalogues what is happening on a mundane level. The Suit of Wands in the Minor Arcana corresponds to the element of Fire. The cardinal direction that they represent is South, and the season is Summer. It is thought that the wands referred to the Artists and other creative people. The suit of Wands is also known as the Suit of Batons or Clubs. The Wands are a Masculine, active, yang element. They correspond to the clubs in modern playing cards.

The element of Fire rules our hopes, aspirations and creative pursuits. Fire aspires to reach high and consume everything in its path. That is the kind of drive that the wands present. However, there is also the danger of fire burning itself out. Wands are the elemental fire. They represent our passions and are fiery.

Wands as inner fire represent that which makes us tick and what truly fires us-thereby leading to our passions. The desire of fire is forever to rise and devour everything in its path, and the wands are to try to cover everything. In the Ace of Wands, we see that the enthusiasm is so ripe that the leaves are literally falling off the wand. In the Two of Wands, desire takes root and leads to a choice about how to expand. In the three, we follow the path of that expansion, and in the Four of Wands, the grounding of the Wands commences. In fact, despite the structure offered in the Fours, the Fire cannot be contained, so we have the scene outside, with the tent held together only by garlands. In the Five, we see the competitive nature of fire, where the desire is to rise higher. In the Six, we see victory, as the aspirations have found favour in the direction that they attempted to rise. As we move to the Seven of Wands, we see that passion attracts competitors, and one must fight to hold on to one’s position and views. As we move to the Eights, we see the quickness of the wands as they fly through the air. By the Nines, the fire is almost out, and there is a constant watch to see if anything else is up, and by the time the fire reaches Ten, it is already overburdened.

The Fire Signs of Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are represented by the Suit of Wands. Fire people stand out for their enthusiasm, zest for life, and carpe diem mentality. They are charismatic, vibrant and energetic with a passion to travel. They love a challenge and are driven to put in hard work to see their vision materialise. The Wand people are competitive and can spur themselves on, into action to keep ahead of the game. Like the people born under the sign of Sagittarius, they love to and thrive on travel, and like the Leos, they need their share of the spotlight and attention. Like Aries, the court of the Wands needs to be assertive and lead the clan. The King of Wands is the most Emperor-like ruler in the Major Arcana. When the Wands are negatively Aspected, then the Court of the Wands can be aggressive, domineering, and given to bullying. Temper tantrums are rampant.

When there is an excess of Wands in a reading, it implies that there has been a phase of a lot of action. This could be great for a phase, but it would be impossible to sustain so much fire, as the energy would be self-consuming. On the negative side, the work put in may not be productive, and interpersonal relations could be strained by a domineering personality. Conversely, too many reversed cards could also mean that the fire has burnt itself out.

The Suit of Wands at a Glance:

• Ace 21 March - 20 June

• Two 21 March - 30 March

• Three 31 March - 10 April

• Four 10 April - 19 April

• Five 23 July - 01 August

• Six 2 August - 11 August

• Seven 12 August - 22 August

• Eight 22 August - 01 December

• Nine 02 December - 11 December

• Ten 12 December - 21 December

• Page 21 March - 20 June

• Knight 13 November - 11 December

• Queen 13 July - 11 August

• King 11 March - 9 April

If this resonates with You, Take a Class or Book A Reading.