The suit of Wands

Wands are the suit of fire. Every wand Pamela Colman Smith drew is a length of rough living wood with small green leaves breaking from it, never a polished rod: something cut from a tree that has not quite stopped growing. That is a good way to hold the suit in mind. Fire in tarot is energy that wants to go somewhere: desire, will, appetite, courage and the urge to start things.

In a reading Wands tend to speak about projects, ambition, creative work, enterprise, travel and the parts of a relationship that have to do with attraction and enthusiasm rather than feeling. They are fast cards. Where Cups ask how something feels and Swords ask whether it is true, Wands ask whether you want it enough to act, and what happens to you when you do.

The numbered cards run like the life of a venture. The Ace is the spark, a single branch held out from a cloud. The Two and Three look outward from a castle wall and a cliff, planning and waiting for ships. The Four celebrates a first arrival under a garland. Then comes friction: the brawl of the Five, the public victory of the Six, the lone defence of the Seven. The Eight is pure speed, staves flying through open air, and the Nine is the wary, bandaged veteran who has learned to expect another attack. The Ten ends with a man bent under a bundle he insisted on carrying himself. The court cards show the same fire at different stages: the curious Page, the impetuous Knight, the warm and confident Queen with her sunflower and black cat, and the King who has learned to direct the blaze rather than be driven by it.