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The Suit of Wands

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Suit of Wands meaning


Across tarot decks, wands are also drawn as batons, rods, cudgels, pillars, or even polo sticks, and many associate wands with fire. According to Celtic mythology, there is an Irish god of the sun, named Lugh, who holds a lance; a few historians surmise that the link between wands and fire is Lugh. Additionally, the wand or rod represents the classical Cardinal Virtue of fortitude. That the wand is sometimes depicted as a polo stick may reference the idea that fate hits our souls around like a pinball machine. Overall, this suit has a masculine energy and deals in the extremes of creativity and destruction.

To explore the suit of Wands in detail

The characteristics of Wands cards


Wands, associated with the element fire, mean brightness, boldness, and, of course, heat! They represent hot summer and therefore also what goes along with summer: freedom, playfulness, creativity, and adventure. When particles are heated up, they expand, so the wand-fire symbol means expansion and growth. Flowers bloom in the summertime, and the whole world is lit up through prolonged interaction with the sun. Fire is also in charge of the heart which means passion, lifeblood, and the human core. The heart is a muscle that keeps time and rhythm; between beats there are moments of near-death, and so it is that fire navigates both extremes.


Wands connect to passion, action, and immediate changes and fluctuations enlivened by energy. Motivated by the power of wands, a person gains the energy to seek truth or go on a journey. Or, one could allow oneself to be completely consumed by the fire of wands and then reborn and purified like a Phoneix. Other associations of the wand are the hiking pole, a broom (as in a witch’s broom), and a phallus. Wands connect to a person’s will or desire as well as intuition. The focus here is on taking action and following cues from the body. It is also about unlocking latent, physical energy and removing any obstacles to expression.


If there is an imbalance of wand-fire energy, a person could have trouble focusing. This could lead to feelings of bewilderment, lack of radiance, somberness and gravity, depression, inability to express oneself, inhibitedness, poor memory, general weakness, and exhausted spirit. A wand is used in casting magical spells, and in order to cast a spell, it is important for the magician to be confident. Many magic rites and ceremonies begin with the spell-caster performing a chant that boosts his or her confidence level. For example, a magician might begin by calling on the power of muses or gods, or by boasting. Some who exhibit a wand-fire imbalance might feel averse to heat or fearful of true expression. They might feel out of touch with their physicality and sensuality.


One cause of such imbalance could be overwhelming focus on mind. Often people are preoccupied with to-do lists and go through each day normalizing a high level of worry and anxiety. In this case, energy is redirected from the heart to the nervous system, and the heart, within the chest, is being ignored. This might give a person a feeling of not being grounded and could also cause headaches. When a person is able to balance and bring focus back to the wand-fire energy, s/he is able to feel more centered. Thought and action combine and fortitude comes from this body-mind harmony.