LS Secret Tarot- 4 of Wands

It's an old thread, but i felt like contributing too. The 4 of wands is also the card of 'well done work'. Like Thirteen says "The ships have come in, and the Querent can sit back and enjoy them. (...) Whatever the Querent has been building, they have established it, strong and solid."

So, what could a half naked redheaded girl be related to it? My take: Maybe the girl is just enjoying herself. Let's say she's a teenager...she just found out her grades are GREAT, she won't take any extra exams she's FREE from school. Finally, vacations. So she deided to go the the forest close to her house and swim a bit on the lake there...enjoy the summer heat.
Or, in the past, the girl has just finished all the work in the house...she has washed the dishes, cleaned the toilet, feed the baby brother, helped mom to sew. Now what? She's acomplished, so she goes out to have some fun alone. Enjoy HER small victory.

I really liked all the other interpretation, as well. The sexual one is So interesting...reminds me of Tori Amos' Icicle.

Yuko

"Finally, she runs toward him and kisses him

with childlike passion." (after the knight has wearily fought adversaries)....

Secrets Tarot, LWB
The Kingdom of Human Work

Can't really explain, but this seems like a forest sprite or unexpected imp that kicks up leaves, mischeviously flirts with the air and toss the cape with abandon.

Perhaps she kisses a knight in the LWB story, but who is she and where does she go?

A brief, sweet kiss, and I believe she vanishes...so yes, a pleasant and surprisingly joking, teasing imp appears and then vanishes, all too briefly.

But your own takes are deliciously wonderful, as good as any guess! I think of this as the impish sister of the distant girls waving to the viewer in the Rider Waite tarot...and yes, the silly jokester gives me a grin.

Cerulean

The LWB also says it's an "unsatisfactory award"...i somewhat can see why. Imagine...the person accomplished something in the 3/wands...in the 4, the person celebrates it. But...what if it's not enough? The person got what she/he wanted, but...stills wants a bigger victory. A greater goal. And 'fights' for more in the 5/wands.

The wands suit show many victory cards, until it end in the utmost victory, and also utmost fall - the 10 of Wands, where the person HAS it all and is ovewhelmed by it.

Did i make any sense?

Yuko

That's a great take as well!

I just happened to enjoy the way Secrets goes from the 10 of each suit back to the Ace...the LWB for this tarot is of value to me. To me it suggests an alternative storyline that I can enjoy--as well as looking at it from Ace to 10 as building up to another way of enjoying the story scenes!

Best regards,

Cerulean

I don't see an "unsatisfactory award" or other people in the woods. I agree that the LWB is not that good with this deck and it also has to be said that the pictures generally, and this one in particular, do not relate that well to traditional meanings. So for what it's worth, I view this card on the image alone and see it for what it is; a girl enjoying some freedom and losing her inhibitions.

I don't have enough experience to say with any authority how well this card aligns with the RWS meaning, but I think there are some connections. I always think of this card as a celebration, showing excitement, and experiencing freedom. The manifestation of structure in the suit of wands would be kind of antithetical, as the passion and creativity of the suit resists the restraint of structures. To me, that is what the card suggests. The girl is certainly excited. She is celebrating something, but we don't know what. Maybe she is about to frolic naked in the water. The focus is on her mood. The structure from which she has released herself is not the tangible structure usually depicted on this card. Keeping in line with the 'secret' theme, the structure is an intangible restriction or inhibition within the girl's mind. I'm not sure there is an inherent sexuality to the card. To me, it seems to have an asexual feel, as the girl's lack of concern about her nakedness seems to transcend gender as a childish display of innocence. Nakedness in this deck doesn't usually indicate sexuality as much as it indicates a lack of barriers between the outside world and the inner world of the true self (subconscious). I think in this card, the girl is baring her emotions. The candle/lillie pad things in the stream are the same objects as those found on the ace of chalices. Coloring is very similar to the six of chalices and The Sun card.