Deirdre of the Sorrows - Two of Wands

shadowdancer

This card has appeared more than any other in readings, and each time has thrown up a different interpretation or energy.
Deirdre has indicated a mutually beneficial partnership, with both farmer and wife working together for their common good. Sometimes the role of the female in the farming community could be overlooked or underestimated by those who are not actively involved.

With this card, we see the farmer striding purposefully towards the pen, a ram secured tightly under one arm. His wife is at the entrance, ready to remove the barriers so the ram can be contained before replacing them again. This task would not be easy for the farmer to do on his own, particularly if the ram was intent on wriggling its way to an opportunist escape. When looked at holistically, the overriding message of teamwork, and co-operation. When this course of action is done unconditionally by both sides, there can only be benefits for both parties.

I think the best way for me to look at how this card could perhaps bring up other interpretations is to use some snippets from readings where this card has appeared. I have based my judgements purely on the imagery and how I felt it related in a spread or with a question being asked.

THE FARMER
It is this character we see taking his investment or gains and is looking to protect them in some way. There may have been concerns that adequate protection has not been available. It is down to you to look at the pen and its entrance to decide if it is secure enough. If not, what would you need to do? How would that relate to your current situation? If there was a question of confidence tied in with the issue, this shows you would be supported by somebody who has your interests at heart. More importantly, the support could be mutually beneficial to both parties.

This also showed a shift of focus. If you had not read the book accompanying the deck, at first glance, it could appear as though somebody is trying to block your way. If the quearant actually comes out with this, it may well be worth looking at the card from that angle. Is the person who they perceiving to be ‘blocking’ them someone they know well? Could it show there has been a misunderstanding of what is actually going on here? Certainly it could appear at first glance as though the woman is actually putting up a barrier. If they want to follow this theme, you could look at the height of the barrier. Is it possible to overcome it? How strong is the barrier – could it be broken through? (I use the reference to the ram in this case – it could lower its head and force its way through!) In this case the partnership would be between the ram and the farmer.

THE WAND ACROSS THE PEN
I think this has already been referred to above. It is a barrier, and can be seen in one or two ways: protective or as an obstacle.


THE FARMER WIFE
In short, she is seen holding the fort. Waiting for the farmer and ram to arrive whereby she can then allow access before securing the entrance once the ram has been contained. If you associate with this character, it could show you are being asked to leave your current tasks in order to help somebody else. This may only be temporary. If you were asked to do this, how would you feel about it? Do you feel you are often being called away from your normal role? How have you personally benefited from doing this? You have been given a position of responsibility in this card. If you fail to secure the pen adequately, the ram could escape, thus leading to a possible loss of investement (time, effort, financial etc). Do you feel comfortable with the level of responsibility you have been given?
We must remember that the overall, the card had a positive energy associated with it. The trust and co-operation between the parties is for the common good. Some of the above thoughts may well not be applicable in all readings, but should a querant identify with any of the above, it would be worth examining further.

THE RAM
One particular reading guided me to look at the issue from the viewpoint of the ram! Rather unusual but I didn’t question this, and ran with it.
If told as a story, we could believe the ram has escaped and is being returned to its pen. The farmer is holding it rather tightly, thus preventing any further thoughts of freedom – at least for now!
If this does apply, it could show that you are not willing to be penned in with something, but find others are doing their best to create this confinement. What is it it you are resisting and why? The fact you are continually bought back to this issue may be significant – what could that significance be? What does this card tell you about your actions and effect of those actions?
If this is deemed a strength of the querant it can show they are proactive in trying to create their own path, particularly if others are not supportive. However, it could also indicate a stubbornness, of the fact they are unwilling to accept a situation.

This is how it was typed in a reading:

Areas of strength to be developed is covered by the 2 of wands. This card has appeared more than any other in readings, and I swear this deck is well and truly shuffled between them!!
We see a farmer walking towards a pen with a ram under his arm (a different ram from the previous one!) his wife standing at the entrance to the pen with a staff across the entrance, as if stopping entry to anyone else. Now for the first time, I have been guided to use the sheep as representing you. This shows that you will not allow yourself to be penned in. I reckon you have escaped a couple of times, and they keep bringing you back, but you won’t have it. As we are looking at a strength of yours, we do see this as a positive. It shows that you will not allow yourself to be restricted by the actions or intentions of others. They may feel they are acting with your best interests at heart, but for you any form of restriction is stifling. It may be they cannot understand what your needs are, and so they try to instill what they believe are your needs. However, they may well be very different to how you see things.