Discussion Group - Wands Overview

Wands as objects can be seen as channelling tools, allowing a practitioner to direct the energy that they have raised in any way they choose - positive or negative. I think this perfectly matches the association of the element fire with the suit of wands since fire is neither positive and negative, but just requires direction and control. Fire is pure energy that consumes and destroys but also gives light and allows rebirth, just as passions can consume and destroy but give hope and life to a person.

The only thing I dislike about the RWS wands is the fact that they are depicted as huge walking sticks. Maybe this is to make them more visible?

How do you see wands and fire?

Poledra

Wands are about actions. Some of the cards show the actions actually happening. The 8 has Wands in the air. The moment between them being thrown and their arriving at their target. The 5 shows a (friendly?) battle going on. The 2 shows the moment after the ships have left, and the 3 shows them coming in. Both look like quiet cards. The action is in the background.

And they aren't walking sticks. They are quarterstaves! <grin> A weapon that just about anyone could afford because all you had to do was cut one off a tree.

I really like your comparison between the wands and swords with wands being the moment of action while swords are the inaction before/during/after the action. Really astute observation that I'll have to remember.

Poledra

Imagine this!

Can you imagine how any of the Ace-through-ten Sword cards would be changed if a sword was shown being swung, slashing, actually cutting or dismembering, used in direct anger or with hurtful intent? How could any of the sword cards retain their accepted meanings? What would the modifications be depicted as in terms of meanings or image?

We work with our cards, but it does seem that tarot-swords are not in sync with many of today's cultural view of what swords represent. Dave

Dadsnook, your comment has actually crystallized something for me. The swords are very much just menacing rather than actually dangerous, emphasizing the fact that these cards are about things that are going on in our minds. Wow.

Thanks!

dadsnook2000 said:

Can you imagine how any of the Ace-through-ten Sword cards would be changed if a sword was shown being swung, slashing, actually cutting or dismembering, used in direct anger or with hurtful intent? How could any of the sword cards retain their accepted meanings? What would the modifications be depicted as in terms of meanings or image?

We work with our cards, but it does seem that tarot-swords are not in sync with many of today's cultural view of what swords represent. Dave

Click to expand...

All I could think about was what would 8 Swords look like flying through the air... A lot more dangerous than those 8 Wands.

The thing that I noticed about most, not all, of the Wands cards is that they have little offshoots of the wand, or branch. Which to me seems to indicate spring, since spring is the time of re-growth. So, having said that, say for example it was still attached to a tree, since it is obviously a branch, and like what Starling said:

just about anyone could afford because all you had to do was cut one off a tree.

Click to expand...

we all have the opportunity to use that commodity, power, energy or force or however you want to put it.

Fire is usually a destructive force. It can be both beneficial and detrimental, all in accordance to how it is used, of course. Fire can help to remove that is no longer needed or wanted, or what is no longer viable, as a fire would do in nature, it is more than likely to burn the deadwood first, as it would be more dry, perfect kindling, so to speak. But if the fire gets out of control, then the fire would gain such power and ferocity that it will burn even the live trees. On top of that, there are some plants that actually need fire so that the seed can be "opened" thus to be germinated, so that new growth can start.

Fire signs are usually the doers of the zodiac. They tend to get an idea, and they tend to act on it pretty much straight away, where the other signs such as Earth and Air tend to ponder it a bit more. You know, see how the best way to approach it, look at any potential setbacks and downfalls. Fire signs just get things done. They are good at getting things started!