Wands in Tarot: Meaning, Symbolism and Reading

← Back to Guide to the Minor Arcana

The Wands suit gathers 14 tarot cards around momentum, energy, creation and action. Here is how to read them, from the Ace to the King.

Key points

Other names	Batons, wooden staffs, wands (Rider-Waite-Smith: Wands), sometimes sceptres
Associated element	Fire in the tradition of the Golden Dawn and the Rider-Waite-Smith (other authors differ)
Themes	Momentum, desire, creation, enterprise, energy, vocation
Number of cards	14: ten numbered cards (Ace to 10) and four court cards
Playing cards	Often matched with clubs, by convention
In the Marseille	Pip cards with no scene: crossed batons
In the Rider-Waite-Smith	Each card carries a scene, with batons that bud and sprout

One suit of the tarot, four families of questions

The tarot has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana, which carry a name or a large image, and 56 Minor Arcana, divided into four suits. Wands make up one of them. Each suit has ten numbered cards, from the Ace to the Ten, and four court cards. If you are just starting out, the guide to the Major Arcana gives the overall framework.

Wands speak of what we set in motion: a desire, a project, a vocation, a way of acting on the world. They are called “bâtons” (batons) in the Marseille tradition, and also wands, especially in decks inspired by the Rider-Waite-Smith, where the name is Wands. They are wooden branches, sometimes knotty, sometimes in leaf: the image of a living energy that is pushing upward.

The journey from Ace to Ten

A suit reads like a story in ten beats. For the Wands, here is the narrative that tradition suggests, bearing in mind that each author tells it a little differently.

Ace: the spark, the desire that rises. See the Aces.
Two and Three: we look toward the horizon, choose a direction and wait for the first returns.
Four and Five: a first stage is celebrated, then rivalries and confusion creep in.
Six and Seven: recognition, then the need to hold one's ground.
Eight: everything speeds up; momentum is at its peak.
Nine and Ten: fatigue and vigilance, then the weight of everything one carries.

The meaning of each number is detailed on the pages devoted to numbers, for example the Fives or the Tens.

The court cards

The Page, Knight, Queen and King of Wands embody four ways of living this energy: the curious apprentice, the enthusiastic go-getter, the radiant and warm personality, the inspiring leader. They can be people, attitudes or stages of one same journey. The page on the court cards explains this reading and the differences in naming between decks.

Element, season, domains: correspondences to hold lightly

In the English occult tradition of the late nineteenth century (that of the Golden Dawn, of which Waite and Pamela Colman Smith were members), the Wands are linked to fire. The rest is a matter of commentary:

Reference	Common association
Element	Fire (according to the Golden Dawn and the Rider-Waite-Smith)
Season	Spring or summer, depending on the author
Domain	Action, vocation, energy, creativity
Keyword	Desire and initiative

Be aware: there is no single rule. Some authors, including within the Marseille school, assign the elements differently: in a grid cited by the encyclopedia Wikipedia, the Wands correspond to earth. If your book says something other than this page, that is not an error: these are two traditions.

Wands and playing cards

Our modern playing cards (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades) and the four tarot suits share a common history: all descend from European card games of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The usual correspondence makes Wands the clubs, Cups the hearts, Swords the spades and Pentacles the diamonds. Keep it as a memory aid, not as a rule: the French suits come from a different branch (the French card games of the fifteenth century) from the Italian or Spanish suit signs, and the 52-card deck has no knight.

Marseille or Rider-Waite-Smith?

In the Tarot de Marseille, the numbered cards are called “pip cards”: the Six of Wands shows six batons, arranged decoratively, without a figure. One reads the number, the arrangement and what can be seen there, with the Major Arcana as support. In the Rider-Waite-Smith (published in London in 1909, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite), each card depicts a scene: the Eight of Wands shows eight batons in full flight, the Nine a bandaged man leaning on his staff. The two approaches complement each other. Scenes help memorisation; pip cards leave more room for the imagination. To choose, the guide to choosing a deck will help you.

How to read the Wands in a spread

When several Wands appear, you can say that the question is above all one of energy, desire or commitment. Ask yourself: what do I really want to set in motion? Where am I scattering myself? The tarot does not announce the future: it puts images onto a situation, which you interpret freely. To practise, draw three cards with this simple spread.

Common beginner's mistakes: reading “wand” as “quarrel” (it is mainly energy that counts, sometimes for conflicts but not always); forgetting the neighbouring cards; looking for a yes or no when the card describes a dynamic.

Frequently asked questions

Do the Wands always stand for fire?

In the Anglo-Saxon tradition descending from the Golden Dawn, yes. Other authors, notably within the Marseille school, make a different choice. There is no single rule.

Batons and wands: is it the same thing?

Yes, it is the same suit. “Batons” is the usual name in the Tarot de Marseille; “Wands” is the common English name, used in the Rider-Waite-Smith.

How many Wands cards are there?

Fourteen: the Ace, the cards from 2 to 10, and four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King).

Are the Wands a suit of conflict?

Not necessarily. They speak first of energy and initiative; rivalry appears only in some cards, such as the Five.

Do I need to know the Major Arcana before the Wands?

It is not required. You can very well start with the Minor Arcana, which speak of everyday situations.