The Weekend Tarot Reading — Sunday, September 21, 2014

By Sarah Taylor

“Dynamic action.” This is one of the descriptors on the Knight of Wands, who stands — or rather sits, intently and intensely — at the centre of this week’s tarot reading.

wheel_of_fortune_knight_wands_hierophant_rohrig_sm
The Wheel of Fortune, Knight of Wands, The Hierophant from the Röhrig Tarot deck, created by Carl.W- Röhrig. Click on the image for a larger version.

The Knight of Wands is described elementally as the fiery aspect of fire. In his highest expression, he is Eros embodied in the masculine principle: directed, focused, charged, yet also mature and contained. You can see this in the flames that lick in the background — an extension of his red hair — his strong jaw — suggesting resoluteness — and his hand in a fist resting on his forehead. He is ready for action.

What interests me most in the card is the monochrome of white, and the black and white surface, that come together in the negative space created by his arm and the side of his face. My eye is drawn to it time and again. It feels like a ‘break’ — a fire-break, a haven from the flames. To me, it is space to think — a place of focus and integration of energies that would otherwise have nowhere or nothing to breathe. He ‘holds’ that space, and the flames back, with his fist. There is Will at work here. Far from burning out of control, he is able to work with the fire — his fire — in a way that brings measure and presence to his experience.

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