By Sarah Taylor
There is a sense of being in two places at once with this reading — in a way that is both literal as well as metaphoric, and where those places are not at odds with each other. In other words, we are dealing with two complementary states, brought together by the card in the centre, the Two of Wands.
In the Two, a figure stands at a parapet, looking out at the sea beyond, a globe in his right hand, a wand in his left. A second wand stands behind him. This is an act of creation, where the potential of the Ace is ‘drawn down’ into the world and given form — in this case, the world itself, through the fire of the Wands suit, which is libido, energy, the field that underpins existence.
What is the figure in the Two of Wands creating? Nothing less than his own path. The card that he looks towards is the Knight of Wands, an explorer, pioneer and agent of change. The Knight is fire incarnate: flames lick from his armour; black salamanders — fire creatures that they are — adorn his robe. His wand has five sprigs of leaves on it, while the wands in the Two of Wands have three. What he brings with him packs a punch — it is extroverted energy that is expressed rather than sublimated. He is instigator, fighter, red-hot Romeo.
The horse holds significance here too:
Horse is physical power and unearthly power. In shamanic practices throughout the world, Horse enables shamans to fly through the air and reach heaven.
… Through their special relationship with Horse, humans altered their self-concept beyond measure. Horse was the first animal medicine of civilization. Humanity owes an incalculable debt to Horse and to the new medicine it brought. It would be a long walk to see one’s brother or sister if Horse had not welcomed the two-legged rider upon its back.
[Medicine Cards, Jamie Sams & David Carson]