The Weekend Tarot Reading: King of Wands

Editor’s Note: If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article tells you how to use the spread. You can visit Sarah’s website here. –efc

By Sarah Taylor

We’ve been getting a significant amount of royalty in our Weekend Tarot Reading series — court cards seem to make a regular appearance — but this is the first time that we have had a King.

I look at the King of Wands as I write this today, and the man is practically on fire with creative energy, or life force.

He sits at an angle that isn’t quite in profile (although his face is) and he is ready for action: his arms — right one forward, holding his Wand, left one back, elbow crooked — convey movement, as if he is striding purposefully towards something that is out of the picture to the left. His face is set, brow furrowed, focussed intently on the same point. It is as if the throne on which he sits cannot contain him. Nor does it want to. Nearly the whole picture abets his demeanour.

Wands are associated with fire, and it is apparent everywhere in the picture. The King’s hair (or hair-covering, I can’t quite decide) glows red, topped with a gold crown fashioned into flames that lick upwards. These flames are repeated on his cuffs, while his robe echoes his flame-coloured head.

His yellow cloak drapes fluidly around him — there are few sharp angles to this figure, just as fire is organic and in constant motion — and upon it are printed black salamanders. There are salamanders on the back of his throne too, as well as two lion-like figures. My first thought about the lions is that they could be a reference to Leo, which is ruled by the Sun. Salamanders are also closely associated with fire, and a line in Wikipedia describes their symbolism thus:

The salamander became a symbol of enduring faith which triumphs over the fires of passion.

This makes sense to me as I look at the green coverlet around the King’s neck; his soft, green shoes; and the green of the leaves sprouting from the Wand. For this King is a man of passion and action — but his fiery nature is tempered by the wisdom that he has acquired through learning to ground that nature. His feet are green. This is significant. They are what prevent him from leaping forward hot-headedly. His coverlet balances the green on his feet. He radiates verve, and yet he has a handle on it.

There is a saying that fire is a good servant, but a bad master. The King understands that if he relinquishes his authority to the passion that fuels him, then he is of little use to anyone. And the message that he might be bringing us in this instance is: neither are we. Fire can be channelled with great effect, or it can rage unchecked and consume everything in its path. Perhaps it is about knowing how to work with it, and how to take precautions. Perhaps the King embodies the idea of responsibility: that when we own our power and our experiences, we are not consumed by the agenda of someone, or something, else.

It is a fine balance, and we are kingly indeed when we walk the line between inferno and damp squib.

Finally, my eye is drawn to the small, black salamander that stands at the ready at the King’s feet. A reminder, maybe, that this energy is not to be feared — which can be just as destructive. Rather, it can be a highly creative partner and companion when it is allowed to roam free, while under no illusions as to who it is that ultimately calls the shots.