II, Suit of WandsTwo of Wands tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedTwo of Wands in shortIn short
The Two of Wands is planning. A man in a red cloak stands on a castle roof, globe in hand, looking over sea and land. He has done well, and now he decides what comes next.
- Planning
- Choice
- Looking ahead
Piece oneThe view
From the roof he sees sea, shore and far mountains. Waite describes the same view. Everything he could go after, once he leaves the walls.
"A tall man looks from a battlemented roof over sea and shore..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe view is the whole temptation. Sea, shore and far mountains lie past the battlements, and the man stands inside the walls looking out. The globe in his hand is a small copy of this same world. He owns the roof he stands on; everything past the wall is still out of reach.
Piece twoThe staff in the ring
His second staff stands against the wall, fixed in an iron ring. Waite mentions the ring. One wand he holds; one he has set down. Part of the work is secured, part is still in reach.
"...another is fixed in a ring."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereTwo wands, two choices. He holds one and has fixed the other in an iron ring on the wall, so part of his work is safe and part is still in his hand. The fixed staff anchors him to the castle while his eyes go to the globe and the view beyond it.
Piece threeThe merchant
A man in a red cap and long dark red cloak stands in profile, eyes on his globe. Waite gives two readings that cannot meet: riches and magnificence, or sadness and mortification. He has means, and he looks restless.
"...on the one hand, riches, fortune, magnificence; on the other, physical suffering, disease, chagrin, sadness, mortification."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereHe's a man with means and a restless mind. The red cap and long cloak say rank, and he stands on his own roof, yet he turns from the house toward the view. Waite's two readings, riches and sadness, both fit him. The globe in his hand shows where his thoughts have gone.
Piece fourThe globe
He holds a small globe and studies it. Waite sees a lord looking over his lands, then back at the globe, and compares him to Alexander, sad amid the world's wealth. He has the world in his hand and still wants more.
"...here is a lord overlooking his dominion and alternately contemplating a globe..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe globe is the world shrunk to fit his hand. He studies it while the real sea and mountains wait beyond the wall, so the card sits between planning and going. Holding the world this way costs him nothing. Reaching it means leaving the roof, and the staff in its ring, behind.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
-
The view
Soft blue sea and grey-green land, cooler than the man's warm reds. The world out there looks calm and far, and the cool colours keep it at a distance. In the Three of Wands a figure in red has left the walls behind and stands on open ground above a glowing sea, watching his ships. The Two still looks out from behind stone.
Also in -
The staff in the ring
Red-brown wood, grey stone and a dark iron ring: plain colours for something put away. The staff stays warm against the cold wall, a sign that the fire is only resting. In the Three of Wands all the staves stand planted in open ground, and the man leans on one of them. Here the spare wand is locked to a wall.
Also in -
The merchant
Deep wine cloak, bright red cap. Red is fire and will, the Wands energy, and the dark shade gives it weight. The Emperor wears the same deep red on his stone throne, settled and in charge of everything around him. The merchant of the Two has a ruler's colour and a traveller's itch, and he stands while the Emperor sits.
Also in -
The globe
Wine red for cloak and cap, a green globe marked in red: power, and the earth it wants. The Emperor holds a round golden orb on his throne, the sign of a world already ruled. The merchant's globe is small and green, a world he's still weighing. The Three of Wands drops the globe and shows the real sea instead.
Also in
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
Two of WandsUpright
A moment of planning and choice. Waite gives two readings that can't be joined: riches, fortune, magnificence on one side; physical suffering, disease, chagrin, sadness on the other. The picture leans to the first, with a sad note: a man who has plenty and still isn't content.
You have a base and you're looking further. Stay safe or set out. Make a plan, choose, then take the first step.
Two of WandsReversed
Waite's words: surprise, wonder, enchantment, emotion, and also trouble and fear.
Something unexpected breaks into your plans. It may delight you, scare you, or both. Stay open, and make the choice yourself.
Yes or noMaybe.
Maybe. You're still choosing. The answer depends on your decision, and on acting on it.
Two of Wands in your lifeIn your life
Love
You may be weighing a relationship against your freedom, or planning a future together. Talk about it.
Work
Planning and strategy, maybe a move or a bigger market. You have a base. Pick where to grow.
Money
Waite ties it to riches and fortune. Plan how to use what you have.
Health
Restless worry about the future wears you down. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor.
Spirituality
You've outgrown your old practice and want a wider view. Explore before you commit.
Advice
Make a plan and choose. Then set out.
As a person
Ambitious, thoughtful, successful, already eyeing the next horizon.
Past, present, future
Past: a base you built. Present: a choice about where to go. Future: the plan in action.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Suit
- Wands
- Element
- Fire
- Astrology
- Mars in Aries
- Sephira
- Chokmah
- Upright
- Riches
- Reversed
- Surprise
QuestionsCommon questions
Mostly yes: success and the power to choose. Waite also gives a sadder reading, suffering amid wealth, a warning against never being content.
A choice about the future: stay, commit, or go further. Ask each other where you want to go.
Maybe. It depends on your choice, and on acting.
The globe is the world in his hand, his power and his ambition. Waite compares him to Alexander, sad amid the grandeur of this world's wealth.
Mars in Aries, the first decan of Aries, in the Golden Dawn system. Fire is its element, Chokmah its sephira.
Waite sees a lord surveying his lands, turning back to a globe, sad like Alexander amid the world's wealth.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Element, decan and sephira: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 14 Wands