Four of Wands: Modern RWS Tarot Card Meanings
‘Four of Wands’, Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
Upright Four of Wands Meanings
Keywords
Celebration, Harmony, Homecoming, Community, Stability, Milestones
Generally
The Four of Wands signifies a time of joyful celebration, harmony, and stability, often marking the successful completion of a significant phase. It is a card of community and shared happiness. A surprise party, a family reunion, a housewarming, a national holiday, or simply feeling a deep sense of peace and stability in your environment.
In a Love Context
In matters of love, this card points to a stable, committed, and harmonious partnership, often celebrated with a significant milestone. A wedding, an engagement party, an anniversary celebration, or moving into a first home together. It represents a relationship that has reached a point of comfortable security and is celebrated by a wider community of friends and family.
In a Money/Career Context
This card can represent the successful completion of a major project, a celebration of a team's achievement, or finding a stable and supportive work environment. A company-wide celebration after hitting a target, a successful product launch, a harmonious team dynamic, or the financial stability that allows you to buy a home.
In a Spiritual Context
This card can signify finding a spiritual community where you feel at home. It may represent a joyful religious festival, a harmonious gathering of like-minded souls, or the inner sense of peace and stability that comes from a consistent and fulfilling spiritual practice. It is the celebration of spiritual harmony.
In Common Spread Positions
As Advice
Celebrate your successes. Acknowledge a milestone. Seek out community. Create a harmonious environment.
As (Ultimate) Outcome
A happy homecoming. A successful celebration. A period of peace and stability. A joyful gathering.
As Obstacles
A fear of commitment is preventing stability. An obligation to attend a family event is causing stress. A community is becoming insular.
As Hidden Energy
An unacknowledged need for stability and community. A surprise party is being planned. The potential for a happy resolution.
As Resources/Alliances
A supportive community. A stable home environment. A wedding planner or event organiser.
‘The Four of Wands’ Reversed
Keywords
Lack of Harmony, Unstable Foundations, Cancelled Celebrations, Feeling Unwelcome
Generally
Reversed, the Four of Wands can point to a lack of harmony and unstable foundations. It signifies a cancelled event, a feeling of not belonging, or a home environment that is tense and unstable. A family argument that ruins a holiday, feeling like an outsider at a party, a project that is built on a shaky foundation.
In a Love Context
This card often signifies instability or a lack of harmony in a relationship. A cancelled wedding, a relationship that lacks a solid foundation, feeling unwelcome in your partner's family, a constant sense of tension in the home. It represents a partnership that has failed to reach a point of stable commitment.
In a Money/Career Context
This can mean a project that is failing due to a lack of teamwork or a work environment that is unstable and unsupportive. A toxic team dynamic, a business that is built on a poor foundation, a project launch that is a failure, feeling like an outsider at your job.
In a Spiritual Context
This can mean a feeling of disconnection from your spiritual community. A falling out with a spiritual group, a religious doctrine that no longer feels like home, a spiritual practice that brings no peace, feeling like a spiritual outcast.
In Common Spread Positions
As Advice
Leave a toxic environment. Postpone a celebration. Re-evaluate the foundations of a project.
As (Ultimate) Outcome
A cancelled event. A broken home. A project will fail due to instability.
As Obstacles
A lack of community support. Unstable foundations. A family that does not approve of your choices.
As Hidden Energy
A secret instability in a relationship or project. An unacknowledged feeling of being an outsider.
As Resources/Alliances
Help comes from leaving a tense situation. The freedom that comes from a cancelled plan. A realisation that your foundations are weak.
Additional Notes on The RWS ‘Four of Wands’
Waite’s Divinatory Meanings of The Four of Wands
"They are for once almost on the surface: country life, haven of refuge, a species of domestic harvest-home, repose, concord, harmony, prosperity, peace, and the perfected work of these. Reversed: The meaning remains unaltered; it is prosperity, increase, felicity, beauty, embellishment." (The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911)
RWS Four of Wands Symbolism
The RWS Four of Wands depicts a celebratory scene. In the foreground, four large wands are planted in the ground, forming a gateway adorned with a garland of fruit and flowers. This structure, a sukkah, represents a temporary shelter and a place of joyful gathering. In the background, two figures raise bouquets in celebration, while others gather near a castle or large home, which signifies security and permanence. The scene is one of shared joy, stability, and the celebration of a significant milestone or achievement.
Meditations On The Four of Wands
What recent success or milestone do I need to take the time to celebrate?
Do I feel a sense of harmony and stability in my home and community?
Are the foundations of my current projects solid and secure?
