The Suit of Wands: Modern RWS Tarot Card Meanings
Suit of Wands Overview
The 14 Suit of Wands cards in the Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
The Suit of Wands is the raw energy of creation, willpower, and ambition. It represents the fiery, intense drive to take bold action and exert your power in the world.
Upright: Will, Purpose, Vitality, Power, Challenge, Victory
Reversed: Control, Destruction, Vengeance, Selfishness, Defeat
Element: Fire
Zodiac Signs: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Lots of Wands Cards In A Tarot Reading
If you get lots of Wands in a reading, results may be new, quick, exciting and testing - with no second chances. Things are likely just beginning and there is a challenging road ahead. There may be lots of competition for the thing that you want and it will probably confer power or status if you get it. Success will require strategy, boldness and determination. At the same time, you may not yet understand the fully consequences of your desires; the Suit of Wands cards are about learning wisdom the hard way, through painful life experience.
Wands Suit: Modern RWS Meanings
Click on a card to explore it’s modern RWS meanings in depth.
“If the Pentacles cards are the manifestation of your karma, wands are the expression of your dharma, or (righteous action and life’s purpose).
They say that it is better to do your own dharma badly than to excel in someone else’s. Wands represent the simultaneous struggle and purpose that the doing of our dharma ultimately brings.”
Wands Cards In life Areas
Wands in Love & Relationships
In a love reading, Wands speak of passion, chemistry, and high energy. These cards often signal the fiery, exciting beginning of a new romance or a period of shared adventure and growth for an established couple. However, the untamed nature of Fire can also point to conflict, arguments, and impulsiveness. The challenge with Wands in love is to channel its powerful energy into creation and connection, rather than allowing it to burn out into selfishness, conflict or drama.
Wands in A Money and Career Context
In career, Wands represent new projects, promotions, workplace politics and industry influence.
Wands in a Spiritual Context
Spiritually, the Suit of Wands represents the journey of the human will. It is about aligning your personal energy with your higher purpose rather than the petty desires of the ego, which bring about suffering in the end. If you are pursuing things not in accord with your true nature, the Wands cards may be indicating that they are soon to be burned away, whether from internal burnout or external barriers.
Additional Notes on the RWS Wands Suit
Wands And The Fire Element
The Wands cards gets it’s main themes from it’s correspondence to the occult element of Fire, the cosmic manifestation of Divine Will. The Fire element is the most extreme in that it can be used spiritually or materially; it can be harnessed as great inspiration and mystical realization, or it can be wielded as a weapon to dominate others in the material world.
Consider firstly whether there is a good balance of Fire in your life and secondly how you can channel this in a constructive manner.
Wands Cards Elemental Dignities
Elemental dignities is a way of seeing how cards play out by looking at the relationship between the 4 main occult elements; Earth, Air, Water and Fire.
Using this technique, The effects of the Wands cards (whether good or bad) are strengthened by Swords (Air) cards, weakened by Cups (Water) cards and neutral but hostile to Pentacles (Earth) cards. For example, if you get the 5 of Wands next to the 6 of Cups, it might indicate that your jealousy of a person is lessened by your having been friends with them in childhood.
The Spiritual Journey of the Wands
The Suit of Wands tells a complete story. It begins with the Ace, the pure, unmanifested spark of a new idea. It moves through the Two and Three, where plans are made and the journey begins. It faces its first tests of conflict and competition in the Five and Seven, but also experiences the joy of public victory in the Six. Finally, it culminates in the Ten, which represents both the completion of a cycle and the heavy burden that comes with great responsibility. Understanding this narrative arc gives you a powerful tool for interpreting any Wands card within its broader context.
Distinguishing Wands Cards: The 5 of Wands vs the 7 of Wands
A common point of confusion for students is the difference between the Five of Wands and the Seven of Wands. The Five of Wands represents a chaotic, undirected struggle—a clash of egos with no clear goal. The Seven of Wands, by contrast, is the challenge of a single individual defending a clear position against organised opposition. It is a test of courage and conviction.
We can also go deeper by examining the esoteric correspondences to these two cards in Book T (which result in the RWS meanings). In this document, the Five of Wands is esoterically titled' the ‘Lord of Strife and corresponds to Saturn in Leo. But the Seven of Wands is esoterically titled ‘Lord of Valour’ and corresponds to Mars in Leo. In Astrology, both Saturn and Mars are malefic planets (they bring trouble), but Saturn represents things like; obstacles, lessons, structure and limitations whereas Mars represents things like; will, courage, logic and strategy.
