The Lord of Wealth talks not only about material wealth and its appropriate use, but about the inner wealth and resources that we all have. This is a card that teaches us that the harvest we gather in our lives is the end result of all that we have put into living – and more importantly, how we have used the riches at our disposal.We make our own realities with every thought, every deed, every wish. And when we direct our energies positively we shall arrive – as a perfectly natural consequence – at the Ten of Disks. Of course, if we direct our energies negatively we’ll find ourselves with the Ten of Wands, or the Ten of Swords – neither of which are happy cards!There is a warning connected to this card though. When we have created sufficient wealth to make ourselves comfortable and contented, if we have a surplus, then we must make that surplus work. We cannot expect energy to flow freely in our lives if we hoard it, and try to hang on to it. This is as pointless as trying to save up the breeze so that it will blow on a stuffy day! There are some things in life you cannot clutch tight in the hand without crushing their value out of them.If this card comes up in an everyday reading, it re-assures that financial and material matters are proceeding well, and that there is no cause for concern.If it comes up in a more spiritually based reading, then we need to be applying the underlying principles to our lives – so in this case, we need to be letting our inner wealth show, in order to manifest that into our lives.
The Lord of Pleasure is a welcome card in any reading, bringing in a sense of harmony and balance. Existing relationships broaden and deepen, giving an extended sense of contentment and satisfaction.It’s important to recognise, with this card, that its influence extends only to established relationships – those which already have a history of their own. It will come up in a reading to indicate major steps forward, strengthened commitment, marriage, recovery after trial.Mostly, it will relate to intimate relationships because of a strong link to contentment within sexual partnerships. Sometimes, the Lord of Pleasure will appear to mark the point at which a previously purely romantic relationship extends to become a sexual one as well. Because of this influence, there are also several connotations of creativity and fertility.We have tended, in recent times, to lose sight of the true higher interpretation of the word ‘pleasure’, and that sometimes leads to misunderstanding about the Six of Cups. The card is not so much about the act of sex, but rather about the wealth of emotional contentment that can arise from being in a fulfilled sexual relationship. Good sexual experience is one of the greatest acknowledgements of our physical state. It adds richness to our understanding of ourselves as humans.
As a suit, Wands are direct, determined and connected to Will and its appropriate application. The Queen of Wands represents a woman who knows exactly what she wants out of life, and aims at her goals with great dedication.She is often a woman who has experienced conflict and trauma, and learned from these. She’s usually independent, forthright and self-motivated. As a friend she will be loyal and honest, though sometimes given to handing out unwelcome advice, and taking over.As a parent she can be quite dominant, claiming that she wants her off spring to be self-reliant and confident, but sometimes tending to become impatient, and do things on their behalf in her own way, rather than allowing her children to make up their own minds.She’s a fighter, who does not suffer fools gladly. She will support and assist those who are vulnerable and needy, offering unceasing energy and determination. She takes up causes readily, and proves herself a worthy adversary. However she has a tendency not to know when to stop, and enjoys being at the forefront of the battle, rather than beavering away on the more routine aspects of any campaign.This is a forceful and proud woman. She applies high standards to everything she becomes involved in. As a result, she can sometimes be somewhat intolerant of people who do things differently.So – The Queen of Wands – a fine ally, and a dangerous enemy!
A day ruled by the Lord of Strife is bound to have its inherent problems. This card brings restriction, limitation, frustration and annoyance with it. Often these problems will be experienced in the workplace, and they sometimes indicate that we feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks that we need to get through.Expect this day to be one in which even minor things create their own difficulties and obstacles. First and foremost, we all need to take our senses of humour to work with us!! It’s probably also useful to regard a Five of Wands day as a ‘bad attitude’ day. That could as easily be our own as anyone else’s, as well!So, having wrapped yourself up in your sense of humour, study the workload in front of you, and leave all the things you know will drive you mad till the atmosphere is better. Try to pick out tasks that you will enjoy. That way if they frustrate you, at least you’ll enjoy the bits before and afterwards!Assess your own attitude carefully and try to dispel any nagging negativity. Isolate anything that looks like it is an inner conflict brewing, and write it down to address soon (they all tend to come to the surface on this day).Also assess the mood of those people you come into contact with, and avoid any who seem to be having the same sort of bad attitude day as you!! That should minimise the conflict you meet.Finally, at the end of the day try hard to shed anything that you have picked up along the way. Use whatever method you find most effective to de-stress, in the hope that you’ll have a better day tomorrow!! By the way, the affirmation is designed to be hard to say – hopefully it’ll make you laugh!!Affirmation: “I meet conflict and obstacles with equanimity.”
The Lord of Completion marks a point where a circle has been completed. It can apply to work projects, personal situations – even phases of life. In some respects it’s like a lesser reflection of the Universe, the final Major Arcana card.
Another aspect of the Four of Wands associate it with the Major Arcanum of Adjustment, or Justice. This is because this Wand indicates the manifestation of balanced forces, resulting in the fulfilment of earlier hopes, ideas and dreams. The balance aspect, combined with the overall morality of Wands, brings us to think about injustice being resolved, inequity acknowledged and set right.
This is a good card, promising not only the sense of natural satisfaction which arises when we follow our ideas through to their logical conclusion, but also the opportunity to start new things off.
If we stop when we have achieved a goal along the way, we begin to stagnate. We need to take the sense of contentment and channel it into the stage on our journey – that way we continually grow.
The Lord of Wealth talks not only about material wealth and its appropriate use, but about the inner wealth and resources that we all have. This is a card that teaches us that the harvest we gather in our lives is the end result of all that we have put into living – and more importantly, how we have used the riches at our disposal.We make our own realities with every thought, every deed, every wish. And when we direct our energies positively we shall arrive – as a perfectly natural consequence – at the Ten of Disks. Of course, if we direct our energies negatively we’ll find ourselves with the Ten of Wands, or the Ten of Swords – neither of which are happy cards!There is a warning connected to this card though. When we have created sufficient wealth to make ourselves comfortable and contented, if we have a surplus, then we must make that surplus work. We cannot expect energy to flow freely in our lives if we hoard it, and try to hang on to it. This is as pointless as trying to save up the breeze so that it will blow on a stuffy day! There are some things in life you cannot clutch tight in the hand without crushing their value out of them.If this card comes up in an everyday reading, it re-assures that financial and material matters are proceeding well, and that there is no cause for concern.If it comes up in a more spiritually based reading, then we need to be applying the underlying principles to our lives – so in this case, we need to be letting our inner wealth show, in order to manifest that into our lives.
The Empress is numbered three and symbolises one half of a perfect polarity – the Emperor being the other side of the balance. From the purity of the High Priestess we move naturally onwards to the Empress’ sense of bounty and fertility. She represents the Mother Goddess, fulfilling her part in the eternal cycle of creation.The Empress holds the power to steadily and determinedly rebuild, renew, nurture and nourish. She has an unquenchable and generous courage, responding instantly when she sees a need to defend. Her realm is built of love, fertility and warmth. When the Empress holds us we are once again in the sure safety of the infant at its mother’s breast.She also represents unconditional love – making no demands and setting no conditions. If we allow her love to flow through us then we too can become a pure spring through which the Universe flows. Only our fears stand between us and the Goddess.
The man represented by the Knight of Wands will be a loving and open-hearted person, with a strong sense of morality and a great sense of humour. He will be active, energetic and willing to help. You often find these types of men in the healing professions, or in other areas where they are required to assist, guide and support others.He’s a man with a deep respect for life and all living things, attuned to Nature and to the creatures of the earth. He has a deep well of compassion which spills over readily to anyone who needs his help, but he also has the restraint to know when too much assistance is a bad thing. Then he will act to enable and empower, rather than to assisting.He’s a faithful, and dedicated family man, being fully engaged in the domestic situation. His life reflects his high ethical standards, though he is not given to sermonising, nor standing in judgement on others. He could be defined as an idealistic realist – accepting the frailties of the race, whilst doing his best to strengthen it.His faults spring from his good points – for instance, he dislikes causing pain, and will therefore delay when he needs to act if he thinks it will hurt other people. He will sometimes remain in limiting or painful circumstances because of this. His sense of rightness and duty is intense, and sometimes drives him to make foolish choices and decisions. He will shy away from conflict and unpleasant situations, especially when these arise as a result of his own needs, though he will never walk away from a struggle on behalf of somebody else.If you are regarding this card as a spiritual change, then see it as an indication that the warrior of right and light is required – you’ll need to stand up for something that matters, and which is unable to defend itself.
The Lord of Oppression is a hard card to come to grips with, for it indicates blocked or thwarted Will. We want something badly, and yet we seem to stand no chance of getting it. We feel frustrated, irritable and disappointed.If a situation marked by the Ten of Wands goes on for too long, we will begin to feel trapped and deeply unhappy. We will begin to lose faith in ourselves, and our abilities to make our lives into what we want.There are a couple of things to bear in mind if the influence of the Lord of Oppression is a fairly fleeting one – sometimes we have to wait for the right moment to get our heart’s desire.However it’s worth bearing in mind, if you ever read on a specific situation, and this card comes up in the final result position, the reading is probably telling you not to waste any more effort on a conflict that you cannot win. Sometimes we are better off just walking away.The long-term appearance of this card carries a warning with it that you really cannot ignore. If the Ten of Wands is a regular feature of your readings for some time, you are probably hurting yourself more than you care to admit. You are not fulfilling your needs, and you are leaving yourself open to negativity.Time to get a little bit of Ace energy in there, and sort things out!
As a Suit, Swords are about thought, communication, and, sadly, often also about conflict and emotional turmoil. People often become confused about why that should be – this Suit contains more ‘bad’ cards than any of the others. But when you consider that one thing which inevitably happens when we are hurt and unhappy is that objectivity and clarity go out of the window, you might be able to understand why so many harsh cards turn up here.Aces are always about the beginning of something – usually related to the Suit they are from. From that you can see that the Ace of Swords is about the ability to see things from a clear perspective. When this card rules, we are able to cut away the rubbish and confusion which tends to cloud out major issues. We can see what is important and worth fighting for. And we can also identify the red herrings that keep us from seeing clearly.We become more able to make good decisions, more ready to see other points of view, more clear about what we really think about things. When this happens we often choose totally new directions for ourselves, reaching a point where we can transform and empower our experiences.So when this card comes up in a reading, or to rule a day, then it means that we need to step back, and think rationally about everything which crosses our path. We need to cut away rubbish and clutter, so we can see the inner truth we seek.There is a decisive and powerful energy which flows from this card, and engaging with it will allow us to understand ourselves, and others more thoroughly than before.In a spiritual sense the appearance of the Ace of Swords will often mark a turning point or breakthrough into new clarity and wisdom
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