Queen of Wands

The appearance of the Queen of Wands in a spread usually indicates that claims to leadership are relevant in the given situation, and pride and ambition are at stake. This card always responds sensitively to ambitions, the desire for independence and autonomy, career success, social life, and the energy of self-realization and personal growth. It can indicate that we are seriously inspired, carried away by something, and are passionately executing our plans.

The events described by the neighboring cards have already begun – the process has started, so to speak. The concept has been formed, if we are talking about an idea. If the King can signify the initiator (the motivating factor), here we are dealing with the acquisition of form, with a process gaining momentum. If it concerns an ambitious project, a responsible public appearance, or a matter that inspires the querent, success is highly probable. The Queen of Wands is the significator of career growth, business success, popularity, and fame. Her appearance in spreads regarding such questions (organizational development, product promotion, getting a position) is a good sign.

At best, the Queen of Wands can describe an attractive, open, and friendly personality, capable of being an inspirer, an ally, and a support in new endeavors. At worst, it is a brilliant rival, over whom it will be extremely difficult to prove superiority.

This card in any spread is practically self-sufficient: unlike other Minor Arcana, it depends very little on the meaning of the neighboring Major Arcana. The subsequent cards describe a process that is at its culminating phase and has already become part of your current reality. Perhaps this process, this chain of events, has already borne fruit, which we are forced to address in one way or another.

Energy and self-confidence. The Queen of Wands is a card of bright charisma, combining friendliness, sincerity, resilience, and a drive for success. She is capable of exerting a strong influence on those around her, motivating, inspiring, and calling them to action.

The Queen of Wands always symbolizes a well-formed personality (whether a man or a woman) who knows perfectly well what to strive for and whose affairs usually unfold exactly as they desire. This is a generous, open soul, ready to share what she has. Like all Queens, she carries a certain aspect of healing. If the Queen of Pentacles heals the body, the Queen of Cups heals the soul, and the Queen of Swords sets the mind straight (and it's no wonder that in popular speech this unpleasant process is described by the verb "to school"), then the Queen of Wands restores the spirit itself. She inspires, encourages heroic deeds, and is capable of bringing back the will to live to someone in whom this fire has weakened and begun to smoke. She does this not out of pity, lecturing, or compassion, but by transmitting a direct volitional energy impulse, much like lighting one torch from another (in this sense, the Queen of Wands favors the connection of individuality with individuality, personal one-on-one interaction). It is precisely this ability to heal the spirit, restoring its original fire, that best describes the combination of masculine "fire" and feminine "water" in the Queen of Wands.

In the most classical manifestation of this Arcana's energies, this is a woman who steadfastly represents the qualities that fill her (and in their pure form, these qualities are quite rare). This is an outspoken, passionate, and spectacular woman who loves to manage and who cannot be "tamed," as she is driven by a purely masculine impulse (the element of fire). She is freedom-loving, courageous, and will not allow anyone to decide how she should live (moreover, the purely intellectual element that helps the Queen of Swords admit the rightness of another or the objective nature of a situation requiring temporary humility has practically no effect on the Queen of Wands). She is Zorro in a skirt, Spartacus in heels. If she were to end up with a sultan, a mutiny in the harem would be guaranteed (and under her influence, not only would the concubines there believe that they are human beings, but the eunuchs would also believe they are top dogs). She is an Amazon who never loses her head under any circumstances, only sometimes suffering from a lack of restraint in stressful situations. She is decisive and magnanimous, strong and noble, brave and cheerful; she holds firm convictions, and her personal human honesty and honor are important to her. This is a Personality with a capital letter, with developed self-awareness and an intact, solid character that does not accept distortions and muddiness, where deceit, pettiness, and cunning find shelter (the fire element cannot tolerate such distortions, as they weaken it). Chastity in the truest sense of the word is characteristic of her – an absence of confusion and vacillation in decision-making situations; she remains in harmony with her convictions. In traditional interpretations, the card is considered the significator of a woman of fire and sometimes air signs.

The Queen of Wands, despite all her fieriness, is rarely reckless. She knows very well what she wants from life and, as a rule, does not do stupid things. She is largely characterized by prudence, practicality, and common sense. She is capable of desperate acts, but not those in which human weakness manifests itself, but rather those in which human strength is revealed. This is a "woman with principles". Moreover, she herself establishes the principles of what is good and what is bad, what is allowed and what is not, and it is practically impossible to prove the opposite to her. The feminine dignity and un-feminine pride that govern her personality give her great inner strength, but make her vulnerable to criticism and hurtful remarks (however, being a truly noble and generous nature, she is quick to forgive, and if she gets very angry, she will rather punch you in the ear on the spot than exact petty revenge from around the corner a year later).

She is full of original, special charm, socially well-adapted, and knows how to hold herself, although she can be a bit cold. She is warm-hearted, but not sentimental. She is sincere in her feelings, but at the same time, without noticing it herself, she views personal relationships as a fair market (you give to me, I give to you). She knows how to keep her feelings under control, while at the same time, when necessary, she expresses her emotions freely and without complexes. She is ambitious, and she really likes it when everyone loves her, and especially when they respect her.

The Lady of Wands personifies the feminine side of the element of fire. She symbolizes the joy of life and the thirst for happiness to such an extent that it can pour out into a pure thirst for pleasure, into the most lavish expenditure of mental strength. But as a whole, the feminine side of fire expresses the deepest trust in oneself, in one's original nature, and in one's inner strength. The Queen of Wands has mastered self-awareness to such an extent that it has led to the transformation of her being.

The Queen of Wands describes the fullest development in a woman of the masculine-impulsed creative force. In no other Queen is there manifested so much pure impulse of desire, individualism, independence, and self-realization, which would simultaneously rely on bright charisma. The scepter with the sunflower indicates a radiant nature, a high energy level, and a desire to be the center of attention, as well as optimism and cheerfulness. A flower in the Tarot generally indicates rebirth, the joy of life, and the human soul. The sunflower speaks of aligning one's own personality with the highest creative energy – the Sun. The upper part of the Queen's staff (Wand) is covered with leaves, symbolizing life and revitalization. There is an opinion that the shape of the neckline of the Queen's dress indicates the astrological sign of Aries. The black cat depicted on the Arcana hints at magical knowledge, as well as the headstrong and independent nature of this Queen. The cat can also point to the dark (nocturnal) side of love (Venus is in detriment in Aries). The lions decorating her throne testify to great power and the strength of the decisions she has made. The mountains, similar to Egyptian pyramids, that we see on the card are a symbol of personal growth and greatness of spirit.

This Arcana symbolizes processes gaining strength. The "watery" fire of this Queen speaks of the integration of instincts (fire) into the realm of feelings (water). In the space of this card, the realization occurs that love, uniting sexuality and spirituality, is an expression of our inner creative will. She is capable of bestowing delight that erases all boundaries, making the impossible possible (an experience well known to anyone who has fallen in love and understood that reaching for a star from the sky is both possible and necessary...). In a mythological sense, the Queen of Wands corresponds to Aphrodite; the fiery seed and ocean foam correspond to the symbolism of Water and Fire that this card carries. Her spiritual task is to unite these elements and create an extremely personal image of the world.

The Queen of Wands is a business lady, and she favors the conduct of professional affairs. The card can mean a good time to start a new enterprise, or foretell meetings with superiors (the surrounding cards will suggest what will come of this). The Queen of Wands is strong, brave, and ready to deal with emerging problems independently, solving quite large-scale tasks. The card may report that the time has come to start working for oneself or to take on leadership responsibility.

The Queen of Wands oversees practically any work that is enjoyable, performed "with a spark," and relies on the innate inclinations of the querent. Often these are activities connected in one way or another with publicity, media, popularity, fame, the need to be among people, to make an impression, and to communicate convincingly. This can be anything from journalism to performing on stage. In any case, the Queen of Wands never feels like a victim, drearily and submissively dragging her feet to work just for a piece of bread. If she feels like one for even a moment, she will promptly pack her bags in search of a better lot. She will not persuade herself that it is "for someone's sake," "it will be better this way," etc., and so forth – that is not her style. The Queen of Wands is absolutely convinced that the main thing is the opportunity to realize oneself to the fullest, and everything else (money, projects, connections) will follow.

The Queen of Wands easily proves her superiority over others in various situations, so the card is a good omen for participation in contests, competitions, exhibitions, and similar events. She purposefully and tirelessly achieves her plans.

An auspicious sign for financial matters. The Queen of Wands does not mean money per se, but the opportunity to earn it by demonstrating professionally valuable qualities (energy, enthusiasm, assertiveness, savvy, courage).

The Queen of Wands is equally adept at living large and making do with Spartan little (if this is required by a stage on the path to achieving a goal).

The Queen of Wands is capable of productive and vibrant relationships, and at the same time is practically self-sufficient, as she depends very little on a partner. She is always her own person, open to everything new, and easy-going. This is self-sufficiency both within relationships and outside of them. It is precisely about an uncoupled Queen of Wands that one can say with a clear conscience, in the words of the French: "Mademoiselle does not travel alone, mademoiselle travels on her own." At the same time, once interested, she is capable of extraordinary deeds for the sake of the object of her love. This Queen will not sigh for years, hiding her feelings; she is brave and unafraid to take the initiative. She knows that she can achieve practically anything – one only has to truly want it and set the right accents (by the way, she handles the latter task much better than the King of Wands, since, like all Queens, she carries the flexible element of water). Her temperament, brilliance, and spiritual gift resonate with a wide variety of people, but above all – with the equally energetic and passionate. In the tradition of the Tarot of Marseilles, the lover of the Queen of Wands is the Knight of Wands, and in life, these two types really get along perfectly. They simply cannot help but like each other!

The Queen of Wands is distinguished by an exceptional (compared to other Queens) brilliance of pure, unsublimated sexual desire, well known and well understood by men. It is exactly this Queen who is capable (specifically if she desires it and by virtue of it) of having sex exclusively for the sake of sex, without trying to confuse, mask, or justify this impulse with love, calculation, or even personal success, as any other Queen would do. For her, sometimes sex is just sex. Nothing more, but nothing less either. At the same time, if she falls in love, her love will be very conscious and mature.

The Queen of Wands possesses exceptional willpower directed at changing and transforming the spirit of another person (whereas the King aims at life and the world as a whole). The Queen of Wands, like no one else, is capable of motivating her man to great deeds, fanning the flames of his ambitious aspirations. She does not belong to those women who dream of their chosen one sitting at their feet, never taking his enamored eyes off her. She is not interested in the man being near her - it seems much more important to her to be near him (and he must follow his own, exclusively destined path). His laurels, successes, victories, heroism, and even posthumous glory are what feed her fire. She is interested in being the woman of an outstanding man, so next to her, almost anyone risks becoming outstanding. She can forgive practically everything, except mediocrity.

The Queen of Wands is a kind and loyal friend, a woman one can marry (for a man, it is almost always a significator of the right choice of a life partner). She is characterized by warmth of heart, honesty, openness, passion, and devotion, a minimum of possessive feelings, benevolence, and understanding. In the space of this Arcana, the old truth comes alive that a good spouse (husband or wife) is, first of all, a good friend, a person with whom it is not scary to grow old. Growing old next to the Queen of Wands will also definitely not be boring! Here you can expect that retirement will be celebrated with a parachute jump, and the golden anniversary met "where no one has ever been before." The jealousy of the Queen of Wands is not so much sensual as purely psychological – she loves to reign and set the tone, and she can hardly bear the obvious interest and admiration of her partner for someone or something with which she, for whatever reason, finds it difficult to compete or compare.

The Queen of Wands embodies the archetype of the hetaera, the socialite, the woman as an inspirer. Children are usually of secondary importance to her and are not an end in themselves. She is genuinely concerned with aspirations such as achievements, individuation, and growth. From the point of view of the "feminine" elements of water or earth, her passions do not seem "real" for a woman, but the Queen of Wands is driven by the purely masculine impulse of Fire.

By and large, the Queen of Wands loves psychologically mature and inspiring relationships, mutual interest, equality, and the psychological justification of the connection (in any case, she will certainly not allow herself to be the passive victim of an alcoholic husband and the reasoning "where else will I find someone like him?", and deep down she will never understand those who do allow it).

The Queen of Wands is directly connected with kundalini energy, and therefore usually describes a fullness of vital forces, good health, high tone, excellent immunity, and vitality.

As an indicator of illness, like other Wands, it can point to inflammations and processes occurring with a high temperature, fever, burnout, and, additionally, to manic-depressive states.

The Reversed Queen of Wands is jealous, selfish, and arrogant. Most likely, her ambitions are unsatisfied, and her pride is wounded. The reversed Queen of Wands can turn into a veritable witch, vengeful and desperate, wrathful and malicious. In this case, the black cat (a symbol of mystery and wise waywardness, which we can see at the feet of the Queen of Wands) ends up "in the head," in the top position of the card – here, as they say, expect no good. She becomes like a black cat crossing your path... This figure is capable of exerting strong opposition to the querent. It is the archetype of the rival, the envious woman, the seductress, a sort of scheming bitch.

Since in the upright position the Queen of Wands describes a true friend, ready to help and be there in difficult times, despite difficulties and obstacles, the reversed card is an indicator of a quarrel with a friend or girlfriend, and problems with friendship in general.

While in the upright position the Queen of Wands always knows what she wants, in the reversed position she is an unbearable woman who wants something all the time, but doesn't know what it is herself. She loses her genuine self-confidence and her nobility, charisma, and charm, discrediting herself and her cause. Interpreters indicate that this is possibly a "business woman" sacrificing too much for an illusory idea. Hence discord in the family and a general failure of affairs. The card may indicate that what has been planned is clearly divorced from reality, and most likely the fulfillment of the desired is impossible. Astrological equivalents: Cancer, Capricorn, the Moon, Saturn.

The card can symbolize a person who, intentionally or not, discredits or undermines the authority of the querent, as well as an extremely eccentric and capricious person to whom they are connected. This could be a "hot" woman, arousing desire and interest, who knows how to protect her interests wholly and uncompromisingly, or a person whom they are trying to adapt to the surrounding social conditions, and who resists them.

The reversed Queen of Wands has to fight agonizingly to develop and assert herself. Sometimes this card serves as an indicator of good intentions that cannot be realized, failure to receive help, or goodwill in the absence of opportunities for its application.

With The Fool – a secret love affair

With the reversed The Lovers - betrayal/infidelity

With The Moon - betrayal/infidelity

With the Two of Wands – sorrow (from an ancient interpretation book)

With the reversed Three of Cups – betrayal by a female friend

Reversed before the reversed Ace of Swords – childbirth

Shakti

Catherine of Alexandria

Queen Elizabeth I

Minerva McGonagall from the Harry Potter tale

"Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it. Teaching is reminding others that they know just as well as you."