Four of Wands
From the four great staves planted in the foreground there is a great garland suspended; two female figures uplift nosegays; at their side is a bridge over a moat, leading to an old manorial house. Divinatory Meanings: 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.
A. E. Waite, Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1911)
Friends of strength and creative vision and deep feeling and clever mind brought you here. It is a solid base and benefits are already evident. It is a time of reward for efforts made. This domestic fire is a constant and active energy. One finds security and confidence in creative abilities, friendship and strong ties. So we have open opportunity or closed security. Beauty and harmony is the ideal and everyone wants to have a good taste, but this is narrow-minded and leads to stubbornness or to look for something objective.
4 of Fire: Participation
Each figure in this mandala holds the right hand up, in an attitude of receiving, and the left hand down, in an attitude of giving. The whole circle creates a tremendous energy field that takes on the shape of the double dorje, the Tibetan symbol for the thunderbolt. The mandala has a quality like that of the energy field that forms around a buddha, where all the individuals taking part in the circle make a unique contribution to create a unified and vital whole. It is like a flower, whose wholeness is even more beautiful than the sum of its parts, at the same time enhancing the beauty of each individual petal.
You have an opportunity to participate with others now to make your contribution to creating something greater and more beautiful than each of you could manage alone. Your participation will not only nourish you, but will also contribute something precious to the whole.
Tarot of the Ages - Mario Garizio ©1988 U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
The applied and established strength of the Two and Three leads to the first stage of completion and rest, shown in the Four of Wands. This is a time to look back on all that you have done and be glad that you have done it. This would seem to very many people like a wholly positive card, but there is a conflict between the dynamic expansion of the Wands and the very restrictive and limiting numnber four. This shows primarily that, while success can be enjoyed for a while, you cannot rest on your laurels. You must never stop growing, learning, and living.
This card can celebrate many things that are appropriate to the Wands suit; the initial success of a business venture, a good start at a creative project or the blossoming of a friendship or relationship. Marriage and childbirth are often predicted by an appearance by this card. Encompassing all of these ideas is the maxim that hard work pays off in the end, and the Four of Wands is the card of rewards for those who've worked to the best of their ability. The Four of Wands has strong ties, surprisingly enough, to Justice, because it shows that hard work is rewarded, in the end. This card is also tied to Justice in another way, because it shows the strong establishment of order. The Four of Wands shows the easy and natural flow of a life in balance, and it challenges you to go out and create such a balanced lifestyle for yourself. This card also defines the end of a cycle and the start of the next, and this can be proven with a bit of symbology. In the Rider-Waite deck, the castle that was sought in the Ace is now the scene of the celebration. The Four therefore shows a time when it appears you have achieved the goal that you set for yourself.
Or have you? As mentioned, the nature of fire is to constantly keep growing into new territories, but for now the creative urge has died down. When there is success but no urge to move on, the situation could slip into a state of laziness and even decadence. Work will have to begin again, and this work must be energized with another burst of energy. If you are wise, you would take the emotional "high" that has been generated by this time of celebration and divert it back into your work to power the next inevitable phase of growth. Enjoy the party, but keep an eye on the clock, and be ready to leave when you have to.
Tarot of the Dream Enchantress ©2009 Lo Scarabeo