Tag - two of wands meaning in tarot

Two of Wands

Two of Wands

Suit: Wands
Element: Fire
Function: The Will, Action, Creativity, and Initiation

A man, possibly a traveler, holds the globe in his right hand and a wand in his left hand as he looks out past the shoreline, past the city, and over the vast ocean. He stares intently, holding the world, literally in his hands.

Under the left wand is a square made of two lilies and two roses. The two roses represent the balance of magic and desire to impose one’s will on the world, while the two lilies represent the balance of purity and allowing things to be.

The Two of Wands is about the balance of exerting the will and allowing things to be. Notice that the man is cradling the world in his hands, not clutching it greedily. There is a staff attached to the wall next to him. If he wanted, he could hold that, too. It will always be there for him. He knows that.

His hat is red, symbolizing passion and lust for life, and he wears orange clothes, symbolizing his enthusiasm for being alive and a thirst for adventure. This is a man ready for action. He’s not going out half-cocked, and he isn’t afraid to go into the unknown or the undiscovered.

The Two of Wands is the next step from the Ace of Wands. This is action that is planned and executed. The Two of Wands represents strategy behind action, when balance in needed. The Two of Wands is the careful timing, planning, behind all well-executed adventures.

Whenever this card shows up in a spread, the querent is not being told to act now or to wait, but to plan and hone. It tells the querent to wait for the right time to make a move. The man holding the globe could technically go at any time, but the right time depends on things out of his control, like the weather, the ocean, the condition of a ship, and the crew who goes with him. One thing goes wrong, and it all goes wrong.

But if the querent has everything they need, and has left no detail ignored, then success is all but given.

When Reversed:

When Two of Wands is reversed, the querent is either prone to haste and sloppiness or is so bogged down in getting the details right that they fail to ever make a move, even when the time couldn’t be better.

The querent is paralyzed and refuses to act. This may be a sign of classic failure to launch, where a young person refuses to go through the rites of passage expected of them when heading toward adulthood.

This may also indicate underachievement, where a person figuratively has the world in their hands, and all the advantages at their disposal, but doesn’t do anything with it. They just stay where they’re comfortable, letting the world go by, living in their own little castle.

To that end, the querent may not only be an underachiever, but think more of themselves than their actual accomplishments should let them.

In a three-card reading, this card means…

Past: The querent was careful to plan their lives or some other great venture and succeeded. It has led them to the present, where the next adventure lies.

Present: Currently, the querent is waiting for the right time to pounce. They’re being shrewd and observant. They’ll be ready to take off any moment.

Future: Something in the querent’s life has been leading up to a point where they have to make a move. They’ll realize this and plan their departure or attack in the near future.