The Four of Wands stands for benevolence or grace on the spiritual level (wands). Four of Wands upright: kindness. Four of Wands reversed: indulgence.
Few people are aware of the power of benevolence. And there’s no proper name for it yet.
Grace measures its benevolent influence. It gives us exactly what we need at the right time. Recollect your past carefully. You will find that you have always gotten what you needed and that at the right moment. And often you didn’t know what you needed until you got it. We easily miss grace because we are too occupied with what we want.
Benevolence works incessantly but beneath the surface. Usually, we notice its effects after it caused a change. For this reason, a virtue related to this Tarot card is patience.
When the Four of Wands shows up in a reading that pertains to an undertaking, it indicates that the universe got the querent’s back and that the querent will have wind in her sails, but that the querent also needs to be patient to let benevolence do its work.
If the Four of Wands shows up in a reading that pertains to adversity, the adversity in question is a blessing in disguise.
We may misuse the power of benevolence if we don’t measure it. If we only love a child and never discipline it, it will grow up weak. Cancer falls into that category. A cancer is a malignant growth of sick cells that the body – for some reason – doesn’t eliminate.
Four of Wands Symbolism
The picture shows four wands arranged in a square, which suggests order.
The universe is a benevolent, orderly system. It is also rational and we can calculate its progressions. If you align your personal interests with cosmic interests, you can increase the influx of benevolence into your life.
Grace works in mysterious ways. It can put us in the right place at the right time, connect us to helpful and/or influential people, send guidance our way, concoct synchronicities, drop opportunities at our doorstep, and arrive in some form of good luck.
The Five Psychological Core Meanings of the Four of Wands
We derive the psychological meanings of Tarot cards from their position on the Tree of Life.
According to the Enlightenment Tarot framework, the Four of Wands represents Chesed of Tiphareth, i.e., grace on the intentional-spiritual level of human expression.
Every Tarot card represents a faculty or power of consciousness. We can use faculties of consciousness constructively and destructively, which produce either a fortunate or an adverse state of mind. Hence, every Tarot card has five core meanings.
The five core meanings of the Four of Wands are:
- Faculty of consciousness: Benevolence
- Positive use: Kindness
- Negative use: Leniency
- Favorable internal experience: Grace
- Adverse internal experience: Disgrace
Reflective Questions
If the Four of Wands appears in your spread, you may want to ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I receptive to grace?
- Am I grateful for my life and experiences? MInd that gratitude invites grace.
- Do I have faith in the benevolent operation of the universe?
- Do I practice enough kindness?
Summary
The Four of Wands calls for practicing kindness. Kindness is not just politeness. Kindness is the active exercise of benevolence. Hence, kindness is one of the highest skills a human can gain.
Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. — Dalai Lama
Where Do Tarot Card Meanings actually Come From?
The meanings of Tarot cards come from various sources. The most common are:
- The position of the Tarot cards on the Tree of Life
- Astrological correspondences (signs, planets, & houses)
- The symbolism of Tarot cards
- Intuition
- Meanings that pertain to fortune-telling
Most of the Tarot card meanings you can google are astrological correspondences and go back to the Golden Dawn and Arthur Edward Waite. Astrological meanings dominate at present because Astrology is a divination tool and favors fortune-telling. But these meanings are unsuitable for (psychological) Tarot readings.
If you are interested in an overview of the astrological correspondences, you can download a high-resolution chart by subscribing to the Enlightenment Tarot.
Tarot card meanings are a bit of a mess since the meanings that pertain to their position on the Tree of Life are mixed up with astrological correspondences, symbolic interpretations, and fortune-telling connotations. That’s tedious to memorize. Further, tarotists’ opinions, knowledge, and linguistic backgrounds shaped some of these interpretations. Last but not least, many meanings are fuzzy, contradictory, and overlap. If you want to understand why they overlap, read the article How to Deal With the Overlapping Meanings of Tarot cards.
The meanings of the Enlightenment Tarot are based on an objective, holistic framework: the Tree of Life and the four levels of human expression. The resulting meanings are transparent and logical, and hence, easier to memorize.
What do Various Tarotists Say about the Meanings of the Four of Wands?
Before we examine the Enlightenment Tarot framework, let’s explore what different tarotists said about the Four of Wands.
Usually, tarotists consider the astrological significances of Tarot cards. The Four of Wands represents the third decanate of Aries, sub-ruled by Sagittarius and Jupiter. Mind Chesed emanates the 21nd path, illustrated by the Wheel of Fortune. This path is associated with Jupiter.
What Paul Foster Case Said About the Meanings of the Four of Wands
For the Four of Wands, Paul Foster Case offers the keyword perfected work.
He gives the following auspicious meanings: success through personal merit, the perfection of something built up after labor, and gain after uncertainty.
All these are consequences of patient work and properly timed business transactions. But Paul’s use of the word work and labor is questionable. Work and labor are bodily matters. The Four of Wands represents a spiritual, intentional power. The Four of Wands indicates that the querent is at the beginning of a series of fortunate events if she times, plans, manages, and executes her undertaking properly. She will still have to wrack her brain, toil, fail and learn, and persist persist persist to prevail over periods of uncertainty and achieve the desired result in the external world.
Paul gives the following inauspicious meanings: loss in the same things, loss in consequence of unpreparedness or by hasty action. Mind the phrase hasty action, which is the opposite of patience.
Paul adds that the Four of Wands can indicate good social standing, influential friends, and graceful interaction with other people. This goes back to Jupiter vibes of the third Aries decanate. Those who have an auspicious Jupiter position in their charts have deep compassion for their fellowmen, are graceful, forgiving, and philanthropic. The best leaders are empathetic and benevolent, like Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela. People love such men and women and hold them in high esteem.
Last but not least, Paul says this card indicates benefit through travel, shipping and business with foreign countries. This goes back to the ninth house of long-distance travel and higher education. The ninth house is the natural house of Sagittarius, the third decanate of Aries, ruled by Jupiter.
What Arthur Edward Waite Said About the Meanings of the Four of Wands
Usually, Tarot cards picture the positive use of the power of consciousness they represent. The minor arcana of the Rider-Waite Tarot picture positive and negative applications. This carries some risk. Negative imagery offers a negative suggestion to the querent’s ego and subconsciousness, which may lead to a negative manifestation down the line. That’s why the Enlightenment Tarot uses geometrical arrangements of wand, cup, sword, and pentacles for the minor arcana as well as positive, psychological titles.
Arthur offers the key meanings of unexpected good fortune. Good fortune is another name for grace and since we are usually not conscious of the working of grace on the spiritual level, this keyword hits the mark.
Having said that, the Jupiter influence has to do with cyclic movements, which we can time. For those who know how to harness the power of Jupiter, good fortune does not come as a surprise.
But graceful tidings take place all the time, and Jupiter puts us — seemingly unexpectedly — at the right place in the right time. If you want to be at the right place and time more often, practice timing, i.e., Feng Shui or horary Astrology.
Arthur thinks that the Four of Wands predicts beautiful children for a married woman. That’s fortune telling, so no comment. But there is a grain of truth here, if one thinks of children as a married woman’s fortune.
According to Arthur, his card shall also indicate country life, a haven of refuge, a species of domestic harvest-home, repose, concord, harmony, prosperity, peace, increase, felicity, beauty, and embellishment. Can you see the benevolent power of Jupiter behind these things? However, most of these meanings pertain to the external world and make more sense for the Four of Pentacles.
What Etteilla Said About the Meanings of the Four of Wands
Etteilla, a French occultist and the first known professional tarotist, gives the favorable meanings of contract, agreement, and prosperity.
Prosperity aligns with the benevolent power of the Four of Wands. But contracts and agreements are more on the severity side of the Tree of Life, meaning the 3’s, 5’s, or 8’s.
Mind also that the 7th house, the house of contract and legal proceedings, is the native house of Libra, and the path related to Libra is Karma/Justice, which emanates from Geburah, the sphere of necessity on the Tree of Life.
What Papus Said About the Meanings of the Four of Wands
Papus, another French occultist and the founder of the Martinist Order, offers the meaning obstacles to be prepared for. An obstacle is a manifestation of adversity, and adversity belongs to the severity side of the Tree of Life. If he’d said, “tidings to be prepared for”, that would have made more sense.
Jupiter governs all cycles: cosmic, geographical, biological, mental, and spiritual. If we get to know a cycle, we can predict the future to a small extend. This is summed up in the phrase history rhymes. Seasoned farmers can predict the weather. Experienced women detect hidden red flags and can predict disloyalty. Expert investors keep their eyes on overvaluations and can predict impending market corrections. But mind that such predictions don’t lend themselves to exact timing. Experienced people know what’s coming, but they can’t tell exactly when.
Trying to time the stock market was, is, and will be gambling, which is the opposite of timing.
What Gregor Mather Said About the Meanings of the Four of Wands
MacGregor Mather, the founder of the Golden Dawn, claims that the Four of Wands represents society, union, association, concord, harmony, as well as prosperity, success, happiness, and advantage.
These are astrological meanings that pertain to the influence of Jupiter, which promotes both fortune and social standing.
Having said that, the term success is a bit off. Success is a matter of the seventh Sephirah, Netzach, which means victory. Success is a temporary thing and can be forced. Striking a victory is differs from using Jupiter’s continuous, benevolent, expanding influence.
What Mme. Le Marchand Said About the Meanings of the Four of Wands
Mme. Le Marchand, a 19t century, celebrated Parisian fortune teller, said the Four of Wands indicates that someone will slander and deceive the querent, but that this will turn out for her advantage. Somewhere someone waiting for her and she should not let him wait in vain.
This is mostly fortune telling, so, no comment. But it aligns with Paul’s concept of gain after uncertainty. It also aligns with the Jupitarian virtue of proper timing, like that one should neither let people wait in vain, nor ignore opportunities.
The Psychological Framework of the Enlightenment Tarot
Every Tarot card represents a faculty of consciousness. We can use a faculty of consciousness constructively and destructively. This produces favorable and adverse experiences.
We can express faculties of consciousness on four levels:
- The spiritual level (wands/fire/intention)
- The creative-feely level (cups/water/imagination)
- The intellectual level (swords/air/intelligence)
- The bodily level (pentacles/earth/bodily action)
The four tools on the magician’s table symbolize these four levels:
- The wand (spiritual)
- The cup (creative-feely)
- The sword (intellectual)
- The pentagram (bodily)
These tools correspond to the four so-called elements: fire, water, air, and earth.
For this reason, the Enlightenment Tarot wands are made of fire, the cups consist of water, and the pents are made of earth. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to illustrate something made of air, since air is invisible. For that reason, all swords are made of crystal to show at least transparency.
The Enlightenment Tarot derives its meaning from the Tree of Life and the four levels of human expression. This is an objective, holistic framework that reveals the psychological imports of Tarot cards and their faculties of consciousness. Read more about this framework in the article The Psychological Framework of the Enlightenment Tarot.
The Enlightenment Tarot project attempts to rediscover the original meanings of the Tarot cards that pertain to their position on the Tree of Life. These meanings are simple, clear, and easy to memorize.
Do you want to Learn more About The Enlightenment Tarot?
If you want to delve deep into the psychological meanings of Tarot cards, read the book Tarot of Life.
If you are curious about how the Enlightenment Tarot came about, read this article.
If you are interested in learning how to perform psychological Tarot readings, subscribe to receive a free copy of a guide on how to perform psychological Tarot readings.
If you are looking for a psychological Tarot deck, you came to the right place. The Enlightenment Tarot derives the cards’ meanings from a holistic and transparent framework that is easy to learn and memorize. All major and minor arcana carry psychological titles, and the court cards display psychological profiles. Have a look at the Enlightenment Tarot deck here.
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