Knight of Wands

▲ Upright Meaning

The Knight of Wands is action in motion - bold, charismatic, impulsive, the fire of the suit charging headlong toward its desire. Where the Page discovers the spark, the Knight rides off with it, all energy and daring and forward charge. He is adventure, passion, and the magnetic confidence that sweeps others along; also the recklessness that leaps before it looks. To draw him is to meet fire on horseback - thrilling, dynamic, and not always wise. In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck an armoured knight on a rearing horse charges forward, his wand raised, his tunic and helmet plumed with salamanders and flame-like crests, a desert of pyramids behind him. The rearing horse is barely-contained energy and impulsive drive; the raised wand is passion in action; the salamanders again mark the fiery spirit. He is movement, daring, and the headlong pursuit of what excites him - the most dynamic of the suit's figures. Across the traditions the rank shifts in a way worth knowing. The Rider-Waite-Smith Knight corresponds to the Thoth Prince of Wands (the mounted, active prince) and to the Tarot de Marseille Cavalier de Bâtons, the mounted knight. In the Golden Dawn elemental scheme this rank is the airy part of fire - mind driving will, thought set ablaze into swift, sometimes restless action. He is fire made mobile, energy with somewhere to go but not always a plan for getting there. As a court card he can represent a person - a charismatic, adventurous, hot-blooded individual, often a young man full of drive and charm - or an energy: the impulse to act boldly, to travel, to pursue passion without hesitation. Etteilla and the cartomancers read the Cavalier as departure, a journey, or the arrival of an energetic person, sometimes a change of residence. The common thread is bold, mobile fire - adventure, passion, and headlong forward motion. In a reading the Knight of Wands counsels bold action and the pursuit of passion, tempered by awareness of his impulsive shadow. It favours adventure, travel, daring ventures, and the charismatic energy that inspires and persuades; it often marks a time to act with courage and verve. Its airy-fire nature gives it speed and drive, resonating with the swift building of the waxing moon. It reminds the querent that fortune often favours the bold - while quietly warning that the bold must still look where they are charging.