King of Wands At A Glance
Keywords: Peak creativity, strong control over emotions, passionate leader, visionary, forceful, domineering, powerless, weak leader
Season: Summer
Element: Fire (creativity, passion and will power)
King of Wands Tarot Card Description
The King of Wands is a court court in the suit of Wands within the Rider Waite Smith system of tarot. The original art depicts an elegantly dressed king sitting in side profile upon a tall throne.
The throne is carved with the familiar lion and salamander emblems that this suit is linked with. These are present because the lion is a symbol of strength and confidence and the salamander signifies transformation.
This salamander is eating its own tail as an Ouroboros does. The Ouroboros is a symbol of infinity so these together mean infinite transformation through fire (through action and determination.)
He sits in side profile assuming the pose associated with strong leaders and powerful people. By his feet crawls a real salamander showing the symbols of the king’s suit is not merely words, he embodies these ethos’s with every thought and action.
He is completely aligned and at peace with his purpose in life.
King of Wands Upright Meaning
When we receive the King of Wands in its upright form it is an incredibly lucky omen. A king is the highest authority and with this position comes immense riches, glory and power but also strict duty and responsibilities.
Whenever we see a king or queen of any suit in our readings we are being advised to act in alignment with our best selves.
All of the kings and queens remind us that we can achieve this by acting with the attributes of their particular suits. Wands are fire, creativity and passion.
So in the case of the King of Wands we are being advised that to act in alignment with our highest selves we must utilize our passion and creativity. We must make room for the things that gives our lives purpose and perform these to the best of our ability.
Creativity within tarot does not only meaning painting or art. It is a state of mind. Anytime we think differently about a solution or experiment we are being creative. The King of Wands like all court cards can depict real people in our lives.
In this case the King of Wands represents someone who has good leadership skills and is warm and creative. They have a rich and varied background that has given them so much life experience and the advice they give is sage and wise.
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” - Maya Angelou
King of Wands Reversed Meaning
When the King of Wands comes to us reversed we see the negative side of this archetype and persona. The King of Wands could now represent someone in our lives who is forceful in nature and domineering.
If they hold a leadership position or any authority they may abuse this power. They may have a corrupt world view which they try to enact through their actions.
Just as in the upright aspect the King of Wands is totally aligned their thoughts and actions and if these thoughts are corrupt there could be very dire consequences for those under the power of this personality.
The King of Wands reversed can also represent these attributes within ourselves. We may feel ourselves heading down a path that does not serve us but feel determined to follow through and sub-consciously sabotage our best efforts.
We may unknowingly be acting from a place of corruption but it feels just and right to us. The King of Wands reversed says we are sometimes our own worst enemy without even realizing it.
“Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.” - George Lois
King of Wands: Yes or No
The King of Wands is a yes card when upright. It asks us to act responsibly and use our passion and creativity for the greater good.
However if reversed the King of Wands is a no because even our best intentions could become warped or corrupted in certain circumstances and we should take care to periodically check on these intentions and thoughts.
Let’s Break Down the King of Wands In Our Lives
How the King of Wands guides us in readings about the specific areas of our lives.
King of Wands In Love
When we meet the King of Wands in love readings it can foretell us meeting someone new who exudes a strong sense of emotional maturity. They are wise and passionate about their career.
They may be creative and/or express fair and just leadership qualities and they give amazing advice. This person could come to hold either a romantic or platonic position in our lives. Either way they will have profound positive effects upon us.
Reversed the King of Wands may arrive in our lives as a domineering and jealous lover if we are single. If this is our partner we may experience power struggles and reductive bickering.
King of Wands With Money
When we see the King of Wands in financial readings we are being guided to align our mind and body through intentional thought and action. This will quickly manifest our idea and lead to an increase in funds and resources.
Reversed the King of Wands warns us not to be tempted to keep following an old plan that no longer works and seeing negative financial results. If we fail it will be because of our unwillingness to adapt to the circumstances.
King of Wands At Work
The King of Wands in career questions is a very positive confirmation from the universe that we are in sight of a promotion or reaching the highest position available in our career or chosen field.
We are driven by a deep motivation within us. This card expresses the feeling of striving for excellence for excellence’s sakes.
Reversed the King of Wands warns of temporary set backs and delays that are caused by our own stubbornness or close-mindedness. There are options to take but we are refusing to consider any of them.
We must approach this situation with a fresh perspective and compromise somewhere in order to improve matters.
King of Wands With Others
The King of Wands in answer to social questions suggests spending more time with loved ones and participating in more social events that center around our passions and creative hobbies.
Bonding with others on a deeper level can remedy almost any hardship we are facing.
Reversed the King of Wands speaks of feeling unwilling to let ourselves be seen as vulnerable. We are in danger of pushing others away due to a fear of them seeing our insecurities.
Or we might be trying to control others because of fear of abandonment or past trauma. We must let down our guard and allow others to show their love.
King of Wands With Self
The King of Wands in introspective readings centers around advising us to pursue more creative endeavors or hobbies that build our elf-esteem and confidence.
It can also signify that we are seeing progress after a long time spent doing the healing work.
Reversed the King of Wands forewarns that we could be further worsening our self-esteem due to the negative inner-talk and negative views we hold about ourselves.
We may come to wrongly believe the lies we have retell ourselves over and over but we must quickly break the cycle of this by forcefully injecting positive thoughts until they drown out the negative.
King of Wands As Feelings
The King of Wands feels like pride and accomplishment attained by chasing our dreams and passions.
It can also suggest our mind frame becoming warped and knocking us down instead of bringing us up.
