Llewellyn's Complete Book of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot

by Sasha Graham

  In You

  The Knight of Wands is activated when you get really excited. He’s the telephone call bringing you unexpected good news. He’s the thrill rolling through your body when you lock eyes with an attractive stranger. He’s a runner’s high and endorphin rush. The Knight of Wands is activated when booking a spur-of-the-moment trip to an exotic destination or a last-minute impulse plan. You’ll harness this powerful energy when gathering strength and pushing through the end of a truly challenging task. You also harness his power when you help others. He’s that last burst of energy sending you over the finish line of a project or effort.

  In Others

  The Knight of Wands is the ultimate hotshot. He is captivating to behold when he crosses our path. His incendiary nature grants him extraordinary charisma. He’s extremely fiery and impetuous, and as such, he glows from the inside out. It’s flat-out sexy. His intense energy can be observed in athletes, actors, and take-charge types. He’ll often work in physically demanding jobs like construction or the military as an outlet for his energy. He’s a romantic player on and off the field. He’ll seduce many and stick around for none. The Knight of Wands lets every emotion play across his face. He contains no filter. Because he operates on a high level, it means no one knows what he might do next, least of all himself.

  Symbolic

  A red plume explodes from the knight’s helmet like a burst of flame. Scarlet gloves cover his fingers. Flames leap from his arms, reflecting a “fired up” individual who is literally hot to the touch. He wears bright yellow costuming covered with black salamanders. His sheath of protective armor, a symbol of security and the history of battle, covers his vulnerable skin. Pyramids in the background denote ancient spiritual knowledge and divinity. The scorched desert sands he gallops across reflect the element of fire. Waite reminds the reader, “The motion of the core is a key to the character of its rider, and suggests the precipitate mood, or things connected with.” A horse always indicates the energy of the situation at hand. The Knight of Wands’ horse displays a charging, expansive energy that threatens to rage out of control. The energy is fast and immediate. Consider yourself warned.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Departure, absence, flight, emigration. A dark young man, friendly. Change of residence.

  Reversed: Rupture, division, interruption, discord.

  Queen of Wands

  Book T Title: Queen of the Thrones of Fire

  Elemental Counterchange: Water (Queen) of Fire (Wands),

  Queen of the Salamanders

  Astrological: Aries (Cardinal Fire)

  What Iris cliffs overhang her path, what towers,

  White argent, crumble down,

  And scatter shards and glitter sparks in showers:

  One gems her like a crown.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  General

  The Queen of Wands is the goddess of fire. She embodies mature female passion. It is a passion understanding itself, rather than the rush of excitement felt in younger years. It is the maturity and knowledge to embrace, engage, and cultivate the evolution of passion into its highest and deepest levels. The art of cultivating passion is akin to any other discrimination and discernment. Once passion is harnessed, it can be fully explored and experienced in limitless ways. The Queen of Wands feels and exudes passion in all its manifestations, from ecstatic sexual love to spiritual ecstasy to the nurturing love of family and friends. The Queen of Wands generates fire through her actions, devotions, and work.

  In You

  The Queen of Wands is activated inside of you during incendiary moments where you push past personal barriers and take charge. While the Knight of Wands raises passion, the queen executes it and expands it in proactive and marked ways. She reflects taking what you love and putting it to work in the world. She is you working with certainty toward things you desire, respect, and admire, enjoying every delicious step of the way. You brainstorm for your business and reach out to others. You make phone calls and create action plans. You put out the feelers for like-minded allies. You shop for supplies, gather what’s needed, and lead by example. You know what you love has the ability to transform the world just as it has transformed yourself.

  In Others

  The Queen of Wands is a firecracker. She’s the emotive actress (think Julia Roberts in an emotional scene) and passionate performance artist. She’s the “fun mom,” often wearing flashy clothes and colorful makeup. She usually looks younger than her age. She is a true queen who enjoys coronation ceremonies, putting on a show, and being the center of attention. She is a compelling and life-changing teacher or professor. She brings forth qualities from you that you didn’t know were there. She shows you the best parts of yourself.

  Symbolic

  Waite tells us, “The Queen’s personality corresponds to that of the King, but is more magnetic.” The queen’s magnetism is marked by her sunflower, a symbol denoting the manifested beauty of the sun. Her black cat reflects loyalty, magic, and charisma. Feline qualities also include the power of transformation and sensual beauty. The cat carries the message of aloofness and a “look but don’t touch” quality. You will be inspired by this queen, yet she sometimes seems distant. You can’t hold her or capture or contain her any more than you can hold a live flame in the palm of your hand. Better to admire from afar. Bask in the heat, beauty, and sustenance from a safe distance.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: A dark woman, countrywoman, friendly, chaste, loving, honourable. If the card beside her signifies a man, she is well disposed toward him; if a woman, she is interested in the Querent. Also, love of money, or a certain success in business.

  Reversed: Good, economical, obliging, serviceable. Signifies also—but in certain positions and in the neighbourhood of other cards tending in such directions—opposition, jealousy, even deceit and infidelity.

  King of Wands

  Book T Title: Prince of the Chariot of Fire

  Elemental Counterchange: Air (King) of Fire (Wands),

  Prince and Emperor of Salamanders

  Astrological: Leo (Fixed Fire)

  Stars be his pathway and suns his track,

  For the King comes forth and the King goes back!

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  General

  The King of Wands is the commander of fire and enjoys extraordinarily charismatic powers. Imagine for a moment what it means to command and control the element of fire. The King of Wands holds the power to heal or destroy, nurture or incinerate. As a steward of the flame, he leads with sweltering emotion. His personality is volatile. He is quick to anger and equally apt to dissolve into fits of laughter. Once his sights are set, there is no stopping him. He works in conjunction with his queen by utilizing all of her expansive energy and reining it in at just the right moment. He is a visionary, a rock star, and an individual who alters the landscape of the world.

  In You

  The King of Wands is activated in you when taking a leadership position in a passion project. He is you in the act of seduction. The queen languishes and intermingles inside the mystery and quality of intense energy, while the king has his eye set firmly on the goal. No games. Nothing held back. No fear. He states what he wants, why he wants it, and how he wants it. You embody the King of Wands when you are relentless in a scorching pursuit of desire.

  In Others

  King of Wand’s energy is as spiritual as it is sexual. He’s the preacher man and the rock star. He spouts fire and brimstone as easily as he sings and grinds to an arena full of screaming fans. The King of Wands carries a guru quality due to his charisma and belief in his convictions, deeds, and words. The King of Wands is the center of attention and loves it. He is a political hero leading people to freedom. Anyone who uses the passion, fire, and spirit of their guiding flame to move the world embodies the King of Wands.

  Symbolic


  Waite points out the King of Wands “connects with the symbol of the lion, emblazoned on the back of his throne.” The lion is a symbol of strength and solar energy. Waite also describes this king in “The Tarot: A Wheel of Fortune” by saying he is “ardent, equitable, noble, and represents goodness blended with severity.” This old-fashioned, patriarchal idea of kindness blended with harshness when it is for a person’s own good is an antiquated Victorian ideal of masculinity. A loyal salamander is placed next to his throne. Salamanders often blend in to avoid detection from predators, while some salamanders project their toxic and dangerous nature by showing orange, red, and black colors. The king is adorned with salamander colors, reflecting his desire to assert his personality and nature. He warns would-be enemies not to cross his path or they will suffer dire consequences. The green collar at his neck and emerald slippers represent the manifestation inherent in wands. He is the fire that breeds results.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Dark man, friendly, countryman, generally married, honest and conscientious. The card always signifies honesty, and may mean news concerning an unexpected heritage to fall in before very long.

  Reversed: Good, but severe; austere, yet tolerant.

  Page of Cups

  Book T Title: Princess of the Waters, the Lotus of the Palace of the Floods

  Elemental Counterchange: Earth (Page) of Water (Cups), Empress of the Nymphs or Undines, Throne of the Ace of Cups

  Astrological: Season of Autumn

  Stage Card

  At every gateway of our dream

  Her echo or her rumor seems;

  A tale upon the point of telling

  A prophecy for ever spelling.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  General

  The Page of Cups, the youth of water, evokes a unique and sensitive character. She carries the playful, fluid, and curious nature assigned to the element of water. Water gifts her with heightened intuition and psychic flashes. She does not differentiate between the “real” world and the psychic world because of her innocence. A ghostly presence in her room is as real to her as her best friend. The Page of Cups is the ultimate empath who absorbs the emotions of others, sometimes confusing them for her own. The Page of Cups is a dreamer, spending hours alone in her bedroom, playing or looking out the window, watching the billowing white clouds float past. She is joyful in her actions. Her emotional filter is like a sieve, and she holds no emotion back—they flow like water through her. She is given to emotional outbursts that pass away as quickly as they came.

  In You

  The Page of Cups activates inside you when playful and open. Insights rush into your awareness. It is the quality of playing with a child. It is the openness occurring when couples horse around in love, the silly open space of play and safety and goofiness. It is the place of artistic play and experimentation where the actors rehearse, the painter collects images and inspiration. This safe space is an open ground for creative manifestation. Nothing is off-limits for the Page of Cups, and her qualities fill you when safely enjoying a space of vulnerability and joy.

  In Others

  The Page of Cups is the artsy and interesting girl who loves the theater, cultural events, and literature. She is often found engaging in activities allowing self-expression and her rich and varied emotions. She falls in love at the drop of a hat. The Page of Cups makes a dear friend whose advice is kind and effective. She notices qualities and traits in you that others miss. It often seems like she’s the only person who really “gets” you. She’s the most likely to contact you out of the blue the moment you need a friend to lean on. She communicates with the animal world and has a menagerie of pets. She’s often found writing, photographing her adventures, and at the theater.

  Symbolic

  The cheeky fish popping out of the cup is a symbol of psychic vision. Like the Seven of Cups, where each cup holds a magnificent mirage, so do we see the comical vision of a talking fish. Waite tells us, “It is pictures of the mind taking form.” The Page of Cups is assigned the elemental counterchange of Empress of the Nymphs, who are feminine spirits of the natural world. These mini goddesses and minor deities sprang into mythology from lakes, springs, seas, rivers, and waterfalls and morphed into the European tradition of the spirits who inhabit elemental water.

  The Page of Cups wears a fourteenth-century tunic and roundlet hat, as does the Page of Pentacles. This was a popular and extravagant style of clothing for men worn under the reign of Henry VIII. It was meant to convey wealth and well-being. The lotus flowers on her tunic are the Golden Dawn symbol for the suit of water. The water painted on the scrim and the fish are additional water symbols.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Fair young man, one impelled to render service and with whom the Querent will be connected; a studious youth; news, message; application, reflection, meditation; also these things directed to business.

  Reversed: Taste, inclination, attachment, seduction, deception, artifice.

  Knight of Cups

  Book T Title: The Lord of the Waves and the Waters, the King of the Hosts of the Sea

  Elemental Counterchange: Fire (Knight) of Water (Cups), King of the Undines and Nymphs

  Astrological: Pisces (Mutable Water)

  When I have seen the sunset smoke,

  My heart has longed for thee!

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  General

  The Knight of Cups evokes the dreamy quality of water. All knights invoke offerings and indicate romance; however, the Knight of Cups is the archetypal romantic suitor ready to sweep you off your feet. Their appearance suggests action and motion. The horse’s gait on any knight card can be used to determine the quality and pace of action surrounding any situation. The Knight of Cup’s gentle horse lifts a single hoof. This is a slow and thoughtful energy. He’s not moving fast, if at all. The Knight of Cups sometimes reflects the heart and soul of an artist who is forced into a “practical” profession.

  In You

  The Knight of Cups appears in you when you feel you have a message in need of delivery. It is the card of gift and praise giving. When you approach others in kind and loving ways, you emulate the Knight of Cups. The Knight of Cups is activated when you are charming toward another, using words and gestures to make the other feel like putty in your hands. His presence suggests deep emotion that will be acted upon in the near future.

  In Others

  He is the dreamer and a high-level poet, artist, and sensitive soul. He’s the mate who sings your praises, cries at the drop of a hat, and anticipates your every need. He is a deep and emotional lover. As the Prince of Water, he is supportive and brings a soft touch to any situation. He is, at times, duplicitous, offering little more than charming words and the vapor in his cup. If he appears in a reading as a potential romance, caution should be exercised until his true motives are revealed.

  Symbolic

  Ornate armor covers the Knight of Cups, suggesting experience in battle. The wings of Hermes sprout from his helmet and heels. Hermes is the messenger god. Hermes’ wings are a specific reference to speed, incoming intelligence, mail, deliveries, phone calls, and news. Fish are embroidered into his tunic and are emblematic of the suit of cups, the element of water, and the zodiacal sign of Pisces, which he represents. The landscape is desert-like with the sand and rock with orange and yellow hues. A blue river meanders through the landscape like the Death card’s river. The knight brings water to the thirsty landscape. He is like a cool, refreshing drink and helps all things become fruitful and lush.

  Waite focuses heavily on the dreamlike quality of this card. If the Page of Cups’ imagination took shape as the fish in her cup, perhaps the Knight of Cups has imagined his entire landscape. Waite says, while referring to the knight, “He too is a dreamer, but the images of the side of sense haunt him in his vision.” Waite also describes the knight as “gr
aceful, but not warlike; riding quietly.” Waite’s definition falls in line with the Book T, which describes him as “sensual” but also as “idle and untruthful.” Waite lifts his divinatory definitions almost word for word from Mathers’s The Tarot pamphlet, which states the Knight of Cups’ upright meaning as “Arrival, Approach, Advance” and the reversal as “Abuse of confidence, fraud, Cunning.” The reader may decide for herself if the knight gazes into or past the cup.

  Waite’s Divinatory Meanings: Arrival, approach—sometimes that of a messenger; advances, proposition, demeanour, invitation, incitement.

  Reversed: Trickery, artifice, subtlety, swindling, duplicity, fraud.

  Queen of Cups

  Book T Title: Queen of the Thrones of the Waters

  Elemental Counterchange: Water (Queen) of Water (Cups),

  Queen of Nymphs or Undines

  Astrological: Cancer (Cardinal Water)

  And the sea, with melodious roar,

  For ever and ever responds on the long, pulsating shore.

  Arthur Waite, Collected Poems

  General

  The Queen of Cups is the goddess of water, queen of the mermaids, and empress of the sea. She represents mature female energy and is the most empathetic card in the deck. The ocean’s depths reflect her understanding of the animal, vegetable, and human experience. She sits with a sacred chalice, the most ornate and only closed cup of the entire deck. She holds the full extent of cup qualities. She is soft and malleable, like water, and is entranced with dreamlike visions. She is the ideal tarot reader in her ability to see through to the bottom of a situation.