Four of Wands is the 4th card in the fiery Suit of Wands. It’s a card of pleasure and harmony; the main point of this card is balance – 4 is an even number and as such represents four angles and four directions. The Four of Wands is governed by Jupiter and Venus, this card represents peace, harmony and prosperity earned through hard work and brave endeavors.
Four of Wands foretells of good social status, influential friends and profitable travels. The ruler of this tarot card is Lord of Finished Busines and he values when a job started is a job finished. People who have trouble giving up and leaving things unfinished are said to be under the patronage of this Lord. Before we get on with our Four of Wands meaning guide, let’s look at the upright and reversed Four of Wands Keywords.
Upright and Reversed Keywords
Upright Keywords
- Golden Age
- Purchase of property
- New home
- Wedding
- Celebration
- Big gathering, a feast
- Closing deals, making a profit
- Successful business ventures
- Homecoming
Reversed Keywords
- Halfhearted happiness
- Short-term romance/affair
- Weak foundations
- Glass legs
- Premature marriage
- Business partners going behind one’s back
- Losing profit although being responsible for it
- Loved one marries another
- Neediness
- Transition
Four of Wands
The main point of the Four of Wands card is balance and celebration. The Lord of Finished Business has blessed the reader through the appearance of this card, and it foretells that a hefty reward is in place for the hard work and invested energy, sweat and blood. He is propitious towards mages who have the will to finish what they started, thus he graces them with many fortunes and gifts once their hard work is over.
This card is a solid indication that a big event that will cause an even bigger celebration is going to happen. Usually, it’s a wedding, but it can also be a Sabbath or a spiritual gathering. It’s an omen of time filled with feast and laughter, joy and good things.
The spirits of this card are fiery in nature, and thus the gathering they foretell will have a lot of active energy and explosive activities. If you ever heard of people celebrating by firing firearms in the air – that is it – the embodiment of the Four of Wands.
Firing firearms is a very common (and quite old) tradition practiced at many weddings, especially in Europe, for it is believed to dissipate negative spirits and evil entities, and invite merriment, fertility and joy. Fireworks, too – Four of Wands energy through and through.
The mysterious aspect of the Four of Wands is connected to the Golden Age of humanity when heroes dined with gods. In those, now ancient times, gods still walked amongst humans, but humanity has fallen low since those times. We’re in the age of Iron right now, very far from the Golden; and despite our technology maxing out, our moral destitution and soul degradation are peeking.
The Four of Wands sends a mystic message to humanity and current society that one day Golden Age will come again, but in order for it to be again, it’s in our hands to make it happen. It’s in love, faith and hope we should place our hopes and bets in. We need to work together on it, to bring the Golden Age once again to our tables, in our lives and in our dwellings.
Spirits of this card are also very interested in the destiny of the mage who’s doing the reading. They are curious to know whether the reader (mage) will get initiated in the spiritual mystery teachings and what will s/he learn. Initiated mage becomes a hero, as of old, and he gets an honorable seat at the table of the gods where he has the chance to observe and learn, literally from the best.
For the initiated mage, the Golden Age is not out of reach in the murky past or foggy future, he has the privilege to witness and experience the Golden Age in the now, as it happens. This is why the mage should be very happy (and honored) when s/he sees the Four of Wands in his reading, it’s a great omen and a good sign of even better things to come.
Symbolism and Imagery of the Four of Wands
The first thing that catches the eye when looking at the card of Four of Wands is the (bright) colours. At the very front of the card, there are four wands (staffs) that are perfectly aligned and balanced as all things should be. The wands are adorned with flowery wreaths that symbolize victory and celebration.
Next, we notice the two people in the middle of the wands – they are caught in the motion of celebration with posies triumphantly hoisted in the air; the figures are dressed in white, blue and red respectively representing the male and female archetypes within the celebration (also a wedding). The ground and background are yellow – symbols of happiness and good times.
There are other figures in the background in front of the big, white castle with red rooftops symbolizing the time of celebration, peace and happiness. The imagery on this card sends a clear message – all is well and life is good, rejoice!
