A standoff between Page of Wands and Knight of Swords

CBD Tarot 

I wrote about this card a couple of years ago, and made much of the strange configuration of arms in the TdM image. I couldn't figure out what they could mean, but Yoav Ben-Dov suggests in The Open Reading that 'it seems as if the wand absorbs the page's hands, meaning that the querent's actions are not driven by his desires and not by his conscious control.' Well now that is genius, and leads straight to the quick interpretation at the bottom of the entry: 'Desires and drives which the querent doesn't yet know how to control and direct. Creative potential and real intentions to move forward, but more maturity and self-discipline are needed for things to happen.'

Again, completely different interpretation to RWS meanings. But it still makes sense in the context of a page's lack of maturity and the nature of the Wands suit.

This draw is quite apt, considering yesterday I wanted to do some yoga but had to quit after only two sun salutes, and wanted to eat well, but ended up eating quite a lot of rubbish. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

I wonder what is in the Page of Wand's line of sight? I've drawn Knight of Swords.  They are certainly looking straight into one another's eyes. 'The querent has energy, motivation and resources needed to advance, but he should control his impulse to charge ahead and instead check whether the direction in which he is advancing is a good one. It is advisable to pay attention to hesitation and doubts.' (The Opening Reading.)

Now that's interesting.

Ben-Dov points out that the Knight of Swords' horse's hooves are detached from 'the practical ground'.  Whereas he notes that the Page of Wands has 'feet touching the bottom line of the card in a way which suggests a stable base'.

Why are they in a standoff?

How has an unfocused and unskilled sense of drive met with hesitation and doubt in your life? They seem to be at a stalemate here, squaring up and glaring into each other's eyes.

How do you break out of such a situation?

Why don't you draw a card from a TdM and tell me what answer you get?

He's not ADD, he's autotelic: Page of Wands

The Page of Wands is Bart Simpson to me, though I might need to get a more contemporary association, as Bart is becoming a bit outdated now! He is definitely a little minx, with his Earth of Fire elemental affinity. In some decks, he offers advice to follow your heart, which is certainly an Earth of Fire thing to do, and your heart will usually lead you to an activity, probably physical or at least manipulating things in the material realm, that you have a lot of feeling about. Also, traditionally he is seen as the bringer of messages.

But going back to that 'follow your heart' meaning, the Page of Wands reminds me of a term I learned about this weekend: 'flow', also known as 'optimal experience'.

'Flow' is described in a book called Flow: The Psychology of Happiness by Mihaly Csikszeatmahalyi. The state of 'flow' happens under very specific conditions: when we encounter a challenge that is testing of our skills, yet our skills and capacity are such that it is just about possible to meet this challenge. Flow becomes a balance between ability and challenge, which leads to complete immersion in an activity, high concentration, quick and precise feedback on how you're doing, having your abilities stretched but not overwhelmed, loss of sense of self, trance-like state of being in the moment, losing track of time. Most daily activities can lead to 'flow', as long as the situation is sufficiently complex to activate the high challenge/high skill condition. Flow is a rare occurrence in housework, idling, resting, or watching TV. (Damn.)

But this explains why the Page of Wands is such a little tear-about. He's constantly moving from optimal experience to optimal experience. He also seems to have something of an 'autotelic' personality.

'Autotelic' is made up of two Greek root words: auto = self, telos = goal. 'Own goal' -- but not in the football sense (which is a bad thing), but in the psychological sense (which is a good thing), where 'autotelic' means 'having a purpose in and not apart from itself,' or '(of an activity or creative work) having an end or purpose in itself'. The autotelic personality generally does things for the sake of doing them, rather than in order to achieve some later external goal. These people develop skills that help them get into the flow state frequently, skills like curiosity, interest in life, persistence, and low self-centredness. The autotelic personality has the desire to perform activities for intrinsic reasons only, and not to earn a gold star, get a blue ribbon, or receive a qualification. Thus, the autotelic personality, like the Page of Wands, can appear to have a short attention span or lack task commitment because he starts a project and never finishes it, moving on to the next thing. But that is because he's got what he wanted to get out of that experience, and now he's found something new to absorb his interest and concentration. And he doesn't care if you think he's a quitter, because he doesn't care about getting your 'Well done for finishing' badge. He might enjoy finishing if he's stayed in a flow state to the end of something, but he's not necessarily going to stick with something just for the sake of completion. It's not important to him. (This might also explain the 'Again! Again!' response to an activity. If he's still flowing, he wants to keep flowing, and it doesn't matter if the game is over!)

I can relate to that!

Is there anything you're doggedly hanging on to that is not fulfilling to you anymore? Maybe you could be a little Page of Wandsy and leave it, let yourself go find a new thing you'd rather be doing -- try it! You might like it!

Little minx - Page of Wands

Tarot of the Hidden Realm (Llewellyn 2013)

Page of Wands Tarot of the Hidden Realm (Llewellyn 2013)

Earth of Fire
What is the earthy part of fire? Earth and Fire have a neutral relationship. If Fire is passion, drive, vitality, inspiration, and so on, and Earth is the material, the solid, resources, and physicality...what is the Earth of Fire? Certainly Earth would slow down Fire. Earth would look at the Fiery passion and say, wait, we need to count up our pennies to see if we have the trainfare before we go bursting out of the house for an impromptu trip to wherever. But the Page of Wands isn't an Earth sign, he's just got an affinity for Earthiness. He's mostly the passion, tempered with a bit of sensibility. And his passions are going to be in the direction of material, physical things rather than abstract or emotional things. But he's still mostly going full tilt boogie. The Page of Wands is the kid with ADD who decides it's a good idea to see what dirt tastes like, or who might decide to try to make his mother some rose perfume by denuding all her rosebushes and stuffing the petals in an old milk jug and shaking it up with water. He likes to try new things in the material realm, but he's more about the trying than the planning or thinking. He's the kid who throws sand straight up in the air, or decides to find out what cat poo tastes like. Not always making the best choices, but always finding something new to mess around with. What does this button do? How hard do I have to kick this thing to break it? Will this thing bend the other way? Let's bang the pots and pans together until something else shiny catches our eye. Running around like a crazy thing until he finally falls over for a nap. Makes me tired just writing about him.

How can you release a bit of your inner Page of Wands today?

Here we go again

An opportunity has come up to do my current role full time in a different location. It would mean moving to a new town and stepping into an environment in transition. I thought I'd draw a few cards:

1. What are my chances of securing this post?
2. How will I feel about working in this role in this new environment?
3. What are the major challenges I would face if successful?
4. How would I overcome them?
5. What would be the biggest rewards of taking this role?
6. How would taking this job affect the overall quality of my life?

That is a pretty definitive answer to the first question! My chances of getting the job are quite good, as I have drawn the Six of Staffs, the traditional card of triumph depicting the homecoming of a victorious military leader.

The forward momentum of the first card, in which the figure has his left arm raised toward the rest of the spread, continues in the next card, Page of Staffs. In this role, I would feel energised and enthusiastic. The Page of Staffs in the Byzantine Tarot is a messenger, and this card implies that I would be busy following orders and acting as a go-between. This is actually in line with my job description and comes as no surprise. I do like the fact that Page has youthful energy; it implies a freshness. However, it also denotes a naivete and so it's possible I might bumble through the role oblivious to certain undercurrents -- and that's okay with me, too.

The third card continues to face right into the spread; this time the Knight of Cups holds the cup aloft -- toward the heavens? Toward his superior officer? There is a feeling of a Grail Knight about this figure, and we know what sort of life a Grail Knight led -- slogging lost through the wastelands seeking to do the impossible. Oh my! That's a big challenge to face. Perhaps the job might feel overwhelming, or I might feel that my personal commitment and dedication is not paying off in the way that I'd hoped or dreamed. I may feel called upon to 'gallant' behaviour, defending those who I feel are weaker than myself, in other words, always trying to stick up for those I supervise. I can see that.

The way to overcome this challenge is depicted in Ten of Swords. I will need to recognise lost causes and practice letting go of the fight. There is no point in carrying on with a battle that you can't win. I can see a real conflict between the Knight of Cups and the Ten of Swords here. The Knight of Cups clings fiercely to his ideals and his causes, which are quite often romantic illusions, no matter how passionately he feels about them. The Ten of Swords couldn't be a stronger message of how futile such battling would be. That is a stark warning. Do I want to get myself into a situation where I would constantly need to let go of my higher ideals, for my very survival? That's a question. But it could also be character building, in that it would involve learning to live in reality instead of illusion.

I get reinforcement for these interpretations in the next card, which answers 'What would be the biggest reward of taking this role?' Answer: Fortitude. The Byzantine Tarot depicts the Bible story of Jacob, who encounters a stranger (who in fact is an angel) and they engage in a wrestling match that lasts all night. Jacob gets him in a hold and won't let the angel go until he receives a blessing. The encounter leaves Jacob with a limp, but also a name change -- to Israel, and he becomes the patriarch of the Israelites. This has a different feel to the traditional image of the maiden overcoming the lion through the strength of her gentleness! In this Strength (or Fortitude) card, the man pays a price for his reward, and his strategy does not involve gentleness but iron will.

And as to how the job would affect the overall quality of my life, I have drawn Judgement! So the new job would pretty much change everything. It would be a transformation. It's interesting, though, that this card depicts the other side of the coin of Judgement Day that you don't see in RWS -- not everyone who rises gets into paradise. I take this to mean at the very least that the changes will be profound, and both good and bad.

Raise your banner high - Page of Wands

Page of Wands - Daniloff Tarot 

All the Pages in Daniloff Tarot (2012) hold a banner like this, containing an emblem of the suit. This banner on the Page of Wands features the blossoming wand, a flaming torch and a salamander -- perfect, if you ask me. (Though the leafy wand reminds me a bit of broccoli.) The colours of the card a suitably fiery, with oranges and reds, and touches of green to denote the sprouting of life that is associated with Wands. Pages are the earth element and so this chap is Earth of Fire.

You've surely by now become aware that I like to associate characters from books, movies or TVs to courts to aid in understanding. The Page of Wands is Bart Simpson. True, he's not as popular as he used to be, but it's still a handy association. The Page of Wands, like Bart, is:



*mischievous
*playful
*energetic
*not inclined to consider consequences
*impulsive
*independent
*willful
*positive
*spontaneous
*risk taker

You can see the pros and cons of these traits straightaway! The energy of the Page of Wands must be balanced a bit or else, like Bart, you may find yourself constantly writing lines on the blackboard and wondering where it all went wrong. But you can't keep a Page of Wands down -- at least you will bounce back instantly from the consequences of your actions, and your spirit will not be one bit dampened. (Though unfortunately, you still may not have learned your lesson and will probably repeat this pattern over and over.). Oh well, eventually the Page learns -- and then he becomes the Knight.

Personally, I think it's asking a lot to want Page of Wands energy from a Queen of Swords on a Monday morning, but I'll give it a go.

The Page of Wands questions, and I question this Page of Wands

It's Sunday -- yay! Another day off work. I am going to find it easy to get used to having every Friday and Saturday off. And every bank holiday weekend, I'll get the full thing. That will be nice.

sample with full border

You may have noticed that I've trimmed some border from these cards from the Faerie Tarot (Nathalie Hertz, US Games 2008). I found that there were just too many borders on the deck and all the colours distracted me from the image. At left is a sample of the Ace of Pentacles, just so you can see. Originally there was an extra band of colour, picked up from some splash of colour in the image of the card (in the case of the example, hot pink) and used as a border, going paler at the bottom where the title is printed. I found these bands of colour drew my eye outward, away from the main image, and within the image, focused the eye on the colour detail. So in the Ace of Pentacles here, it drew too much attention to the pink mountains in the background. In the Page of Wands, too much attention to the yellow wings. (Although that's the only 'fiery' element I see in the image, so maybe in that instance it was a good thing).  Also they made the cards a less manageable size. So I cut the top and sides off the cards and left the titles at the bottom. I do like them both ways, but I enjoy looking at them more and they're easier to handle without that outside colour bit.

Anyway, today is Page of Wands. I like this chap, but he doesn't look very Page of Wandsy. He's standing on a leaf, and it appears to be autumn, which rather mucks up my theory that the suit of wands is summer and pentacles is autumn...it also doesn't have much in common with the element of fire, which I associate with wands. Maybe wands is the autumn suit, then, which makes even less sense than pentacles being autumn. But never mind, let's just go with it. He's standing on a floating leaf, about him drift other leaves. He's wearing what might be the top of an acorn as a hat, and blowing a horn. Turning to the LWB, I find it is not very helpful at all:

'This imp looks toward the horizon as he passionately plays his long horn. His melody brings an important message: inviting us to take the road, to analyze a course in life. Playing skilfully, he embodies the potential of know-how. His goals are clarity and objectivity. The soft notes of the long horn can be heard beyond the fog. They make the dead leaves dance and inspire all to live peacefully. Divinatory meaning: An intellectual, well-disposed person, communication in letters, new ideas, creativity, integrity, reflection. Small journeys, international concerns. A loving and sincere partner.'

The LWB goes on a bit more, but you get the idea. Here's why I find it useless. He's the Page of Wands, a traditional bringer of messages, that I can go along with. But when has the Page of Wands' goal ever been clarity and objectivity? When has he ever meant skill, or an intellectual, well-disposed person? And why is he surrounded by dead leaves? The Page of Wands is full of enthusiasm and strong views, true he's bright but he's more into arguing and debating and more about hubris and playing devil's advocate than 'inspiring to live peacefully.' He's the student who is always challenging the teachers with questions they can't answer and always asking 'Why?' or 'Why not?' He's not playing the pipes of peace in a freaking autumn fog.

Beginning to remember why I seldom use this deck.

And why is this thing called 'Faerie Tarot' and then throughout the LWB, every instance of the word is spelled 'fairy'?

Pfft.

Western Union calling?

CBD Tarot

I have quite ambivalent feelings about the Tarot de Marseilles. I know it's an important deck, historically, but I find it so strange and ugly that I rarely use it.

Here we have the Page of Wands (Valet de Baton) from the CBD (Conver-Ben Dov) Tarot de Marseilles. The first thing that catches my eye, after my usual squinting at the overly long back and short legs, spaced apart in a way that suggests no known structure of the human pelvis, is the arms. What the --? That arm in the blue sleeve is NOT coming from this dude's left shoulder. It seems to be growing out of his right rib cage. That's weird. Also, the 'batons' in the TdM are odd because they are bright green with red tips, like when the branch was cut from the tree it oozed blood. Plus, I can't help but saying, the red-tipped bits just remind me of penises. (Sorry!)

Anyway, ignoring the blue earth and yellow grass and white sky, the bleeding green penis tree and the Picasso arms, what does the Page of Wands mean for me today?

Mary K Greer's 'Tarot for Yourself' offers these questions to ponder: What new territories are you checking out? Who is calling you? Who is enthusiastic about your endeavors or looks up to you as a mature adult? What risky actions are you taking? What are you all fired up about?'

Well, I know the Page of Wands is traditionally seen as the bringer of messages, and is often interpreted as important phone calls or letters. In my mind, he's always been Bart Simpson, tearing about on his tricycle wreaking havoc, in a good-natured, high-spirited way. Freaky-arm dude here doesn't seem terribly high-spirited, but you never know, maybe that's how he dislocated his shoulder.

Maybe I'll get some sort of important communication today. Watching for it will keep the day interesting. :)

The Page of Wands wears a Wonder Bra

Roots of Asia, 2001

Our last card from the Roots of Asia Tarot (AGMuller, 2001) is Page of Wands. This is a lovely image, filled with symbolic objects. Unfortunately, the LWB doesn't explain all of them. We are told that the tiger represents clear perception, and fire indicates energy, passion and endurance. There are also irises all over this card, and I do not know what significance an iris has in Asian/Buddhist symbolism. In flower symbolism, it means faith, hope and wisdom. I really don't think this card is pointing to the Greek goddess, Iris, the goddess of the rainbow. But maybe it is...

The divinatory meaning given in the book is 'Following my heart.' So that is what I will do today.