The King sits on his throne, looking away from us. He holds in his right hand a wand. His cloak is yellow and emblazoned with salamanders, his throne engraved with salamanders and lions.On his plinth, a lizard can be seen. He wears a yellow or gold crown.
The King of Wands differs from the Kings of all the other suits of the tarot – they all face towards the querent while the King of Wands is deliberately looking away from us. Wands are related to our mental fire and our creative energy. Wands deal with our thoughts and dreams, our ability to see a solution through our problems.
The symbolism of looking away from us should not be underestimated. This is a King that while seated in a position of authority bears the full responsibility that position incurs. There is a sense of loneliness about the King of Wands, a King that is looking off into the distance and perhaps contemplating his own position.
In readings, this suggests that while we are at the peak of our abilities, they can also lead us to a position where we tread a lonely path. Did you ever go against the group consensus to find that no-one would follow you? That is the King of Wands. When we forge ahead with our own solution and everybody politely steps back, that is the King of Wands. The King of Wands will follow his own path and attempt to shape his own reality in the way that he sees fit.
It is both a positive and negative card to receive. On the one hand we can take comfort that we have arrived at a position where our thoughts rule with authority. On the other, that can lead us into isolation, detachment and an out of touch mentality. We should be careful that we include others in our plans, that we take the time to explain, convince and bring people with us on our journey. Being isolated as a King isn’t much fun and in the heat of the path we follow it is easy to forget that. It is only when we arrive at our destination that we realise that maybe the end result would be more enjoyable had we others to share it with.
The lion engraved on the King’s throne symbolise authority. The salamanders on the cloak and throne and the lizard symbolise that portion of our thoughts that come to us intuitively. The lizard is an earthy creature yet the King of Wands is intimately connected to it. Despite our ability to see creative solutions and our determination to follow them, we still possess that ability to intuitively sense our surroundings and the thoughts of others – whether we pay any heed to them is a choice that can only be made by us.
The King of Wands Reversed
When considering the The King of Wands reversed our thoughts should take into account the negative aspects of wands. Our mental fire may be pointing in the wrong direction completely. Instead of using it for good, we are scheming, plotting and using our mental talents in a most negative manner.
What we do in this life is reflected back upon us. When we plot evil, that comes back to us. Using our talents in a negative manner will lead to isolation, mental turmoil and loneliness.
A reversed King of Wands may also mean that we are experiencing some blockage in attaining our goals. We are ever so close but their remains some obstacles or delays that we must overcome in order for the King of Wands to appear upright. We may yet have to come up with one final solution, we have yet to understand our path or realise the problem we face.