If you are a Tarot reader then there is an assumption that you have at least at one time used or are acquainted with the Rider-Waite deck and are familiar with the elemental associations made with each of the suits since many of the images on the cards reflect these obvious associations; Cups with water, Pentacles or Coins with earth, Swords with air, and Wands with fire. Each card of the suits has some symbolism that clearly illustrates these associations. The Cups have images of rivers, streams, waves, and a predominance of the color blue. Pentacles have images of gardens, cities, hills, and mountains. The suits of Swords are filled with images of clouds, butterflies, and light blue colors. Wands have flames, salamanders, and orange hues. While these
associations are carried throughout many Tarot decks, pointedly any deck that uses the Rider-Waite system, I have always found the Swords with air and Wands with fire correspondences to be troublesome, since the first day I picked up a deck of Tarot cards and began using them for divination. I persevered and did my best to work with the common and seemingly unrelenting associations, but every time I attempted to divine for myself or others, I could never make those associations work, so after a few months I conceded to my own intuitive associations of Swords with fire and Wands with air regardless of what the images on the cards were dictating to me. Once I aligned with that personal Truth, my Tarot readings were filled with a great clarity and accuracy.
This impactful decision led me on a personal mission to find others who interpreted the suits in a similar way and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was not alone. There were many other readers, each with their own explanations as to why they interpreted Wands as air and Swords as fire, some of which were similar to my own contemplations and some which differed greatly, but still made sense to me. I was elated and felt a small validation that I was not missing some greater understanding of the Tarot, but that these two particular suits have seemingly always created some discourse within the vast community of diviners across the globe.
For me, being a practicing non-Traditional Wiccan Witch I associate with the tools of my Craft: chalice, pentacle, wand, and blade. Each tool has an elemental correspondence within my practice. The chalice, like the cauldron, is the womb of the Goddess and thus represents feminine energies of the element of Water. The pentacle is a tool of manifestation and protection and thus represents the stable and abundant energies of Earth. The wand is a tool for directing energies that are already present within my cast Circle and thus represents the element of Air, while the blade is a tool for invoking and banishing and thus represents the element of Fire. While both the wand and blade represent masculine energies it is the blade that I use in conjunction with the chalice when performing the symbolic Great Rite. Here I place the athame (Fire) with tip facing downward invoking the energies of the God within the chalice (Water) or womb of the Goddess, which joins them in the act of creation, which is mirrored within the philosophy of alchemy, where Fire and Water lead to the creation of the elements of Air and Earth. It is because of these Craft associations that lead me to use the same correspondences for the suits of Swords and Wands when using a deck of Tarot cards.
If I disassociate my own Witchcraft from the art of divination I still make the Wands with Air and Swords with Fire associations. I contemplate the correspondences in this way; to craft a sword, which is undeniably a weapon, the swordsmith must forge metal, which requires heat from the element of Fire, and to fashion a wand, one must harvests the needed material from a tree. The branch is bent and shaped by the wind, a manifestation of Air. Both tools are created from materials that come from the Earth, but are tempered with their respective elements. This leads to the logical association of Fire with Swords, corresponding with destruction, hostility, aggression, action of will, initiative, transformation, and purification, and Air with Wands, corresponding with intellect, communication, mental activity, mirth, joy, advancement, and inspiration. And if we compare the physical tools, it is clear that the Sword carries more strength. It is a weapon of destruction just as the element of Fire tends to be more destructive than the element of Air. Air tends to be as effective as Fire, but less forceful.
This impactful decision led me on a personal mission to find others who interpreted the suits in a similar way and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was not alone. There were many other readers, each with their own explanations as to why they interpreted Wands as air and Swords as fire, some of which were similar to my own contemplations and some which differed greatly, but still made sense to me. I was elated and felt a small validation that I was not missing some greater understanding of the Tarot, but that these two particular suits have seemingly always created some discourse within the vast community of diviners across the globe.
For me, being a practicing non-Traditional Wiccan Witch I associate with the tools of my Craft: chalice, pentacle, wand, and blade. Each tool has an elemental correspondence within my practice. The chalice, like the cauldron, is the womb of the Goddess and thus represents feminine energies of the element of Water. The pentacle is a tool of manifestation and protection and thus represents the stable and abundant energies of Earth. The wand is a tool for directing energies that are already present within my cast Circle and thus represents the element of Air, while the blade is a tool for invoking and banishing and thus represents the element of Fire. While both the wand and blade represent masculine energies it is the blade that I use in conjunction with the chalice when performing the symbolic Great Rite. Here I place the athame (Fire) with tip facing downward invoking the energies of the God within the chalice (Water) or womb of the Goddess, which joins them in the act of creation, which is mirrored within the philosophy of alchemy, where Fire and Water lead to the creation of the elements of Air and Earth. It is because of these Craft associations that lead me to use the same correspondences for the suits of Swords and Wands when using a deck of Tarot cards.
If I disassociate my own Witchcraft from the art of divination I still make the Wands with Air and Swords with Fire associations. I contemplate the correspondences in this way; to craft a sword, which is undeniably a weapon, the swordsmith must forge metal, which requires heat from the element of Fire, and to fashion a wand, one must harvests the needed material from a tree. The branch is bent and shaped by the wind, a manifestation of Air. Both tools are created from materials that come from the Earth, but are tempered with their respective elements. This leads to the logical association of Fire with Swords, corresponding with destruction, hostility, aggression, action of will, initiative, transformation, and purification, and Air with Wands, corresponding with intellect, communication, mental activity, mirth, joy, advancement, and inspiration. And if we compare the physical tools, it is clear that the Sword carries more strength. It is a weapon of destruction just as the element of Fire tends to be more destructive than the element of Air. Air tends to be as effective as Fire, but less forceful.
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