Swords = Fire

3/12/2013

Most of the information I have come across in regards to the Tarot associates Wands with fire and Swords with Air. I feel differently. For me Wands represent Air while it is the Swords that I associate with Fire. See, I have established a close relationship with a few of my Tarot decks, my Rider-Waite one being the deck I’ve used the most. Numerous clients have come back to see me because my Readings are accurate. How could my elemental correspondences be wrong? Is it possible someone else was mistaken?

As I gaze at each Sword, The Ace through King and then at each Wand, I focus on the energy I feel. Empathically I know that for me I am correct. Wands are air energy and Swords are fire. I don’t assume that everyone else is just wrong …

but I am well aware that for me Swords ARE Fire, a representation of: destruction, hostility, purification, transformation, this energy can be used to cleanse or left unattended to destroy. In comparison, I have always interpreted Wands to be swift moving energy … quick and aggressive like the Wind.

I recall getting into a debate with a poster on LiveJournal, some years ago when I was active in that community, who insisted that my interpretation of the cards was ‘inaccurate’ and that it was clear to her that I was naïve and needed to reevaluate my relationship with the suit of Swords. I pointed out to her that individuals read the Tarot differently and there was no ’right’ or ’wrong’ way to read them. She clearly disagreed and insisted that Swords were Air. They are connected to the athame, which cut through the air. Yes, I intellectually can comprehend the connection. Yes, I’ve read the same damn thing in books but something doesn’t feel right to me. Being in tune with my clairsentient ability when something doesn’t feel right ... then it’s just not.

The Way of Four Spellbook by Deborah Lipp on page nine reads:

The Tarot suit of Air is Swords, although there is an interesting story behind this correspondence.

In 1910, Arthur Edward Waite published his book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot and his “Rider-Waite” Tarot deck. Waite was a Kabbalist and a member of the Golden Dawn magical lodge. His was the first deck to give all seventy-eight cards unique illustrations, and the first to draw associations between the Tarot and the Kabbalah. The Rider-Waite deck became he most popular and influential Tarot ever created, and its influences are seen in the vast majority decks available today.

However, Waite’s membership in the Golden Dawn included an oath of secrecy, so he hesitated to reveal too much in his deck or accompanying book. He decided to switch two of the elemental correspondences in order to preserver his oath. He couldn’t very well change the association of Cups to Water, since that’s a pretty obvious one, and Pentacles are mostly depicted as coin - and again the association between money and Earth is straightforward and obvious. But Swords and Wands are abstract tools, that were not in common usage at the turn of the last century. The Golden Dawn associated Air with Wands and Fire with Swords, so Waite reversed these two and filled his deck with Fiery Wands and Airy Swords.

If you’re a Tarot reader who has used Waite’s deck or a Waite-derived deck, it’s hard to break the mental picture of Air/Sword and Fire/Wand. Every Wand in Waite’s deck has little flames, salamanders, and orange colors, and every Sword has prominent clouds, sylphs, and a lot of light blue. Perhaps because most Witches read the Tarot, most associate the sword, or athame, with Air.

On the other hand, the original associate used by the Golden Dawn and others makes a good deal of sense. The Sword is the stronger and more destructive tool, and Fire is more destructive than Air. The Wand is the tool of the intellectual magician, but the Sword is the tool of the willful warrior (Fire is associated with will). Once you get to know the tools, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that a person wielding a Sword means business (has will), but a person holding a Wand might still be just thinking it over.

Apparently my feelings in regards to the suit of Swords in the Tarot deck has more validation than my own feelings.

37 Comments

Jennifer

3/19/2013 02:13:26 am

I just wanted to say that this article was very enlightening. I watched many of your videos and often wondered how you came about Wand = air and Swords = fire. I will admit that you are not the first that I heard of who used these associations, however, not many do. It makes perfect sense to me. It feels right. I think my next reading I am going to try this and see how if it enhances my readings.

CricketSong

3/19/2013 03:45:19 am

Jennifer,

I'm glad I was able to give some further background information on my interpretation. Thank you for leaving this comment. Much love to you!

Ran Dhamle

3/6/2014 01:23:00 pm

A simple association from dreaming has helped me argue each and every debate on the issue:

Swords are forged from fire. Their energy is infused in their creation.
Wands are born of trees. Trees grow into the air,
I don't see very many professional fire pokers made of wood.

I love my fellow believers in magick so I do not say this with an intent of argument. Swords are not athames. Athames are used in ritual magic, and actually meant to channel fire. Maybe the way a wand or sword may be used to cast a circle is what causes the inconsistency, but afterall use is not a reflection of purpose (I've used a screwdriver to open a can of beans!). It is important to note, too, that purity after casting the circle, is traditionally done with the remaining three elements—air, water, and earth.

I have been studying cards for 20 years and have come to see aspects of every faith represented within the near 100 card designs encompassing several cartomancy practices. Some are quite direct and literal, and others are based on historical symbololgies from the times of the first peoples just discovering their gods while still being very much an animal as all the others were.

It is time to return swords to it's rightful position; a position that was stripped from it by well-intentioned, however misguided, and sometimes malicious deception.

CricketSong

3/6/2014 08:29:48 pm

"Swords are forged from fire. Their energy is infused in their creation.
Wands are born of trees. Trees grow into the air,
I don't see very many professional fire pokers made of wood."

YES! I completely agree with this and how I also understand the difference.

"Swords are not athames. Athames are used in ritual magic, and actually meant to channel fire. .... It is important to note, too, that purity after casting the circle, is traditionally done with the remaining three elements—air, water, and earth."

YES! I can also connect the idea of the athame being connected to fire through the concept of alchemy where fire and water are considered to be polar opposite and are considered to be the two primordial elements which combined gave rise to earth and air.

Corvus Tetrad

12/17/2016 09:03:15 am

Does anyone know of a good deck that uses swords as fire?
It is extremely refreshing to find a group of people who discuss and have had the same experiences with this topic. My first tarot deck, 25 years ago, was The Witches Tarot by Ellen Canon Reed. I fell in love with this deck and never knew there was a different association with the Swords/Wands suits until I became an avid collector and teacher. In my teachings I discuss these differences and recommend to my students to go with what "feels right" to each of them. The problem is that there are very few decks that use the Swords as fire correspondence which is perplexing to me. I find myself unsatisfied, time and again, trying to read from decks that use Air as fire. As you all have stated, I feel strongly that swords, forged in fire, represent fire.
I am not certain why so many authors use Air as Fire but it is becoming frustrating to the point where I want to create a new deck, in the same light as the ORIGINAL Witches Tarot, not the new age garbage that has been put out in the last few years. (Ellen Dugan, with apologies).
Currently I work in a store that has one of the largest collections of tarot and oracle decks in the US. I have collected over 50 decks in my attempt to find one that can replace The Witches Tarot for my public readings. This deck is out of print and so I will not be able to use it for much longer and I fear if I lose a card or if It gets stolen or lost, I will be without my favorite deck. Does anyone know of a good deck that uses swords as fire? I understand I should be able to use any deck for this but when giving readings, it helps, psychologically for the querent to see the accurate corresponding colors.

CricketSong

12/17/2016 01:45:45 pm

If you create a new deck that represents Swords as Fire please let me know because I will buy that deck and probably use it when I teach my own students who also have the same association as we do.

At the present time I am using The Green Witch Tarot, but there is still the Air - Sword association, just not as blatant about it.

Christine Wyndham-Thomas

2/1/2018 02:02:42 am

Swords are definitely the element Fire. (without which, there would be no sword.)
Wands - Air (Magicians wave their Wands through the Air.) Also, in the Marseilles' deck, Wands are represented by what looks like tree trunks with leaves growing out the side of them (signifying air).
Cups - Water (Cups hold liquid.)
Discs - Coins
That's how I see it.

Christine Thomas

10/26/2018 07:23:31 am

It has been alleged, perhaps rightly, that A.E.Waite when he wrote the Pictorial Key to the Tarot was prevented in what he could write because of his involvement in the Golden Dawn (he couldn't disclose any of their teachings). Because people were fairly well acquainted with Cups and Pentacles, he couldn't mess about with the information on these. However, Swords and Wands were not that well understood, and he therefore changed the info. on this.

Swords are forged from fire and relates to the fire element. Wands are like branches of a tree, which needs air to grow - so relates to the air element. This was the rightful interpretation until Waite changed it and everybody followed suit.

Look for info on the Tarot that predates that of Waite's - before 1910.

Jonas Downer

11/13/2014 02:21:46 am

The Golden Dawn doesn't associate the Wand with Air. The Wand is Will which is Fire. The Sword is Reason which is Air.

I'm not saying that you're incorrect. I don't like dogma in my religion. Your interpretation is true in your universe, but the Golden Dawn doesn't have the same views as you.

CricketSong

11/13/2014 04:41:22 am

So be it. I came across the information that the Golden Dawn did have the same association through the book I read that I quoted here. Perhaps Debroah Lipp needs to do better research.

Rose Lieberman

10/8/2015 01:04:50 pm

The Golden Dawn shows Michael represented by sword and fire, yet when it comes to the Tarot, swords are Air. I'm confused at this juncture.

I know that Swords were Fire at some point in the past, but now it's almost universally Air.

I'm trying to research this to find out when the change occurred, by whom and why.

Wish me luck! But, IMO, Swords are Fire, Wands are Air.

Christine Wyndham-Thomas

1/31/2018 10:34:55 pm

I certainly agree with what you say Ran Dhamle. It's time for Swords and Wands to be put back in their rightful places.

Michael

2/18/2015 07:04:25 am

You are correct: Swords = Fire and Wands = Air.

The original attribution was a blind, meant to mislead people.

The obvious way to see it is to look at the themes of each suit in Rider-Waite. In fact, each suit can be related back to the Zodiac, especially the cardinal sign. (Waite knew his Zodiac; it's part of the Golden Dawn's theology.)

In the Swords suit, we see the themes of violence, battle, glory, destruction. Now look at Aries, the cardinal fire sign in the Zodiac. It's ruled by Mars (battle), and the Sun (glory) is exalted. Swords signify competition for dominance, in all its flavours.

For Wands, we see themes of contemplation, argument, debate and ideology. These correspond with the significations of air signs generally, but especially to Libra, where Venus (beauty) rules and Saturn (rules/justice/structure) is exalted. It's no coincidence that original sacred geometry was done with compass-sticks, or that teachers lecture with wooden pointers (or did in Waite's day), or that the pencil and pen are "wands". The Wand indicates ideas and ideals in all their permutations.

So by looking at the themes of each suit, you can see what they REALLY signify in the elements--and in the Zodiac.

Corvus Tetrad

12/17/2016 09:10:02 am

Thank you Michael. You might make a Rider-Waite fan out of me after all! I have never really turned to these cards. I admit that I dad an aversion to them, viewing them as less than par, but you have helped me open my eyes. I will do my research. I just don't love the images as much as others, but The Pamela Coleman Smith collector's edition is beautiful! BB!

CricketSong

12/17/2016 01:48:17 pm

Personally at this point, I use the Rider Waite only when teaching others and read for clients with other cards.

Laura

1/7/2017 12:37:02 pm

I learned the zodiac before the tarot, and so the swords have always made sense as fire when you think about what fire signs in the zodiac represent. Same with wands and air. I use a minchiate tarot deck and like that the swords aren't portrayed with clouds, etc.

Aaron

6/28/2017 03:51:18 pm

Franz Bardon a russian hermetic also associates Swords to Fire in his book 'Initiation into Hermetics'. A good read for anyone interested in a guide to higher states of being and understanding.

CricketSong

6/28/2017 07:45:50 pm

Thank you for sharing that. I will look into it!

Kimberly Anderberg

6/28/2017 08:53:51 pm

Swords are fire. They are born in the fire. The fire is of the South. The south is of the adolescents and the young adult / energy to do. Swords as fire represents the will. They represent carrying out our will in the world. And also represent where we are energetically in a specific path . I am discussing the pure nature of Fire as a representation of our will / spirit. Wands represent air because they are of the trees themselves and are a way to show how air flows through the sky. they do not represent fire because fire destroys branches and Wands are of course made of branches. It does not make sense to have fire represent wands when fire destroys wands. It's kind of like rock paper scissors. Each suit must be able to be supported by the element. Fire does not support wands but burns them. Therefore wands are of the air the nature of the tree that blows in the breeze itself. Wands represent intellectual mind. The thinking mind. The dreaming mind. Whereas swords represent the carrying out of those thoughts and dreams through our physical actions...
Excellent article. I have been using a deck that has nothing to do with the rider way tradition for 25 years. It has served me well in my interpretations have been spot-on. Thank you for sharing this as the philosophy and the debate continues.

CricketSong

6/29/2017 05:43:06 am

I completely agree with your insight. I'm curious as to what deck you have been using for the past 25 years. Would you share?

Carol Lanier

8/9/2017 04:57:01 am

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who has struggled with this association! Since my early studies of Wicca, I have always 'felt' and 'been drawn to' the association of wands to air and swords to fire, and have found it difficult to read them any other way. From what 'I understood' from my studies, much of the mysteries were clouded in secracy back then and were never fully revealed. So personally, I've always felt they were switched to guard the mysteries and maintain that secrecy.

CricketSong

8/9/2017 05:20:56 am

I resonate with your struggles Carol. Much love!

Nancy

6/19/2018 05:05:00 pm

I have begun an intuitive Tarot class. I completely stopped at the 6th lesson because I could not wrap my head around Swords not being Fire, and Wands not being Air. I’ve been so stumped that I couldn’t continue. Thank you all so much!

Christine Wyndham-Thomas

1/31/2018 10:50:49 pm

I love this site.It's a fantastic resource of info. Well done for producing it.

CricketSong

2/1/2018 04:21:57 am

Thank you for visiting!

Pricto

6/11/2018 01:20:47 am

Well, for me the wand does hold fire, like a match or a torch, and it could be used as an instrument to destroy (by burning) something else, but fire or "will" does not only destroy, it also creates. The wand is used to point at something, to direct attention, its purpose is not to be waved through the air, the magical "will" is the ability to focus on one thing, one belief, one ideal. For example, a musical conductor would seem to be just waving his baton (or wand), but in reality he is pointing at specific moments in time for the orchestra to coincide precisely.
On the other hand, the sword dissects forms, is also moved through the air (it actually needs to move and wave through the air to gather the impulse to cut through things) and cannot hold fire... Swords are made not only with fire, but also with earth or metal, and metal symbolizes air in the Chinese elemental system (wood being spirit!). Air cannot create anything, just like theorizing is not inventing. The "will" (fire) is the force that creates and destroys by focusing energy intentionally on something and the "intellect" (air) is the force that discriminates and divides in order for us to be able to identify different things. The elemental forces are not the same as the elements portrayed by the natural symbolism in the earth plane, they just behave more or less similarly, but are natural forces beyond our material comprehension, the relationship with material elements is allegoric, it is our material way to understand immaterial qualities.
Now, here's the catch, the correspondences of the pentagram banishing rituals of the Golden Dawn do support the view of wand (or caduceus) as air and (flaming) sword as fire, in contradiction with the rest of the correspondences of their system (although some new authors have come up with corrections).
All in all, maybe the best thing would be to dispense of these old and ambiguous symbols and find new ones. IO CHAOS!

CricketSong

6/11/2018 04:24:13 am

I agree the wand is used to point at something, to direct attention … to send energy towards something, energy that is already present in the situation towards its target. In your example of a musical conductor, he or she is pointing at a specific moment in “time” for the orchestra to coincide precisely, which for me is the purpose of the wand … to direct the orchestra (who are already present in the moment) towards a specific target.

I also agree that the sword dissects forms … the weapon brings forth destruction to its intended target. Swords or blades were not crafted for any other purpose than to destroy. Unlike the wand as you pointed out they may be used as a weapon, but it is not their sole purpose.

Yes, I concur that the elemental forces are not the same as the elements represented in the natural symbolism of the earth plane and we should definitely dispense of the old symbols and discover new ones.

Pricto

6/11/2018 11:05:26 am

Have to disagree on the fact that blades were created only to destroy. Blades are indispensable tools for artisans, like for example, woodcarvers... Also blades are very useful as a cutting tool for many utilitarian activities, from cutting meat to eat or divide between the members of a clan, to slicing anything from leather to strings, in order to create clothing and many other things. The scissors are an incredible useful household object made of two blades.

Autumn Windwalker link

9/13/2019 05:39:53 pm

I also notice that no one has mentioned the concept of a blade as a scalpel, which, in the hands of a skilled surgeon, cuts into flesh as part of the healing process. I myself had gallbladder surgery in 2014; why? I had gallstones and they were causing me pain and if I did not have my gallbladder out, it could have resulted in a blocked bile duct, which is a very dangerous situation. I had laparoscopic surgery, which meant a less invasive procedure and a shorter recovery time - so I take this to mean that the sword/scalpel/blade also represents the science and intellectual advancements that made things like laparoscopic surgery possible.

Not only that, but - possibly as a result of my status as the wife of a military veteran - I also see swords as a very protective instrument. Knights and soldiers would use it in defense of their lands, their families, their Church, etc etc. But they have to be honorable to earn that sword; this to me implies a level of chivalry and duty and dedication to a principle higher than pure selfishness and "it's all about me" thinking.

Sometimes, when a military officer marries, several of his brothers-in-arms will form a corridor outside the church door, so the bride and groom walk between them as they leave the ceremony. The gentlemen draw their swords and form a "sword arch" over the newly married couple; you can see lots of videos of this on YouTube. Sometimes, at the end of the sword arch, the last two men lower their swords and tell the couple they must kiss in order to obtain passage. So they kiss, and the swords are lifted up so they can pass. But the soldier on the bride's side sometimes taps the bride's backside with his sword (lightly) and says something like "Welcome to the Marine Corps, ma'am" or whatever is appropriate. So it's also a little initiatory thing as well. The sword represents division between the old life as a bachelor/spinster, and married life.

I think the suit of Swords gets a really bad rap as a "bad/destructive/harmful" suit, so I've been looking at some more positive ways to interpret the suit.

Pricto

6/11/2018 11:16:16 am

Now, I would like to pose another question concerning the order of the elements from more subtle to more solid, which order would you prefer? fire-air-water-earth or air-fire-water-earth? Its curious that this ambiguity also exists in this between the same elements, air and fire...

CricketSong

6/11/2018 12:58:50 pm

I respect your opinion and acknowledge both sides of the wand / blade perspective. I can even argue both sides equally though my own stance is blade / fire. Within my own perspective cutting in all forms is an act of destruction though that is not to say that there are times when one must destroy in order to accomplish creation. Woodcarvers must first cut down the tree or branch with the blade (destroy) in order to carve the wood (create) … before the blade is able to cut meat to eat the animal must first be killed … slicing the leather (again the animal must be killed) … and I agree scissors are an incredible useful tool … a tool that causes destruction.

Ohhhh … the order of elements! What a wonderful concept to contemplate! And yes, the ambiguity exists here as well … topics I love to delve into … so I prefer the order of air-fire-water-earth.

Pricto

6/11/2018 01:40:03 pm

I also prefer air-fire-water-earth... hehehe... I see it by their qualities: movement-expansión-contraction-stability.

CricketSong

6/11/2018 03:02:40 pm

I like that evolution: movement - expansion - contraction - stability.

I generally think in terms of vibrational frequency from "highest" or scattered to "lowest" or denser.

Pricto

6/12/2018 03:07:36 pm

As I see it, the whole confusion could also come from relating the elements to actual physical stuff. Citing Lon Milo Duquette: "In the manifest universe, it is the job of the four elements to combine with each other. Nothing is entirely fire or water or air or earth. Even on the material plane, we see this is so. For example, hot magma from a volcano is fiery because of its heat, watery because it flows, earthy by nature, and exudes gas and steam. (...)". So more or less, when working in the physical plane everything ends up having some relationship with all the elements. So a sword could be air when is moved through the air, fire when is cast in the fire, water when after casting is put in cold water, and earth because is made of a mineral created by the earth.

CricketSong

6/13/2018 05:16:54 am

I agree. Everything has the energy of all the elements within it, including human beings!

KarmicDamage

8/4/2018 12:07:57 am

Swords are forged from fire and are action oriented. Battles burn, wounds burn. Action and will are often misguided. The heat of battle, heat of the moment.

Whereas, wands are a tool for bringing the intent into being, ideas into manifestation. The will and mind work together not to slash or burn; but to craft. Wands are objects of craft and they draw our purposes in the air.

CricketSong

8/4/2018 06:37:01 am

I agree!

Swords = Fire

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