King of Wands

The image

The king sits in profile on a throne whose high back is decorated with lions and salamanders, the creatures of the suit. He holds a tall flowering wand upright and leans slightly forward, as if about to rise. Over his robe he wears a cloak patterned with salamanders, and beneath his crown, shaped like a ring of flames, he wears what Waite calls a cap of maintenance, like the other court figures of the suit. A small living salamander rests on the ground beside the throne. Behind him is an open blue sky.

History

Kings were the highest court cards in both Italian tarot and ordinary playing cards, and the Marseille Roi de Bâton is a seated monarch holding a club. Smith's version adds the movement of a man on the point of standing, giving the card its active, decisive air. Waite's description of 1910 stresses that the king connects with the symbol of the lion emblazoned on his throne, and his divinatory list adds that the card may mean news of an unexpected inheritance soon to fall in. Later writers, such as Rachel Pollack, developed a psychological picture of a leader whose strength lies in enthusiasm and conviction rather than in rules.

Symbolism

In the widely used scheme that matches the Waite courts to the Golden Dawn's by rank name, the King of Wands is Fire of Fire, the suit's element at its most concentrated and commanding. He then corresponds to the order's King, titled Lord of the Flame and the Lightning, King of the Spirits of Fire, with the span from 20° Scorpio to 20° Sagittarius. As noted under the Knight of Wands, some authors swap King and Knight and read this enthroned figure as Air of Fire. The lion links him with Leo and the solar principle; the salamander is the spirit of fire; the flame-shaped crown shows a power that is alive rather than merely inherited. For the wider system, see the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

In a reading

He is often read as an actual person — a boss, a mentor, a forceful partner — or as a call to take charge. With the Emperor he emphasises structure and command; with the Queen of Wands a dynamic partnership; with the Three of Wands an expanding enterprise. In questions of choice he favours the bold option.

Some readers use him as a significator for a querent who is founding or leading something, while others read him as advice to take responsibility rather than wait for direction. His forward lean is a reminder that vision becomes leadership only when it moves into action.