Wands are the tarot suit of action
Of ideas and projects, of fire and movement.
I was delighted, therefore, to draw the Two of Wands as my card for 2015.

I know, I know – picking a single card for the whole of the year seems kinda…scary? Limiting? Over-simplified?
Well, it works for me!
Last year, I drew The Chariot. I hadn’t intended it as my card for the year, but I adopted it as such after drawing it for a business decision. The Chariot is also my birth card. Throughout 2014, it helped me to set myself clear goals, and to work towards them in a focused and energetic way.
This year’s card, the Two of Wands, encourages more of the same.
For me, it’s about focusing clearly on an idea. Really going into that idea, exploring it fully. Mapping it out, creating a strategy, thinking about cause and effect. It’s a very ‘thinky’ card (even though ‘thinking’ is more often associated with the swords suit.)
To understand the Two of Wands better, it’s helpful to see it as part of the wider wands sequence:
Ace of Wands
From the Kitty Kahane Tarot
You amazing idea. It comes to you in a dream, perhaps, or someone simply hands you an opportunity. You get all fired up and excited because you suddenly have this thing that you can’t wait to do. When you get the Ace of Wands in a tarot reading, it’s time to get creative and to act.
This is one of the most exciting cards in the tarot. Wands are magic! Wands make shit happen. It’s a wand that The Magician holds aloft in card #1 in the major arcana, as they prepare to do something completely incredible.
Whoop!
Two of Wands
From the Shadowscapes Tarot, by Stephanie Pui Mun Law
Before you do act, however, you’re asked to spend some time with your idea. When you’re all fired up, it’s easy to leap head first into your project, without a second thought. The Two of Wands, without diminishing the energy of your idea, encourages you to focus for a moment.
This is a chance to sit with your idea. Think it through. Indulge in some planning.
Let your thoughts ebb and flow for a time – it’s likely your mind is very busy right now. Calm it down so that you can pay attention to the different elements of your idea that pop in and out of your head.
Make notes. Draw a mind-map of your idea, or break it down into goals. Is it achievable? How can you make it so? Are there any barriers in your way, and how can you remove these? What is the aim of your idea, and how can you move towards it?
Three of Wands
From the World Spirit Tarot
Now it’s time for some action! With the Three of Wands, you’re ready to set your plans into motion. It’s that delicious, terrifying moment just before you do it…and then it’s the moment that you act.
As my card for the year, the Two of Wands is encouraging and reassuring.
It permits me to slow down, without taking any of the excitement out of my ideas. It says ‘Beth – you’re bursting with cool things to do and that’s great. How about thinking them through and figuring out how to actually do them?’
From the Rider Waite Smith Tarot
I’m so excited about 2015. The Alternative Tarot Course was launched last week and loads of you have already signed up. Next on my list is the tarot social network you’ve been asking for, a trip to the States, and the Queer Tarot Project! This is a fun time for me (and hopefully, for you, my readers, too) but it could easily get stressful. Keeping the Two of Wands close by will help me to keep a clear head, to plan things properly, and to make the most of all this fiery energy.
Awesome.
PS If you’re really interested in this wands sequence, I wrote a similar post a few years ago: Thought into action – Two to Three of Wands
I’m a 30-something writer, artist, tarot reader, and perpetual explorer of the space between thought, feeling, and action.
I believe that spirituality and ritual are for everybody. I’m about the journey, in all of its messy, non-linear, chaotic iterations. I am excited by anticapitalist business and living with my whole entire self present. I use tarot cards to bring forth hidden truth, and ritual to affirm my commitment, over and over, to my ever-shifting path.
This is a great card to draw Beth. When I look at the version of the Wild Unknown deck I can imagine the energy sparkling between the two wands; ready to be set out in the world!
Yeah, it’s a great card isn’t it! It always reminds me of a tuning fork… as if you’re ‘tuning up’ your idea. It makes the focus feel very…unavoidable. very directive 🙂
Thanks for this! I draw the 2 and 3 of wands A LOT in readings, and for some reason they always get confused or combined in my head.
Totally! I used to get them really confused too… still do to an extent, as they both have that bristling ‘just about to happen’ energy. It doesn’t help that the Two and Three of Wands in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck are so similar-looking – both with a dude in a cape gazing out over the sea from some castle or other. I tend to differentiate by thinking ‘the dude in the two just sent his ships out’ and ‘the guy in the three is now seeing his come back in’.
Not sure if that helps or just makes it more confusing 😛