Page of Wands tarot card meaning: upright, reversed and symbols

The Page of Wands is the student of the fire suit. A young person stands in a desert holding a tall staff and looking up at it with interest, as if wondering what it could do.

The card is about curiosity, enthusiasm and news of a chance worth exploring. Here is what the Page of Wands means upright and reversed, the symbols in the 1909 card and how to read the Page as a person or an energy.

Here is the Page of Wands at a glance.

In Book T the Page of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck is a Princess. The Princess of Wands is the Princess of the Shining Flame and the Rose of the Palace of Fire, Earth of Fire, on Malkuth. Instead of a slice of the zodiac she rules a quarter of the heavens around the North Pole, the one centered on Leo, and she is the throne of the Ace of Wands. The astrology printed on my first deck is a separate, later system.

The card: what Pamela Colman Smith drew

Waite wrote that “a young man stands in the act of proclamation. He is unknown but faithful, and his tidings are strange.” Smith set him in a dry landscape with three pyramid-like mounds, the same kind of land the Knight of Wands rides through.

The salamanders on his tunic. His tunic is patterned with salamanders. In old European lore the salamander was said to live in fire, which is why occult writers made it the spirit of the element of fire. It marks him as a child of the fire suit.

Looking up at the wand. He studies the staff as if it were new to him. That is the Page’s gift: real curiosity, without needing the whole map first.

The desert and the mounds. The dry land is hot and open. There is room to explore, but little shelter. Enthusiasm needs water and a plan to last.

Upright meaning

Upright, the Page of Wands is curiosity with energy behind it. A young person stands in the desert and looks up at a tall staff as if wondering what it could do. Pages are students, and this one is learning about fire: passion, creativity, adventure and desire. The card often brings news of an opportunity, or the urge to try something completely new.

The Page does not yet know how to use the wand. That is fine. The card asks you to be a beginner, to explore before committing, and to follow what excites you even if you cannot see where it leads. The salamanders on the tunic are creatures of fire, said to survive in flames, and they hint at a spirit that is hard to put out.

Expect enthusiasm and some mess. Good ideas will come quickly, and not all of them will last.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, the Page of Wands shows enthusiasm that scatters. You may start many things and finish none, wait for inspiration instead of practicing, or lose interest as soon as something becomes difficult. It can also mean news that disappoints, or a plan that is not yet ready to begin.

Ask what would happen if you kept going with one thing for a single week, past the point of novelty. The reversed Page often just needs a little structure.

In love, work and spirituality

In love. Upright: Flirting, a new crush, or a playful and adventurous phase. Reversed: Immaturity, ghosting, or a crush that burns out fast.

At work. Upright: A new course, an internship, a creative project or the first step into a new field. Reversed: Procrastination, a lack of direction, or jumping between jobs.

With money. Upright: Small earnings from a new venture or creative side project. Reversed: Spending on whims, or schemes with no plan.

In spiritual practice. Upright: Exploring a new path with curiosity. Reversed: Collecting practices without committing to any.

As feelings. Excited and curious. They are interested, though perhaps not ready for anything serious.

As a person. A young or young-at-heart person, enthusiastic and adventurous, who starts things with great energy.

As advice. Try something new, and give it more than one week.

Reading the Page of Wands: positions and yes or no

In the past position: A burst of curiosity set you on this path. In the present position: Something new has caught your interest. Explore it.

In the future position: News or an invitation is coming. As advice: Take one small, curious step.

In modern yes or no readings, the Page of Wands leans yes. Curiosity and fresh energy point toward yes.

The page in the tarot court, and the history behind the card

As the youngest member of the fire court, the Page carries the suit’s energy as a fresh impulse. In the Golden Dawn scheme, Princesses are the element made physical, so this Page is the flame touching the ground.

Here is how the Page looks across the four suits:

• Page of Wands (this card): curiosity, enthusiasm, new opportunities
• Page of Cups: intuition, creativity, emotional openness
• Page of Swords: curiosity, mental agility, sharp questions
• Page of Pentacles: ambition, new ventures, learning

When A. E. Waite published The Pictorial Key to the Tarot in 1910, he listed these divinatory meanings for the Page of Wands: “Dark young man, faithful, a lover, an envoy, a postman. Beside a man, he will bear favorable testimony concerning him. A dangerous rival, if followed by the Page of Cups. Has the chief qualities of his suit. He may signify family intelligence.”

Reversed, he gave: “Anecdotes, announcements, evil news. Also indecision and the instability which accompanies it.”

Common questions

Is the Page of Wands a yes or no card? It leans yes. It brings enthusiasm and good news.

Who is the Page of Wands as a person? Often a young or young-at-heart person who is curious, energetic and full of ideas, or a beginner of any age.

What does the Page of Wands mean in love? An exciting new attraction or a flirty message. Reversed, someone who is fun but not ready to commit.

Try this

Try this small spread for the Page of Wands. Use it when something new has caught your interest.

Affirmation: I follow new enthusiasm with a simple first expedition.

Reversed affirmation: I choose one direction and start instead of only imagining.

If you keep a tarot journal, take one of these questions to it: What am I curious about right now? What small expedition could I take this month? What did I love doing before I worried about being good at it?

What next

Cards that sit close to this one are Ace of Wands (the raw spark the Page is learning to carry), The Fool (the Major Arcana card of curious beginnings) and Page of Cups (the water Page, curious about feelings and dreams).

The Page of Wands is part of the lesson Meet the court in my free Tarot for Beginners course. To see the whole suit on one page, go to the suit of Wands.

To keep walking the suit, read the card before it, Ten of Wands or the card after it, Knight of Wands, or go back to all the card meanings.

For more on the court, see Tarot court cards without confusion. For every card with keywords, affirmations and examples, see my book The Novice’s Guide to Tarot. If you would like a printable cheat sheet for all 78 cards, my 45-page Tarot Workbook is on Etsy.

Sources

• A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1910), Part III, sections 1 and 2.
• Pamela Colman Smith and A. E. Waite, the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot (London: Rider, 1909).
• Nicolas Conver, Tarot de Marseille (Marseille, 1760).
• Lauri Mukkala, The Novice’s Guide to Tarot, entry for the Page of Wands.
• Aleister Crowley, 777 (London: Walter Scott, 1909), columns of the decans, the Minor Arcana and the court cards.
• Israel Regardie, ed., The Golden Dawn (Chicago: Aries Press, 1937 to 1940), “Book T”, titles and attributions of the small cards and the court.