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

The Queen of Wands sits on a throne carved with lions, a wand in one hand and a sunflower in the other, with a black cat at her feet. She is warm, confident and very much herself.

She knows the fire element so well that she can hold it calmly. This page covers what the Queen of Wands means upright and reversed, what Pamela Colman Smith drew and how to read her as a person or as an energy.

Here is the Queen of Wands at a glance.

Book T calls her the Queen of the Thrones of Flame and makes her Water of Fire, the steady, sustaining part of the element, on Binah. She rules from 20° Pisces to 20° Aries. The Golden Dawn and Crowley agree on the Queens, unlike the Knights and Kings, so this is one of the more stable attributions in the court.

The card: what Pamela Colman Smith drew

Waite wrote: “The Wands throughout this suit are always in leaf, as it is a suit of life and animation. Emotionally and otherwise, the Queen’s personality corresponds to that of the King, but is more magnetic.” Smith added the sunflower and the cat, two details that make this one of the best loved court cards.

The sunflower. Sunflowers turn toward the sun. Her flower stands for warmth, joy and a life that faces the light. It also links her to the Sun card.

The black cat. The cat at her feet is Smith’s addition, and Waite did not explain it. Modern readers often see independence, intuition and a touch of witchiness. I like to read it as the part of her that keeps its own counsel.

The lions on the throne. Lions decorate her throne. They connect her to courage and to the sign of Leo, and to the Strength card, where a woman calms a lion with her hands.

Upright meaning

Upright, the Queen of Wands is warmth and confidence. She sits on a lion throne with a sunflower in one hand and a staff in the other, and a black cat sits at her feet. She knows who she is. She is creative, magnetic and generous, and her energy fills a room without needing to dominate it.

The sunflower turns to the sun, and so does she: toward what is alive, joyful and growing. The black cat is her shadow side and her magic, the part of her that is independent and a little mysterious. In readings she often asks you to step into your own power, to be seen and to lead through warmth rather than control.

She is also a manager of fire. She keeps the hearth burning for everyone, which is a real skill.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, the Queen of Wands can turn her heat inward or outward in unhealthy ways. She may show insecurity, jealousy, demands for attention or burnout from being everyone’s sun. Confidence can tip into arrogance, and warmth into a temper.

Ask where your confidence comes from today. If it depends on others’ approval, find one small thing to do just for yourself. If you are exhausted from keeping everyone else warm, let the fire burn low for a while.

In love, work and spirituality

In love. Upright: Attraction, confidence and a warm, sociable partner. Reversed: Jealousy, possessiveness or a partner who needs to be the center.

At work. Upright: Leadership through charisma, creative direction, running a busy home or team. Reversed: Burnout, or a leader whose moods set the tone for everyone.

With money. Upright: Confident financial choices and generosity. Reversed: Spending to impress.

In spiritual practice. Upright: Fire magic, candle work, and owning your practice proudly. Reversed: Spiritual performance for an audience.

As feelings. Warm, attracted and confident. They enjoy being with you.

As a person. A charismatic, warm, creative person who is comfortable in their own skin.

As advice. Lead with warmth, and stay true to yourself.

Reading the Queen of Wands: positions and yes or no

In the past position: A confident, warm person or attitude shaped your path. In the present position: Step into your confidence. You are ready.

In the future position: A time of visibility and creative independence is coming. As advice: Lead warmly and say what you want.

In modern yes or no readings, the Queen of Wands leans yes. Her confidence points to yes.

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

Queens are the inward mastery of their suit. In fire, that means a steady heat rather than a blaze, which fits the Golden Dawn’s idea of her as the water within fire.

Here is how the Queen looks across the four suits:

• Queen of Wands (this card): confidence, independence, warmth
• Queen of Cups: compassion, intuition, emotional security
• Queen of Swords: independence, clarity, intellect
• Queen of Pentacles: practicality, nurturing, financial security

When A. E. Waite published The Pictorial Key to the Tarot in 1910, he listed these divinatory meanings for the Queen of Wands: “A dark woman, country-woman, friendly, chaste, loving, honorable. If the card beside her signifies a man, she is well disposed towards him; if a woman, she is interested in the Querent. Also, love of money, or a certain success in business.”

Reversed, he gave: “Good, economical, obliging, serviceable. Signifies also, but in certain positions and in the neighborhood of other cards tending in such directions, opposition, jealousy, even deceit and infidelity.”

Common questions

Is the Queen of Wands a yes or no card? It leans yes. She is confident and decisive.

Who is the Queen of Wands as a person? Often someone warm, outgoing, creative and independent, with natural charisma. Court cards can describe any gender.

What does the Queen of Wands mean in love? Confident attraction and an open heart. Reversed, jealousy or insecurity.

Try this

Try this small spread for the Queen of Wands. Use it when you want to step into your confidence.

Affirmation: I lead with warm confidence and keep my independence intact.

Reversed affirmation: I release jealousy and demands that come from insecurity.

If you keep a tarot journal, take one of these questions to it: Where do I play small when I could shine? What does my own black cat know that I do not say aloud? Who feels warmer and braver when I show up fully?

What next

Cards that sit close to this one are Strength (the Major Arcana card of a woman calming a lion), The Sun (the Major Arcana card that shares her sunflowers) and King of Wands (her partner on the fire throne, leading through vision).

The Queen 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, Knight of Wands or the card after it, King 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 Queen 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.