King and Queen of Wands: The Sun’s Rays

In most of the world’s mythology and folklore, The Sun is depicted as masculine, and the Earth as feminine. I’m not sure that this resonates with me, and it hasn’t always been that way in all cultures. But mostly, we will find that this is the case.

As I look at the King and Queen of Wands from the Waite-Smith Tarot lined up next to each other, I consider instead the Pagan idea of the Universe (or at least the Earth) as being ruled by a Goddess force and a God force (or, in less gendered terms, active and receptive forces). In many ways, it is difficult to see the Sun as anything other than active – it truly is the giver of life, and it accepts nothing from us. However, we can definitely experience the Sun as a gentle caregiver at times, and this is where our King and Queen of Wands come to represent different aspects of the Sun’s energy. (The suit of Wands representing the element of Fire.)

In the Waite-Smith Tarot, when the Queen is placed to the left, and the King to the right, we experience a wholeness in the picture that can feel missing when we see the two cards separately. They gaze towards each other, working in harmony. We recognise the Sun’s energy as a pendulum that swings between the two of them; the Queen being the gentle aspect of the Sun, when her temperature is just right for our comfort, and the King being the raw energy of the Sun that may or may not comfort us, helping things to grow, ready to act. Sometimes burning. The King is the ultimate Power for life on Earth, the intelligence of light and heat.

Above: Queen and King of Wands from the Waite-Smith Tarot.

Both the King and Queen in the RWS sit upon thrones against clear skies. It is hot, dry. I don’t know how their skins manage to remain so pale under those conditions. They each hold a long Wand in one hand, and perform very different actions with their free hand; the Queen holds a beautiful sunflower with ease whilst the King, empty hand slightly clenched, takes an agitated pose, as if he is about to defend his realm from attack.

The Queen has a beautiful black cat at her feet – a sign of good luck (at least in some places) and, apparently, a symbol of beauty. The King, on the other hand, is joined by a scaly, black salamander or lizard, who keeps its distance. One animal is fluffy to the touch and sits happily close to the queen; the other is dry and inhospitable, keeping more distance from the king. One is domestic, the other is wild. The Queen of the Sun comforts us with her warmth, the King of the Sun might burn.

I wrote these considerations about the King and Queen of Wands from a very hot country (at least in comparison to Scotland): Indonesia. I crossed into the Southern Hemisphere, called – as we humans are – to experience another climate and culture for a short time. Below are some considerations about these cards from my time on the beach….

Queen of Wands/Queen of Fire

The temperature is warm, but not unbearable. A breeze greets me as the sound of soft waves rolls in and out of the white sand shoreline. My heartbeat is slow, restful, as if the temperature on the outside matches my inner temperature perfectly and all feels in harmony. As if to mirror the card, an island cat, Lou, hops onto my sun lounger to purr at my side. I have never seen such a happy cat, day after day, hour after hour. The Sun’s cats are made for this climate. I feel her vibrating purrs beneath her hot fur; she clenches and loosens her happy paws on my towel; the bones of my fingers vibrate with her body, and for a moment, there seems to be no separation between us under the blazing Sun.

King of Wands/King of Fire

Later, I realise that my white skin needs suncream; my eczema doesn’t do well in this temperature: I am red, blotchy, itching. I apply several creams to calm it down in the bathroom, and for a moment think about the wildfires spreading with a disturbing regularity across the world as the climate rises. Mirroring the King of Wands card in the Waite-Smith card, a little lizard scurries across the bathroom floor, moving quickly, terrified of my enormous presence. I find it beautiful but I am aware of its lack of interest in me; a creature of the Sun, of this little island near Lombok and Bali, it cares nothing for human interaction. I leave the bathroom and sit on the doorstep of the bungalow: I look ahead of me at palm trees reaching for the sunlight, I recognise the sheer power of this solar force that is the master of everything. Without it, we all die. We are all reaching for it, always – humans and palm trees alike – whether by trapping light for photosynthesis through lush, jungle green leaves, or pulling a duvet over us on a cold night to warm up, trapping in the Sun’s energy that our bodies have stored.

Above: King and Queen of Wands from the Tarot de Marseille-Waite by Iger/Laverty.

We might forget the Sun’s presence, constant as it is in our lives. But it is worth checking in with ourselves from time to time and asking: how are we experiencing the Sun today? Do we feel as if the King and Queen are missing, feeling chilly and lost? Do we feel nurtured by the Queen? Are we aware of the King’s complete power to make life grow in order to live? How does it feel to tap into your storytelling mind and to imagine the Sun’s energies as being provided by these two magnificent characters? Try it next time you are aware of the Sun’s energy. Picture the Queen of Wands or the King standing alongside you, present somehow, providing.

That’s all for now, friends. Thank you for being here – and please check out my Therapeutic Tarot Sessions and my courses embracing Tarot and Nature if you’d like us to work together. You can also sign up for the Tarot Blog newsletter (different to my main newsletter) below to receive occasional email updates (roughly monthly) with the latest posts.

Smiles from Scotland,

Stephen