8 of Wands - Don’t think!… Just do!
8 wands appear to be shooting downwards out of the sky, falling left to right. Their lines are straight and parallel. The background is full of sky - open and a clear, bright blue. There are rolling green hills and a stream flowing in the mid ground.
8 of Wands from the Rider Waite Smith Tarot
Whenever I pull this card, I hear it just as much as I see it. The sound of 8 arrows being launched from bows carried by some medieval warriors, taking aim, from far away…
At the point that the ‘arrows’ are depicted in the tarot image, they’ve gathered a lot of speed, momentum and energy. In a few moments they will surely land with several ‘thwack-a-thwacka-thwacks’ into their target.
Now, these wands are not the pointed, life threatening arrows that can kill or maim. They’re living, sprouting wands that symbolise vibrant life force energy and potential.
When they appear, they invite curiosity for how this life force - that’s both within you and surrounds you (they are one in the same btw) - is being utilised and transmuted.
What’s coming at me right now?
What exciting ideas are being ignited?
What’s being activated from within and rising into my awareness? What’s outside of me that’s piquing my attention?
At certain times I find that inspiration and ideas seem to come all at once. There’s a build up of creative energy (internally ~ environmentally), and depending on your mindset, this can be invigorating OR overwhelming. But, as wands are connected to the element of fire, this raw creativity needs to go somewhere, lest inspiration and ideas fizzle from lack of attention, OR the sparks rise up into a fire that burns out of control. Action is required.
What habits and beliefs tend to STOP me from taking action, or following through on ideas?
The open blue sky suggests an open, clear and empty mind, which is good because those wands are coming in so fast there might not be a lot of time to think. This is where stress and sympathetic activation of your nervous system can work FOR you. So I appreciate how the 8 wands are orderly and parallel. A natural structure that supports sorting and processing. The image invites notions of lists, bullet points, doing one thing at a time … the ✅, ✅, ✅ of jobs complete.
How would I prioritise what is most important? to less important?
What happens when I tend to the opportunities coming my way.
The thing about motivation is that it grows when you take action. You can’t wait for motivation to come to get started. So … Just. Get. It. Done. … Don’t think! Just do!
During a recent meditation, I found my mind clear and receptive. Much like the sky in the image. In this space, several interrelated ideas that seemed like partial answers to questions I’ve been living with for quite some time, flashed up like little sign posts out of a fog. The names of two people, a book, an image of a future possibility … Often these sorts of images and ideas can feel like an interruption to the contemplative reverie of meditation. But these seemed to spark warm excitement that felt connected to a greater meaning. Once I finished my meditation, and before I forgot, I quickly wrote an action list to honour each message. Even though I absolutely still tried to deflect, minimise or ignore the call to action, over the next couple of hours, and without attachment to outcome, I followed through on each … ✅, ✅, ✅ .
Mendy XX