Knight of Wands - Man on fire
Offering for the Full Moon occurring on 20 August 2024 (AEST)
A person dressed in full metal armour rides a brown horse that is rearing on its hind legs. They also wear a yellow tunic over the top of their armour, which is adorned with symbols that look like black geckos - that almost but not quite, form a closed circle. The long tunic has a jagged flame-like hem. The helmet is also plumed with a red-orange flame-like tassel. The same flame-like adornment appears to come off the rider’s arm and elbow, and as the shape of the horse’s mane. Their hair which can be seen beneath the open-faced helmet is also orange. They hold a brown sprouting wand in their right hand, and grip the reins with their left hand. In the background and very lowest portion of the scene is a yellow-orange sandy desert, with 3 pyramid shapes. The sky is vast, clear and light blue-grey.
To listen to me read this offering aloud - click the link below
The Knight of Wands from the Rider Waite Smith tarot
All the knights in the tarot are representative of young masculine energy. The Knights take action, move, and are in doing mode - yang in Eastern philosophy. Each knight of the tarot acts in their own way according to the element of their suit, and is subservient to a greater authority - i.e. the Kings and Queens.
Wands - being of the fire element shows fire in action making this Knight especially enthusiastic, creative, passionate, warm, igniting, and motivated. The personality of this young fiery knight is - yang-yang, let’s-go, don’t think-just do.
What is a gift of this “don’t think, or plan, just do” attitude? Where could this be useful in your life right now?
Everything about the image says warm, flaming, and ready! the horse is up, the posture open, and the way clear.
But - I confess to a personal bias and will share a deeply personal experience: this archetypal figure - a young, red-haired man - is a recurring character in my dreams - sometimes romantic, always encouraging. In the dreams, I’m usually surprised by their interest in me as a ‘mature woman’.
I don’t make the error of thinking literally about this visit or attention. When a woman dreams of a male - this figure can be symbolic of the unconscious ‘masculine’ aspect of herself - her opposite within - her animus*. In dreams (as symbolic of unconscious material) this can reveal qualities that have been repressed or ignored and that require attention.
This young, flaming knight certainly reminds me a lot of the young man from my unconscious - but because this character is stepping forward for this collective full moon message - we can all use the archetype and personality and be encouraged by this brash young man to act with passion, creativity, and be a force of this in action.
How might you be laying low or being passive?
How might going-for-it, and following your desires or urges, be something you shut off from?
While I tend to take the positive message from this knight, you need to be careful with fire.
Unlike the mature masculine of the Kings in the court, Knight energy is less experienced. So their fiery personality can also be impetuous, hot-headed, cranky, even aggressive. Fire can get out of control.
I mean, both rider and horse do look a little startled - yes?
Where or with whom could you mature and develop the way you express anger, passion and desire?
Many girls and women have been socialised to tame their fire, so might not feel comfortable acting it out. I’m sure this is why my young man visits me in dreams - encouraging this aspect of self to be expressed.
When you’re trying to bring a new attitude into the world as a new action or behaviour, early efforts to express this might fall short or over-shoot.
This should not be taken as discouragement, but a sign to keep going - consciously. To develop, refine and mature the rawness into something that can take you in a new exciting direction.
Fire as anger indicates a limit or boundary could be set. Fire as passion indicates a desire to be tended. Fire as creativity indicates something wants to be born from you.
How do you experience fire - as an emotion, and in your body?
What is one action that would help this become expressed tangibly? What would the doing-mode look like?
This knight encourages doing something before you are ready. At times in my life I have certainly acted more like the knight - mostly when I was younger, and in my 20s (probably the age of this knight). Maybe we all have somewhat - then as we have matured we bury it instead of enhancing and fine-tuning it.
As a collective, humanity certainly could use more mature assertion, passion and creativity.
Mendy xx
*Animus and anima (the inner feminine archetype for those who identify as male) are Jungian concepts that say we each contain within our psyche a twin “other”. This could be of the opposite sex from which we identify, but could just as easily be of an “other” personality that is hidden. It's just that the way men and women are socialised, what is hidden are often qualities that belong to the other sex. As culture defines what is masculine and feminine, the image that the anima/animus take can vary depending on time and place. Now as the cultural conversations are once more blurring the lines between genders we may find our dreams reflect this shifting collective consciousness.I like June Singer’s “Boundaries of the Soul. The Practice of Jung’s Psychology’ as an accessible overview of Jung’s ideas on the anima/animus.