VIII, Suit of WandsEight of Wands tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedEight of Wands in shortIn short
The Eight of Wands is speed. The wands fly over open country, all one way, already coming down. News is on its way, and the thing you waited for is close.
- Speed
- Movement
- News
Piece oneThe open country
Below the wands lie green hills, round trees and a river. A calm, wide land, ready for what is about to arrive.
"That which they signify is at hand; it may be even on the threshold."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe land is where the wands will arrive. Calm hills and a river wait under a sky full of motion, so the card holds both the flight and its landing place. Waite says what the wands mean is at hand. The country below gives that nearness a ground to touch.
Piece twoThe flight
The wands cross the sky at one angle, with nothing holding them. Waite calls it motion through the immovable: sky and land stay still, the wands rush past. No person stands on this card. Only movement.
"...a flight of wands through an open country"Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe flight is the whole card. No hand throws the wands and no one waits to catch them, so the subject is pure speed. Sky and hills stay still while the wands rush through them. The arrows and the landing are parts of this one movement, from start to end.
Piece threeThe arrows
Waite reads the wands as arrows, and upright he calls them the arrows of love. Fresh leaves still grow on each one: living branches, sent on purpose. Messages and feelings travel fast here.
"...generally, that which is on the move; also the arrows of love."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe wands as arrows give the speed a target. Waite's arrows of love say something is being sent to someone. Each wand still grows leaves, so what flies is alive and meant. This piece ties the flight above to the landing below, since arrows come down where they were aimed.
Piece fourThe landing
The lowest wands nearly touch the ground. Waite says they are reaching the end of their course. The journey is almost over and what they carry is about to land.
"...they draw to the term of their course."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe lowest wands nearly touch the hills, so the card ends on the ground. Waite says they draw near the end of their course. The flight carries news or feeling, and it is about to arrive. The open country below is ready for it.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
-
The open country
Olive greens and a blue river: a quiet land under a busy sky. The Ace of Wands sits over the same kind of country, green hills and a river, while a hand offers a single wand from a cloud. In the Eight that one wand has become many, and all of them are already in the air.
Also in -
The flight
Rust red on clear pale blue: nothing in the sky blocks them. Nobody holds these wands. In the Five of Wands staves cross at every angle in a scuffle. Here they've lined up, all at one slant, all moving the same way.
Also in -
The arrows
Small bright leaves on red wood: alive, even at full speed. The leaves come from the Ace of Wands, where green shoots sprout from one branch and loose leaves drift in the air around it. In the Eight they hold on through the whole flight, a pair at every few inches of wood.
Also in -
The landing
Red wood meets green hills, and sky colour gives way to earth colour. The slant of the wands runs down to the right, so your eye falls with them toward the river. The red tips almost touch the olive green, the two halves of the card a moment from meeting.
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
Eight of WandsUpright
Speed and movement. Waite lists activity in undertakings, swiftness like an express messenger, great haste, great hope, and speed towards a happy end. Stuck things start moving, often all at once.
Expect news, messages, travel and quick decisions. Be ready: answer the call, send the message, and keep up while the pace lasts.
Eight of WandsReversed
Waite's words turn sharp: arrows of jealousy, internal dispute, stings of conscience, quarrels, and domestic disputes for married people. The speed now carries arguments and hurt.
Expect delays, stalled plans or messages that go astray. Slow down before you say something you can't take back.
Yes or noYes.
Yes, and soon. Things are already moving your way.
Eight of Wands in your lifeIn your life
Love
Waite's arrows of love. Strong attraction, fast messages, a relationship that moves quickly.
Work
Work speeds up. Offers, answers and deadlines land close together. Stay organised.
Money
Money moves fast, in or out. Make the quick decisions you already thought through. Skip the impulse buys.
Health
Energy and movement. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor, and don't rush recovery.
Spirituality
Sudden insight. Ideas come fast, so write them down before they fly past.
Advice
Act now and keep moving. The way is clear and the timing is yours.
As a person
Quick, lively, direct. Answers fast and is always on the way somewhere.
Past, present, future
Past: everything happened fast. Present: news and movement. Future: the thing you wait for arrives soon.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Suit
- Wands
- Element
- Fire
- Astrology
- Mercury in Sagittarius
- Sephira
- Hod
- Upright
- Activity
- Reversed
- Jealousy
QuestionsCommon questions
Yes. Upright it brings speed, hope and good news. Reversed, Waite reads jealousy and quarrels.
Waite calls the wands the arrows of love. Strong attraction, quick messages, a fast relationship.
Yes, and soon. Things are already moving.
Waite calls it motion through the immovable: wands flying over open country, near the end of their course. The thing they stand for is close, maybe at the door.
Very fast. Waite speaks of great haste and of something already on the threshold. In the Golden Dawn system it is Mercury in Sagittarius, a quick planet in a fire sign.
Waite sees motion through still things: wands flying over open country, near the end of their course. The thing they stand for is close, maybe at the door.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Element, decan and sephira: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 14 Wands