Four of Wands Meaning: Upright and Reversed

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Itana has been reading Tarot for a number of years. They are dedicated to honing their craft and sharing that information with others on Tarot Technique. In addition to Tarot, Itana is an occultist and astrologer, truly a well-rounded spiritualist!

Upright and Reversed Keywords

Upright Keywords

Golden Age
Purchase of property
New home
Wedding
Celebration
Big gathering, a feast
Closing deals, making a profit
Successful business ventures
Homecoming

Reversed Keywords

Halfhearted happiness
Short-term romance/affair
Weak foundations
Glass legs
Premature marriage
Business partners going behind one’s back
Losing profit although being responsible for it
Loved one marries another
Neediness
Transition

Four of Wands

The main point of the Four of Wands card is balance and celebration. The Lord of Finished Business has blessed the reader through the appearance of this card, and it foretells that a hefty reward is in place for the hard work and invested energy, sweat and blood. He is propitious towards mages who have the will to finish what they started, thus he graces them with many fortunes and gifts once their hard work is over.

This card is a solid indication that a big event that will cause an even bigger celebration is going to happen. Usually, it’s a wedding, but it can also be a Sabbath or a spiritual gathering. It’s an omen of time filled with feast and laughter, joy and good things.

The spirits of this card are fiery in nature, and thus the gathering they foretell will have a lot of active energy and explosive activities. If you ever heard of people celebrating by firing firearms in the air – that is it – the embodiment of the Four of Wands.

Firing firearms is a very common (and quite old) tradition practiced at many weddings, especially in Europe, for it is believed to dissipate negative spirits and evil entities, and invite merriment, fertility and joy. Fireworks, too – Four of Wands energy through and through.

The mysterious aspect of the Four of Wands is connected to the Golden Age of humanity when heroes dined with gods. In those, now ancient times, gods still walked amongst humans, but humanity has fallen low since those times. We’re in the age of Iron right now, very far from the Golden; and despite our technology maxing out, our moral destitution and soul degradation are peeking.

The Four of Wands sends a mystic message to humanity and current society that one day Golden Age will come again, but in order for it to be again, it’s in our hands to make it happen. It’s in love, faith and hope we should place our hopes and bets in. We need to work together on it, to bring the Golden Age once again to our tables, in our lives and in our dwellings.

Spirits of this card are also very interested in the destiny of the mage who’s doing the reading. They are curious to know whether the reader (mage) will get initiated in the spiritual mystery teachings and what will s/he learn. Initiated mage becomes a hero, as of old, and he gets an honorable seat at the table of the gods where he has the chance to observe and learn, literally from the best.

For the initiated mage, the Golden Age is not out of reach in the murky past or foggy future, he has the privilege to witness and experience the Golden Age in the now, as it happens. This is why the mage should be very happy (and honored) when s/he sees the Four of Wands in his reading, it’s a great omen and a good sign of even better things to come.

Symbolism and Imagery of the Four of Wands

The first thing that catches the eye when looking at the card of Four of Wands is the (bright) colours. At the very front of the card, there are four wands (staffs) that are perfectly aligned and balanced as all things should be. The wands are adorned with flowery wreaths that symbolize victory and celebration.

Next, we notice the two people in the middle of the wands – they are caught in the motion of celebration with posies triumphantly hoisted in the air; the figures are dressed in white, blue and red respectively representing the male and female archetypes within the celebration (also a wedding). The ground and background are yellow – symbols of happiness and good times.

There are other figures in the background in front of the big, white castle with red rooftops symbolizing the time of celebration, peace and happiness. The imagery on this card sends a clear message – all is well and life is good, rejoice!

Upright Four of Wands Meaning

When in the upright position Four of Wands announces a time of prosperity, celebration and good times with family and friends. It’s a card of joy and joyous reunions. It also represents homecoming; a celebration for someone returning from the army/battlefield, welcoming home a hero who has been on a faraway and arduous journey.

It foretells a wedding and festivities that follow that joyous event. It can also come up before major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas…) or big Sabbaths (Samhain, Beltane…), and times of collective celebrations and merry spirit.

Four of Wands indicates that you’ve worked long and hard enough and that the time has come for that paid leave/vacation you’ve been holding off. It’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labour and relax, you should recuperate and recharge your batteries, and you should do so surrounded by your loved ones.

Upright Four of Wands Love Meaning

When Four of Wands appears upright in a love reading, it’s surely a cause for celebration for you are getting married! If the reader is not inclined towards marriage as a legal union, then Four of Wands foretells of building a happy home together (there are more ways to be partners for life than just getting married).

Four of Wands can also be an omen of Handfasting, starting a life together or family. Going to someone else’s wedding is also a very big possibility with the Four of Wands. Attending a celebration with a fiery atmosphere is almost a certainty once the Four of Wands gets out in a reading.

Since Four of Wands represents reunions, love from your past might emerge and an old flame might flicker between you. It’s a good indicator of changed fortune and things turning out for the better when this card foretells of a reunion. There’s more chance for a happier ending than with any other card when it comes to past loves emerging.

Upright Four of Wands Career Meaning

When this shows up upright in a career reading it foretells of great things! It means that you are going on a well-deserved vacation or paid leave and that you’re going to have a great time. It’s also a solid omen of your hard work being paid off, whether through money or promotion, depends on the surrounding cards.

When it shows up in a career reading it tells that you have a good collective, excellent work atmosphere and good colleagues who’re willing to work well with you. It can also foretell a work gathering/celebration where you’ll have a good time and active team-building activities.

Whenever it shows up in a career reading it foreshadows great times, cause for celebration and success.

Upright Four of Wands Spiritual Meaning

When Four of Wands shows up upright in spiritual reading it signifies times of celebration and merry meets ahead. Celebrating Sabbaths or major festivals, making merry time and spending it together is what this card is all about. It might even indicate you being a host to a major spiritual event where a lot of people will get to have breakthroughs and epiphanies.

In spiritual terms, this card can also indicate a trip to a Tantra resort and delving deeper into yourself and getting spiritually richer. It can also indicate that you will meet your soulmate or your twin flame. It can also represent being reunited with your soul tribe.

Conversely, the Four of Wands might be nudging you to make that big announcement and share your epiphany with the world. It could be the start of your family business and become enlightening for many souls that have yet to come across your path. It conveys that the deeds you do now, and the foundations you lay now, are going to have major good karma paybacks in the future.

Reversed Four of Wands Meaning

When the Four of Wands makes a reversed appearance it can mean that something disharmonic happened recently, or that there was a falling out with a family member. Since this card is of the Fire element, this falling out shouldn’t be something that sticks for a long time, instead, it should pass quickly.

When this card shows up reversed it’s telling you to pay attention to the foundation of the business, partnership or relationship you’re trying to build, for the foundations are not strong enough. It can also announce a falling out within your close family circle as if a table has glass legs and only one crack is enough to topple it all down.

Conversely, the Four of Wands reversed is pointing to your inner lack of harmony and balance and is urging you not to give up and instead try harder and continue to prevail by being persistent. This is the card of encouragement, so when it shows up reversed it’s telling you that you’re almost on the finish line, just hang in there a bit more.

Reversed Four of Wands Love Meaning

When it shows up reversed it can mean moving out of your home due to marital separation, shattered family harmony and lost peace. It’s not an overly negative card, but it can represent some unpleasant events that are followed by heated arguments and emotions running high.

It can also represent reunion with a past lover turning even more sour this time around; it’s definitely a good indication of giving up on time or leaving dead things to rest. This card can mean that the reunion that you were hoping for will be cancelled or postponed.

Four of Wands reversed is also a good indicator that you need to work on your self-image and confidence. You might be overly pessimistic or suffering from an inferiority complex, and that is not a good look on you. So, this is a message for you to work on yourself and improve your confidence in order to be able to see your good qualities and charms.

Reversed Four of Wands Career Meaning

When it shows up reversed it foretells of a collective disbalance and lack of harmony; there might be a lot of opposing wills and energies at your work, and you might be feeling them all quite intensely. Conversely, there could be a simmering build-up of a fight that will create discord within your collective, and you’ll witness it all.

This card can also mean that you feel isolated or lonely at work and that it’s time to work on your coworker relationships in order to create a more pleasant and creative surrounding for yourself. Four of Wands reversed is indicating that you have trouble with confidence and faith in yourself and your capabilities, trust yourself more.

This card showing up reversed can also mean that a team-building trip is going to be cancelled, or that a planned celebration at work is going to be counterproductive. Instead of creating stronger bonds and a friendlier atmosphere, the event will backfire.

Reversed Four of Wands Spiritual Meaning

When the Four of Wands show up reversed in spiritual reading it can mean that you are not going to enjoy the event you are planning to attend. It could be that you feel left out or like you don’t belong there. Conversely, it can mean that the long-planned ceremony or a celebration/festivity is going to be canceled abruptly.

This card can also indicate that you’ve been feeling lonely on your spiritual journey and that you could use a partner on your level. It’s also telling you that you shouldn’t search for love and spiritual solutions in others, but to find them in yourself.

The Four of Wands reversed can also indicate that the spells you were doing recently aren’t going to work because your emotion behind them wasn’t positive enough, this card is urging you to reexamine your own feelings before you try another spell that relies heavily on your emotions.

FAQs

The Four of Wands is a very positive and joyous card, even when it’s reversed it’s not a terrible omen. If you still have some questions about this card even after getting this far, make sure to check out the FAQs below.

Question: Is Four of Wands a Yes or No Card?

Answer: it’s a definite “yes” if it’s upright, but even reversed it can mean ‘yes’ only not in the long-term, but instead in the short-term.

Question: What Does Four of Wands Indicate in a Future Position?

Answer: it indicated the time of great merriment, joy and happiness, if upright. Of course, it can indicate a wedding, too. If it’s reversed it can indicate a celebration at which you’ll be sad even though everyone else is celebrating, or an event being cancelled.

Question: What Does Four of Wands Indicate in a Past Position?

Answer: if upright it tells you set good and solid foundations, you did your job well. If it’s reversed, it warns about the discord from the inside that escalated into something more troublesome.

Continue reading related tarot card meanings from the suit of wands: