How do you move within your communities?

[Traditionally called King of Wands]

Image description: A straight-size person with light brown skin holds a full, blooming sunflower over their right eye. Their brown hair is loosely tied in a knot on top of their head. Their face is soft and expressive, with large brown eyes, slightly parted full lips, a strong chin, and the stubble of a nascent mustache gracing their upper lip. They wear an off-white t-shirt with a black collar. The sunflower they hold is fully opened, stretching its petals out to the sky. Its center looks like a small green sun, radiating with life. Three large, luscious, verdant leaves come off of the stem. Behind them is a fertile forest, bursting with light-green life, and a brilliant sky of light blue and gold.

The Steward of Wands, traditionally called the King, is a driven, passionate individual with a strong character and sense of right and wrong. From their hard-won vantage point, they can clearly see what needs to happen and the means to execute their vision. This helps them to communicate their vision to others, garner support, motivate their communities, and manifest their ideas. Like the sunflower they hold, the Steward has worked hard to grow and open themself up to be seen in this new space where they can both receive and give to others.

When you pull this Steward, you may feel very passionate or enthusiastic about an aspect of your life. However, your actual energy reserves may not match your ambitions. This card can help us to learn more energetic management for both ourselves and others. Some important areas of energetic management include boundaries and conflict tolerance. The Steward of Wands has learned how to hold space for healthy, constructive conflict and tension between others without needing to resolve it, as well as how to set their own boundaries in these situations. They have grappled with their own desires to “save” others from uncomfortable situations and learned to trust others’ capacity. The sunflower in the Steward’s hand is a food source for both humans and animals. Similarly, this Steward serves as a resource to their communities.

Some challenges that can come up when we pull this Steward include issues around control, intense emotions, and self-defeating actions. The Steward is a capable leader who knows how to delegate, but it can be difficult to trust those traits in ourselves. We can sometimes bypass the emotions of ourselves and others in service of our ambitions and “productivity.” This is typically rooted in fear and a lack of true confidence in our abilities. Explore what you’re trying to protect when you notice issues coming up around control or feeling the need to be “right.” Are there parts of yourself that you need to love and validate for not being capable or efficient? Do you have sufficient outlets to creatively express your own inner child? Can you hold space to honor how coping mechanisms you developed, such as projecting false confidence, have both helped you and held you back?

Inspiration sources:
– Charlie Claire Burgess, Tarot Guides zine
– Courtney Alexander, Dust II Onyx tarot deck guidebook
– Cedar McCloud, Numinous tarot deck guidebook
– Samara Kasai, Tarot for Healing Justice course
– Lindsay Mack, Tarot for the Wild Soul course
– Hajo Banzhaf & Brigitte Theler, Keywords for the Crowley Tarot
– Yoav Ben-Dov, CBD Tarot deck guidebook
– Benebell Wen, Holistic Tarot
– Florgeous.com, “Sunflower Meaning & Symbolism”