June 23-29, 2025
Two of Wands
The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.
William M. Lewis
This New Moon week, with America staggering (or swaggering?) into yet another pointless, unconstitutional war based on a lie, this frequent visitor shifts focus from the recent spate of Swords back to the action-packed Wands.
Except this Wands message is far more contemplative and quiet than almost any other. Say hello to the Two of Wands.
The Tarot Twos portray choices, duality, this and/or that. And the magical Wands are involved with the areas in your life that revolve around action, energy, creativity, change, passion, and power.
This is the gentleman of the manor, probably a merchant of means, since he does not appear to be a soldier.
As you can see, he holds a globe in one hand. Is he contemplating a journey? Conquest? Or perhaps he is scrying with it, like a crystal ball. Note that Pamela Colman Smith’s rendering shows the Old World continents, not the New.
In his other hand, he holds a wand, which rests on a parapet decorated with white lilies and red roses – a motif you’ll see repeated in a number of Tarot cards, including the Hierophant, the Magician, and the Ace of Pentacles.
These flowers represent the intertwining of passion and purity in the human experience. Both are necessary for us to fulfill our highest potential.
The second wand behind him is secured to the castle wall. He has turned his back on this, and he looks towards the sea in the distance.
Is it merely a coincidence of perspective that he appears to stand on only one leg? Is he poised to move forward? Or is he stepping safely back?
The Merchant and the Priestess
It is easy to imagine that the two wands create a sort of doorway, or a magical threshold. What threshold do you stand upon this week?
And yet how can this gentleman move through it, from within his castle walls and at this height? To do so, he would be very much like The Fool, wouldn’t he?
The two wands also echo the columns in the foundational Two of the deck, the High Priestess. She sits between columns named Boaz (the B column on your left) and Jachin (the J column on your right), which are from the fabled temple of Solomon.
Most scholars agree that Jachin means, “to establish,” while Boaz is not as clear and has been interpreted as strength, boldness, or perhaps fleetness. It has also been described as representing the unknowable.
So when you look at the merchant on the wall with his two Wands, you see that it is the Jachin-like one that is bolted onto the stone. Strength, security, and establishment are clearly represented here.
In his left hand, though, he holds up the wand of Boaz. What shall he create with it? Or will he remain on his wall, gazing at the globe in his right hand?
What is his true desire? Does he want to stay where it is comfortable and secure? Or risk going out into the world and the unknown?
Is he, in fact, divining the answer through his magical gaze, perceiving answers directly from the Earth Herself?
New Moon, Jupiter, and Solstice Points, Oh My!
Like the time the Two of Wands came calling, in the Winter of 2024, global events have taken a dramatic turn (and it’s only Monday). All eyes are on the war that the Felon has thrown our country into.
Our unflinching, truth-telling friend, Elisabeth Grace, tells me there will be lots of big talk from the “big” leaders. This trifecta of “bombast, expansion, and wipe outs” comes to us courtesy of the Sun squaring Neptune today (Monday), and then conjunct Jupiter tomorrow.
Then, speaking of wipe outs, we have a 4º, 8 minutes Cancer New Moon on Wednesday. She writes:
Cancer rules the Moon, so Moon is Cancer offers an especially productive opportunity to plant seeds for meeting your need for emotional security — home, family, Mom and apple pie. Wherever this New Moon falls in your horoscope is where these seeds may be planted. For the US it seems the nation will be planting seeds that refer to confinement, ginormous institutions of confinement, hidden enemies, and self-sabotage. How those seeds are planted is likely to reflect how the nation is seen, our wallets, and how we need to think.
The Sabian Symbol for this New Moon is “an auto wrecked by a train.” It’s not clear from the image if there were fatalities, only that the car was wrecked. The Symbol represents a collision of man-made vehicles. One represents a person acting on their own authority (the auto); the other is a “much more powerful vehicle for the transport of many people,” writes Sabian Sage Blain Bovee.
We can see this as a power clash between a would-be unitary executive and the collective. We are invited to be on the watch for themes of “guerilla tactics against a powerful foe; being swept away by prevailing currents, or ingenious ways to maneuver on one’s course…perhaps losing your individuality to go along with the conventional track.” Astrologer James Burgess doesn’t mince words. “The collective will of the community has the power to bring destruction of an individual out of alignment with their destiny.”
We should note that the solar eclipse of December 2019 was at 4 Capricorn, opposite this New Moon. We may see an activation of themes that developed in January 2020. Awareness of Covid is one theme that comes to mind.
So is the figure in our card weighing the pros and cons of following his own will (an important facet of the Wands), versus the will of the larger world?
Perhaps this applies to all the Senators who need to decide whether they are going to obey the self-serving lunatic who is slamming our nation into needless war. Or will they heed the calls from the public to defeat the Big Horrible No Good Bill that is coming up this week? Perhaps you’d like to let them know your will.
Meantime, Annie Heese at Café Astrology notes:
This New Moon aligns with Jupiter and harmonizes with Mars, creating positive and confident energy behind our new beginnings. However, it also forms a quincunx to Pluto and a square to the Saturn-Neptune alignment, complicating things greatly. As much as we want to push ahead with our plans, there can be personal obstacles and blocks primarily related to our independence and personal plans, as well as nagging concerns and fears in our social lives to manage.
Caution is advised about pushing your agenda without considering the effect it may have on others. Just like, hopefully, our merchant is doing.
And this week, our friend Lorna Bevan writes that she is —
Tracking the Long and Winding Road from December 21st 2024-June 21st 2025
The two Solstice Points are pivot points on which the world turns and when your own inner trajectory re-sets itself for the 6 months ahead.
As another cycle ends, cast your mind back to late December, then set aside the time to track the last six months of twists and turns by leafing or scrolling back through your journal or Morning Pages…
Outer events are always easier to think about or record but it’s only when you start to notice your quiet inner evolution happening in parallel that you can join the dots and see your true path emerging.
Ask yourself:
- What kind of inner home have I really been building since last December? What does it look like? What does it feel like?
- Is the scaffolding — my support system — strong enough to support me?
- What has collapsed, been discarded, or left for good?
- What are the flickers of intuition pulling at my hair, nudging me in a new direction?
The gentleman on the parapets would agree.
Open the Door To Yes
There is an important choice before you. Take your time and consider carefully, knowing you have enormous power at your fingertips.
In this card’s past visits, we’ve been urged to find ways to express our passions, create, and move out of stasis. This is still true, and very important, even in, perhaps especially in, times of global peril. But my primary sense is that its timing at this dangerous moment in world history cannot be ignored.
We live in a profoundly interconnected world. Our economies, our technologies, our health, our ecology, our very biology all serve to remind us that there is no such thing as acting unilaterally.
Who is imagining they hold the world in their hands? To what purpose? And is it with our agreement?
What magical choice lies before you? How does your personal desire align with the greater good?
Consider carefully, but don’t wait to begin your life.
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