The Knight of Wands is about movement, energy, challenge and excitement. I’ve always considered the Knights to represent young adulthood (late teens through 20s). That seems to be when we are at our most arrogant, self-confident and impetuous. I remember being in my late teens and 20s and I thought I knew it all. I had no tolerance for fools and no sympathy for anyone who couldn’t keep up.

Looking at the boy on the Housewives Knight of Wands I am struck by the fact that he is not only impetuous, he is fool-hardy. He seems to be envisioning himself as a knight of a charger holding his lance at the ready. But in reality, despite his delusions of grandeur, he looks a bit silly in his pot helmet and holding his plunger. When I first glanced at his expression I thought he looked mean, but now I realize he is focused and intent. He might be charging ahead to meet a friend in combative play, but he is earnest about it.

The ferret on the other Knight of Wands looks like he is looking forward to the upcoming battle. He is pumped up and ready for action. But he doesn’t look angry, merely excited. He is not worried about this fight. It reminds me of how young adults gear themselves up to face challenges, getting pumped up and assuring themselves and each other that the coming challenge will be a piece of cake. This isn’t really a problem, just a small obstacle in the way.

This card felt very appropriate when I went to meet with folks from the Aeclectic Tarot meet-up at East West Books. Now that East West Books is listing it on their newsletter and has a sign in their Tarot section about the meet-up, the majority of the folks who show up are not even familiar with Aeclectic. So when I got to East West and saw a group at a table I assumed that it was the Tarot meet-up. But I didn’t see any familiar faces and I froze. I immediately reverted back to lunch time in high school and feeling that panic of looking for an empty seat and a friendly face. I stood on line pretending to be considering something from the menu but in reality I was considering my options – I could just leave, I could sit at another table and eat something hoping someone I know shows up or I could just ask if this is the Tarot group and sit down. While I was pondering my options (which were complicated by the fact that there were no seats left at the table) another participant arrived and they had to pull another table over so seats weren’t an issue anymore.

I gave my order to the guy at the counter and still pondered what I would do. Ironically enough, despite my seemingly extroverted nature, I can be extremely shy in new groups, especially when it’s a small group clustered around one crowded table. I could feel all my issues about not being part of the ‘in-crowd” kick in. Finally I remembered the Knight of Wands and I realized that this was my challenge – to find that energy within myself, to be confident and self-assured enough to know that I’d be welcome in this group (after all that’s why it was meeting). So I hesitated for another minute and then I walked up to the table behind an empty chair and asked if it was the meet-up group. Once that was confirmed I asked if the chair in front of me was empty and took it. Then I went back and got my lunch and returned to the table. When I sat down I introduced myself to a gentleman on my left. His name was Kenneth and he has been reading Tarot since the 70s. He also shared his I-Ching dice and Astrology stones with me. He created very simple, easy to use versions of both these systems so that total beginners could still work with these tools.

Then conversation ebbed and flowed with folks talking about their favorite decks and how long each had been reading. I advocated them trying the comparative Tarot method as a tool to help understand the card from different perspectives. And we talked about online groups, forums and resources. It was very hard to hear the folks at the far end of the table but it was still a fun day. I’m glad I took that deep breath and channeled my inner Knight of Wands. It proved to be very enjoyable and worthwhile.