Four of Wands
Minor Arcana · Wands · number 4 · Quattro di Bastoni
Upright
The Four of Wands is a country celebration: a haven, the harvest brought home, rest, concord, peace. Waite notes that here, for once, the meanings are almost on the surface: the card says exactly what it shows, harmony and prosperity, and the perfected work of all these things. If these days you feel the need to slow down and be with the people you love, it is no accident: this card tells you that you have earned it. In love it speaks of stability, perhaps a home together or an anniversary to celebrate; at work, of a goal reached that now deserves to be enjoyed. The practical advice: organise something simple, a dinner, an outing, an afternoon without your phone. The prosperity this card speaks of is measured in shared time.
Source: Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) · read the original passage
Reversed
Reversed, the Four of Wands does not change: prosperity, increase, happiness, beauty, says Waite. Good things stay good even upside down. If you were expecting a warning, breathe out: in love, in the family and with money the climate is calm, and perhaps something extra arrives, an embellishment, a small luxury, an improvement at home. It is no accident if these days you feel like tidying up, repainting, inviting people over. The practical advice: invest in what makes daily life beautiful, without guilt, but keep an eye on the account so as not to overdo it.