A recording of the newsletter for aural witches. Would love your feedback.
And the element of the year goes to…
This is a year of fixed fire.
I’m sure you’re thinking, “Huh? What does fire have to do with tarot and why does it need to be fixed?” I’ll elucidate.
In tarot, each suit—pentacles, wands, cups, and swords—is intertwined with an element—earth, fire, water, or air. These elements play an integral role in the energetics of a reading and ask us to consider how they connect to our physical bodies, creativity, emotions, and thoughts.
The Elemental Suits
We can understand what element and suit to work with when we turn to our card of the year. Strength is paired with the astrological sign Leo and Leo is a fire sign. This means we’ll be working with fire and the suit of wands for 2024. In fact, all astro signs are paired with an element, just like the suits in tarot.
Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo = earth
Aires, Leo, Sagittarius = fire
Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces = water
Aquarius, Gemini, Libra = air
The Modalities
So what do I mean when I say this is a year of “fixed” fire? The astrological signs can also be categorized into modalities—cardinal, fixed, and mutable—which represent the different stages in the lifecycle of a season, temporal or otherwise.
The cardinal signs = the starters
The fixed signs = the sustainers
The mutable signs = the finishers
Leo dominates the middle of the summer season (July, August, September) meaning it’s a fixed sign.
Bring it all together and what do we get?
Tarot Card: Strength | Astro Sign: Leo | Element: Fire | Modality: Fixed
HENCE, 2024 is a fixed fire year.
Here is a master chart all the signs, elements, planets, and modalities. What story arises when you combine your sign plus your card of the year?
Whew. Brought it in for a landing.
(Are you sweating? Cuz I’m sweating.)
Finding the fire within
Of all the elements, fire has the power to transform us the most rapidly. It incinerates the unnecessary and illuminates what needs to change. It is metamorphosis incarnate. When we think of fixed fire, where in the lifecycle of a flame does it land?
Cardinal fire is the spark that flies off the flint.
Mutable fire is a smoldering ember.
Fixed fire is the peak between the beginning and end of the burning pyre. Learning how to tend to our fixed fire energy, to add more fuel when the flame is low or to let things simmer when the heat is too hot, is a core lesson of this year.
Metaphorically speaking, fire can represent all sorts of things:
Passion
Creativity
Power
Carnality
Rage
Purification
Action
Think about the part of your life that may be in need of some fire energy. Do your relationships want a little zip? Are you starting a weekly sauna ritual? Could your inner Julia Child be craving the heat of a stovetop flame?
Maybe you’re all fire all the time (I’m looking at you my spicy little fire signs), and that infernal heat has begun to scorch. Ask yourself: What quiets the fire? What makes it rage? What sustains it?
Playing with Fire Spread
What external changes need to be made to keep my inner fire alive?
What internal shifts must take place so I can enjoy the fire’s warmth?
What kindling do I need to keep my fire burning steady?
How can I integrate fire energy into my life as a form of play?
Wands aren’t just for witches
As I mentioned earlier, the suit of wands in tarot is connected to the element of fire. The wand is a symbol of directed power. It’s an extension of self that drinks in the energy of the elements to mix with our blood, breath, muscles, and bones so we can direct that energy toward what we want to influence, change, manifest, or protect.
One of the earliest recorded uses of wands was in (shout out to my people) Ancient Egypt. Apotropaic wands—those having the power to avert evil influences or bad luck—were used in birthing ceremonies and early infancy to protect mother and baby. The wands were made from hippopotamus tusks, which some believe were used to invoke Taweret, the Ancient Egyptian hippo goddess of childbirth and fertility. (This is also when the phrase, “I feel like a hippo,” rose to popularity for very pregnant women. Just kidding. I have no idea where that came from.)
These wands were etched with apotropaic animal figures, some of which carried knives to ward off evil spirits. V chill. Can you spot the lion-like figure in this one? Remember that Leo is connected to the lion in astrology and is also Strength’s bedfellow. IT’S ALL CONNECTED!!! But I digress.
When I think of modern day wands I think of witches, and when I think of witches wielding wands, I’m reminded of the wand selection scene from Harry Potter. (Quick aside, I recognize J.K. Rowling’s views are problematic and don’t agree with them, but still want to talk about this in the larger context of the HP culture that has influenced many. Take what works, leave the rest.)
In this clip the wand merchant says to Harry, “It’s curious that you should be destined for this wand, when its brother gave you that scar.”
Anyone familiar with Harry Potter knows that jolly old V-mort, the story’s primary villain, was the one who owned the brother wand that gave Harry his infamous lightening bolt scar.
The wand merchant continues, “The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. It’s not always clear why, but I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you.”
The idea that two almost identical objects wielded with different intensions
have vastly different impacts, is a core tenant in tarot. There is no good or bad card, it’s all about what you do with what you pull from the deck. We also see this in the tension at the heart of the Strength card. Although the figure in white and the lion look like separate entities, they hold the same energy expressed in different ways.
What tools, wands or otherwise, do you use to balance, integrate, and direct your own fire energy?
Light the match
We can use the suit of wands as a map for whatever fire-based journey we’re on. Loosely, this is how that journey can go:
Ace of Wands: Striking the match that leads to the spark of an idea
Two of Wands: Contemplating going on the journey
Three of Wands: Questioning if we should turn back once we’ve started
Four of Wands: Celebrating our first achievement
Five of Wands: Rumbling with our first challenge
Six of Wands: Receiving external recognition for our progress
Seven of Wands: Battling internal questioning when met with external forces
Eight of Wands: Riding a boost of swift energy brought by new information
Nine of Wands: Persisting as we near completion
Ten of Wands: Feeling overwhelmed by the new world in which we find ourselves
Once we’ve arrived at the end of our journey, the 1-10 part of the cards, integration begins. The court cards show us how to embody all that we’ve learned along the way and that there actually is no “arrival”.
Page of Wands: Getting curious about the novel world in which we’ve landed
Knight of Wands: Honing our new skills and passion
Queen of Wands: Balancing emotions and creativity in this new space
King of Wands: Grounding our ideas in reality as we continue to evolve
When we think about directing a steady stream of energy toward something in our lives, how do we fix our fiery gaze on the areas we most desire to influence? How do we make room for all our fire-based proclivities—to burn for, to burn down, to burn out, to burn through, to burn up, to burn until we trust that all of it is kindling for our lives? Regardless of where you are in your journey, you’ve got the fire inside to remind you that’s exactly where you’re supposed to be.
Light it up and have some fun.
Xo
ALTARU TAROT