Three of Wands
Secret whisperYour ships are already at sea; watch the tide carry them home.
Upright meaning
Upright keywordsexpansion, foresight, progress, opportunity abroad
Your efforts are beginning to pay off. Widen your view — the next opportunity may come from far away or from a larger stage.
Reversed meaning
Reversed keywordsdelays, obstacles, frustration, narrow vision
Delays are testing your patience. Adjust the plan rather than abandoning it; the ships are slow, not lost.
About the suit of Wands
Wands belong to Fire: will, passion, ambition, creativity and work you care about. They speak of energy and action, of what you want and how boldly you go after it.
Reading the Threes of the tarot
Threes bring growth: the first result of a union, expansion and creative expression.
In Waite’s own words (1910)
From A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, public domain. Original English text.
Divinatory meaning: He symbolizes established strength, enterprise, effort, trade, commerce, discovery; those are his ships, bearing his merchandise, which are sailing over the sea. The card also signifies able co-operation in business, as if the successful merchant prince were looking from his side towards yours with a view to help you.
Reversed: The end of troubles, suspension or cessation of adversity, toil and disappointment.
The picture
A calm, stately personage, with his back turned, looking from a cliff's edge at ships passing over the sea. Three staves are planted in the ground, and he leans slightly on one of them.
