Ask Cathy: Two of Wands in the Past

Yay!  I got my first official question in the Ask Cathy section of this blog!  This week, a reader asked:

The two of wands showed up in my recent past what does it mean in that position?

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about my own experiences with the two of wands that might be of help.  You can find it here.  Be sure to read the comments because there were new insights into the card there, as well.  To answer this specific question:

Of course, the other cards around your two of wands may affect the meaning a bit, but the general meaning of the card and position is a good place to start.  In a reading, the past position indicates not only something that occurred in the past, but also something that is influencing the current situation (and possibly other positions around it).  The two of wands in the past position indicates that it’s influence is not terribly strong, since it is not a major arcana card.

The two of wands is in the wands suit, so I would say that this card is dealing with your career or desires.  The two indicates advancement in the suit, but at a very early stage.  Here, you could have felt a rush of excitement as you realized you may actually be able to achieve what you desire.  The man holds a globe in his hand, while also looking down on the world–making one think of “feeling on top of the world.”  At the same time, you may have started creating goals that were too lofty and not down to earth.  Being in the past position, these things helped to create your current situation.

In the mix with this, I will mention a bit of intuition that came to me as I was looking at this card.  Intuitive readings change from reading to reading and person to person, so this isn’t a static definition at all.  I am getting the feeling like a project or something you were working on in the early stages started to branch out a bit.  In looking at the two wands there, I feel as though something new presented itself or there was a unexpected (positive) response to your work, but instead of making you feel more confident, as the card typically means, you may have felt a little overwhelmed.  I am not positive on this, but I thought I’d throw it out there just in case my hunch was right.. It looks like you definitely made some progress, but it may have caused you to take a step back instead of forward.

You can learn more about how to read this card based on the cards surrounding it.  How do these cards relate to one another?  A good example of how to see the way card relate to one another is available in my Experimental Reading post.  You basically want to see how the figures in the cards relate to one another.  Is the figure in the two of wands the only one looking in that direction?  Is he looking at another card?  Getting a feel for card interactions can help to deepen your reading even more.

Anyway, in this particular reading, and for this particular card, I would have to say that in the past you started moving towards a new goal or making a career move and you were making good progress despite the very early stages.

I hope this helps!

Thanks,
Cathy

Related posts:

1. My Own Two of Wands
2. Self-Reading Technique: Revisiting the Past
3. Ask Cathy: Six of Swords for the Year
4. Spread for Daily Readings
5. Ask Cathy!