The Three of Wands (Tarot Triptych)
Name: The Three of Wands
Number: 3
Astrology: Fire, the Sun in Aries
Qabalah: Binah of Yod י
Chris Gabriel March 6, 2024
The Three of Wands is a fiery card, but being a low number, it is still close to its divine source. It is a card of daily activity. When this card comes up in a reading, one thinks of the daily routine, of positive actions that one can undertake.
In Thoth, we are given a very simple image of three flowery wands. Two of them cross the central wand, and flames emanate from the center. Atop is the Sun, and beneath is Aries, the astrological placement of this card, and the second decan of Aries.
The Sun in Aries is a joyous placement, as it is the first in the zodiac. It is the bright beginning of a new astrological year. It is a daily cycle, and the bright morning of a new day. The title of “Virtue” puts one to mind of Benjamin Franklin’s morningly question of “What good shall I do this day?” This is the card of Daily Virtue.
In Rider, we are given the image of Franklin’s question. A man holding a wand, beside two wands. He looks upon the rising Sun. He is preparing himself for the day. He has a brilliant view, overlooking a bay, the ships within it, and the mountains. He can foresee the actions he must undertake.
In Marseille, as it is not an esoteric deck, but one that was used to gamble and play, we are given no esoteric imagery, simply three wands. It is the same formation as Thoth, but without distinct coloring. Here we must utilize the Qabalah to decipher the message.
Being a three, it belongs to the Sephirothic sphere of Binah, or Understanding. Being Wands, or Fire, it is of Yod, the King, and the first letter of the Tetragrammaton. Thus it is “the Understanding of the King”.
And just what is that understanding?
Let us look to poetry, and the I Ching. In Ezra Pound’s Cantos, he famously wrote “Day by day make it new”, which is an ideogrammic translation of the Chinese characters featured in the poem.
新日日新
New Sun Sun New
Sun doubles as “Day” , a deeply poetic character!
In Richard Wilhelm’s I Ching we find Tching’s wisdom mirrored perfectly in the commentary on Hexagram 26. “Only through such daily self-renewal can a man continue at the height of his powers.”
It makes sense as Tching, first emperor of the Shang dynasty, and “Tang the Perfect” was thought to have written much of the I Ching’s text. His wisdom is the very nature of the Three of Wands, daily virtue, daily self renewal.
“Day by day make it new.”
