Sunday, April 4, 2010

The Prince of Wands - Energy of tranformation personified

I am back here after a long time. More than two years, in fact. And the card to restart this journey couldn't have been more appropriate. Yet another pointer towards how apt the 'Card of the day' is when you really connect with it.
The card that lies in front of my eyes is the Prince of Wands from Thoth Deck. Equivalent to the Knight of Wands in other conventional decks.
Even before you get into the details, the raging fire and energy of the Knight come to you as a knock-out punch. If you are not careful to step side, he might well nigh crush you under the wheels of his speeding chariot. But currently I am not a bystander watching this Knight go past me. I AM the Knight.
His chariot is drawn not by a horse as usual, but by a lion. Himself a symbol of sheer force and vitality. It is important to note that all the Princes in Thoth deck are shown riding chariots (as against the Knights in conventional decks like where they are on horseback. Consequently the chariot appears five times in the Thoth deck. Four Princes riding theirs, and of course the Major card of Chariot itself. The symbology is each of these is striking, keeping with the meaning of the card. The Princes of Disks (Pentacles), Cups, Swords and Wands have their chariots drawn by a bull, eagle, abstract human-like images and a lion respectively.