One of the first things I noticed about the Rider-Waite Ace of Wands card is how much the wand resembles a penis with a leaf growing out of it. This would make my inner-twelve-year-old giggle, which isn’t a very suppressed part of myself. A friend called it “The Ace of Dickweeds”. I mean, its made out of wood!
But since we’re on the subject of phallic symbols, let’s talk about The Sword again. The sword was the first known weapon specifically created to kill another human being. It cuts down. It destroys. It destroys lies with truth and logic. It upholds justice with force, or in the case of the Jedi, THE Force. It is severe masculinity. Remember Space Balls when they had their lightsaber fight? It was pretty much a contest of whose Schwartz were bigger. Who was a more man? Who was dominant? Who had a bigger dick?
The Staff, or Wand, isn’t a tool of destruction (at least that’s not its main use). If you put some bristles at the end of it, you can make a brush. And the brush can paint a beautiful masterpiece or put a coat of paint on a newly constructed house. And that home is made out of Staves or staffs or wood refined for human use. Where Swords are the masculine’s severity, Staves are its mercy. It creates, rather than destroys. It builds up, rather than takes apart.
The staff is also associated with fire. You can burn wood. Yes, fire is destructive, but if used properly, you can make a good meal, a porceline plate, even a sword. Unlike the element of air, which is assoiated with thoughts and logic, fire is associated with creativity, passion, intuition, excitement, and spirtuality. It can be a light of inspiration, the burning one feels for those they want to kill, those they want to make passionate love to, or for those in complex relationships, both. It can be the Bodhi tree that the Buddha sat under. Or it could be the cross that Christ died on, a symbol of faith. Both trees gave light to both men.
The Tuskin Riders are a firey people, wouldn’t you agree? The first time we see one, it attacked Luke Skywalker, holding its Staff over its head. Yelling in rage like a cross between a wild animal and a broken tuba. Do you think you can logically talk your way out of an attack by Sand People? They’re savages! Not like the noble savages of the Wookie or the adorable savages of the Ewoks. They kidnapped and tortured Darth Vader’s mom. They didn’t have a reason, either because they’re that savage or that under developed. They are more like a natural force than a band of nomadic people. Stormtroopers tried to frame them by destroying the Jawa transporter. An easy scapegoat because you know they’ve attacked Jawas before. They randomly shoot Pod Racers. And most importantly, their savagery ignited Anakin’s hate and anger and pushed him ever so closer to the Dark Side of the Force.
The design of this card is based on that first time you see a Sand Person but I added distant smoke to further emphasize the wild and firery personality of the Tuskin Raiders.
But enough of Sand People. We can find Staves among the Ewoks and the Wookies. They represent another side of the Staves. These creatures CAN be reasoned with. Your intuition and passion and creativity can be an ally and be used to bring down the Dark Side or the evil Empire. It can help you take down your own personal Dark Side… or as C.G. Jung would call it, your Shadow. Actually, all the tarot cards can help do that, even the scarey looking ones.
When I see this card in a reading, it means that your intuition or creativity of fire is just below the surface ready to erupt. Its a plant, the North American Dickweed, just about to grow out of the ground. Its a reset buton. Your will and faith and sense of adventure are renewed. And its hard to say what that really means. Because the Staves don’t represent things, but how things are done.
May The Force Be With You.