A good leader inspires others to have confidence in their leadership.
A great leader inspires them to have confidence in themselves.
Eleanor Roosevelt

It has been a few years since we were visited by this dynamic, powerful Queen, so in this week that brings us the magical Harvest Moon (which will be in the cardinal fire sign of Aries), let us warmly welcome the creative, inspiring Queen of Wands.

With her black cat familiar and her sunflower (which Tarot legend Rachel Pollack notes looks as though it was just plucked from the garden of The Sun card), she is famously the only Queen who sits facing forward. Rather than striking a demure feminine pose, her legs beneath her sunny gown are in a more typically “masculine” posture, indicating she is fully at home in her power.

The lions on her throne and on the tapestry behind her reveal her connection to the sign of Leo, and a resonance with the Strength card.

While all appears calm for now, she is always able to spring instantly into action and is a fully capable warrior ally for people and causes she is passionate about. And passionate, she surely is. She combines the fiery, extroverted magic of the Wands suit with the inward focus of a Queen.

Of course, as with all the court cards, she may or may not be a literal person, and if so, she may or may not be the same gender of the person in question. She can also be you, or simply a certain kind of energy.

Fiery Inspiration

The Queen of Wands is usually an extrovert, is popular, loves to laugh, and is the first to volunteer for an adventure. When she walks into the room, everyone notices, and her natural leadership shines in every situation. She tackles problems in a candid, straightforward manner, and she is never afraid to take a risk when she is aroused.

Plain-spoken and direct, she is incapable of deceit, cynicism, or manipulation. With her attractive good looks, warm smile, and easygoing manner, she has many friends and admirers.  Does this sound like someone you know?

Bear in mind, though, she is not just empty charm; her creativity and enthusiasm are contagious. Never one to sit on the sidelines, she is willing to give her all to the matters at hand. She exudes a sense of skillful mastery and is deeply loyal to those many friends of hers.

That’s why she usually has plenty of help in all those projects and endeavors that engage her, for she is a natural leader. She is often surrounded by people who are inspired by her example and more than willing to pitch in. Her specialty is helping people tap into their own reserves of exuberance and creativity. As Eleanor Roosevelt describes leadership, this Queen embodies the skill of teaching people to believe, not just in her, but in themselves.

The Queen of Wands is almost always upbeat and cheerful, ready to look for the positive in any situation. She is also an intensely passionate lover. And while she is not naïve, anxieties never slow her down. She is always willing to confront her fears directly and then move straight through them.

Although she has plenty of healthy self-esteem, she is never condescending, haughty or pretentious, although she needs to beware of vanity or overestimating her influence. But she has good reason to be confident. She has a knack for accomplishing whatever she focuses her tremendous energy upon.

However, she also can tend to oversimplify situations, underestimate those who are working against her, and is not always tuned in to nuance. She can also be impatient with people who are hesitant, or who appear weak to her.

Yet her sincerity is such that people rarely feel resentful when she wields her power. She has high expectations of those around her, so she helps us discover what is best and brightest in us.

She challenges us to walk our talk, because she, unfailingly, does.

The Astrological Gales of Change

Meantime, in the cosmos, heads up, kiddos! Task master, Lord of Time and Karma, Saturn stations direct on Tuesday.

Astrologer Kasey Ford writes

Saturn retrograde in its own sign of Capricorn this summer has been tough…Saturn retrograde has brought with it a feeling of contraction, limitation, and restriction. It has brought fear, uncertainty, worry, doubt, illness, isolation, and depression. Mars retrograde in Aries is helping us with aspects related to Saturn’s retrograde, which has been going on since summer, but by the time Saturn turns direct, it still won’t have had a chance to finish this work yet.

Saturn is about making sure all the work gets done, and we still have a bit farther to go at the end of September. Where do we need to take responsibility, be disciplined, and act with caution and practicality?

The Queen of Wands is an encouraging role model for these very qualities. She shows by her own example that we need not be hampered by fear, self-doubt, and the sticky defeatism that is being floated nearly everywhere, around the clock.

In addition, regarding the coming Harvest Moon this Thursday, our trusty guide at Café Astrology, Annie Heese discusses the Sun in Libra and Moon in Aries polarity:

This Full Moon is about emotional declarations. Something has been building inside of us, likely of a personal nature, and now is the time when the energy of the cosmos fairly demands that we let it out.

Over the upcoming weeks, we will discover what this declaration means for us. For now, we can’t sit on our feelings. We need to express them.

The Full Moon illuminates the conflict between “me” and “you,” and between autonomy and sharing. With the Moon full and bright in the sky, symbolic illumination occurs in our own lives. However, these new feelings and revelations are emotional ones, as there is a sense of emotions bursting forth into our consciousness.

It’s time to express ourselves and to let things out of our systems. Of course, we might want to exercise some care while doing so, knowing that what is coming out of us is new and not particularly rational.

As if that’s not enough, Pluto, planet of destruction and transformation, also stations direct this week. Our wise Lorna Bevan writes:

Any week when the Men in Black Saturn and Pluto station, then turn forward together in the sign of politics, power and control [Capricorn] is going to be a personal and collective turning point…

On Sunday October 4th, Pluto turns forward on the exact degree of 22 degrees Capricorn – a Master Number – where it met Saturn in Capricorn on January 12, 2020 for the first time in over five hundred years. This will initiate an even deeper wave of the major clearing and cleansing.

Anticipate more detoxing globally in terms of more disclosure, more public political wrangling, more attempts to control, more purification, more soul searching as a collective, and more revelation and exposure.

Truth needs to be served up, raw and cold and clear, whether about racism or the dark side of modern economics or the environment. Due to the laws of synchronicity, it is a command from the universe.

With the Dark Lord as the all-seeing Eye of Mordor, Truth is saying, “Ready or not, I’m coming.”

It’s time to walk away from reinforcing the spells of the old illusion with your words, attention, thoughts, and especially your emotions. You know better.

It’s time to stop being shocked by or dramatising the ongoing outer 3D events. They should not be a surprise, nor an opportunity for sensationalism, nor a way to keep old narratives alive.

It’s time to finally see through the Emperor’s new clothes to the non-reality of the threadbare lies and distortions running in the background 24/7.

It’s time to see right through the over culture’s deliberately paradoxical message exhorting you to be unique/be different/ be special but making sure you conform all at the same time.

And remember: Suffering is not a credential but a choice.

The Queen of Wands herself could not have said it better. She might add that no one can rob you of your power without your permission.

Embrace Your Sovereignty

What might she be encouraging you to recognize in yourself? How might her appearance be an invitation for you to meet your own challenges or situations this week head-on, with fierce good humor, courage and creativity? What dynamic, charismatic powers might you tap into, in the days ahead?

This week that celebrates the Full Aries Moon could be an unusually inventive, productive week, with much friendship and fun. You may find yourself stepping into a leadership position, or hosting important gatherings. Yours now is the power to inspire others, not by your words, but by your deeds and how you live.

Vigorous, passionate, creative and forthright, use your power now for the greatest good of all, for it is our sacred duty, as magical people, to illuminate with our lives the path to a more positive and creative future for all.

May you shine in the days ahead, blessed by the Queen of Wands’ love affair with Life Itself.