If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are an excellent leader.
Dolly Parton

Last week’s Three of Wands was a fiery, creative aspect of the BIG number three of the Tarot, The Empress. Now, for this New Moon week, we receive an even more direct aspect of the passionate Divine Feminine. Welcome this week to the 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, her legs spread apart, beneath her sunny gown.

She combines the volatile, extroverted magic of the Wands suit with the deeper inward focus of a Queen. Wands are ruled by the element of Fire and therefore are about our creativity, passion, and daring. Thus, she is Fire combined with Earthiness, an action-packed, fertile aspect of her counterpart, The Empress.

How splendid, for the very earthy Taurus New Moon!

While her potency is less aggressive than the animus of the male/King, she is unapologetically assertive. 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.

New Moon in Taurus

Now, as May reaches for its peak, this sunny Queen has returned once more to inspire and offer her blessings. She is an exuberant guide for us in difficult times.

So I hope that you took advantage of the introspective influence of the past couple of weeks, that featured the Four of Swords and the Three of Wands. Because now, it’s time to act. With this New Moon, we can plant the seeds of intention that we will tend, so that they will grow and bear the fruit we desire.

Annie Heese at Cafe Astrology writes:

This New Moon harmonizes with Neptune and Pluto, suggesting that our inspiration and determination support our efforts to begin fresh. While the squares to Saturn and Jupiter are wide, they’re relevant because the New Moon is closely square the Jupiter/Saturn midpoint.

We can be dealing with the desire to grow and expand, but also with limits and rules, and these things may take up a lot of energy. We may need to watch for being too lax or controlling, working on getting to a good balance.

With this potent Taurus energy, we have the chance to make important changes in our lives.

It’s time to make some solid and realistic plans and to set the stage for reaping the rewards from our new beginnings, as little or big as they may be, in approximately two weeks’ time after the Full Moon occurs.

How perfect that this Queen of change and transformation is alight with Fire’s urge for growth and expansion! Yet as a ruler, she is also a force for structure and focus.

And while all is calm for now, you can see how the Queen of Wands is prepared to spring into action at any moment. She is a fully energized warrior ally for people and causes she is passionate about.

Lorna Bevan adds that this week, we can look for —

… a shift towards healing and regeneration this week as the planetary kaleidoscope turns and forms new crystalline patterns in Taurus and Pisces.

May is the month of Earth sign Taurus, the sign of the World 3rd Eye and the Buddha. It’s time to stop retreating into over thinking and empty virtual distraction and light – ground these new realities with projects and creations that lift your High Heart and return you to your Self…

…Expect to be drawn to art and music, restoring romance, learning from history, connecting to your ancestors, developing your intuitive gifts, working with your dreams, healing wounds on all levels, taking spiritual pursuits seriously, and being of service in whatever ways are needed.

Creativity and more creativity! As our season in the Northern Hemisphere now races to the zenith of sunlight at Solstice, after Tuesday, the Moon will begin to wax as well. The Queen arouses us to plunge into a fertile, imaginative project we may have had simmering on the back-burner for some time. And she is adept at combining leadership with service.

Because, as with all the court cards, there is a good chance she is an actual person, including you, yourself.

It’s Way Past Time

I have stated previously that I believe that the Queen of Wands suggests a new model of authority, one that must replace the corrupt, dying structures of the past, if there is any hope for our civilization.

As the saying goes (dubiously attributed to Einstein), “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking with which they were created.”

Despite the current push for an autocratic overthrow of our system of government by the people, the male-dominant plutocracy has proven it is unable and unwilling to reconcile the deepening crises of environmental, economic, and social upheaval.

This Queen offers an exhilarating alternative to the hierarchical, elitist system that has rigged the organizations of politics, religion, social control, and wealth for millennia.

She models the qualities of self-sovereignty, creativity, and success. She shines with magnanimity and mastery. Her loyalty, fearlessness, and motivation are boundless.

The Queen of Wands’ governance is gentle, even playful, yet laser-focused on total success. She is no wimp and her magical Wand of transformation is ready to rock her world.

But one of her greatest strengths is her ability to empower others, thus inspiring commitment and cooperation among all. Her willingness to share command with those who meet her high standards ensures that she attracts only the very best, most talented, and passionate team.

Her insistence that she herself meet those same demands is proof of her great integrity.

How different our world would be if our leaders (of any gender) embodied these qualities.

Who Is This Queen in Our World?

This week, I can’t help but think of Leo-born Liz Cheney, who is positioning herself as a martyred defender of democracy against the Big Lie. (The truth may be closer to what this Salon article describes).

Unfortunately, all too many are falling for this ploy, but in terms of our card this week, one can’t help but admire Cheney’s audacity and the huge gamble she is taking. Although, in my opinion, she fails many of the standards of shared power and integrity described above, her daring is very Queen of Wands indeed.

Looking closer to home for this Queen’s influence, I suggest that you embrace her happy power in yourself, and look for her in the special people in your life.

She is the soul of hospitality, offering the warm welcoming table and celebrations shared. She may be encouraging you to gather with friends or family (safely only, please!). Or perhaps she can suggest a fun way to meet with colleagues, as she is a natural at combining work and pleasure.

Fiercely independent, she can often be a nonconformist. But she is almost never a loner, for she is usually a gregarious extrovert that loves people.

How are you being called to step up as a leader? Claim your power, and follow her successful example, by attuning to the energy flow of those around you.

In this magical season of burgeoning growth and flowering, look for a powerful upsurge in your vitality, and a fresh connection to your passionate side. Lighten up! What innovative breakthrough is calling to you? What manner of transformation is now yours to receive or bestow?

Let us celebrate with this Queen of Fire as life pulses within us and around us this week. Now is the time for us to shine forth with our brightest magic and light!