Western Tarot symbolism
Knight of Wands
The Knight carries a short wand and rides past mounds or pyramids. The prose explicitly distinguishes his armour from a warlike errand and treats the horse's motion as a clue to the rider's mood. Departure and a change of residence appear in the main meanings. The additional list instead calls the card unfavourable and reports alienation in some readings.
Loading your archive…

In the sources
The card account
LiteraryThe Knight carries a short wand and rides past mounds or pyramids. The prose explicitly distinguishes his armour from a warlike errand and treats the horse's motion as a clue to the rider's mood.
Comparing the lists
LiteraryDeparture and a change of residence appear in the main meanings. The additional list instead calls the card unfavourable and reports alienation in some readings.
Context & interpretation
The active library scan carries L. W. de Laurence’s name and reproduces material associated with A. E. Waite’s Tarot exposition. This entry follows that supplied edition’s card prose and supplementary lists. Historical divinatory assignments and period character labels are distinguished from the pictured symbolism and from independently supported judgements about people or future events.
Original passages
Source 1
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
He is shown as if upon a journey, armed with a short wand, and although mailed is not on a warlike errand. He is passing moundsOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, supplied de Laurence edition; card description, active reader leaf 94
Exact supplied-edition extracted passage actually read; whitespace-normalised quotation anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Image descriptions attributed to printed prose; no new full-plate visual inspection asserted.
- Edition
- IMJ-0149-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0149-E001-P0094
- Original scan leaf
- 100
- Recorded leaf number
- 100
- Current Reader position
- 94
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Source 2
The Illustrated Key to the Tarot: The Veil of Divination
according to some readings, alienation. Reversed: For a woman, marriage, but probably frustrated. Page.—Young man of family in search of young lady. Reversed: Bad news. Ten.—DifficultiesOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: The Illustrated Key to the Tarot, supplied de Laurence edition; additional meanings, active reader leaf 150
Exact supplied-edition extracted passage actually read; whitespace-normalised quotation anchor and original-leaf mapping checked. Image descriptions attributed to printed prose; no new full-plate visual inspection asserted.
- Edition
- IMJ-0149-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0149-E001-P0150
- Original scan leaf
- 156
- Recorded leaf number
- 156
- Current Reader position
- 150
- Reader verification
- Matches the reviewed Reader
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Ace of Wands
A hand from a cloud presents the suit's single stout wand.
Shared source pageEight of Wands
Flying wands carry the numbered suit into an image of swift motion.
Shared source pageFive of Wands
Five youths brandish staves in a scene described as mock combat.
Shared source pageFour of Wands
A garland joins four foreground staves beside a bridge and a house.
