Ancestral Gifts and Trauma: A Journey through the Wands suit of Tarot

The Ace of Wands card depicts a hand holding a wand. Even though this card has multiple interpretations, the imagery is reminiscent of a hand “passing the torch”. Perhaps an ancestor passing down their gifts and traumas. When I made this connection between the Ace of Wands and ancestral inheritances, a story started to unfold. Each consecutive card in the Wands suit of Tarot depicts the process of finding our ancestral gifts and healing our ancestral trauma. Let’s take a journey…

Ace of Wands: The passing of the torch. We have gained the gifts from those who came before us: the inheritance and the teachings alike. The good and the bad.

2 of Wands: We know we have SOMETHING but we don’t know what the gift is. We ponder on what our gift is supposed to be. This gift holds great importance to us but we are yet to figure out the details.

3 of Wands: In order to learn more, we look back at our familial history. What were their specialities? Are those the gifts we gained? What lessons can be learnt from our ancestors? Who are we and where do we come from? A period of great insight.

4 of Wands: We FIND the gift. This can be a slow realization or a sudden occurance. A sort of ceremony of becoming who we were meant to be. A great time of magic and connection to our family. Great clarity!

5 of wands: This is where the ancestral trauma comes up. With the gift come challenges to overcome. Doubt, ego, limiting beliefs, etc. There is inner turmoil. We try to sort things on a surface level. Deal with things superficially. Try to find a balance.

6 of Wands: We have dealt with the issues superficially. We feel that the trauma is gone and only the gifts remain. We may drown in the ego and feel like we are superior because we have gifts. Other people are not special, only we are. Riding the high horse!

7 of Wands: We were riding the high horse, but the horse fell & so did we! Now we gotta start again. Build back the confidence & make sure we avoid the superiority complex. Because everything collapsed, we got a view of the deep trauma. With this awareness, we began deep healing.

8 of Wands: Now everything was out in the open. Great clarity about the issues to overcome, the gifts to embody, and the healing to do. All cards on the table.

9 of Wands: Now that the issues were out in the open, they became bigger: more prominent. They haunted us, always stood out to us. We tried to start healing, but it got overwhelming. Even if we healed one issue, there were 8 others left. We lost sight of the gifts.

10 of Wands: With the good part (gifts) lost within us, only the trauma remained. It became a burden to carry. A big fear to face. All these deep rooted issues were out and we didn’t know how to carry them, let alone heal them! Pain took over.

Page of Wands: Something needed to change. If all the issues were overwhelming together, we’ll deal with one at a time. We slowly began to stand up to the issues. Face the fears one-by-one. Heal one part and then go to the next. Slow and steady…

Knight of Wands: Finally, we dealt with ALL issues! It took time but we did it. We persevered & stood up to our fears. We were on a horse again, but this one didn’t stomp on other people. We celebrated ourselves without thinking we are superior. Our confidence was rooted in healing.

Queen of Wands: Now that the healing was done, it was time to rediscover the gifts that got lost within the trauma. We looked within, found inspiration around us, and slowly started to find the magic again. We were confident, inspired, & grateful. The gifts were always within us ✨

King of Wands: Now it’s all done. We sit back with grace. We inspire others. We teach them how to embody THEIR gifts & heal their trauma. We are stable, rooted, & peaceful. We know how to handle issues & use the gifts maturely. We are ready to pass the torch to those after us 🗽