two of wands: the other side of fear

hello, friends. so many of my pieces this month on the two of wands talk about confidence and courage and planning and vision: the ways that this card can empower us to dream big, to ensure that we are resourced for the long-haul, to inspire us to unapologetically support our desires.

but what about fear?

two can be about balance and partnership, but can also be about indecision. fire is creative, but can also be all-consuming. the two of wands in its most beautiful and uplifting moments can speak to joyful dreaming and feeling wildly confident about what we want to make and do and achieve and become — but it can also speak to internal friction, worry, uncertainty, and self-doubt when it comes to our creative efforts. the two of wands can also acknowledge the ways that we get in our own heads, the internal obstacles that keep us from pursuing something we want, the fear and tension that come up when we dream so big that it feels unsafe to want something we might never achieve.

i want to be so real with you right now: i'm scared, and uncertain, and exhausted. i'm self-employed with no safety net, dealing with a growing pile of bills and chronic health issues, going all in on my tarot business at a time when the economy is crumbling before our eyes. i'm watching my trans community continue to be targeted, the people of palestine and sudan and congo and so many other places suffer horrific daily violence, american politicians foaming at the mouth to eliminate bodily autonomy and necessary channels of communication, the cost of living continue to rise for no reason other than corporate greed, on and on and on.

who can create in these conditions? how can we dream when just surviving feels like an impossible ask? isn't it absolutely foolish to try and see beyond our daily obstacles and challenges and heartbreaks?

while it might not seem like it, both the fool and the two of wands can be the antidote for this kind of paralyzing, terrifying, dissociative fear.

not because these cards have the answers. not because tangible, physical realities are to be avoided or ignored. but because fire burns bright and hot, consumes and creates, illuminates what needs to be transformed. because two does not isolate or ignore: it partners with what is real, acknowledges what is available, observes what is true. because dreaming helps us stay alive.

like the fool, the two of wands is not just a simple, selfish card of free-wheeling fancy or individual pursuits. it's not just about wanting to accumulate more stuff or make something that is going to prop up our ego or have people falling all over themselves to praise us. instead it's an opportunity to tap into our wildest imagination, the dreams that take up so much space that fear cannot possibly survive. it's a chance to let ourselves be radical and practical, to be revolutionaries that plan for the future we want and deserve. it's a way of showing up and out, of committing to a fire that we want to let burn as brightly and beautifully and destructively as possible.

the brilliant cyrée jarelle johnson has been posting about how the justice card often feels like it falls short, and that the tower as an archetype can feel closer to the kind of justice that we really need right now. and i couldn't agree more: we need fire, change, movement. we need to tear down the old ways to make space for the new ones. we need to stop clinging to old structures that are doing more harm than good. we need to stop being afraid of change.

it's long past time to be brave enough to let our visions transform us. and that begins with being open to what we truly desire, what we truly crave, what we truly need. not just as individuals, but also as a collective.

what is breaking your heart right now? what is tearing you up inside? what is eating you alive? and when you imagine solutions or changes to these challenges, what do you see when you take the blinders off, when you let fear stop calling the shots, when you actually allow your soul to scream out for what it needs?

when you let your power guide you into planning the future, what happens?

what does your vision of the future really look like? what are you ready to let your personal fire refine and consume and transform? how can you make a plan for the future that includes radical, revolutionary change?

and how might the two of wands serve as a gentle, caring catalyst for the kind of change that we so desperately need?

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thank you for reading, and thank you for dreaming.