Renaissance Tarot - Jones / Lyle - Princess - Page of Wands

Sulis

Against the burnt orange background of the suit of Wands we see a young fire spirit who could be male or female.

Behind her head at the top of the card are sunflowers which makes me think that she is a Princess who will later grow into a Queen (the Queen also has sunflowers decorating her card whilst the male Wands courts have bell shaped flowers that I can't identify).
Below her is a lion's head breathing fire - linking the card to the fire element and also to the astrological sign of Leo..

She holds a large 'wand' above her head with both hands and to me it looks as if she has just discovered the wand and is holding it jubilantly as if to say 'look what I've got'.

Pages and Princesses show beginnings so this could be the beginning of action or the thought that precedes the action - she's deciding just what to do with the wand she's found.
She could also indicate the beginnings of the qualities of the wands suit.
She is courageous, adventurous and quite fearless.
She's a child of action and probably enjoys the outdoors and gets involved in all sorts of active games and adventures.
Like all of the Fire courts, she has a short attention span and gets bored with things quite quickly.
I can imagine her to be popular but she has a quick temper - quick in that she blows up quickly but she'll quickly forgive and forget so doesn't hold grudges.
She's one of those children who can be a bit of a handful.
 

Attachments

  • Page - Princess of Wands.jpg
    Page - Princess of Wands.jpg
    129.3 KB · Views: 261

Papageno

Pages.....I love those little ones, I call them my Imps lol

Pages traditionally began their apprenticeship as pre-adolescent boys but I've come to appreciate the duality implied by the additional nomenclature of Princess as there are interesting parallels between the qualities of their stations.

the voice of a pre-adolescent boy soprano was considered by The Church as sacred and they performed the roles now assumed by female vocalists; because in "those days" LOL, the female voice was condemned as inherently profane (Eve - apple - expulsion from Paradise blah blah).
so following this chain of tragically misguided logic, there is also the further implication of virginal purity (pre-expulsion, Adam before the Fall) in the vocal quality of the boy soprano.

the Page of Wands in this sense, speaks of the embryonic, pure and unsullied; it's the primal spark of the creative process in whatever form it takes and can even indicate the conception of new Life.

this card speaks of new initiatives and the transformative powers of Fire, turning thought into action............and here we have to be careful because within the realm of Wands there is also the element of unforeseen consequences.
 

Enchanted

Sulis said:
She holds a large 'wand' above her head with both hands and to me it looks as if she has just discovered the wand and is holding it jubilantly as if to say 'look what I've got'.

Pages and Princesses show beginnings so this could be the beginning of action or the thought that precedes the action - she's deciding just what to do with the wand she's found.
Sometimes I have thought of this as not only 'look what I've got' but also a 'look what I've found, or look at what has just happened upon me, by chance. She/he looks as though they are really latching onto this wand, with both hands, drifting off wherever it might lead, which shows daring and bravery. Full steam ahead...choo choo! :D

The leaves of the sunflowers look like heart shaped to me, so that made me think of this 'new beginning' or 'new idea' having passion or a loving kind of attachment behind or supporting the energy and creativity.
Papageno said:
this card speaks of new initiatives and the transformative powers of Fire, turning thought into action............and here we have to be careful because within the realm of Wands there is also the element of unforeseen consequences.
Recently, I had this card come up in a 'future' position for myself and didn't really know what to make of it at the time, as I couldn't really see anything coming. But now I think that it did relate to a new job opportunity that I have latched onto with both hands, that indeed has the initial seeds to become something greater and quite transformative for me in terms of career. I think you are right that there are unforseen consequences to this card, but moreover I feel that it is a card that requires a certain commitment or dedication to channel the opportunity or new beginning productively.
 

Debra

The more I look at it, the more I see the young one "floating away" with that big old stick, as if rising on the hot air from the sun....with that fiery tail, not at all grounded. No feet! Although holding tight, it wouldn't be hard to unsettle or knock over this young person.

PS: I trimmed this deck in part because I didn't like the wishy-washiness of the label "page~princess"--rather than, for example, "youth of wands" or "helper of wands" or whatever.
 

Papageno

Enchanted said:
but moreover I feel that it is a card that requires a certain commitment or dedication to channel the opportunity or new beginning productively.

yes....my feelings exactly. The Page/Princess can be a "wild child" just like the description of the Page holding the Wand aloft ......."she's deciding just what to do with the wand she's found.

the Page/Wands is untamed energy ready to be harnessed but you have to be attentive especially when paired with something like Swords, that energy must be applied with care. your mention of a new job opp made me think of that.
 

Papageno

Debra said:
The more I look at it, the more I see the young one "floating away" with that big old stick, as if rising on the hot air from the sun....with that fiery tail, not at all grounded. No feet! Although holding tight, it wouldn't be hard to unsettle or knock over this young person.

PS: I trimmed this deck in part because I didn't like the wishy-washiness of the label "page~princess"--rather than, for example, "youth of wands" or "helper of wands" or whatever.

yea I really like that observation about the lack of grounding, as I was just mentioning it's energy that needs harnessing but I guess also a certain amount of nurturing.

re: wishy washy.......don't the Marseille decks refer to the Page as Valet? I prefer Valet........if you want, I'll post a pic from my Antiche Carte Italiane book with a great pic of a valletto di spade...........but you have to start a new thread here on the the Page of Swords :D
 

Sulis

You're right, she does look as if she is floating upwards, perhaps pulled by the wand she's found (and yes, I agree that it does look as if she's just found it :))

Papageno, I prefer the title 'Valet' too.
I've blocked out the 'Page' part with a silver marker pen in my deck - I find the 'page / princess' thing very distracting.

I like the 'wild child' analogy too, that's exactly what she is, fearless and brave yet just a tad out of control....
You have to contain fire or it will burn everything up..
 

Papageno

Sulis said:
Papageno, I prefer the title 'Valet' too.
I've blocked out the 'Page' part with a silver marker pen in my deck - I find the 'page / princess' thing very distracting.

I like the 'wild child' analogy too, that's exactly what she is, fearless and brave yet just a tad out of control....
You have to contain fire or it will burn everything up..

if you think about it, substituting the title of Valet actually adds a whole new dimension to this card (which I think is very appropriate in this case) and more accurately reflects the dynamism in the imagery because it refers to young adults who were also known as Squires......they are no longer (purely) subservient Pages (juveniles and Women again cast in parallel roles) and have attained a status that permits them to bear arms and eventually attain Knighthood.

see attached images from a couple of Minchiate decks.
 

Attachments

  • Valet of Wands.jpg
    Valet of Wands.jpg
    26.8 KB · Views: 181
  • Valet of Swords.jpg
    Valet of Swords.jpg
    30.4 KB · Views: 189
  • valletto di spade.png
    valletto di spade.png
    213 KB · Views: 188

Enchanted

What is that the Valet of Wands holds in their left hand in the attached image? A shield? I'm curious.

Papageno said:
yes....my feelings exactly. The Page/Princess can be a "wild child" just like the description of the Page holding the Wand aloft ......."she's deciding just what to do with the wand she's found.

the Page/Wands is untamed energy ready to be harnessed but you have to be attentive when paired with something like Swords, that energy must be applied with care. your mention of a new job opp made me think of that.
Did you intuit that in that moment or is that something that you have come across yourself...the be attentive especially when paired with swords...As I think there is a hole in my wand! Doh! :( Any one for a rousing chorus of "there's a hole in my wand (bucket) dear Liza, dear Liza...?" :D :laugh: Guess I'm still "deciding what to do with what I found" :(

The Page-Princess thing bugs me as well but I kind of just blank it out mentally and call it one or the other, whatever appeals at the time. Personally, I prefer Princess, but only because then it balances up the genders. But that is pretty feeble as all courts can represent either gender really. I really like "squire" though, for some reason that is appealing.
 

Papageno

Enchanted said:
What is that the Valet of Wands holds in their left hand in the attached image? A shield? I'm curious

yes a shield.


Enchanted said:
Did you intuit that in that moment or is that something that you have come across yourself...the be attentive especially when paired with swords

In that moment. the pairing just flashed in my mind.
the short of it was something I felt in my gut and chest....I guess like a message in your heart-of-hearts (I get that sensation a lot).
the Page of Wands and Swords playing off one another, feeding off one another.......wand inspiring the sword while the intellect (sword) fuels the flames of the wand......spiraling like DNA.....new idea new project.....new Life.....great potential there....can be triumph or folly.