Morgan-Greer - Four of Wands

[Rede Seeker]

Yellow, yellow, yellow...the color of the sun, representing the element of Air. This color dominates a card dedicated to the element of Fire and the theme of Action. I feel a contradiction in the imagery. The pervasive yellow implies the landscape is sterile, barren, sand and stone. A structure - mesa with castle/city on top. No people are present. So who set these wands in place, who harvested the fruits and flowers and wove them into a swag, who bound the swag between the wands?

The wands retain green oak leaves. They are set as two sets of two framing the mesa and castle structure. It looks like a tori or gateway - but I'm not sure I'd want to pass through. There is a sterility about this card. I would not read any good fortune into it. It feels too much like a grave marker; a shrine to be acknowledged before moving on.

Am I the only one with these bad 'vibes' for the Four of Wands?

 

[The Kiwi]

I've been having similar issues when it comes to this card. It's traditional meaning in other decks is celebration, is it not? In the morgan greer, to me it's more of solitary and remembrance. I came looking for this post, hoping there was more to the card, as I've just pulled it in a "What do I need to let go of/avoid all together this week?" position. I am curious as to what others have gotten from this card, and trust me, Rede, you are not the only one that gets bad, and even weird, vibes from this card.

 

[angeltreats]

I've only had this deck a short time and the 4 of Wands hasn't come up yet in a reading, but when looking at the cards I don't get any feeling of celebration or positivity about it. It makes me think more of abandonment. It looks like people were setting up for a celebration but for some reason something went wrong and it was called off and everyone went their separate ways, leaving behind the remnants of the party. The flowers still look fresh so this didn't happen long ago. For me there is a general feeling of desolation and loneliness and of something having gone bad and maybe something having been forgotten about.

 

[The Kiwi]

Isn't that odd?

I find it so, being that most definitions are that of "sanctuary, haven, refuge", "harmony, peach, celebration"!

 

[La Force]

LWB

Bountiful and well earned harvest of peace, posperity, and harmony.

INTUITIVE TAROT

It is through the gateway of spirit and truth knowledge of the self (the castle) is gained. Within the Grail, the font of spirit and personal understanding.

Yellow; Mercury, intelligence, spirit, air, radiant energy of life breath.

This card showed up for me, however it didnt appear to what at first I thought it would be. It seems to appear as rest, quiet, relaxation. Also for a structure, were you need rest, relaxation, spirit or bodily care, like a Hospital. Yeppers.

Which does fit, refuge, isolation, loneliness, etc.

 

[Quester]

I have always taken it as an invitation to take a little while to enjoy yourself..eat...drink...be merry, but you still have a ways to go .....

 

[SweetIsTheTruth]

OOH! This is a good one! It left me a bit confused after reading all of the responses here, because the yellow really does predominate in this card. Yellow isn't the color of the fire element either. I even checked the LWB, but that didn't help, because I've got the Spanish edition but can't read Spanish. Doh!

So I looked up the color information in "Highlights of Tarot," by Case, to see if I could dig up some clues. This is supposed to be the book referenced for the coloring of this deck. Here's what it says:

"Wand Keys No. 2 through 10
RED - Wands (same as on Ace)" (page 64)

This 4 Wands obviously doesn't follow that, so I had to look further. The next page has this entry:

"Queen of Wands
ORANGE - Petals of sunflower (paint center BROWN)" (page 65)

Comparing the Queen of Wands with this card, it appears the land and the structure itself in the distance, is the same shade of orange (a very faint shade of orange) as the sunflower petals in the Queen of Wands. Didn't Bill Greer post here once that he wasn't pleased with the printing of this deck, because the colors didn't show as intended?*** I hope others compare the Queen with this card and see if it looks like the same shade to them.

In any event, that restored some of the fiery nature behind this card for me. This will be one busy, lively and active party if the structure and land were actually intended to appear as orange. I will forever connect the Queen to this card in this deck. Maybe she's the one organizing or throwing the party.

*** Found it. He designed the deck for a 6 color printing process, not a 4 color printing process. See here.

 

[Richard]

I don't have my Morgan-Greer yet (should be here in a couple of days), but I don't understand the yellow in the Four of Wands. The card is not only fiery on account of the staves, but its sign is Aries, which is ruled by the red planet Mars. Its decan is Venus in Aries, and the color for Venus in P. F. Case's tradition is green, not yellow.

However, the Case coloring instructions for pips 2 through 10 apply only to the suit symbols. The Albano-Waite uses the coloring instructions, but since the instructions do not apply to the scene, the author is free to use whatever he wants. Albano chose to have a reddish orange sky (for Mars) and green foreground (for Venus).

Since there are no scenes on the BOTA pips, the card is white except for the wands.

 

[SweetIsTheTruth]

I don't understand the yellow in the Four of Wands.

I don't either. I can see and understand the faint orange in the lower half of the card and the structure. However, the yellow sky washes out any hint of orange in the lower part of the card, so the card still appears yellow overall. I would rather have preferred what Crowley did with this card, so there are no questions regarding the colors, particularly in the case of the use of contrasting colors.

The only way the yellow makes sense to me, is if it points to the mercurial nature of the gathering, as far as witticisms exchanged at such a gathering. That may work for me symbolically, but it still leaves the question of the overwhelming airy yellow shade with respect to the recommendations of what the coloring should be as stated in the books. How I wish Greer still posted here so we could ask him directly.

Wow! I can really appreciate the difference in the Albano-Waite you attached. It's so much clearer as to color symbolism.

LRichard - Here's a pic until you get the deck

 

[La Force]

Wow great points made,

thanks for the link SweetIs

Thanks again LRichard, now I want an Albino RWS, only for its colors though

Yellow yellow and more yellow

And a splash of brown.

Intellect and stable

Ooops sorry just had tooo.

If we went by colors, suit, number. We would be intellectually, spiritually, stable with a solid foundation.

Hehe, I would've prefered that over spending a few hrs at the hospital. Lol and there was nothing to celebrate about, I did have a good rest, felt isolated in the room, etc.

Maybe, the deck just gave me the wrong card yesterday. lol. or maybe it meant my release from the hospital, man I was happy about that.

ETA: okay I did a liitle bit more contemplating.

The Tower in the card, does represtent a structure, building, Hospital
The arbor, represents entering, passage, gateway, door, threshold, boundary, etc.
The folage (nature) on the arbor, links to Venus (greenery) links to Empress (nuturing, caring, etc), which is the Dr's, nurses, health care system, being cared for.
The Yellow, would mean Intellect, the mediacal staff have to use their brains to figure out whats making you sick, even technology, CT scan, MRI, etc.

I have no idea about the desert being depicted, unless it means desolate, sterile environment, nothing grows here, everything is imported.?

What do you think? Does this make any sense?