QUEEN OF WANDS
- Joshua Baird
- Apr 25, 2022
- 8 min read
Updated: Sep 28
THE TRADITIONAL TAROT
KEY IDEAS: Big picture, Boldness, Courage, Confidence, Determination, Generosity, Growth, Independence, Leadership, Loyalty, Optimism, Stability, Taking control, Vision. REVERSED: Demanding, Low confidence, Selfish, Temperamental.
ALTERNATE NAME/S: The Muse
THE BIDDY TAROT: "The Queen of Wands reminds you that you are upbeat, courageous, and determined. You are here to see through your creative visions and life purpose, even in the face of adversity and challenge. Highly self-actualised and self-aware, you know how to best channel your strengths and weaknesses to achieve your goals. You are optimistic and full of ideas to share with others. You know what you want and how to get it, and are masterful at engaging with others to achieve your goals. Stay fiercely determined and focused on your goals while being friendly and optimistic with those around you....The Queen of Wands asks you to be bold in your undertakings and actions. Don’t be afraid to own your real power and put it out into the world. You have so much to offer – so shine your light bright! Believe in yourself and what you stand for, and don't be afraid to speak up and be heard. No one will silence you....Ever the social butterfly, the Queen of Wands suggests that you lead a busy life, making connections with others and putting yourself out there as you pursue your creative vision. You radiate health and vitality, and your inner vibrancy fills you with energy and inspiration – a natural-born, intelligent leader who actively inspires others. You can be quite the ‘mover and shaker,’ influencing others through your vision, courage and determination. You instil confidence in others, and you give them the power and self-assurance that they can achieve anything they set their mind to....The Queen of Wands also shows you are expressing yourself fully in your external world and enjoy being the centre of attention. You create a powerful first impression and can quickly win others over with your sweet, warm and charming nature. Now is the perfect time to put yourself out there and meet new people or create a community of like-minded people. They will be drawn in by your energy, passion and enthusiasm, and together you can create positive change in the world." [2]
LABYRINTHOS TAROT: In general, the Queen of wands in a reading meaning may depict a person of extreme focus and fiery passion. She is courageous and individualistic....They have a positive and an uplifting energy; they represent someone who is willing to be by your side and stand up for you. In terms of work, the Queen of wands signifies that you are planning to accomplish a significant amount of achievement in just a small amount of time....The Queen of Wands in questions of love also sends a positive energy....In terms of health and spirituality, the Queen of Wands meaning may pertain to a spiritual hunger, a quest, or a search for meaning." [3]
ATTRIBUTIONS & ASSOCIATIONS
ELEMENTS: Fire, Water of Fire
ASTROLOGY: Aries, Pisces
KABBALAH: Binah (Understanding)
STONES: Star Sapphire, Pearl
THE MORMON TAROT
EARLY LIFE: "Zina Diantha Huntington was born January 31, 1821, in Watertown, New York, to William and Zina Baker Huntington. She was the seventh of nine children. Zina’s parents were strict Presbyterians and set good patterns for their children. As a family, they read the Bible daily, sang hymns as Zina played on the cello, and prayed together morning and night. Zina’s mother was known for taking care of those in need, while her father had studied the Bible enough to conclude that none of the churches at that time “had the organization peculiar to the primitive church.”6 So when the family heard the restored gospel, all but her oldest brother, Chauncy, embraced it. Hyrum Smith baptized Zina on August 1, 1835." [7]
ZINA, THE COMFORTER: "As General Relief Society President, Young traveled throughout the church performing hundreds of healing blessings every year, and is possibly the LDS Church's most well documented healer, male or female. Though healing rituals are strictly a function of the male priesthood in the contemporary LDS Church, up through the presidency of Joseph F. Smith female healing blessings were part of the orthodoxy. Young would carefully wash, anoint, and seal healing blessings, even in the presence of her husband Brigham Young and other church leaders. She taught and encouraged other women to heal as well, preaching at the 1889 General Relief Society Conference, "it is the privilege of all Sisters living as they should to administer the ordinances to their Sisters in sickness & the little ones in faith & humility." She earned the name "Zina, the comforter," particularly after tending to the sick during the journey west as a Mormon pioneer. [1]
ADVERSITY: "By all accounts, Zina graciously embraced the Lord’s will in her life despite many hardships. Her beloved mother died in the expulsion from Missouri. Her father died in the expulsion from Nauvoo. And she gave birth to a baby in a wagon while headed west." [7]
WOMEN AND HEALING: “Respecting the female laying on hands, he [Joseph Smith] further remark'd, there could be no devil in it if God gave his sanction by healing—that there could be no more sin in any female laying hands on the sick than in wetting the face with water—that it is no sin for any body to do it that has faith,...if the sisters should have faith to heal the sick, let all hold their tongues, and let every thing roll on.” —Nauvoo Relief Society Minutes, April 28, 1842 [4]
A RITUAL FOR EXPECTING MOTHERS: By 1880, women had developed a ritual to help those who were about to give birth, often calling this a "washing and anointing previous to confinement" [6] "In the early days of the Church, many Relief Society sisters saw these blessings as an extension of their call to serve and minister to the sick and afflicted. These early Saints understood the gift of healing "primarily in terms of the New Testament’s teaching that it was one of the gifts of the Spirit available to believers through faith." [6]
A RIGHT AND A DUTY: “Is it necessary for sisters to be set apart to officiate in the sacred ordinances of washing, anointing, and laying on of hands in administering to the sick?...It certainly is not. Any and all sisters who honor their holy endowments, not only have the right, but should feel it a duty, whenever called upon to administer to our sisters in these ordinances, which God has graciously committed to His daughters as well as to His sons; and we testify that when administered and received in faith and humility they are accompanied with all mighty power....Inasmuch as God our Eather [Father] has revealed these sacred ordinances and committed them to His Saints, it is not only our privilege but our imperative duty to apply them for the relief of human suffering. We think we may safely say thousands can testify that God has sanctioned the administration of these ordinances by our sisters with the manifestations of His healing influence" —Eliza R. Snow [5]
A PRACTITIONER OF POLYANDRY?: When Zina was 18 she was courted by Henry Jacobs. During this time Joseph Smith had taught her about plural marriage and proposed at least 3 times, but she declined the proposals out of her respect for Emma Smith, traditional christian monogamy, and the reluctance to maintain a secret marriage. She was married to Jacobs by Nauvoo Mayor John C. Bennett in March of 1841. Later that year, Smith wrote to her that he had "put it off till an angel with a drawn sword stood by me and told me if I did not establish that principle [plurality of wives] upon the earth I would lose my position and my life." Even though Zina was 7 months pregnant with Jacob's child she and Joseph were married on October 27, 1841. Henry was called on 8 missions between 1839 and 1845. No formal divorce between Zina and Henry were ever documented. In February, 1846, Zina technically became married “for time” to Brigham Young. In May 1846, Young called Henry Jacobs to serve a mission to England. During Jacobs's absence, Zina began living openly in a marital relationship with Brigham and continued to do so for the rest of her life. Zina had two children with Jacobs and one child with Young. Later in life, Zina referred to herself as Joseph's "widow". The LDS church's biography of Zina on www.churchofjesuschrist.org makes no mention of her marriage to Smith. [1] [7]
BRIGHAM'S ATTITUDE TOWARD DIVORCE: In October 1861, Brigham asserted, "There was another way—in which a woman could leave a man—if the woman preferred—another man higher in authority and he is willing to take her. And her husband gives her up—there is no Bill of divorce required in the case it is right in the sight of God." [1]
ON LOVE AND POLYGAMY: "Women in polygamous relationships "expect too much attention from the husband and ... become sullen and morose". She explained that "a successful polygamous wife must regard her husband with indifference, and with no other feeling than that of reverence, for love we regard as a false sentiment; a feeling which should have no existence in polygamy." She came to rely primarily on relationships with kin and other women in the community for support and friendship." [1]
PUBLIC HEALTH: "In Utah, once her children were raised, Young became involved in a number of public service activities. She became a school teacher and studied obstetrics under Willard Richards. As a midwife (she had learned midwifery from her mother in New York) she "helped deliver the babies of many women, including those of the plural wives of Brigham Young. At their request, she anointed and blessed many of these sisters before their deliveries. Other women in need of physical and emotional comfort also received blessings under her hands." In 1848, Young enrolled in classes in herbal medicine and home nursing as well, seeking to increase her contributions to healthcare in Utah. In 1872, she helped establish the Deseret Hospital in Salt Lake City, and served on its board of directors and for twelve years as its president. She also organized a nursing school and taught courses in obstetrics." [1]
WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE: "Young was active in the temperance and women's suffrage movements, and, in the winter of 1881–82, attended the Women's Conference in Buffalo and a National Woman Suffrage Association convention in New York." [1]
AUNT ZINA: "Sister Zina was all love and sympathy, and drew people after her by reason of that tenderness...There have been many noble women, some great women and a multitude of good women associated, past and present, with the Latter-Day work. But of them all none was so lovely, so lovable, and so passionately beloved as was 'Aunt Zina.'" Above all, her legacy is the strength she found in communities of women where she found "the Spirit of God is, and when we speak to one another, it is like oil going from vessel to vessel." —Susa Young Gates [1]
A LIFE OF DEVOTION: "In all spiritual labors and manifestations, she was greatly gifted, and no woman in Israel was more inspirational in prayer .... Her whole life was one of untiring devotion to her Heavenly Father." —Emmaline B. Wells [1]
NOTES:
5. (The First Fifty Years of the Relief Society, 515-516).
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