Bohemian Gothic Tarot

FOUR OF WANDS

Lighter or more conventional meanings

Getting away from a boring routine * Feeling free and unfettered - this is exhilarating * Leaving a secure but dull lifestyle for something that's more fun * A celebration or festival * Taking a holiday or a short break.

Darker, shadow or more hidden meanings

Being held back, feeling like a prisoner * "The grass is always greener" - but is it really? * A celebration or parry goes rather wrong * Finally getting away from a situation that's constrained you * Finding the courage to escape from a controlling home life.

In the discussion of the Three of Wands I talked about plans and hopes of escape. In the Four we see these changes happening. The card is about the risks, thrills and satisfactions of walking away from a safe but stifling situation and finding new freedoms and different ways to live. The scene is of three young women walking in the garden of a house in the evening accompanied by a little dog. They seem excited, exhilarated even, and they carry flowers, presumably picked earlier in the sunshine, as though in celebration of some special event. The women are happy and carefree, though the dog is slightly worried-looking. The house appears comfortable enough, but it's large and in some ways gloomy. It's built to look like a castle, complete with battlements so it seems defensive, designed to keep people out, and, maybe, to keep others in. While the light-hearted group are enjoying themselves in the garden, high up on the roof a tall, formally-dressed man looks on. Is he the "head of the household" and, if so, does he approve or disapprove of the women's pleasure in their small outing to the garden?

This card indicates a time for getting away from people or a lifestyle that we feel has been holding us back. The sense of control could be extremely strong; perhaps even to the point of feeling as though you're a prisoner. Alternatively, it may be just a slight, niggling hunch that if you changed your domestic circumstances you could have more freedom to try out new things and enjoy life. The traditional RWS version of this card usually promises success and happiness from making these changes, but in the Bohemian Gothic version there is an atmosphere of surveillance hanging over the happy group of women. Will the man who stands on the battlements, almost as though on guard, bring them back to the house again? Does he have the power over them to insist that they do what he commands? If so, it may be that the women will not get away easily - they'll need to summon up some courage to make the break.

Some further ways to consider this card

What is the relationship of the man on the rooftops to the three women?