Suits & Seasons: Summer
In Spring, we explored the link between Spring and the Pentacles (read the blog post here), but which suit relates to Summer?
Well, how could the hottest season of the year not be linked to the most fiery suit of the tarot deck?
At the most basic level, Summer is a natural seasonal pairing to the Wands. With the hotter temperatures and greater risks of sunburn, heat stroke, dehydration, and other heat-related issues, we can draw parallels with the element associated with the wands suit… Fire. Humans turn to fire for warmth and light, both of which are benefits we gain from the presence of the sun, shining at its brightest, and warmest, during the summer months.
Decks: The Fountain Tarot (Top), Wayhome Tarot (Middle), Lightseer’s Tarot (Bottom)
The Power of The Sun
The sun is an immense source of power, and we cannot understand the Wands suit without talking about power.
I mean, come on, the suit is literally called the wands, an object intrinsically linked to the concept of magic, witchcraft and wizardry, the kind of magical skills we could describe as power. “What magical powers do they have? Who is more powerful? Will they become more powerful? How do you tap into that power?” - That magical ‘p’ word is at the core of it all.
Power is a central concept of the suit, best contextualised in the court cards. The Page of Wands is raw power without a target and without control. This is why the Page of Wands energy has great starting power, but lacks follow-through. The Knight of Wands takes that power and targets it in a certain direction, but without controlling the power the Knight possesses, it inevitably burns out, running out of steam, before propelling itself in a different direction. The Queen refines that power, turning it inward and learning to harness that power internally, manifesting in qualities such as self-confidence and extroversion. The King takes all that internal power, harnesses it, controls it, and projects it outward, in a way that is (mostly) actionable, realistic and sustainable. This manifests in his ability to be a great leader, a go-getter, a generator of ideas, and equally, how he can be manipulative, arrogant and egotistical, as these are all ways that this King wields his power.
Now I’m going to mix my metaphors here - with great power comes great responsibility because you are playing with fire. We need the sun to live, it nourishes us, and the earth literally revolves around it. It has an immense power in our lives, and yet, we must enjoy the sun’s benefits responsibly. The sun can burn us. In scorching temperatures, it can literally be deadly. And we see this in the Wands suit. The Ten of Wands is not an achievement or an aspirational goal. It is burnout, a symbol of what happens when we exert too much power. Rather, it is the Ace of Wands that is the spark of inspiration, passion or chemistry, the Four of Wands indicates fun and celebration and the Six of Wands represents victory and external validation. As you can see, by learning to control and wield the power, you can enjoy its benefits, but allow the power to control you, and it can be all-consuming.
The Summer Season
And so, if we apply this to the summer season, the Wands suit reminds us to wear sunscreen, hydrate and get some shade, kids. Who knew the Wands could be your grandma, huh!?
All joking aside, the lesson here is that you can have too much of a good thing.
The summer is a great time of year, not only for the sunshine. Culturally, we often socialise more in the summer. It’s also a common time for people to holiday/vacation/staycation, and for students, it’s time for a long break before the new school year. Summer is spontaneous barbecues and lazy beach days, drinking rosé in a pub garden, grabbing iced lattes and going for a walk in the park, getting up early to go for a run, taking on a summer job for experience/extra cash.
See how you can take this to two extreme ends of a spectrum? We have the things that are good for us, and the things that are good fun. Both of which require a driving force, a fuel if you will, to get us motivated. While both ends of that spectrum have benefits, we can best enjoy the summer season by getting that balance right.
Fill your calendar, make plans, get busy, but make sure there’s some downtime in there too. Sit out in the sun all day, but remember to take your sunscreen with you. Rosé all day, but swap a few glasses for water. Get up and go for a run, but if the muggy heatwave kept you up all night, maybe skipping one day for a few extra Zs has more benefits to you. Work that summer job, get out and socialise too, and likewise, while it’s good to get out there and play, don’t neglect your work, leaving your future self with a stack of urgent tasks to do.
Stay Present, Feel Joy
Essentially, the Wands suit teaches us how to live in the moment in a way that benefits us, rather than damages us. It fosters our passion, our zest for life and leads us towards the things that bring us joy, and that’s what makes it a perfect pairing for the Summer season.
The warm weather of the summer fosters more freedom, creativity and spontaneity in our plans. Particularly in the UK, warm weather and sunshine is a luxury. If it falls on the right day, there is certainly a sense of ‘drop everything and do something outdoors to take advantage of this opportunity’. This is Wands energy at its finest. Structure and routine is only good for us when there is a degree of flexibility, otherwise that structure very quickly becomes a cage. The spontaneous wands energy pushes against the boundaries of rigid structure. If we have a good structure, it will keep us focused, stable, secure and on track, but create space for that creative impulse to think outside the box… and that’s where the magic happens. This is the energy of innovation, serendipity and creative breakthroughs.
When we act on impulse, when we are taken out of our daily routine, we are forced to get out of autopilot mode, which encourages us to exist in the present moment, and it is in the present that we can experience true, pure joy - when we’re not thinking about that deadline at work or what we’re going to make for dinner later. For a lot of us, this is a difficult state of mind to get to, but when we can, it’s a place where magical memories are made.
A Turning Point
The Summer Solstice marks the mid point in the year. We can look at this in one of two ways, and it’s very much glass half full, glass half empty - we still have half the year left, or the year is already half over. The wisdom of the Wands cards tend to lean towards the former, rather than the latter - we still have half of the year left! The question is, what are we going to do with it?
We can take inspiration from the Two of Wands here. Look ahead, consider the goals you are working towards, are they still in alignment with where you are now, or have things shifted?
If things are still in alignment, it’s time to think about the progress that you’ve made and consider how to build upon it! This is Three of Wands energy, the card of expansion. How can we take it further? Are your goals still appropriate for the progress you’ve made? Would smaller or bigger goals better serve you in the second half of the year, to keep your momentum going?
If things have shifted, it is not a weakness to admit that. Rather, it is a strength. Pushing on with things that aren’t in alignment are only going to drain your energy, and we don’t want you hitting that Ten of Wands burnout, do we? You still have half the year left to go, so let’s use it wisely - you can keep sinking resources (whether they be energetic or material) into something that isn’t working and won’t bring you what you seek, or you can start again with something entirely new, find new inspiration, reignited passion and real joy - an exciting new beginning.
The relationship between Summer and the Wands teaches us that Summer is a season of renewed motivation and drive, an exciting time to push forward, whether that be in a new direction, or with something we’ve been committed to for some time. Either way, the future looks as bright as the sun.
If this has resonated with you…
There are a couple of ways I can help you work with the Summer energy this season.
Book a tarot reading with me - The Summer Solace reading, available for a limited time, is designed with the energy of Summer in mind, allowing you to assess how far you’ve come over the first half of this year and refocus, so that you can make the most of the rest of 2025. I have certainly had my own turning point as I recently moved down to the south coast. While I navigate the (exciting) chaos, The Summer Solace is the only reading available at this time.
Download my FREE PDF Workbook - If you prefer to pull your own tarot cards, I have designed a summer tarot spread, The Sun/Burn Spread, designed to uncover the areas which boost your energy, and the areas which drain you. To claim your copy, sign up to the newsletter by entering your email at the bottom of this page, and I’ll send it over to your inbox for FREE!
Join the conversation - Do you agree with the link I’ve made or do you see a different link? Tarot is a tool with great depth, and the more we discuss it, the more we can understand it and form our own relationship with it. I’d love to hear your thoughts and chat about it with you in the comments!
Tell Me Your Predictions - There are two seasons left. Which suits will they be? Comment your guesses!
Did You Miss Spring’s Suit? - You can read the Suits & Seasons post for Spring here.
