AUTHOR’S NOTE: In a previous post I explored the cards of the Waite-Smith deck that generally indicate “movement” in the matter at hand. I cast a fairly wide net in assembling that population, but here I’m sharpening the focus to identify only those cards that create a propulsive “push” to get on with business.

In any conventional tarot deck there are numerous cards that suggest being “stuck,” often with implied procrastination in becoming “unstuck.” Among the Major Arcana, the Hanged Man stands out as the preeminent example of this inertia, accompanied to a lesser degree by undemonstrative “status quo” cards like the High Priestess and the Hierophant, who are reluctant to get their hands dirty.

The court cards present the stationary Kings and Queens (particularly in the suits of Cups and Pentacles), who in their patient deliberation are not inclined to move very fast. The Pages of the Waite-Smith deck (but not of the Thoth tarot) are also standing “stock-still,” although they are prone to impatience as described in my recent essay on the subject.

The Minor Arcana give us the Fours, which can be stable to the point of stagnation, along with three of the four Tens and a couple of the Sixes that all convey a measure of complacency. Adding a few other uneventful cards like the 2 of Swords, 9 of Cups and 9 of Pentacles, these examples tend to impart a “rooted” quality to any situation in which they appear.

At the other end of the spectrum we have the Tower, which delivers a “swift kick in the backside” with no possibility of malingering; the unstinting momentum of the Chariot; and the irresistible decree of Judgement that, according Aleister Crowley, “always represents the taking of a definite step.”

The court cards offer the hyperactive Knights of Wands and Swords in the Waite-Smith deck, and the horse-mounted Knights of Wands and Swords in the Thoth deck (replacing the stodgy, seated RWS Kings) accompanied by the chariot-borne Thoth Princes of Wands and Swords; the Thoth Knight of Cups was a candidate but, while the horse “kicks up its heels,” it isn’t making any real headway.

Certainly the most rapid card of the Minor Arcana is the 8 of Wands, to which the RWS image and the Thoth title of “Swiftness” both attest; this is a positive expression of acceleration, while in a more negative sense the 5 and 7 of Wands are nearly as energetic. None of the other minor cards even comes close to that degree of urgency.

When one of these assertive cards appears in a reading, I would expect to see a strong urge to “do something” even if that “something” can’t be immediately discerned. There is a compulsion to act decisively (and, with the less-fortunate cards, to react promptly and appropriately), although an opportunity has not yet presented itself as shown by the rest of the cards.

This can lead to frustration with the apparent aimlessness of the situation as it stands, which encourages just “going through the motions” while waiting for a break in the lassitude. As a rule, Fire and Air can be impatient, and the cards mentioned above get right down to the nitty-gritty. The guidance in such cases is to “hold your horses” and stand back to assess overall conditions before choosing to impulsively stick your neck out.