The theme of counsel is strong in the Two of Wands - a card which asks you to consider the advice of those around you and compare it to the advice you can offer to yourself. When people in your life offer you their perspectives on a particular situation you're going through, they will most often be acting out of concern for your wellbeing and a desire to see you prosper and enjoy your life. However, they are also coming at it from the outside and putting their own individual slant onto something they can never fully understand. Even if they've been through the exact same thing, they don't know what it's like to go through it as you. Appreciating and heeding advice can lead to a totally beneficial outcome, but it can also incur a risk of losing touch with your own views and needs. The Two of Wands reminds you that you have to take the steering wheel. You may listen to advice from others with regard to which road to take, but you're the one ultimately driving the car, so you have to be happy with your choice. There is often a risk of blaming someone for a decision because they advised you to take a pathway that led you into an undesirable place. This blame game is part of the avoidance one puts into play when they fear the ultimate responsibility they have over their own actions. You can allow as many people to give their two cents as you like, but your decision to take on any of their advice is a decision you have to own, not run away from.There is a lot of power in this card. It encourages you to get in touch with your inner power, your power to choose, your right to live your life according to your rules and your great potential to be able to counsel others based on your own experiences. What do you have to teach those around you? Which lessons can you utilise in order to make a transition smoother for someone going through a similar issue? Do you trust your own advice? Do you advise yourself enough or are you always directed by others? Why might this be? Do you fear having no one to blame but yourself? Do you recognise that motive as an unhealthy one?
Sometimes this card appears when a querent may feel trapped, pressured or overwhelmed by the opposing wills of other people. Its presence encourages them to consider what they themselves believe and tune into their own ideas instead of absorbing quite so many outside influences. I've always felt that the Two of Wands can sometimes point towards an 'aim to please' personality type - someone who wants to do the right thing by everyone all the time, and so finds themselves unable to progress in the way they want to. Wands are the suit of spirit, drive, passion, energy and the core self. When we lose touch with who we are and what we want, we suffer. A card from the suit of Wands may be asking you to ground yourself and become one with your own needs, pushing other people's insistence and pressure into the background. Teaching is a strong theme. Sometimes the card denotes a person whose inner teacher is coming to the surface - someone who finally recognises their own ability to impart knowledge and wisdom to others. At other times, it represents a chance to be taught something valuable by someone else. Either way, often this card has arrived to remind you of one thing: with great power comes great responsibility.
