Sonoma Ashenwing, The Wayfinder

08/09/2026

When a ritual ends, you may be left with wax, herbs, ash, petition papers, salt, string or other materials. What happens next depends on the purpose of the working.

For protection, some witches keep remains in a jar, charm bag or protected place so the working continues.

For banishing or releasing, remains are often removed from the home completely. Depending on the materials, they may be disposed of away from your property rather than kept nearby.

For prosperity or attraction, remnants may be kept somewhere connected to the goal, such as near your front door, workspace or money area.

For cleansing, the remains are usually treated as something that has finished its job and are discarded rather than preserved.

For petition work, some practitioners keep the petition until the result is reached, while others burn or safely dispose of it to symbolically release the intention.

Burial is often suggested in witchcraft, but it should never mean leaving wax, glass, salt, metal, synthetic fabric or toxic herbs in the earth. If something is not biodegradable and environmentally safe, dispose of it responsibly instead.

There is no single rule for every spell.

Ask yourself: Am I trying to keep this energy close, send it away, release it, or let the working continue?

That answer usually tells you what to do next.

What do you usually do with your spell remains after a working?

08/07/2026

🔥 The Journey of the Wands: Review and Reflection

Over the past several days, we have followed the Wands from the first spark of inspiration to the wisdom and leadership of the King.

Wands are connected with the element of Fire.

They represent:

🔥 Inspiration
🔥 Creativity
🔥 Passion
🔥 Courage
🔥 Ambition
🔥 Action
🔥 Personal growth
🔥 The desire to create change

The journey began with the Ace of Wands, when a new idea, desire, or possibility first appeared.

The Two of Wands considered the options and chose a direction.

The Three of Wands stepped beyond the familiar and began looking toward a larger future.

The Four of Wands paused to celebrate progress, belonging, and the foundation that had been created.

The Five of Wands introduced challenge, competition, and differing ideas.

The Six of Wands brought victory, confidence, and recognition.

The Seven of Wands taught us to stand our ground and protect what matters.

The Eight of Wands brought swift movement, communication, and momentum.

The Nine of Wands reminded us of the strength found through perseverance.

The Ten of Wands showed what can happen when responsibility, opportunity, and passion become too heavy to carry alone.

Then we met the Court Cards.

The Page of Wands explored the Fire with curiosity and wonder.

The Knight of Wands pursued it through adventure and bold action.

The Queen of Wands embodied it with confidence, warmth, and inner strength.

The King of Wands directed it with vision, responsibility, and leadership.

Together, the Wands tell the story of inspiration becoming experience.

A spark becomes an idea.

An idea becomes a plan.

A plan becomes action.

Action brings growth, challenge, success, responsibility, and eventually wisdom.

The Wands remind us that Fire can warm, inspire, protect, and transform.

But Fire also needs care.

Without direction, inspiration may become scattered.

Without rest, passion may become exhaustion.

Without humility, confidence may become arrogance.

Without boundaries, responsibility may become burden.

The goal is not to extinguish the Fire.

The goal is to learn how to tend it.

✨ Your Tarot, Your Way Review Exercise

Take the Wands cards from your deck and place them in order from the Ace through the King.

Look at the entire journey.

Which card feels most familiar to you right now?

Which card makes you uncomfortable?

Which card represents something you have already experienced?

Which card seems to describe the next stage of your journey?

Choose one Wands card and write down:

🔥 What you notice first
🔥 How the card makes you feel
🔥 What lesson it may be offering
🔥 One purposeful action you can take

There are traditional meanings for every card, but your personal relationship with the images matters too.

Tarot is not only about memorizing definitions.

It is about learning to observe, reflect, ask questions, and trust the conversation developing between you and the cards.

The journey of the Wands asks:

What Fire lives within you—and how will you choose to use it?

Small purposeful steps build strong foundations — Sonoma Ashenwing

08/06/2026

08/06/2026

🔥 The King of Wands: Leading with Vision

The Page of Wands discovered the spark.

The Knight of Wands pursued it with courage and enthusiasm.

The Queen of Wands learned to embody her Fire with confidence, warmth, and inner strength.

Now, the King of Wands directs that Fire with vision, purpose, and leadership.

Kings represent authority, responsibility, experience, and outward mastery of the energy of their suit.

Wands represent Fire—the energy of inspiration, creativity, courage, passion, ambition, and action.

When the leadership of the King meets the Fire of Wands, we find someone who can see what is possible and inspire others to help bring that vision to life.

The King of Wands does not merely have a good idea.

He knows how to give it direction.

In the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith image, the King sits confidently upon his throne, holding a living wand that has begun to sprout.

Lions and salamanders decorate his clothing and throne, connecting him with Fire, courage, strength, transformation, and determination.

The landscape around him appears dry and warm, yet the wand remains alive. This may suggest the ability to create growth even under challenging circumstances.

The King appears ready to rise from his throne at any moment. He may hold authority, but his energy is active rather than passive.

The King of Wands may represent:

🔥 Vision and leadership
🔥 Confidence and personal authority
🔥 Turning ideas into purposeful action
🔥 Inspiring and motivating others
🔥 Courage, ambition, and determination
🔥 Creative or entrepreneurial leadership
🔥 Taking responsibility for a goal
🔥 Seeing the larger picture
🔥 A charismatic, passionate, or influential person

This card may appear when you are being asked to step into a leadership role.

You may have an idea, project, or purpose that now requires more than enthusiasm. It needs direction, planning, commitment, and the willingness to take responsibility for the outcome.

The King of Wands understands that leadership is not simply giving orders.

True leadership means having a clear vision, communicating it well, making decisions, and helping others recognize their own strengths.

The King does not need to do every task himself.

He knows how to encourage, delegate, and bring people together around a shared purpose.

This card may also represent someone who is confident, energetic, creative, and naturally influential. They may be an entrepreneur, teacher, organizer, mentor, or leader who encourages others to think bigger and act more boldly.

However, the King’s Fire can become unbalanced.

Confidence may turn into arrogance.

Leadership may become control.

Determination may become impatience, and a powerful vision may leave little room for the ideas or needs of others.

The King of Wands may become so certain of the destination that he forgets to listen to the people traveling with him.

This card reminds us that authority carries responsibility.

Having the power to lead does not mean every decision must be made alone. The strongest leaders remain willing to listen, learn, and change direction when necessary.

The King of Wands asks:

What vision are you ready to take responsibility for—and how can you lead without overpowering others?

You do not need a crown, title, or permission to become a leader.

Leadership may begin when you decide to trust your experience, stand behind your values, and take responsibility for the direction of your own life.

✨ Your Tarot, Your Way Exercise

Look at the King of Wands in your deck.

Does he appear confident, welcoming, intense, impatient, or commanding?

What suggests that he is a leader?

Does his wand seem like a symbol of creativity, authority, responsibility, or power?

Would you trust him to lead you? Why or why not?

Imagine that you are seated upon the King’s throne.

What vision are you responsible for bringing to life?

Who might benefit from your leadership?

What qualities would you need to lead wisely?

Write down one area of your life in which you are ready to take greater responsibility.

Then name one purposeful action that would move your vision forward while still respecting the voices and needs of others.

The Page discovered the Fire.

The Knight pursued it.

The Queen embodied it.

The King gives it direction.

Small purposeful steps build strong foundations — Sonoma Ashenwing

08/05/2026

The hare belongs to the turning places of the year.

It races through spring as a symbol of fertility, new life, desire, and the wild return of the earth. Yet by late summer, its meaning begins to change.

The fields are tall.

The grain is ready.

The evenings grow darker.

And the hare begins to move through a landscape preparing for autumn.

In European folklore, hares were never treated as ordinary animals. Their speed, sudden appearances, moonlit movements, and ability to vanish into the land made them creatures of mystery. They were linked with witches, shapeshifting, prophecy, fertility, and the spirits of the fields.

At harvest time, some traditions imagined the last spirit of the crop fleeing through the grain in animal form. The hare could become the final living presence in the field, carrying the fading strength of summer as the sickle moved closer.

This made it both sacred and unsettling.

The hare stood between abundance and loss.

Life and decline.

The golden field and the darkening wood.

To see one at dusk was to witness the season changing shape. The creature of spring had become a messenger of autumn, reminding people that fertility does not last forever and every season of growth must eventually surrender what it has created.

The hare does not mourn the turning year.

It adapts.

It runs the boundary between sunlight and shadow, carrying the memory of spring into the darker months ahead.

That is the old magic of the hare.

It teaches that change rarely arrives all at once.

First, the light softens.

Then the fields empty.

Then something wild moves through the dusk, and you realise the year has already begun to turn.

08/05/2026

🔥 The Queen of Wands: Confidently Owning Your Fire

The Page of Wands discovered the spark.

The Knight of Wands pursued it with passion and bold action.

Now, the Queen of Wands understands how to hold that Fire with confidence, warmth, and purpose.

Queens represent maturity, inner mastery, intuition, and the ability to nurture the energy of their suit.

Wands represent Fire—the energy of creativity, passion, courage, inspiration, ambition, and action.

When the Queen’s inner wisdom meets the Fire of Wands, we find someone who knows who they are and is not afraid to take up space.

The Queen of Wands does not need to chase attention.

Her confidence naturally draws people toward her.

In the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith image, the Queen sits upright on her throne, holding a wand in one hand and a sunflower in the other.

The sunflower turns toward the light and may represent joy, vitality, optimism, and the courage to be fully seen.

Lions decorate the Queen’s throne, connecting her with strength, courage, passion, and the element of Fire.

A black cat sits at her feet.

The cat may represent independence, intuition, mystery, protection, and the Queen’s connection with her instinctive nature.

The Queen of Wands may represent:

🔥 Confidence and self-belief
🔥 Creativity and passion
🔥 Warmth, generosity, and enthusiasm
🔥 Independence and determination
🔥 Charisma and personal magnetism
🔥 Courageously expressing yourself
🔥 Encouraging and inspiring others
🔥 Trusting your intuition
🔥 A confident, energetic, or creative person

This card may appear when you are being encouraged to believe in yourself and step forward with greater confidence.

You may already possess the skills, experience, and creativity you need, but you must be willing to trust them.

The Queen of Wands does not wait for someone else to give her permission.

She knows that her ideas, talents, and presence have value.

Her confidence is not about believing she is better than everyone else. It comes from knowing who she is without needing to make herself smaller for the comfort of others.

The Queen is also warm and encouraging.

She understands that allowing another person to shine does not dim her own light. She can celebrate the success of others while continuing to honor her own gifts.

The Queen of Wands may represent someone who brings energy into a room, inspires confidence, supports creative ideas, and encourages others to become more fully themselves.

However, every card has a challenging side.

When the Queen’s Fire is out of balance, confidence may become demanding or controlling. She may become jealous, overly concerned with attention, quick-tempered, or frustrated when others do not share her enthusiasm.

At other times, the Queen of Wands may appear when your inner Fire has dimmed.

You may be doubting yourself, comparing your abilities with someone else’s, or hiding your gifts because you fear criticism.

The Queen reminds you that confidence is not something you must wait to feel before acting.

Sometimes confidence grows because you choose to act while still feeling uncertain.

The Queen of Wands asks:

Where are you ready to stop making yourself smaller and begin trusting the strength of your own Fire?

You do not need to become louder than everyone else.

You only need to stop silencing yourself.

✨ Your Tarot, Your Way Exercise

Look at the Queen of Wands in your deck.

Does she appear welcoming, confident, powerful, protective, or intimidating?

What does she seem to know about herself?

What do the wand, sunflower, throne, and black cat suggest to you?

Does her Fire feel warm and encouraging, or intense and commanding?

Imagine that you are sitting upon the Queen’s throne.

What talent, quality, or accomplishment are you ready to claim?

What would change if you trusted yourself more fully?

Write down three qualities you appreciate about yourself.

Then choose one small way to express your creativity, confidence, or personal power today.

Your light does not need anyone else’s permission to shine.

Small purposeful steps build strong foundations — Sonoma Ashenwing

08/04/2026

🔥 The Knight of Wands: Charging Toward Adventure

The Page of Wands discovered an exciting new possibility and became curious about where it might lead.

Now, the Knight of Wands is ready to pursue it.

Knights represent action, movement, pursuit, and the determination to carry the energy of their suit into the world.

Wands represent Fire—the energy of inspiration, creativity, passion, courage, ambition, and adventure.

When the action of the Knight meets the Fire of Wands, the result is bold, enthusiastic, and difficult to slow down.

The Knight of Wands does not merely think about the journey.

They charge toward it.

In the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith image, a knight rides a rearing horse across a dry, open landscape. The knight holds a sprouting wand, while their clothing and armor are decorated with symbols connected to Fire.

The horse appears eager and energetic, as though it may leap forward at any moment.

Everything about the card suggests movement, confidence, excitement, and urgency.

The Knight of Wands may represent:

🔥 Bold action and forward movement
🔥 Adventure, travel, or relocation
🔥 Passion and enthusiasm
🔥 Pursuing an exciting opportunity
🔥 Confidence and courage
🔥 Acting quickly or taking a risk
🔥 A charismatic and energetic person
🔥 Impatience or impulsive behavior
🔥 Beginning strongly but struggling to follow through

This card may appear when you feel ready to stop planning and begin acting.

You may be inspired to start a project, accept an invitation, travel somewhere new, take a chance, or pursue something that excites you.

The Knight of Wands brings the confidence to move beyond hesitation.

Sometimes we need this energy.

We can spend so much time considering every possible outcome that we never allow ourselves to begin. The Knight reminds us that experience is often gained by stepping forward, trying something, and learning along the way.

However, the Knight’s enthusiasm can also become impulsive.

They may rush into a situation before understanding the risks, make promises while caught up in excitement, or lose interest once the first burst of energy begins to fade.

The Knight of Wands may be excellent at starting the journey, but not always as skilled at completing it.

This card asks us to find a balance between courage and preparation.

Passion can carry us forward, but direction helps ensure that we do not simply race in circles.

The Knight of Wands asks:

What are you ready to pursue—and are you prepared to stay committed after the first excitement has passed?

There are times to move carefully.

There are also times when waiting becomes another form of fear.

The Knight encourages you to trust your courage, direct your energy with purpose, and take the next meaningful step.

✨ Your Tarot, Your Way Exercise

Look at the Knight of Wands in your deck.

Does the Knight appear confident, reckless, joyful, impatient, or determined?

Does the horse seem controlled, cooperative, or ready to race ahead?

Where do you imagine they are going?

What details in the card suggest Fire, movement, passion, or adventure?

Imagine that the Knight has arrived to invite you on a journey.

Where are they asking you to go?

Would you accept immediately, ask questions first, or decide not to follow?

Write down one idea or opportunity that excites you.

Then name one bold but sensible action you can take toward it.

Enthusiasm may begin the adventure.

Purpose and commitment will carry it forward.

Small purposeful steps build strong foundations — Sonoma Ashenwing

08/03/2026

🔥 The Page of Wands: Exploring the Spark

We have followed the Wands from the first spark of the Ace through the completion and responsibilities of the Ten.

Now, we meet the first Court Card:

The Page of Wands.

Pages represent learning, curiosity, messages, discovery, and new beginnings.

Wands represent Fire—the energy of inspiration, creativity, enthusiasm, courage, passion, and action.

When the curiosity of the Page meets the Fire of Wands, we find an eager explorer who is excited by possibility.

The Page of Wands may not know exactly where the journey will lead, but they are ready to find out.

In the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith image, a young figure stands in a wide desert landscape, holding a tall wand with new leaves growing from it.

The Page looks closely at the wand, almost as though it has just spoken or revealed something interesting.

The barren landscape may suggest that there is not much growth around the Page yet. However, the wand itself is alive and beginning to sprout.

This reminds us that inspiration can appear even when circumstances do not seem ideal.

The Page’s clothing is decorated with salamanders, creatures traditionally associated with Fire. Some of the salamanders form complete circles, while others do not, suggesting that the Page is still developing and has more to learn.

The Page of Wands may represent:

🔥 A new passion or creative interest
🔥 Exciting news or an invitation
🔥 Curiosity and exploration
🔥 Beginning a new adventure
🔥 Enthusiasm and optimism
🔥 Discovering your potential
🔥 The courage to try something unfamiliar
🔥 A student learning through experience
🔥 A person with youthful, energetic qualities

This card may appear when something captures your attention and awakens your enthusiasm.

You may be considering a new hobby, course, project, journey, spiritual practice, career direction, or creative idea.

The Page of Wands encourages you to explore.

You do not need to understand the entire path before taking the first step. Sometimes we discover what an idea can become only by beginning to work with it.

The Page may also bring a message, invitation, or piece of news connected with creativity, travel, opportunity, or personal growth.

Because the Page is still learning, this energy can sometimes be impulsive or easily distracted.

The Page may become excited about a new idea, rush toward it, and then lose interest when another spark appears.

Enthusiasm can begin the journey, but it will eventually need focus, patience, and commitment if the idea is going to grow.

The Page of Wands reminds us that there is a difference between being inexperienced and being incapable.

Everyone begins somewhere.

The willingness to experiment, ask questions, make mistakes, and try again is how experience is gained.

This card can also invite us to reconnect with our sense of wonder.

As adults, we may hesitate to begin something new because we are afraid of looking foolish, doing it badly, or not knowing enough.

The Page does not wait to become an expert before becoming curious.

The Page of Wands asks:

What new possibility is calling for your attention—and are you willing to explore it without needing to know exactly where it will lead?

Let yourself be interested.

Let yourself be a beginner.

The spark does not need to become a lifelong commitment today. For now, it may simply need room to be explored.

✨ Your Tarot, Your Way Exercise

Look at the Page of Wands in your deck.

How does the Page interact with the wand?

Do they appear excited, curious, confident, uncertain, or surprised?

Does the surrounding landscape look welcoming or challenging?

What details suggest Fire, movement, growth, or adventure?

Imagine that the Page has arrived with a message for you.

What are they inviting you to explore?

Write down one subject, activity, or idea that has recently sparked your curiosity.

Then choose one small way to explore it.

You might read about it, ask a question, gather supplies, take a class, or spend a few minutes experimenting.

You do not need to be perfect.

You only need to be curious enough to begin.

Small purposeful steps build strong foundations — Sonoma Ashenwing

08/02/2026

A few weeks ago, I kept losing one particular knitting needle. No matter how carefully I looked, it would simply disappear.

After much investigation, I discovered the culprit.

Her name is **Tink Snarl**.

She's only three inches tall, with wild ginger hair, freckles, shimmering wings, and an endless supply of mischief. She lives in a tiny cavern beneath my bedside table, where flower-shaped sconces glow softly with lightning bugs. Her favorite color is sage green, and she has a habit of "borrowing" things that don't belong to her—especially knitting needles.

Apparently, one of my tiny double-pointed needles made the perfect hair stick.

Instead of banishing her from the house, we negotiated a peace treaty.

She agreed to stop borrowing my knitting needles, my wooden hair sticks, and my little snail hair fork. In return, I gifted her an orange wood staff of her very own, complete with a tiny spiral and her name. It even reads:

**"Gifted 8-1-26 • Sonoma • Personal Property of Tink Snarl."**

Now she proudly carries her own staff instead of sneaking off with mine.

Sometimes growing older doesn't mean giving up imagination. Sometimes it means giving yourself permission to believe that a mischievous little knitting fairy might be living under your bedside table.

And honestly...

Life is just a little more magical with Tink Snarl in it. 🧶🧚🍄✨

08/02/2026

🔥 Court Cards Introduction: Meeting the Page

We have followed the Wands from the first spark of the Ace through the responsibilities and completion of the Ten.

Now we enter a new part of the suit:

The Court Cards.

Each Tarot suit contains four Court Cards:

Page, Knight, Queen, and King.

Court Cards can sometimes feel more difficult to understand than numbered cards because they may represent several different things.

A Court Card may represent:

🔥 A person in your life
🔥 A part of your own personality
🔥 An attitude or energy to embody
🔥 A role you are being asked to take
🔥 The way someone approaches a situation
🔥 A stage of learning or personal development

Court Cards do not have to represent a person of a particular age or gender.

A Queen may describe a man who expresses the Queen’s qualities. A King may describe a woman who is stepping into leadership. A Page may represent an older person beginning something new.

It is the energy and role of the card that matter most.

Each rank expresses the energy of its suit differently:

🔥 Pages learn and explore.
🔥 Knights pursue and take action.
🔥 Queens understand and embody.
🔥 Kings direct and lead.

We begin with the Page.

The Page: The Curious Beginner

Pages represent learning, curiosity, discovery, messages, and new beginnings.

The Page enters the suit with an open mind. They may not have much experience yet, but they are eager to explore what the suit has to offer.

Pages often ask questions such as:

What is this?
How does it work?
What could I learn from it?
Where might this lead me?

A Page may appear when you are beginning a new subject, developing a skill, receiving news, or approaching life with curiosity and enthusiasm.

The Page can also represent a message or invitation connected with the energy of the suit.

Because Pages are still learning, their energy may sometimes appear inexperienced, uncertain, overly excited, or easily distracted.

They remind us that we do not need to know everything before we begin.

The Page may represent:

🔥 Learning something new
🔥 Curiosity and exploration
🔥 A student or beginner
🔥 News, messages, or invitations
🔥 Fresh ideas and possibilities
🔥 Enthusiasm without much experience
🔥 A willingness to ask questions
🔥 The beginning of personal growth

The Page asks:

Where are you being invited to become a beginner again?

Being new at something is not a weakness.

It is the doorway through which learning enters.

✨ Your Tarot, Your Way Exercise

Look through the four Pages in your Tarot deck.

What do they have in common?

How does each Page interact with the symbol of their suit?

Do they appear curious, cautious, excited, or thoughtful?

Which Page feels most comfortable to you?

Which one feels least familiar?

Think of something you are currently learning.

What would happen if you approached it with curiosity instead of worrying about doing it perfectly?

Write down one question you would like to explore.

Every experienced teacher, creator, and leader was once a beginner willing to learn.

Small purposeful steps build strong foundations — Sonoma Ashenwing

Next comes the Page of Wands, where the Page’s curiosity meets the passion and inspiration of Fire. 🔥