Minor Arcana, Wands
Three of Wands
trade, foresight, cooperation, patience
Upright
Someone stands on a cliff with three staves planted nearby, watching ships cross the sea. Waite calls this established strength, trade and discovery. The goods have left the harbor, and the work already done now has to travel.
For a work question, this points to patience after launch and to useful partners. Waite pictures a successful merchant turning to offer help. Look for one experienced person in your field and ask for a specific piece of advice.
Reversed
Waite gives this reversal a kinder reading than most. Troubles ease, hard work pauses, and disappointment starts to lift. The ships may be late, yet the worst of the waiting could be behind you.
After a rough stretch at work or at home, use any quiet spell to rest and take stock. Note what wore you down, so the next venture starts with fewer of the same mistakes.
A card is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
In Waite's words
Upright: He symbolizes established strength, enterprise, effort, trade, commerce, discovery; those are his ships, bearing his merchandise, which are sailing over the sea. The card also signifies able co-operation in business, as if the successful merchant prince were looking from his side towards yours with a view to help you.
Reversed: The end of troubles, suspension or cessation of adversity, toil and disappointment.
From A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910), Part 3, on Wikisource. The meanings above are by Cast & Chart.
Card art by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.