The Three of Wands holds the power to propel us forward, after a bad experience, on our journey towards growth and expansion.
Vivian Bullwinkel, sole survivor of the 1942 Banka Island massacre, was born on 18 December 1915 at Kapunda, South Australia. She trained as a nurse and midwife at Broken Hill, New South Wales, and began her nursing career in Hamilton, Victoria, before moving to the Jessie McPherson Hospital in Melbourne in 1940.
Bullwinkles story is one of Australia’s most well-known stories of World War 2. She became known as a symbol of strength for nursing. Aside from her survival at Banka Island she and her companions, who were prisoners of war during World War II, refused the position of victim and went on to contribute much to the world after their ordeal.
The Three of Wands may signal the possibility for a major expansion. Whether this be in a new direction or taking over the world, you can begin plotting your next move. Don’t be thinking small – this card encourages big, epic visions. The Three of Wands also can suggest an opportunity on the horizon. That ship you were waiting on is in view.
When Vivian Bullwinkel returned home she devoted the decades after the war to nursing and honouring those who did not survive Bangka Island. She and fellow POW survivor Betty Jeffrey raised funds for a memorial. The Nurses Memorial Centre, a ‘living memorial’ to Australian nurses who had died in war, opened in Melbourne in 1949. Betty was its first administrator.
Vivian rose to become Matron of the Queen’s Memorial Infectious Diseases Hospital, in Melbourne, served on the Council of the Australian War Memorial and as president of the Australian College of Nursing. Honours earned include the Florence Nightingale Medal, an MBE and the AM.
Bullwinkle embodied important elements of resilience and it is our duty to convey to future generations so that they may be inspired to rise above adversity, foster connection with like-minded others, use adaptive coping mechanisms and soft power, be gentle yet persistent in their resistance practices, and most of all to do good work throughout their lives.
Waltzing With Matilda's 