Unpacking the Five of Wands

Unpacking the Five of Wands

I do a lot of livestream readings on Facebook. On Friday I do the Friday Weekly Wrap-up. I pull a single card for the collective, and then individual cards for those who make a request. The goal is to use a card to reflect on the week; to discover what we learned, what we did, and how we will move forward.

Even though I shuffle between each card I pull, I find that very often a particular card comes up a lot. This Friday the Five of Wands was the card for the collective, and then came up quite a few more times for individuals.

Then, in subsequent private readings later in the day, the Five of Wands appeared again.

It seems that the Five of Wands is describing an energy many of us are feeling right now.

A typical keyword for the Five of Wands is ‘conflict’. Yet, there is so much more to unpack in this card.

Let us start with the number Five. I see the number Four as the ‘comfort zone’, and the number Six as ‘Victory’. Therefore, Five is that place of expansion out of the comfort zone yet before we have secured our victory. By nature, Five is an uncomfortable place to be.

Now, let us look at the suit of Wands. Wands, of course, relate to the element of Fire. Fire is our motivation, our passion, our creativity, our anger, our humor, our vitality, and our spirituality.

When we add the expansive nature of Five to the fiery nature of Wands, we see great potential for an explosion. Whether that is an explosion of anger or creative inspiration depends on the individual circumstances.

The classic Waite-Smith image often makes the rounds on social media with the caption “Stupid Tent”.

The card shows an image of five people, each with a wand. They might be fighting. They might be playing. They might be dancing. Or, indeed, they might be building something or struggling to set up a tent.

Sometimes when this card appears, I like to ask my client what they think the people in the Five of Wands are doing. Whatever activity they see in the card is the activity they need to be doing. Perhaps they need to fight for what they want. Perhaps they need to dance more, to bring more joy into their lives. Perhaps they need to focus on building something. Perhaps they need to be more playful.

I think sometimes tarotists see the conflict inherent in this card and don’t bother to dig more deeply.

Sometimes, this card really is about conflict. That might be internal conflict, as in decision-making. It might be conflict going on around the querent. It also might be a conflict between the querent and someone else.

When reversed or ill-dignified, it can sometimes be about people who are unwilling to take a stand. That is, those who are conflict-averse to their own detriment.

Yet, this card can also be about creative collaboration, and the tension inherent in that process. This card can be about taking a creative risk in order to build something bigger and better than before. This card can be about the motivation it takes to push for success, and the anxiety that happens along the way.

Why is the Five of Wands appearing so often right now? Certainly, there is a great deal of conflict happening on the planet at the moment. Yet, within the Five of Wands is the journey toward success, both personal and planetary.

The Five of Wands reminds us that things are uncomfortable right now. Yet, with creative solutions and good collaboration we can, as individuals, as communities, and as a planet, build something wonderful.

The Five of Wands also reminds us that nothing wonderful happens without the willingness to incur a modicum of risk.

The Power of the Tarot Aces

I have a huge affection and affinity for the four Aces of the Minor Arcana. Within these cards I find power and magick, and many opportunities for truth-telling.

Typically, in a reading we can see each Ace as a new beginning. The sort of new beginning is determined by the suit.

For example, the Ace of Pentacles might be a new job, or new money, or a new way to care for your health, such as a new diet.

The Ace of Swords might be a new idea, a new understanding, new information, new technology or a new sort of communication.

The Ace of Wands might be a new creative project, a new passion or a new energy or sense of vitality.

The Ace of Cups might be a new relationship or a new connection within a relationship.

Yet, there is so much more to be found in these four cards. Not only do they each speak of a new gift, or a new journey, they also speak of untapped potential. Each Ace can be like a seed waiting to sprout, or an egg waiting to hatch. Within these cards we can see the incubation, as well as the beginning.

Each of the Aces can also speak to a need to find the source, or the essence of something. Sometimes a journey leads us back to the root. In these cases, the Aces can each be the goal of a journey, or the successful end of a journey.

The power of each Ace is to hold the essence of their element. The Aces can tell us where we are going, they can urge us forward, and they can help us keep our goals firmly in mind.

The Aces can also tell us what we need to nurture in order to get to where we are going.

The Aces are the Four Tools of Magick. We can use them to invoke their elements and to create sacred space.

The Aces correspond with our chakras. We can use them in chakra healing and activation.

The Aces are archetypes. The Ace of Cups is the Holy Grail, while the Ace of Swords is Excalibur.

The Ace of Wands is the priapic symbol of life waiting to happen. The Ace of Pentacles is the Earth Mother herself.

It is easy to dismiss the Aces simply as the energy of new beginnings. They are that, and so much more.

There are many tarotists who find similarities between the Aces and the Pages. Some even have a hard time finding the differences between the Aces and Pages of each suit. I think when we fail to find those distinctions, we do a disservice to ourselves.

Both Aces and Pages strongly hold the energy of their element. Both Aces and Pages can speak of something new or young. But, to me, that is where the similarities end.

Pages are about youth, learning, and communication. Aces are about initiation, essence, and source.

We can also see a correlation between Aces and Tens, since they are numerologically the same. We might see the Aces as the beginning of the journey, and Tens as the end. Yet, we could also reverse that and see the Tens as the situation we find ourselves in when the story begins, and Aces and the solution to which we eventually arrive.

I often like to see the Tens as the higher octave, or next level, of the Aces.

It is always a good exercise to find more connection, information, and power within individual cards and sets of cards. This is especially true when we believe we know the cards well. I think the Aces are especially important to explore because their simplicity can cause us to miss their depth if we don’t take the time to look.

Four, Five, Six: More Minor Arcana Exercises

Here is a follow-up to my One, Two, Three Minor Arcana Tarot Exercises. I will be teaching this topic this week, and expect it to help my group really understand the Minor Arcana, and the ways in which the number values and elements combine to provide the card interpretation.

Like the first set of exercises, I think these will work equally well for the individual, as journaling prompts.

I would love to hear your experiences with these exercises!

Take the Four, Five and Six from each suit, and arrange the twelve cards in a grid.

Answer the following questions.

Fours:

What do the four Fours have in common?

In what ways are they different?

What is the energy of “Four”?

How do the four elements (suits) influence the Four energy?

Fives:

What do the four Fives have in common?

In what ways are they different?

What is the energy of “Five”?

How do the four elements (suits) influence the Five energy?

Sixes:

What do the four Sixes have in common?

In what ways are they different?

What is the energy of “Six”?

How do the four elements (suits) influence the Six energy?

Stories:

Now look at the cards in numeric sequence.

What story do you see in the Four-Five-Six progression of each suit?

Do any of those stories reflect stories in your own life?

What happens if you tell the stories starting with Six and ending with Four?

Readings:

Shuffle the four Fours, and choose one at random. Let this card answer the question: How do I find comfort and stability?
Look at the card you received, and ask yourself this question. Does this energy really support you, or are you there out of fear?
 

Shuffle the four Fives, and choose one a random. Let this card answer the question: What is the struggle or conflict in my life at this time?
Look at the card you received, and ask yourself this question. How does this struggle serve me, and where is it taking me?

Shuffle the four Sixes, and choose one a random. Let this card answer the question: What victory am I achieving?
Look at the card you received, and ask yourself these questions. How does fear play a role in your journey to accomplish your achievements? What comforts have you had to sacrifice?

What story of your life is told when you put these three cards together?