DanielJUK Posted 11 hours ago Posted 11 hours ago I've been thinking about this card recently and really see them as building a Pentagram or Pentacle these days. In some decks, it's more visible than others, this is RWS and it's even more obvious in Wiccan / Pagan style decks. A Pentagram has the five elements on the points, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. This looks like they are making an upright symbol, maybe to bring balance in all areas, rather than the conflict of the card? Or maybe it represents a Pentacle, that could represent manifestation and a tangible result? Turning scattered into structure. It's a grounding symbol. It's funny how you still see new things in the cards that give you a new layer to think about 🙂
Raggydoll Posted 11 hours ago Posted 11 hours ago 22 minutes ago, DanielJUK said: I've been thinking about this card recently and really see them as building a Pentagram or Pentacle these days. In some decks, it's more visible than others, this is RWS and it's even more obvious in Wiccan / Pagan style decks. A Pentagram has the five elements on the points, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. This looks like they are making an upright symbol, maybe to bring balance in all areas, rather than the conflict of the card? Or maybe it represents a Pentacle, that could represent manifestation and a tangible result? Turning scattered into structure. It's a grounding symbol. It's funny how you still see new things in the cards that give you a new layer to think about 🙂 A detail that, for whatever reasons, stand out to me is that the guy at the back, to the right, is holding something that is outside of our view. His arm is very outstretched, and it seems a little awkward when his other hand is trying to maneuver a large wand. So I think he’s doing something we can’t see.. Maybe he’s holding onto something for stability?
Tanga Posted 56 minutes ago Posted 56 minutes ago Yup. Absolutely. Each individual has a plan - perhaps arguments about how to do the build - but the pentagram (pentacle is as star enclosed in a circle) is drawing their staffs together like it's magnetised. It has a life of it's own.
JoyousGirl Posted 41 minutes ago Posted 41 minutes ago (edited) 5 of Wands in Arcus Arcanum has aspects of this - as if you're drawing the pentagram with your hand. But this card shows more bare-naked viciousness in the competition. I think it shows the interplay of individual forces as you say. But maybe the balance of them (or not) too. This is a 5 card - so if we consider the elements interacting that you talk about in the pentagram - in nature, that can bring a lovely status quo - but here they are in an unstable transitional 'storm building' phase where something is being built - and the pentagram can turn upside down. Or it actually is already, perspective matters. Where you are in the game? There's someone at the front foot of each card indicating the focal point of the upright star turned the other way. How are the elements or forces interacting for you personally within a group situation? The RWS seems to show things aligning. I'm looking at who has 2 hands on the wand, one hand on the wand, and facial expressions. The guy on the far left of the RWS card looks very happy. And as you're talking about pentagrams - if we think about the 5 of Pentacles, where you are in the game - hierarchy is clearly shown. This is Wands (work, creation, inspiration) and Pentacles (money/material resources and health). Putting both RWS and Arcus together - it really makes me think of situations like a work environment (or a course environment where people are learning a skill and there's some form of comparison). There's people working at cross purposes or despite all the niceties, with an ego agenda 'to win' of sorts. In the RWS we might have read somewhere that it can be a game or friendly competition, maybe even practice and skills building - certainly building resilience. But is competition ever really friendly? Someone's always hoping to win and it feeds an ego. Some sucker is the brunt of any competition 'the loser'. Surface niceties and "showing face" are part of a dog-eat-dog world - anyone who has worked in an office can tell you that. Pythagoras is coming to mind - not that I can remember anything I read from 30 years ago about his shapes - but this 5 of Wands IS a pentacle/pentagram as you say - because the number 5 itself indicates a number of points in the divine shapes that make up the universe (I can't remember any of his concepts and could be talking out of my behind). Any 5 card is a pentacle/Pentagram. Perhaps we should take a closer look at such numerical concepts? I just went and got a link which is gibberish to me 😄 https://www.msnucleus.org/membership/html/jh/physical/equations/lesson2/equations2d.html Edited 32 minutes ago by JoyousGirl
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