78 Weeks of Tarot: 5 of Wands

[Trogon]

For information on what these threads refer to, see this thread;

 

78 Weeks of Tarot - Informational Thread

 

The above linked thread gives suggested dates for the cards as well as links to the individual topics.

 

Some of us may be working through the study in a different order and using different decks. If you have general questions or comments regarding the 78 Weeks of Tarot study group, please post in the topic in the above link.

 

Have fun.

[Akhilleus]

Week 5

FIVE OF WANDS

The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot

 

 

Description

 

In the great outdoors, under a calm blue sky, five vigorous youths engage in a free-for-all. All of them wield sizable living wands that sprout varying numbers of branches bearing leaves, except for the contender near the focal point of the scene whose staff is barren, and who is the only one to don a cap, complementing his pure red upper garb. The leftmost lad wears a yellow cloth band on his forehead, the one in the middle wears a light blue checkered overgarment, while the combatant nearest the fore with his back to us sports a white dress with pale blue polka dots. Aside from this, all of them wear medieval tunics, leg hose, and boots/shoes of varying hues of red, yellow, and green. 

 

They duke it all out in an uneven yellow and green field. Patches of brown and grey earth are exposed where the action takes place.

 

 

Symbols

 

Youths - vitality and playfulness. 
Red and green hoses - clash of ambitions.
Varying garbs - disparate stances and objectives. 
Clean robes and visage - faux battle. 
Wands - ego and passion. 
Budding branches - ideas and yields. 
Yellow and green field - action and growth.
Blue sky - normalcy and eventual equanimity.

 

 

Esoterica

 

Life is naught but conflict and hardship, so it is inevitable that trials come after the perfect contentment and unity of the Fours, bringing us headlong into the fractious infighting of the Fives. However, the astrological decanate of Saturn in Leo blesses us with a gentler path. Rigid and traditional Kronos, whose symbol looks very much like the number 5 and who in this respect resembles Arcanum V as The Hierophant, brings a sense of fair play and graciousness to the aggressive winner-take-all gamesmanship of Leo. Saturn is also the god of wealth and prosperity, having presided over the mythic Age of Gold. Marrying this to the drive and tenacity of Leo, we can see how the card has also been related to nascent material abundance after arduous striving. 

 

On the other hand, the disconnect between the pair's temperament may lead to a sense of frustration and, inevitably, fiery rebellion. It is also possible to negatively channel the austere stoicism and melancholy of Saturn into a primally masculine appetite for ruthlessness and rapacity. When the shadow aspect of this card appears, the play becomes bitter and more high-stakes, and the players more cutthroat and antagonistic. In this way, it perversely fulfills the card's Golden Dawn title as the Lord of Strife. 

 

Mirroring the benefic influence of Saturn on Leo, the harshness of Gevurah - the sephira of adversity and contraction - is defused by the buoyant optimism of the Suit of Wands to grant us its most cordial aspect. Fire refines the travails and loss that define the former, transmuting it instead into a healthy and energizing competitiveness that makes us hardier and more steadfast.

 

The Pythagorean concept of Five also matches The Hierophant's striving for higher consciousness and divinity, opening us to the sacred, stratospheric possibilities inherent in the full utilization of our life energies. 

 

 

From Waite's Pictorial Key

 

Divinatory Meanings: Imitation, as, for example, sham fight, but also the strenuous competition and struggle of the search after riches and fortune. In this sense it connects with the battle of life. Hence some attributions say that it is a card of gold, gain, opulence.
 
Reversed: Litigation, disputes, trickery, contradiction.
 
Additional Meanings: Success in financial speculation. Reversed: Quarrels may be turned to advantage.

 

 

Personal Keywords

 

Upright: Healthy competition; Challenges; Sports/exercise; Work in progress; Lively debate/strong opinions; Eventual success/rapprochement; Inauthenticity; Fearless fighter.
 
Reversed: Zero-sum game; Machiavellianism; Obstinacy/intolerance; Viciousness; Chicanery/deception; Stress; Inner conflict/indecision. 

 

 

Ideas

 

Waite himself explained the scene as depicting "mimic warfare", in the form of sport amidst all that strife. Look at their faces - the worst you can see there is intense concentration. There's no rage or bitter rancor. The leftmost youth even seems to be enjoying himself. Check out their clothes - none of them seem soiled or even the slightest bit tattered. Their complexions are all even - no one sports any bruise. No staff is about to hit anyone. In fact, in extremely close quarters as depicted in the card, a weapon of that length is bound to be offensively ineffective. 

 

Yes there is conflict, but foremost here is the sense of excitement and vigor that a healthy bout of exercise always brings out. It is an honest and robust tussle parlayed in a thriving field. Any wound one gets here is not aimed to maim or even kill. They're just going to toughen you up, make you stronger and more agile, and instill in you a tighter sense of competitiveness and sportsmanship. 

 

Make no mistake though: it is still a worthy game, and you're in the middle of a battle. Everyone here is playing to win, so why won't you? 

 

And so it is when this card appears in any reading. It may indicate a bout of difficulty, altercations, and even outright brawls, but the result will hardly ever be either severely detrimental or long-lasting. It simply shows life for what it is - an ongoing impersonal struggle for advantages and dominance. Even if you cannot evade the whirlwind it presages, you will still be able to survive it and come out of the ordeal more resilient and wiser. 

 

In its shadow aspect, the flames that should have thrilled and excited you will end up consuming you instead. With foresight, you may simply decide not to throw your hat in the ring, avoiding all that explosive heat in the first place. Or you may barge in as a firefighter - just be aware that you may still end up losing the things you hold dear in the process.