Five of Wands Tarot Card Meanings
Five of Wands’ Upright & Reversed Meanings
Ideas: Middle ground, peacekeeping, tried-and-true approaches
Traits: Agreeable, conservative, considerate, cooperative, fair, good-natured, inoffensive, peaceful, tolerant
Emotions: Contentment, hope, relief, satisfaction, tenderness, uneasiness
- Actions:
- Delaying difficult conversations
- Keeping the peace
- Learning to compromise
- Sticking with tried-and-true approaches
- Stopping rocking the boat
- Striking a balance
Ideas: Distinction, open discussion, variety
Traits: Complex, crisp, dramatic, dynamic, emotional, high-spirited, intense, outspoken, questioning, subjective
Emotions: Eagerness, enthusiasm, excitement, exhilaration, passion, thrill, zeal, zest
- Actions:
- Allowing someone to use his or her own methods to get a job done
- Blowing off some steam
- Comparing progress made so far to standards set earlier
- Expressing a dissenting opinion in a calm manner
- Making things more exciting or interesting
- Motivating yourself with challenging activities
- Opening the floor for discussion or debate
Ideas: Confrontation, disruption, objection, strife
Traits: Aimless, competitive, contradictory, critical, disorderly, dissonant, impatient, intolerant, messy, uncooperative
Emotions: Annoyance, anxiety, dislike, frustration, hostility, irritation, nervousness, tenseness
- Actions:
- Baiting people with barbed remarks
- Berating others for their ridiculous opinions
- Disrupting progress with an endless stream of pointless objections
- Making others annoyed or angry deliberately
- Offering destructive criticism
- Picking fights
Five of Wands’ Advice
Personal Growth
What makes you angry? How do you respond when you loose your cool? Going berserk isn’t the answer. Swallowing your feelings won’t work either. Find constructive, level-headed ways to say what you need to say before you reach the boiling point.
Relationship
Every relationship has its ups and downs; no two people can be together for any length of time without some friction. Without making things personal, air your grievances. Share how you feel. If you feel a confrontation coming on, ask yourself what triggers it and why.
Career
If your workplace lacks harmony, getting things done requires far more time and effort. Create an atmosphere where people feel free to share what they really think. Avoid the blame game; talk in terms of what should happen … and what happens when the system breaks down.
Spirituality
It’s easy to feel spiritually connected when meditating in a tranquil garden. But how can you maintain your balance when surrounded by emotionally-charged chaos? Remember: you are not your emotions. Withdraw. Breathe. Save anger for those few transgressions worthy of such a powerful emotion.
Five of Wands’ Symbols & Insights
The Five Figures
In Rider–Waite–Smith-inspired decks, five figures confront each other, Wands in hand. Are they fighting? Are they dancing? Are three watching while the other two battle to the death? Waite claimed the youths could be engaged in either sport or strife—or even a “sham fight.” It’s worth asking whether or not your conflict, represented by this card, is the problem … or just a symptom.
Meekness as an Alternative
How might meekness (as opposed to confrontation) work in your situation? How might changing yourself change the outcome of this particular battle?
Your Contribution to the Clash
We’re quick to see the errors of others, but slow to understand how our own actions might contribute to confrontations. How have your actions contributed to the crisis?
The Marseilles Image
Remember the stable Four of Wands? Now, someone comes along and thrusts an intrusive new Wand into the mix, shattering the delicate balances that gave rise to celebration. Will you let the Wands topple or work to restore balance somehow?
More About Five of Wands Tarot Card
- Prediction
- Prepare for a fight with your best friend.
- Remember: once you let words loose, you can’t take them back.
- Timing
- Between July 22 and August 1
- Affirmation
- “I can express dissent in constructive ways.”
- Numerology Number
- 5
(the catalyst: instability, resistance, confrontation, evolution) - Classical Element
- Fire
- Astrological Planet in Sign
- Saturn in Leo
- Story Character
- The main character takes a stand and says, “Enough is enough!”
- Questions to Ask
- To what extent is your current issue worth fighting for?
- What alternatives are there to outright conflict?
- What happens in a “fair fight?” How can you keep this fight fair?
