Notes on: Five of Wands
(Taking the Game Too Far)
Artist’s Notes:
The Tiger and Spider engage in their game of chess. Does the board exist externally, held up by five staves or does it exist merely within a dimension of mind or spirit with pieces that appear and disappear and events play out on the board that may not even affect the play until much much later?
Lately, among the young games of mental and physical fitness where there are victors and vanquished have fallen out of favour. There is talk about what losing may do to a precious young one’s self-esteem or how it highlights inequality. However, these games are older than reality and when this generation and culture passes, the games will still exist. After all, how one takes a loss or a win reflects much about our character and highlights the work we still need to do. Also, and more importantly, how seriously we take the game. Is not each game we play but a reflection of how we live our lives? Is not existence the biggest game of them all?
About the Archetype:
Wands deal with force-creative, spiritual, and vital.
Fives stand for conflict, change, and breaking through to higher thought. With the Five of Wands, the spiritual force that was so uneasily contained in the Four of Wands breaks through.
Much in the way that adolescent energy in a teenager breaks through with lots of energy that needs to have an outlet. These outlets can get a bit aggressive such as fighting with sticks but they are games and a means of directing the energy externally, testing one’s power or force against that of another.
Note Another thought on the Fives in the tarot: Each of them deals with some aspect and attitude on winning and losing. The Five of Wands deals with the conflict itself. The Five of Cups deals with the idea of the attitude after a loss. The Five of Swords deals with the attitude after a win. The Five of Pentacles deals with long-term loss.
Astrological Correspondence:
Saturn in Leo – Saturn in Leo energy has a strong need for recognition yet does not necessarily seek the spotlight. It is a very autocratic energy whose main lesson is learning how to compete fairly with others instead of ‘winning at any cost’. It is an energy of absolutes and can be pretty inflexible, preferring to fight (and win) rather than yield. The Saturn in Leo energy can also be the force needed to jar us out of our complacency when we have been too long in a situation that needs changing, especially when the situation involves how we view ourselves by bringing it to a breaking point.
In a Reading:
When Five of Wands shows up in a reading, there may be conflict or competition underway in the person’s life but it is more playful and creative conflict or competition rather than a full-out war. It is good to keep it light and playful because, in such situations, it is easy to misunderstand and start taking things way too seriously and make it about winning rather than about resolving the conflict at hand
When the Five of Wands is reversed or badly aspected in a reading, conflicts may have gotten out of hand, what may have started out playful has become bitter and nasty and all rules have been thrown out of the window.
–GAR
Fate’s Whisper:
Perplexed by the whims of the Tiger the Spider sought to see how far he could push the Tiger. This led to the birth of orbital chess. A game many beings would come to fear as nothing was off the table and every wager was real. Multiple layers of boards that stretched only as far as your mind could grok. Many asked who won their game of chess while others speculate the game still goes on to this day even as more players are added.
Even in the face of danger, we evolve as we learn. Should we pass on that lesson is taught to those who are ready for it? In life what really is too far when you think about it? Ideas born of madness in their time are considered genius in later times. Like the game that started between the Spider and Tiger, does it really end? Or can we just keep pushing the limits of our reality till we are no more? Faced with this question how much risk are you willing to take to claim your dream?