MINOR ARCANA

Five of Wands Tarot Meanings

The Five of Wands, the chaos of the realm of wands and fire. It shows power out of control and unfocused. This could be our internal power or a clash between our motivations and the motivations of external energies. It’s a card of a struggle, one which sees us trying to get a grip of things to be able to get back on track and start moving in the right direction again.

Often the Five of Wands can appear when egos are in play, maybe your ego is clashing with a more rational thought process or there is a clash of egos from others that is causing you a problem.

There is a lot of fiery energy at play and it can feel like a risky situation to be in the middle of.

Five of Wands Tarot Meanings Focus on Goal

Five of Wands Upright Meanings

In the upright position, the Five of Wands can be a symbol of conflict and struggle. There’s a lot going on all at once and we barely have time to take a breath and gather ourselves. Some of the key meanings of the Five of Wands are:

Conflict
Power struggle
Scattered
Burnout
Egos

The Five of Wands follows the Four of Wands and is our first step away from the four’s stability and safety, so it can feel quite affronting when this energy shows up. However, the Five of Wands is often a point of learning, of testing your skills and conflict resolution in all forms.

Five of Wands Reversed Meanings

In the reversed position, the Five of Wands shows an ability to manage and calm the chaos we see in its upright position. Some of the main reversed meanings of the Five of Wands are:

Conflict resolution
Solutions
Stay on track
Teamwork

The Five of Wands in reverse is a card of solutions. It shows us how capable we are of overcoming things that can threaten to consume us. There’s a lot of strength to be found in the Five of Wands so it’s important to stay open to this and look for how we have exhibited strength on our journey so far.

Reading Five of Wands in a Tarot Spread

The Five of Wands is one of those cards that people worry about because it shows a challenge or a hardship. However, the Five of Wands isn’t so much about a conflict coming your way, it’s more a reminder of how capable you are to handle these situations and find solutions to get you through.

Pay close attention to what position the Five of Wands sits in, as this will give you a better idea of what kind of chaotic energy the card is referring to. Also make sure to see what cards flow into this one, as that will often be the energy that has caused the Five of Wands to appear.

Five of Wands as An Invitation

The Five of Wands invites us to get involved in order to resolve or find a way through a particular problem or challenge. Instead of taking a step back and trying not to be consumed by this energy, it will benefit you more to play a more active role.

For Five of Wands, this invitation could be the following:

An invitation to be the person to offer solutions instead of more problems
An invitation to work on your conflict resolution skills
An invitation to check your ego and make sure it isn’t standing in the way of you achieving your goals
An invitation to stay on track and try and block out all distractions

Five of Wands as Sage Advice

When the Five of Wands shows up as advice, it is often trying to guide you through something that is taking up a lot of your focus and energy. It’s helping you figure out how to tackle something or overcome an obstacle.

Some advice Five of Wands may offer is:

When there is a power struggle, try and find common ground rather than being as inflexible as the person you’re clashing against
Beware of all or nothing mentalities as this can lead to burnout and fatigue
Trust the people around you to help you when things get tough

Five of Wands as a Lesson

Some of the lessons that the Five of Wands holds are around collaboration and connection with others and the self. We have to find a way to compromise, work as a team and be able to delegate when needed, in order to preserve our own energies.

Some lessons that Five of Wands may offer you are:

A lesson in self-moderation when it comes to work and activities
A lesson in conflict resolution within groups
A lesson in good teamwork and working with others
A lesson in avoiding burnout and recognising key signs before things spiral

Five of Wands as a Redirection

The Five of Wands is a strong redirection card, as it shows us that the way we are currently handling the situation is not leading to a positive outcome, in which case we need to change something in order to be able to push forward to that Six of Wands card that comes next in the suit.

As a redirection, Five of Wands could symbolise a need to:

See the role you’re playing in a conflict and find ways to break free of that role and start to calm the situation
Get hold of your ego and find a way to humble yourself before pushing on
Bring yourself back to the original path you lay out for yourself
Find solutions to power struggles, instead of trying to fight your way through them

Wands

The wands look after our realms of passion, impulse and power. The wands are first and foremost a tool we can wield. When handed a wand we are given the power to manifest anything we desire and with that power comes a great deal of responsibility.

When it comes to the Five of Wands, we are faced with a conflict, whether it be external or internal. Maybe it’s a clash of titans, each one fighting to be on top. Maybe it’s an internal struggle of instinct vs desire and having to do what’s right instead of what we want most.

Fire

The wands correspond with the element of fire. This element perfectly represents what the wands feel like when we are submerged in their passionate and impulsive energy.

Often the wands energy will burn hot and fast, which is why it is often a suit related to impulsive actions with little thought. Of course, the wands can also mirror the other states of fire. It can be a soft smoulder or a blazing inferno. Which one depends on how much control you exhibit over the energy.

Fives

The number five within numerology can represent conflict and chaos. It is also the number of humanity, representing all the ups and downs of living a real human life. Not everything is light and sparkly, there are dark shadow sides of life that we also need to walk through as humans.

The Five of Wands is one of the most chaotic fives in the Tarot deck because of the fiery passion of the wands.