TAROT CARD GUIDE

Five of Wands Tarot Card Meaning & Interpretations

← Suit of Wands

Five of Wands Card from the Rider Waite Smith Deck

Introduction

“Too many cooks spoil the broth.” - English proverb

The Suit of Wands, representing the element of Fire, is symbolic of energy, passion and drive. It is the fire that burns in the home and within the engines of our transport and industry. Tarot cards numbered 5 in the Minor Arcana are all, without exception, problematic. This is not a coincidence but a reflection of the symbology of the number 5. Numerology defines the negative traits of 5 as are being unstable, chaotic, irresponsible or careless. In numerology adjacent numbers have opposite traits. The number 4 is stable and rigid as can be seen in the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) deck's 4 Of Wands with its beautiful 4 sided pergola. In the RWS 6 Of Wands we have a follow on scene from the 5 of Wands where someone responsible has arrived and taken charge of the chaos.

The RWS 5 of Wands is illustrated with 5 men, each holding a wand, doing their own thing without any regard to what the other 4 are doing. There is a total lack of unity in the picture. The element of Fire focuses this disunity in either the home, community or workplace. All the energy and passion, that this element provides, is being wasted due to a lack of singular focus and direction. In A.E Waite's description of the card he suggests that this could be youths at play and this image will remind any parent of the joyful scene of anarchy watching very small children playing in a pre-school group. If play is the objective then there is no need to interfere and bring order to their happy chaos. This card, taken in a positive light, could suggest applying ones energy and passion to athletic pursuits. In numerology the positive traits of the number 5 are being energetic, flexible, adventurous, adaptable and freedom loving. Of the four Minor Arcana cards numbered 5, the 5 of Wands remains open to having a positive or negative meaning. For example another positive meaning of this card could be to interpret it as describing a complex, multifaceted, situation which has many conflicting sides. There is no obvious solution or way forward and perhaps changing its structure, by adding or removing parts of it, could bring about harmony.

In looking for solutions to these problematic 5s it is worth considering the ones presented in the Major Arcana. Unlike the Minor Arcana the major's 5s are not problematic but harmonious. Card 5 of the Major Arcana is The Hierophant which represents institutional, state or religious authority and law. If the RWS 5 of Wands scene is one of 5 builders trying to form a coherent structure from 5 wands then The Hierophant, as a solution, may represent building regulations or architects. The other 5 in the Major Arcana is Temperance which, as card 14, reduces to 5 (1+4=5). Where the The Hierophant represents external control Temperance represents internal control or self control. Temperance reminds us of the number 5's positive traits of being adaptable and flexible.

The 5 of Wands, 5 of Rods or 5 of Batons is a card of disunity, chaos, conflict, struggle, tension and problems in the home, community or work place. The element here is Fire which relates to home, community, work, projects and ambitions. The negative traits of the number 5 in numerology are instability, chaos, irresponsibility and carelessness. The positive traits are being energetic, flexible, adventurous, adaptable and freedom loving.

5 of Wands in a Tarot Reading

The 5 of Wands describes energy moving in several directions without a shared focus. People may be active and enthusiastic while their efforts interfere with one another. The central difficulty is disunity: much is happening, but it may not be adding up to a useful result.

That does not make every appearance hostile. Play, sport and lively experimentation can benefit from freedom and variety. The question is whether the activity needs coordination. Happy disorder on a playing field becomes a different matter when people are trying to construct something together.

Upright Meaning

Upright, the 5 of Wands can indicate conflicting approaches within a home, group or workplace. Everyone may have a reasonable preference, yet the combined effect is confusion. The problem can be structural rather than evidence that the people involved dislike one another.

The number 5 brings instability to Fire's energy, but also flexibility and adaptability. A complicated situation may need its parts rearranged, reduced or better coordinated. Adding more effort without changing the arrangement can intensify the same difficulty.

Two related Major Arcana cards offer routes towards order: external guidance, represented by The Hierophant, and self-control, represented by Temperance. A shared plan may help where expectations are unclear; greater restraint may help where people understand the plan but keep pursuing their own immediate impulses.

Upright keywords: disunity, conflicting effort, competition, lively disorder, complexity, friction, adaptability, coordination problems.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, the 5 of Wands can suggest that conflicting energies are beginning to settle. People may agree on a method, clarify roles or recognise where their efforts overlap. The improvement comes from a workable change rather than from insisting that everyone simply be more agreeable.

Alternatively, disagreement may be suppressed instead of resolved. Outward calm can conceal incompatible aims, leaving the project no more coherent than before. Surrounding cards help distinguish genuine coordination from avoidance of an uncomfortable discussion.

The reversal can also indicate withdrawal from a contest that no longer deserves your energy. Check whether stepping back creates room for a better arrangement or merely leaves the same problem for someone else to manage.

Reversed keywords: settling conflict, improved coordination, suppressed disagreement, avoidance, reduced competition, unresolved tension, redirected effort.

Love and Relationships

In relationships, the 5 of Wands can describe friction over how shared life is organised. Different routines, priorities or ways of tackling a task may collide without implying a lack of affection. Identify the point of interference rather than turning every disagreement into a judgement of the whole relationship.

Reversed, partners may begin coordinating better, or one may stop expressing preferences to keep the peace. A useful agreement gives both people a role and a voice. Where the card describes playful competition, allow enjoyment without inventing a serious conflict that the circumstances do not support.

Work and Career

At work, this card can point to competing teams, unclear ownership or energetic people working at cross-purposes. More meetings or more labour will not necessarily help if no one resolves the conflicting directions. A plan, facilitator or clear decision may be needed.

Reversed, roles may become clearer, but apparent agreement should be checked against actual working practice. Innovation can benefit from several ideas being tested; delivery requires a point at which those ideas are coordinated. Distinguish productive debate from repeated activity that prevents anyone completing the task.

Money and Finances

For finances, the 5 of Wands may concern competing demands on the same resources. A household or project can become strained when each person commits money according to a different priority. The difficulty is the absence of a coherent allocation.

Reversed, a shared plan may reduce that tension, or conflict may remain hidden because nobody wants to discuss it. Make the competing demands visible and establish which can coexist. Treating every preference as equally urgent can leave essential work unsupported despite considerable spending.

Advice from the 5 of Wands

Decide whether the situation calls for free play or a shared result. If a result matters, identify the conflicting directions and choose the simplest change that helps them work together. Guidance and self-restraint can both be useful, depending on the source of the disorder.

Ask yourself: Are we using our energy together, or merely working harder against one another?

The 5 of Wands becomes constructive when lively energy finds a form appropriate to what people are trying to achieve.

5 of Wands According to A. E. Waite

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot
Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

A posse of youths, who are brandishing staves, as if in sport or strife. It is mimic warfare, and hereto correspond the 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.