SynTAROTis

78 cards: What could they mean?

If you are new to Tarot, or have a new deck, the first thing to do is get to know your cards well.

You can study a deck of cards in various ways, including keeping a Tarot journal and drawing a daily card. If you want to work your way systematically through a deck, you can follow the sequence of exercises below. They will take you through all 78 cards. You do not need to know the book meanings of the cards to do these exercises. Depending on how easy you find the exercises, they might take a few hours or a few days to do properly.

To start, shuffle you deck ….

Exercise 1: Draw five cards face down and set the rest of the deck aside. Turn up the first of the five cards, studying it carefully. Then complete the following sentence 10 times, “This card shows …”. Repeat this exercise with the four remaining cards.

It might seem excessive to repeat this exercise 10 times for each card, but it will focus you on details you might ordinarily not notice.

Exercise 2: Set aside the five cards you have worked with in the first exercise, and draw 10 new cards. Complete the sentence, “This card is about …” 10 times for each card.

Some sentences will contradict each other. This does not matter. Also, don’t be concerned with the traditional meanings of the cards; list what seems possible to you from studying the card.

Exercise 3: Draw 15 cards from the remaining deck. Complete the sentence “This card suggests …” 10 times for each card.

Again, contradictions are fine.

Exercise 4: Draw 15 cards from the remaining deck and answer the question, “What could this card mean?” 10 times for each card.

Exercise 5: Draw 15 new cards. For each card, answer the question, “If this card were …, what would it be?” Replace the ellipsis with one of the words in the list below, and think of three possibilities for each card. (For example, think of three predictions for the first card, three disasters for the second card, and so on.)

• a prediction
• a disaster
• the beginning of something
• a warning
• an obstacle
• a feeling
• a motivation
• a goal
• something you need
• an opportunity
• a strength
• a weakness
• a threat
• a wish
• a solution

Exercise 6: Draw five cards. Imagine each card shows the consequences of something that has happened. What happened? List five possibilities for each card.

Exercise 7: Draw five cards. These cards show current events. What are the consequences of each event? List five per card.

Exercise 8: For the last eight cards, pretend you have a distraught querent sitting in front of you. She clearly needs help, but she refuses—or is unable—to tell you what the problem is. Turn over a card and list five possibilities for what the problem could be. Repeat this exercise with the remaining cards, one at a time.

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The image shows the new Alice Tarot deck from Magic Realist Press.

7: Virtue or vice? Part 2

(You might want to read part 1 of "7: Virtue or vice?")

Paradoxical seven

Strong, but opposing, forces are at work in seven. Some result from incompatible number systems, but most are inherent in the number. Seven, being pulled between opposites, can go to the extremes.

Victory and failure

We have seen that Netzach means ‘victory,’ but also that the victory is precarious. While Trump 7—the Chariot—takes its meaning from the best that Netzach offers, the suit cards mirror the weakened energy in the sephirah. Some interpretations of these cards include failure or partial success, and demonstrate the struggle and courage that victory demands.

The flipside of success, self-control, and courage is hopelessness, defiance, and retreat.

Note that only the Kabbalah attributes victory to the number.

Balance and imbalance

Libra, with its scales, confers balance to the number. For several reasons, however, seven is likely to indicate imbalance.

After the balance and harmony of six, seven should bring turmoil and instability. Growth cannot happen without change, and change brings turmoil.

Unlike six, whose beauty lies partly in its symmetry, seven—as 3 + 4—is asymmetrical and unbalanced.

Tiphareth, the sixth sephirah on the Tree of Life, is the epitome of grace and beauty. In fact, it balances the whole Tree. Netzach, however, is precariously balanced on the Tree. As Aleister Crowley notes, “The position is doubly unbalanced; off the middle pillar, and very low down on the Tree” (Book of Thoth). As we have seen, Netzach’s energy is weakened, and the sephirah is associated with struggle. Netzach needs Hod to find balance (implying a dependency on outside help), and the two sephiroth find even more stability in their alignment with Yesod, the ninth sephiroth.

Any balance in seven is a delicate balance.

In the Chariot, we see balance as control over opposing forces. In the suit cards, it becomes a struggle to keep the balance, and in some of the cards balance has been lost.

Stability and instability

Closely related to balance is stability. The sixes portray an atmosphere of stability. Danger has been averted and good fortune is shared with others. Seven seems to teeter on the brink of a crisis, and some believe seven has already fallen. Asymmetrical and unbalanced, seven is associated with change, dreams, reflections and illusion. Seven says ‘be careful, things are not what they seem.’

Movement and rest

Biblically, seven is associated with rest, and therefore stillness. Numerically, however, harmonious six has passed, and a restlessness has set in. Seven starts a new cycle of three.

Odd numbers in Tarot usually bring disturbance, movement, and change. Threes are adventurous and gregarious. They also run into trouble, as the Three of Swords indicates. The fives symbolise the release of pent-up energy, causing chaos and pain. Seven likewise brings movement, but if we accept the influence of alchemy on the number, the change might be directed inwards. Seven can therefore suggest an inner upheaval rather than an outer one, and in times of apparent stillness or rest, psychological or spiritual changes may be taking place.

Of the esoteric systems under discussion, only the Bible suggests seven is rest, and even there the peace was about to be disrupted by the wrong choice. The Chariot shows rest after strife, but there are indications of turmoil, although firmly under the control of the charioteer. Most interpretations of the ‘sevens’ suit cards indicate defensive movement or even paralysis of choice. Changeability and deception are also common interpretations.

Chaos and order

Seven disturbs the harmony of six. Military elements in the cards of the two most influential decks (at least in the West)—Waite’s Rider-Waite-Smith and Crowley’s Thoth Tarot—suggest strife and disorder. Confusion and treachery reign.

Seven carries the energy of the seven classical ‘planets.’ Seen from earth, the movement of the planets can seem chaotic. The word ‘planet’ comes from the Greek word for ‘wanderer.’ To the ancient Greeks, planets were restless stars that wandered all over the night sky. Sometimes a planet might seem to move backwards, or seem to approach another planet. Earlier this year, Jupiter, Venus and Mercury ‘danced’ together for a few days.

This celestial dance of course has an exquisite pattern, but astronomers did not realise this until they accepted that the planets, including Earth, move around the sun in elliptical orbits, not around the earth in circular orbits. The telescope was invented at the beginning of the 17th century, and only then were the other planets—the ones not visible to the naked eye—visible, and factored into calculations.

The forces responsible for this precarious equilibrium are immense. The right amount of gravity and momentum keep the planets in their orbits, and the moon around the earth. A little more, and we’ll be heading straight into the sun. A little less, and we’ll shoot off into space. A single tiny change would have catastrophic consequences.

The moon seems to change shape and position from one night to the next. This changeability could be unnerving, unless you know that it occurs in cycles. The moon suggests both change and order.

Head and heart

We have seen that Netzach represents animal emotion. Venus, the planet assigned to it, is the goddess of love. Animal emotion—our instincts, needs and desires—is not inherently evil, but in Netzach there is a strong pull towards opposites.

Hod (animal reason) and Yetzirah (associated with air, and therefore will and reason) balance emotion with reason; so do Athena and Libra. The spheres above Netzach are pulling the sephirah towards the divine.

However, Netzach’s position on the Tree—low down and close to Malkuth—is drawing it towards earthy, materialistic love, and even farther down to where instincts and desires are out of control. Under these circumstances, passions and fears obscure reason. Instead, we see confusion, hopelessness, deception, and betrayal. These qualities are strengthened by the number’s association with the moon and Neptune.

Seven is attracted to learning—in particular subjects such as philosophy, psychology, and religion that concern the human mind and require a degree of solitude.

Because seven represents the seven classical ‘planets’ of Western astrology, it contains the accumulated wisdom of all the planets. Its quest for knowledge is ultimately a search for the meaning of life.

Seven is also attracted to occult, or hidden, knowledge. Seven wants to probe the mysteries. The word “occult” has taken on a negative connotation, mostly understood to mean “things not to be meddled with.” Satanism and black magic come to mind. But to seven, curiosity trumps all: it does not discriminate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ knowledge. To seven, the ‘tree of all knowledge’ is irresistible. You can say that seven sometimes enjoys ‘digging in the dirt.’

The sacred …

In seven, there is a strong pull between the sacred and the profane. At its best, seven is drawn to the spiritual, wise, beautiful, perfect, and heroic.

Seven occurs many times in the major religions and spiritual traditions. In the Bible alone, seven is used hundreds of times to indicate perfection, completion, and holiness. (The exact number depends on which translation you use, and whether multiples of seven—such as 14 or 70—are counted.)

There are seven virtues, seven sacraments, seven gifts of the Spirit, seven joys of the Virgin Mary. Seven Jewish feasts prepare for the coming messiah. Wisdom builds her house with seven pillars. Passover is celebrated over seven days. The menorah has seven branches. It took Solomon seven years to build the temple. The Kabbalah recognises seven classes of angels. There are seven chakras in the human body. In Islam, there are seven heavens, earths, seas, hells and doors to paradise. Muslim pilgrims walk seven times around the sacred Kaaba at Mecca. Buddha had seven emblems. In Hinduism, the world mountain has seven faces, and the sun has seven rays. The seventh ray is a symbol of the centre, the power of God.

In a six-pointed star with a dot in the middle, the dot represents God.

Apart from Athena, several Greek and Egyptian gods and goddesses are linked to seven. One of these is Osiris, Egyptian god of the underworld, the afterlife, regeneration, and rebirth. Set, Osiris’ brother, tore Osiris’s body into 14 pieces—seven each for the Upper and Lower Egypt. Isis gathered the pieces of her husband’s body and resurrected him. In this way, Osiris became a symbol of victory over evil (Set) and death (eternal life).

Apollo—the sun god—was born on the seventh of a month, and sacrifices were made to him on the seventh day of every month. His lyre had seven strings.

Netzach reflects the beauty and perfection of Tiphareth; it gives them form (but not yet substance; this happens in Assiah, the Material World). Netzach is also associated with Venus, the embodiment of beauty. At the sacred end, we find spiritual and divine beauty, and the love of art and beauty in all forms.

Venus is of course also associated with love, which can be expressed in its highest form—love for the divine. In Netzach, closer to physical reality, love takes a more carnal form than in Tiphareth, and can refer to generous, selfless love between people, particularly between lovers.

… and the profane

On the other hand, there are seven deadly sins and, in Islam, seven hells. Jesus cast out seven devils from Mary Magdalene. The seven joys of the Virgin Mary is complemented by seven sorrows.

Crowley notes “the greatest catastrophe that can befall Venus is to lose her Heavenly origin” (Book of Thoth). A Venus closer to Earth than the divine can point to a fascination with sex, obsessive love, and uncontrolled lust. Lust replaces love, especially in its darker forms such as sadomasochism, bestiality, incest, and paedophilia.

Here, at the other extreme, seven is drawn towards the dark, ‘sinful,’ dangerous, tempting, and blasphemous.

The end, or the beginning of a cycle?

Seven completes many things: seven days complete a week, seven notes complete a scale, seven colours make up a rainbow, seven days completed creation.

Yet seven is not an ending: for that, we have to wait for nine (which completes the single-digit numbers), or ten (which completes the decade).

Some ‘sevens’ suit cards in Tarot seem to suggest finality: failure or futility. Beyond the sevens, however, movement continues until the nines, and the almost over-satiety of the tens.

Seven can suggest a broken completion: the grace and beauty of six is broken by seven. Creation was perfect until the snake entered. Harmony reigned until seven became curious and explored what, up to now, has been the unknown.

Completion in seven is an integration of opposites, rather than an ending.

Introvert seven

Six is a social number: as the ‘mediating intelligence,’ Tiphareth is the heart of the Tree, the sphere of redemption, compassion, love, and social responsibilities. In contrast, seven is an introvert number, preferring solitude and time set aside for study and reflection.

Cosmic seven

Seven integrates, often on a cosmic scale.

Seven integrates three and four, the triangle and the square. Thus, seven unites heaven and earth, spirit and matter, mind and body, conscious and unconscious, movement and stillness.

Whereas six balances male and female, seven integrates them.

Seven represents the solar system, because of its association with the seven classical planets.

These are elementary forces, and the tension between them is strong. If anything upsets the balance, the result could be an upheaval, either an inner one, or as noticeable as turmoil on a planetary scale.

Sevens can go to the extremes, and it takes the strong hand of the Charioteer to control them.

Finally, seven integrates all colours. The rainbow is not just a natural phenomenon; it represents God’s covenant with His people not to destroy the earth through floods again. One can also say that the light from the divine energy has come into contact with a prism, which throws the colours of the rainbow on seven. Seven converts the pure (invisible) light from Tiphareth into a more tangible form, and therefore more visible to the human eye.

… and so?

Like a rainbow or light through a prism, seven is multi-faceted. Which interpretation you apply will depend on two things: the card and its context (within the spread and within your current situation), and the particular system you apply. Let’s consider seven by taking each philosophy on its own:

The Kabbalah (Netzach and Venus)

When interpreting Tarot cards, most Tarot decks (in the West) follow the lead of the Golden Dawn. The order based their analysis of numbers on the Kabbalah, in particular the sephiroth on the Tree of Life. Seven (Netzach) is then associated with:

• victory, yet struggle, and with a real possibility of defeat and failure;
• courage and persistence, in an atmosphere of futility;
• animal emotion, which can be under control due to the influence of Hod, or unconstrained;
• beauty and awareness of beauty;
• self-expression through art;
• love (with the focus on relations between people, rather than love for the divine);
• imagination, which can inspire creativity or encourage delusions and illusions;
• imbalance and instability;
• a tendency to depend on others for balance;
• ‘hidden’ intelligence, which suggests an interest in the occult.

Astrology (Libra, the moon, and Neptune)

Astrology is a popular lens through which to view Tarot cards. Some use only astrology to interpret the cards, but astrology is also often combined with the Kabbalah. Astrology mostly strengthens the Netzach’s qualities:

• balance, harmony, fairness, the intellect and reason (which, if combined with the qualities of Netzach, strengthens the influence of Hod on the sephirah);
• spirituality;
• cycles, rhythms;
• the unconscious, including the instincts and needs of animal emotion;
• imagination, which can also be expressed as illusion, deception, treachery, and secretiveness (when used with the Kabbalah, these qualities can either strengthen or balance those of Netzach);
• flux, changeability, possible instability;
• eccentricity, even lunacy;
• retreat, seclusion, even imprisonment.

Pythagorean number mysticism (Athena)

• the intellect (and even stronger: wisdom);
• independence (which can be expressed as defiance, and perhaps defensiveness, depending on the position of the card);
• eccentricity, the ‘outsider;’
• secrecy (the ‘hidden’ monad);
• perfection.

Alchemy

• perfection;
• transmutation, transformation;
• spirituality (a spiritual journey).

The Bible

• perfection;
• completeness, fullness;
• rest;
• safety, security (from the Hebrew word for ‘oath’).

Creative seven

Seven displays many creative characteristics and qualities that enhance creativity. Remember that to be creative, a product, idea, improvement, or work of art (such as painting or composition) must be new, original, and useful.

Change, even chaos, can be a driver of creativity. It stirs things up and breaks the hold of ‘we have always done it this way.’ New possibilities and new perspectives appear.

Thinking and behaving in unconventional ways can have the same effect as change. The creative person is often unconventional, tends to question the status quo, and is even willing to break the rules. These qualities help the creative person to see possibilities where others don’t, and to think up original ideas or products.

Curiosity and imagination are the primary drivers of creativity. Curiosity leads you to explore widely—beyond your own domain—and imagination leads to possibilities or ideas that others cannot see. If creativity is mostly combining things, as many creative people have suggested, the more you explore, and the more information you take in, the better your chances of finding useful combinations. Change can put odd things together, encouraging unconventional combinations, and leading to associations between concepts and elements that are normally far apart.

Struggles, obstacles, and constraints (such as deadlines) can spur creativity. Difficulties can sharpen focus, and encourage the creative person to find new ways of doing things.

Like introvert seven, creative people need solitude to produce ideas. (Research now suggests that groups generate better ideas if every person has had a chance to work on her/his own before a brainstorming session.)

Recommended books

Anonymous. (c1888). Book T.--The Tarot (Written and privately circulated among members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn).

Case, P. F. (2006). The Tarot: A key to the wisdom of the ages (1st paperback edition.). New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher.

Crowley, A. (1981). The Book of Thoth: A short essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians (Equinox III:5). New York: S. Weiser.

DuQuette, L. M. (2001). The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford. York Beach, ME: Weiser Books.

DuQuette, L. M. (2003). Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. Boston, MA: Weiser Books.

Sepharial. (1920). The Kabala of numbers. n.p.

Westcott, W. W. (1911). Numbers: Their occult power and mystic virtues (3rd ed.). London: Theosophical Pub. Society.

Related articles

• 7: Virtue or vice? Part 1(psychsoma.co.za)

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7: Virtue or vice? Part 1

It seems that, in Tarot, no number (except one) is straightforward.

Like the previous numbers, seven has diverse connotations, some contradictory. In Tarot, authors and deck creators use varied schemes of number mysticism, and some, like Gail Fairfield, make up their own.

Let’s start with the system the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn applied to the suit cards: the Kabbalah.

The seventh sephirah

The seventh sphere on the Tree of Life is Netzach. The trio Netzach, Hod, and Yesod fall in Yetzirah, the third and last world before we enter Malkuth, or physical reality.

Yetzirah is the Formative World or the World of Becoming. In Yetzirah, the intention (Atziluth) and idea (Beriah) is given form (Yetzirah), although not yet physical form (Assiah).

Yetzirah is the realm of ruach. Ruach is a complex concept that can mean wind, breath, spirit, or mind. In the Christian Bible, it is mostly translated as ‘spirit,’ and is used for the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit. Ruach is not visible (that is, it has no physical form), but its effects are. It is the part of the human soul that can reason, and therefore implies will, conscience, and self-awareness.

Victory over struggle

Netzach is usually translated as victory or eternity, but its context is enduring: thus, persistence, patience, courage, and strength in the face of struggles.

As the divine energy moves down the Tree it degrades, or becomes weaker. Degradation here does not mean deterioration or humiliation, but the distance from the pure energy or pure consciousness of Kether. It is not a change in the quality of the energy, but in quantity.

The energy is also slowed by the increasing materiality: while Kether is pure energy, Malkuth (the tenth sephirah) represents physical reality. Netzach is closer to Malkuth than to Kether.

Picture the energy in Kether, moving freely, but struggling the further it descends the Tree. Or imagine pure energy trickling down the Tree, separated and filtered by the sephiroth on its way down (The Chicken Qabalah).

Because Netzach is more than halfway down the Tree, it is associated with struggle, obstacles, and tests. It also represents the victory over these tests.

The sevens in the Tarot suit cards show the result of this weakening of the energy.

Animal emotion

Netzach represents animal emotion. These are our instincts, emotions, needs, passions, and desires. Animal emotion is not inherently evil, but must be directed and controlled. Victory is attained when instincts and emotions are aligned with the Divine Will.

The path between Tiphareth and Netzach

Look at the path that connects Netzach to Tiphareth. Tiphareth is beauty and harmony. In Netzach, this beauty is transformed into an intense awareness of beauty in art and nature. It is also where appreciation of beauty becomes the passion to express it and give it form.

If Tiphareth is the ideal of beauty and harmony, Netzach is where the idea starts to take form. Netzach is the creative impulse and imagination, the desire to express self and beauty. Netzach is where we transcend the mundane through beauty.

Awareness of beauty concerns not only physical beauty, but also spiritual beauty.

Tiphareth is the sphere where human consciousness arises; in other words, the beginning of self-awareness. As self-awareness meets animal emotion in Netzach, the desire to express the self rises.

Venus

The planet assigned to Netzach is Venus, the goddess of love, associated with desire, luxury (the ‘finer things in life’), pleasure, beauty, and sexuality. She represents both divine love and human passion.

Hidden intelligence

The number seven is associated with occult (or hidden) intelligence. The Sepher Yetzirah explains this (somewhat cryptically):

“The Seventh Path is the Occult Intelligence, because it is the refulgent splendour of all the intellectual virtues which are perceived by the eyes of the intellect, and by the contemplation of faith.

The word “occult” means “hidden,” referring particularly to knowledge communicated to a select few. For anyone else, the doctrine would be shrouded in mystery. The term usually refers to the metaphysical, esoteric, and mystical.

Israel Regardie explains that hidden intelligence refers to something deep in us that we must uncover; our divine nature hidden from us by mundane obstacles (A garden of pomegranates: Skrying on the Tree of Life). The refulgent (brilliant or radiant) splendour is the divine light mediated through the first six sephiroth. The light of Gevurah (severity or justice) is broken through the prism of Tiphareth into many hues, so that it can start taking on form.

Balanced by animal reason and animal soul

Netzach is balanced by Hod, the eighth sephirah. Hod is animal reason, or the human intellect. Netzach needs Hod the way the heart needs the head. Netzach finds balance in Hod, while Hod finds the passion in Netzach to complement pure thought.

Yesod, the ninth sephirah, represents the animal soul, or the part of the soul that gives life to the physical body and has no independent existence outside the physical. The animal soul is the source of animalistic desires, and while not inherently good or bad, it seeks pleasure above all.

Together, the three sephirah represent the human spirit or personality.

Reflection of Chokmah and Chesed

If you look at the right pillar of the Tree (known as the “pillar of mercy”), you will see that above Netzach is Chesed (mercy, lovingkindness) and Chokhmah (wisdom). Netzach reflects the Divine Light mediated by wisdom and mercy.

Astrology

Astrologically, the number seven is assigned to Neptune and the moon, while Libra is the seventh sign of the zodiac.

Libra

Libra’s scales indicate objectivity, balance, and harmony. As an Air sign, Libra shares the element’s characteristics of intellect and communication. Air is a masculine sign, correlating with intellect, analysis, independence, action, light, the consciousness, and communication.

These Libran qualities seem to contradict the elements of weakness, emotionalism, instability and struggle of the Kabbalistic interpretation.

The moon

The moon, however, takes us back to weakness and struggles. The moon is associated with women, as its phases are said to be linked to a woman’s menstrual cycle. The moon is also linked to water through the tides. Mostly visible at night, the moon shines with reflected light from the sun. The moon therefore represents the feminine, cycles and rhythms, emotions and the unconscious (both usually associated with water), reflectivity and passivity.

The moon is obviously related to dreams, and therefore imagination, illusion, visions and inspiration.

Moonlight is beautiful, but also deceptive. Although it provides light at night, the moon is also mysterious, secretive, and dark (as one side of the moon is always turned away from earth). At night, and by moonlight, we concern ourselves with darkness and “the dark things.”

And finally, because the moon keeps changing (as seen from Earth), in cycles of 28 days, it has become associated with  changeability and flux, cycles and rhythms.

Neptune

Neptune is the planet the farthest away from the sun (Pluto, even farther away, is no longer classed as a planet), and seems to be a lovely blue when viewed from earth. The colour is deceptive, however: Neptune seems blue only because methane in its atmosphere absorbs the red light from the sun and reflects the blue light. The planet is cold, its surface is composed of ice and frozen gases, rather than rock.

Neptune was discovered as late as the middle of the 19th century, and then only because it affects Uranus’ orbit. Neptune is never visible to the naked eye. Galileo observed Neptune in 1612; however, he mistook the planet for a fixed star. One 19th century astronomer made the same mistake, and just missed being listed as one of the planet’s discovers. Neptune is cold, dark, largely unknown, and deceptive.

Neptune shares many of the moon’s characteristics: deception, confusion, illusion, and trickery. The planet is identified with art and mysticism, but also imprisonment and retreat, and places of seclusion such as hospitals, prisons, mental institutions.

Often identified with the Greek god Poseidon, Neptune rules the ocean. The ocean in turn is linked to fluidity, changeability, flux, emotions, the unknown, and the unconscious.

And finally, Neptune is associated with spirituality (its glyph looks like a trident combined with a cross).

Goddess of wisdom

To Pythagoreans and neo-Pythagoreans, the number belonged to Athena, goddess of wisdom.

 

(In case you’re getting confused: the Kabbalah assigns Venus to Netzach; astrology assigns the moon and Neptune, while Libra is the seventh sign of the zodiac; the Pythagoreans associated seven with Athena, goddess of wisdom.)

Pythagoreans drew several parallels between the number and the goddess.

Athena was an odd goddess. She was a virgin, which immediately set her apart from the gods and goddesses, whose libidos and unusual sexual antics are legendary; she also had an unconventional entry into the world. Like Athena, seven is unconventional. Apart from being literally an “odd” (as opposed to even) number, it is also a prime number, which sets it apart from most other numbers.

Like the virgin goddess, seven cannot procreate: the number is both indivisible and unable to create another number in the first decade (1 to 10). This means seven cannot be divided by numbers of 10 or less, and cannot be multiplied by anything to create a number of 10 or less. Seven can only be created by one (the monad) and itself (1 x 7). (Six, for example, can be divided by 2 and 3 and can be created by 2 x 3.)

For these reasons, the Pythagoreans linked seven to the monad, and called it the hidden monad.

Like Athena, seven has neither a mother (an even number, which the Pythagoreans called feminine), or a father (an uneven number, and therefore masculine). Seven springs directly from the source (one), just as Athena sprang fully formed and armed from Zeus’ head.

Like the monad and Athena, seven is an independent and solitary number.

Outsiders like Athena and seven can offer unique perspectives and a change in perception, in the way you are thinking about things. Outsiders are also often rebels, or people who have been pushed out of a group by being too unconventional. Seven has become linked to defiance, daring, and eccentricity.

Having sprung from Zeus’ head, Athena was linked with wisdom and intellectual pursuits such as philosophy, religion, and psychology. In addition, since ancient astrologers recognised seven ‘planets’ (two were actually the sun and the moon), Athena and seven are influenced by the wisdom of all the planets.

Both the goddess and the number encourage study, introspection, retreat, meditation, and a search for deeper meaning. Seven is the seeker, the mystic, the recluse and the researcher.

Seven is also associated with shadier intellectual pursuits. Not only is seven called the ‘hidden monad,’ but remember that the kabbalists assigned hidden (or occult) wisdom to seven.

Athena and Libra are both associated with the intellect. Unlike Athena, however, Libra focuses on relationships and formal contracts (such as marriage) between people.

Perfection

Seven is linked to perfection, but indirectly.

The Pythagoreans regarded six as a perfect number because it is the sum of its positive divisors; that is, six can be divided by 1, 2, and 3, and is also the sum of 1, 2, and 3: 1 + 2 + 3 = 6.

The next perfect number is 28. It can be divided by 1, 2, 4, 7, and 14: 1 + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14 = 28. (Just for interest: the next perfect number is 496.)

Twenty-eight reduces to 1 (2 + 8 = 10 = 1), the number of the divine.

Seven is linked to 28 in several ways: four sevens equals 28, and the first seven digits add up to 28: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 28. Astrologically, as we have seen, seven is also associated with the moon, which orbits the earth in 28 days.

Biblically, as we will see, seven is strongly associated with perfection.

Seven in the Bible

Seven occurs an extraordinary number of times in the Bible. Creation was completed on the seventh day; God blessed the seventh day; every seventh year was declared a sabbatical year, during which the land lay fallow; Jacob worked seven years for Leah, and seven years for Rachel; there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; it took Solomon seven years to build the Temple in Jerusalem.

Seven is particularly evident in Revelation: seven archangels, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven thunders, seven churches, seven plagues. These are only a few of the many uses of seven in the Bible.

Seven in the Bible indicates completion, fullness and spiritual perfection. The number is also particularly associated with God. The number of the beast—666—therefore means imperfection, repeated three times.

Seven is also linked to wisdom in the Bible: in Proverbs 9:1 wisdom, personified as a woman, built her house with seven pillars.

Because God declared the seventh day as a day of rest, seven also became associated with rest. Seven is the pause after the upheaval of creation, indicating a time to think and contemplate.

Seven indicates a temporary rest, however. After the seventh day, the week starts again with day one. The land lies fallow for a year, and is then worked for the next six years before the next sabbatical year.

Seven also points to oaths, safety and security. According to Paul Foster Case, the Hebrew word for “seven” and that for “oath” are closely related (The Tarot: A key to the wisdom of the ages).

Seven in alchemy

Seven refers to the seven metals used in alchemy: gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, mercury, and lead. It also refers to the seven alchemical stages (although some texts refer to twelve stages).

A common belief is that alchemists try to transform base metals into gold, or to achieve immortality. Parallel to this, however, the alchemical journey is also a spiritual one. Like the physical transformation of lead, this journey is one of transmutation, purification, and perfection of the soul. The outer processes to perfection (gold for metals, immortality for people) are often used as metaphor for the inner journey to enlightenment.

Jung called this journey individuation, where the destination is the “true self” or psychological integration.

Alchemically, seven is thus associated with transformation and perfection, on both an external and internal level. Unlike five, where change and upheaval are directed outwards, seven can indicate an inner journey.

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Part 2 of this blog post will look at the paradoxes in seven.

What could this mean?

Whether you are an aspiring Tarot reader or creative thinker using Tarot cards for inspiration, it will benefit you to get to know the cards well. Do you remember the game called Odd card out? Here is another one that asks you to examine a card in detail.

You don’t have to know anything about this card or its traditional meanings to play this game.

Shuffle the cards, then draw one at random.

Ask yourself: What could this card mean?

Then, ask yourself the question nineteen more times. (Yes, I know 20 is a lot, but you will find that if you stretch yourself, your imagination really comes into play, and you notice details that you have missed before.)

Done?

Now ask yourself: What does this card not mean? Try to come up with ten items.

A sample exercise

Suppose we draw the Six of Cups from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.

What could this card mean? Here are my suggestions:

1. Giving is better than receiving.
2. A secure relationship (see the guard walking away from the scene?).
3. The lady is picky (she discarded five other bunches of flowers).
4. Sweet memories of first love.
5. Spring has sprung!
6. The pleasures of childhood.
7. Making the best of a situation. (Children playing during a time of war, perhaps.)
8. The sixth suitor (the previous five also tried flowers).
9. The tentative beginning of a relationship.
10. Taking good care of someone.
11. Kindness.
12. Poisonous plants (see her gloves?)
13. Pretending to be grown up.
14. Giving flowers to the hostess.
15. Dwarfism. (Doesn’t she look fully grown, instead of a child?)
16. A scene from a play set in the middle ages.
17. Taking flowers to put on a grave.
18. Wanting to stay young forever.
19. Making the best of imprisonment.
20. A giant courting the most beautiful girl in town.

What does this card not mean?

1. Women always appreciate being given flowers.
2. Secure relationships are boring.
3. Women always want more.
4. A cynical attitude towards relationships.
5. Use yellow paint on everything.
6. A drug transaction.
7. Domestic violence.
8. A funeral (they don’t look sad, do they?)
9. The pressures of corporate life.
10. A small child being bullied.

Do you think some of these items could serve as interpretation for the card in a spread? Number 12 in the first list (poisonous flowers) and 7 in the second list (domestic violence) might be good interpretations if the card is reversed? And most of the items in the first list are possible interpretations of the upright card.

Victory! The Six of Wands (Part 2)

The Wands suit always concerns hard work and effort, action, energy, and courage. Combined with the beauty of Tiphareth, the meanings most often attributed to the Six of Wands are victory (after a hard struggle), achievement, success, celebration, and honour.

In Tiphareth, the cleansing and purifying aspects of Fire transform into purification and even sacrifice.

In this post, the elements discussed in Victory! The Six of Wands (Part 1) are combined in various ways to suggest possible interpretations, ranging from the most frequently used meanings to the somewhat bizarre.

The energy of the card is …

A Six of Wands person could be …

Situation, action, event

In creativity …

… business …

… relationships …

… and spirituality

Energy

• Victorious, triumphant
• Relief after a hard struggle
• Sense of purpose and responsibility
• Violence or movement kept under control
• Emotions and instincts under control
• Solemn, with grief or courage or determination
• Charisma, passion, enthusiasm in the air

  A Six of Wands person could be …

  • victorious, triumphant
  • a lucky devil (taking risks and winning)
  • determined to win
  • successful, self-confident
  • sure of direction taken
  • dignified, authoritative, can be domineering
  • a leader who is popular or much admired
  • self-reliant, confidence in self
  • peaceful, inner conflict resolved (especially if the card is reversed)
  • a passionate believer in truth and justice
  • popular, famous
  • a ‘home body’
  • responsible, in service to others
  • generous, giving enthusiastically
  • strong-willed, charismatic, dramatic
  • powerful but controlled
  • courageous, willing to go back into the fray if necessary
  • someone who loves the limelight
  • someone with big dreams
  • proud, arrogant (especially if the card is reversed)
  • larger than life
  • carrying important messages
  • a groom
  • an actor
  • a powerful wizard
  • a sacrifice or scape-goat (perhaps if the card is reversed)

  Situation, action, or event

  • victory after strife, winning against the odds
  • success; crowned with success
  • difficulties, troubles sorted out
  • celebrating a difficult phase completed
  • feeling peaceful after a hard struggle
  • reached the eye of the storm safely
  • hard lessons learned
  • war is over, peace restored
  • well-deserved success
  • the struggle was worth it
  • finding balance again after the conflict
  • getting into your stride
  • taking it in your stride
  • taking the credit
  • giving praise where it is due
  • feeling proud of what you have accomplished
  • basking in the glory
  • enjoying your 15 minutes of fame
  • receiving recognition for your work or courage
  • people are looking up to you
  • feeling appreciated
  • receiving a hero’s welcome
  • king for a day
  • strutting your stuff
  • being a show-off (especially if the card is reversed)
  • pride goes before a fall, arrogance (especially if the card is reversed)
  • taking praise for granted (especially if the card is reversed)
  • a pyrrhic victory (especially if reversed)
  • petty victories (especially if reversed)
  • on your way to great things
  • setting off, on your way
  • taking the lead
  • taking the reins
  • leading the way
  • everything is going your way
  • Made it! Beating the odds
  • feeling as if you could conquer the world
  • confident of winning
  • confident of your skills
  • confident of the direction you’re taking
  • making a grand gesture
  • reaching the heights of success
  • being popular, admired
  • feeling house proud
  • acknowledging acclaim humbly
  • dreaming of success
  • on a mission
  • knight on a white horse
  • everything seems to be coming together now
  • achieving your dream
  • encouraging yourself by reminding yourself of your past successes
  • receiving or delivering good news
  • waiting anxiously to hear the news
  • delivering an important message
  • test-driving a car
  • on a diplomatic mission
  • you can see your idea starting to take shape
  • well on your way to achieving a goal
  • achieving a goal
  • the supporting cast
  • your ideas have been accepted
  • your suggestions are already making a difference
  • you have made your point successfully
  • a parade
  • a funeral
  • a ceremony
  • following your instincts
  • making a grand gesture
  • a quest for meaning, finding your purpose in life
  • what goes around, comes around, in a good way (esp. after hard work, courageous actions, teamwork, working on a relationship, avoiding temptation, etc.)
  • rebellion brewing (especially if reversed)
  • knowing that you conducted yourself honourably
  • bragging with your new car (or other possession on display)
  • being or waiting for someone important, or who has important news

  In creativity …

  • breaking through a creative block
  • finally done! completing an art project that gave you difficulty
  • adding the finishing touches
  • worked hard to get it just right
  • achieving a balance between your creativity and your analytical mind
  • allowing your instincts or intuition to lead you, but staying in control
  • Balancing work and play
  • Make bold colours or dramatic techniques look harmonious
  • creating against the large canvas of life
  • creating beauty
  • studying the works of a great artist to improve your technique
  • find inspiration in the work of someone else
  • fierce admiration for an expert in your field
  • a charismatic artist, salesperson, agent etc. (be careful not to be blinded by charisma)
  • getting a large number of “likes” on Facebook for your work
  • fame
  • creating with a group or team
  • receiving an award
  • being recognized as a talented artist
  • a very successful launch
  • a successful exhibition of your work
  • starting to get the feel of it
  • practicing pays off
  • conveying a message through your art
  • playing the lead, or being part of the supporting cast
  • a solo
  • found the perfect solution
  • evaluating ideas for practicality
  • making an idea practical
  • measuring possibilities against your values
  • visualizing what you want, then going for it
  • a newly implemented idea is working well
  • tackling an exciting new technique or hobby
  • combining two or more objects or concepts to create something new
  • combining and re-combining ideas or resources to find new ideas
  • creating with mind and soul
  • your idea embodied
  • expressing ideas through creativity
  • acting in an open-air play or taking part in a pageant
  • taking control of your own work

  … business …

  • not resting on your laurels
  • hard work results in success
  • problem solved!
  • the new strategy is a success
  • a new product takes the market by storm
  • a large part of the project is now complete
  • peace descends again after disruptions and conflict
  • a team works well together
  • the right person for the right job 
  • expressing gratitude for the support of others
  • acknowledging everyone’s contribution
  • feeling at the top of your game
  • riding high
  • a popular or much admired leader
  • a charismatic leader or sales person (how blinded are you by the charisma?)
  • inspiring others to follow you
  • you have the power in your hands
  • allowing your intuition to guide you, but not take over
  • giving a demonstration
  • leading by example
  • receiving guidance from a mentor
  • giving guidance as mentor or expert
  • delivering a presentation at a conference
  • having your work or performance evaluation
  • evaluating someone else’s work or performance
  • receiving an excellent performance appraisal
  • receiving an award, promotion, or bonus
  • handing in a report
  • needing to let go of a report or project when it is ‘good enough,’ not perfect
  • successful negotiations or mediation
  • tackling the last part of the project
  • visualizing success
  • focusing on the goal
  • a partnership is working well
  • affiliation
  • taking a calculated risk to improve your job or your work
  • balancing work and relaxation
  • exchanging ideas
  • setting out on a new phase in your career
  • a business trip

  … relationships …

  • things are better than ever, despite recent conflict
  • developing empathy with someone
  • beginning to understand the other person
  • mediating in a quarrel
  • the relationship has weathered many storms, and is stronger than ever
  • knowing your family and friends appreciate you
  • passion and caring well balanced in your relationship
  • sharing chores
  • complementing each other perfectly
  • not taking the relationship for granted
  • accepting a reward on behalf of the team
  • working together on the relationship
  • looking for a gift that is both beautiful and practical
  • a conflict resolve with mediation
  • leaving home
  • taking a risk in your relationship
  • declaring your love, and getting a “yes”
  • celebrating the years together
  • demonstrating your gratitude towards your partner, friends, or family
  • a charming, confident, and passionate lover
  • a charisma person (beware not to be blinded by it)
  • a generous, demonstrative lover
  • a domineering partner (especially if the card is reversed)
  • believing strongly in equality in a relationship
  • taking the lead in something
  • trying to control the relationship (if reversed)
  • a romantic trip
  • celebrating a child’s accomplishments
  • making a grand gesture
  • rescuing the damsel in distress
  • debating your beliefs or viewpoints
  • relying on your instincts to keep a relationship going
  • putting someone on a pedestal
  • giving and receiving healing energies
  • energies in balance
  • trying to be fair to everyone
  • settling a quarrel
  • trying to find a way to accommodate conflicting opinions or desires

  … and spirituality …

  • successfully resisting temptation
  • found peace after recent doubts
  • celebrating the beauty in everyday life
  • finding your purpose in life
  • vising the poor and the sick in places where few others are prepared to go
  • knowing instinctively what people need and supplying it
  • “do unto others …”
  • helping enthusiastically where it is needed
  • preferring to render practical help
  • feeling inspired by someone else’s faith or actions
  • prayer answered
  • manifestation
  • getting what you need, not what you want
  • freed from a spiritual burden
  • forgiving, or being forgiven
  • taking part in a peaceful protest
  • setting off on, or coming back from, a spiritual quest
  • successfully defending your beliefs
  • feeling freshly inspired
  • sharing your spiritual gifts with others
  • made peace with some aspects of yourself, your beliefs, or the world around you
  • demonstrating ethical leadership
  • taking the ‘good news’ to people
  • internalizing hard lessons learned
  • mediating to achieve reconciliation
  • living your faith
  • waiting for or being a famous evangelist
  • a charismatic preacher
  • not letting your emotions run away with you
  • making sure your faith is based on more than emotion alone

  Related posts

  Victory! The Six of Wands (Part 1)

  Fighting fair: The Five of Wands (Part 1)

  Fighting fair: The Five of Wands (Part 2)

  Time out! The Four of Wands (Part 1)

  Time out! The Four of Wands (Part 2)

  First fruits: The Three of Wands (Part 1)

  First fruits: The Three of Wands (Part 2)

  Personal power perplexed: Two of Wands (Part 1)

  Personal power perplexed: Two of Wands (Part 2)

  So, you drew the Ace of Wands in a reading?

  Making meaning: The wand as a symbol

Victory! The Six of Wands (Part 1)

Card meanings can be very frustrating. No two tarotists seem to agree on what the cards mean, and sometimes they contradict each other completely.

But let me tell you a secret: most cards have a more-or-less-agreed-upon interpretation, but tarotists may emphasize different angles of the same meaning.

Another possibility: components that most frequently make up the divinatory meanings of cards are suit and element, number, and astrology. Some, however, use one component but not the other, add different elements such as alchemy, interpret the same element in different ways, or follow a different tradition. Or, of course, throw out tradition and create their own.

The easiest way to decipher (most) interpretations is to examine the most-often-used components of card meanings. This series of posts try to help you do that.

Suit and element

Number

Tiphareth on the Tree of Life

Number mysticism

Following five

Temporary peace?

Astrology

Tradition

The image

Corresponding major arcana cards

Corresponding minor arcana cards

Sequence of cards

Related posts

Suit and element

Suit and element are perhaps the most popular ways to create meaning for the cards. There is one problem, though: many tarotists follow the example set by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (for instance, to associate Wands with Fire), but not all (some prefer Wands and Air). In this post I use the Golden Dawn convention, but if you prefer Air, we’ll get to that element in time.

Fire and Wands have been discussed in several posts (see “related posts” below for a list). A quick recap:

• Wands suggest power, control, direction, intent, will, and effort.
• The phallic shape of the wand points to traditionally “masculine” qualities such as drive, ambition, energy, and action.
• Fire is pure energy, heat, light, life and growth, purification, sacrifice, and the ever-present danger of uncontrollable destruction. Fire is also volatile, needing effort and attention to keep it burning, and care to keep it from running wild.
• Fire has no form of its own, and does not take on the form of a container.
• Combining the associations of Fire and Wands, we get transformative power (magic), creativity, ideas, and intuition, as well as will, intent, courage and strength in difficult circumstances. Wands/Fire people are charismatic, enthusiastic, passionate, optimistic and dynamic.

Number

Number is another important influence on card meanings. The problem (you expected that, didn’t you!) is that there are several ways to associate meaning with numbers. The Kabbalah—in the form of the Tree of Life—offers one set of meanings; Pythagorean and neo-Pythagorean number mysticism another; and sometimes is simply what makes sense to the tarotist at the time.

Tiphareth on the Tree of Life

(The names of the sephiroth are spelled differently in the diagram to the right. Din is an alternative name for Gevurah.)

Tiphareth, the sixth sephirah on the Tree of Life, is the heart of the Tree. It is the meeting point of left and right, above and below. Tiphareth translates to “Beauty,” and its beauty lies in balance, symmetry, and harmony.

Kether, Chokmah and Binah form the first triangle on the Tree. The second triangle comprises Chesed, Gevurah, and Tiphareth. This second triangle is upside down; it is a reflection of the first. Although Tiphareth is a reflection of Kether, not Kether itself, the sephirah plays a central role in the Tree.

Tiphareth balances the Tree. It is halfway between Kether (pure energy) and Malkuth (physical reality). It is also in the middle of the two ‘pillars’ of the Tree: the Pillar of Mercy (the ‘male’ pillar on the right, comprising Chokmah, Chesed, and Netzach) and the Pillar of Severity or Justice (the left, ‘female’ pillar).

One of the titles given to Tiphareth is, appropriately, the Intelligence of Mediating Influence. In Tiphareth, what is above meets what is below; spirit meets matter; divine meets human.

Paths lead directly from Tiphareth to Chokmah, Binah, Chesed, Gevurah, Netzach, Hod, and Yesod. A path also leads from Tiphareth to Kether over the abyss, or Da’ath. (Da’ath is not one of the sephiroth, but is sometimes called the ‘hidden’ or ‘uncreated’ sephirah.)

Of the sephiroth below the abyss, only Tiphareth has a direct path to Kether.

Tiphareth represents the third day of Creation (the first is Chesed, the second Gevurah or Din), in which God separated the waters from the land. Pure energy is starting to take on form.

Tiphareth is also the sphere of the ‘son,’ the Son of the Expressed Mother (Gevurah) and the Expressed Father (Chesed). In Tiphareth, divine energy starts to manifest into the ‘divine son,’ who is often a demi-god or a king. In Christian terms, God takes on human form in Jesus, in whom divinity and humanity co-existed. The ‘divine son’ is also usually sacrificed; he dies and rises to be sacrificed again.

Tiphareth is therefore also the sphere of reconciliation and redemption.

Tiphareth finds the balance between opposites: male and female energies; Chesed and Gevurah (mercy and strict justice; the loving and the fearsome god; expansion versus restriction), and Netzach and Hod (victory and glory, also called emotion and intellect).

Male and female energies transform to androgyny; In finding the balance between Chesed (mercy) and Gevurah (justice), Tiphareth allows compassion to emerge.

Divine consciousness flows from Kether through all the sephiroth to Malkuth, which is the sphere of matter. In Tiphareth, halfway through the Tree, consciousness is revealed as human consciousness or self-consciousness. (In Malkuth it has become primitive or animalistic consciousness.)

The sephiroth are all associated with celestial bodies, which influence the meaning assigned to each sephirah. Tiphareth and the sephiroth surrounding it have been assigned six of the seven celestial bodies visible to the naked eye: Chesed (Jupiter), Gevurah (Mars), Netzach (Venus), Hod (Mercury), and Yesod (the moon). (Binah is assigned Saturn.)

The sun, heart of our solar system, is assigned to Tiphareth.

Just as the sephiroth surround Tiphareth, the planets revolve around the sun. Assigning the celestial bodies visible to the naked eye to the sephiroth around Tiphareth emphasises the central and centring role of the sephirah.

Tiphareth and the sun as symbol complement each other well. As the primary source of light, the sun suggests enlightenment, reason, and joy. The sun is also a symbol of life.

Number mysticism

The number six is graphically represented by the six-pointed star, often called the Star of David. The star consists of two intertwined triangles. In alchemy, the triangle that points up is the symbol of fire, while the triangle pointing down stands for water. The Star of David thus shows the integration of dualities.

It is also possible to see four triangles in the star, each representing one of the four classical elements. The triangle that points up has a line across its top, formed by the top line of the downward triangle (see the illustration on the left). While the upright triangle represents fire, with the line, it represents air.

The same is true for the downward triangle. The triangle represents water, but with the line across, earth.

The star—and six—thus represents the whole of (material) creation (the macrocosm).

Six is also associated with integration as it contains the power of two threes (3 + 3 = 6, or 2 x 3 = 6), and three is the number of integration.

Six can represent balance, as it consists of three twos (6 = 2+2+2), making it three times as balanced as two.

The Pythagoreans regarded six as a perfect number because it is both the sum and the product of its parts: 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 and 1 x 2 x 3 = 6. Six is the only perfect number between one and ten.

The geometrical figure associated with six is the cube. A cube is a square (four) in three dimensions, and as four is the number of stability, six represents perfect stability. Moreover, because all six faces of a cube are exactly the same, six also stands for truth and perfection.

In his Book of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians, Aleister Crowley points out that the perfection of six is reflected in the four ‘six’ cards in the Tarot deck: they illustrate their element at its practical best.

Crowley talks about ‘practical best’ as a reference to Virgo, the sixth sign of the zodiac. An earth sign, Virgo is practical, conscientious, hard-working, detail-oriented, and analytical, and strongly driven to serve others. Virgo imparts these qualities to six.

Like five, six is also regarded as a circular number, because when squared, the solution always contains a 6: for example, 6² = 36, 6³ = 216.

Six has another mystical connection to a circle: if you take a coin and place coins of the same size around it so each coin touches the coin in the middle (see the illustration to the right), you will always have six coins plus the one in the middle.

Six is both motion and stillness. Circles imply cyclical movement. On the Tree of Life, Tiphareth seems to be an axle around which the other sephiroth revolve. Furthermore, six is not the end of the journey: on the Tree of Life, there are four more sephiroth after Tiphareth. Biblically, six yearns for perfection, which is seven.

If three completes a cycle, six is the end of the next cycle, but not yet the last one. Six is a circle, but also a square (and therefore stable) in three dimensions.

Six is not the end of the journey. It is a place of peace and beauty, but also a yearning for true perfection. It is a sphere of transformation, and moving on. Six is a circular number, but a square in three dimensions. If you look at the Tree of Life, Tiphareth seems to be the spill around which the sephiroth can turn: moving, yet staying still.

Biblically, seven is the number of perfection. The number 666 assigned to the Beast or Antichrist shows symbolically that the Antichrist always falls short of perfection. Creation was also not complete on the sixth day; although God has brought everything that exists into being in six ‘days,’ the seventh day—the rest day—completes the work.

Following five

Another way to look at the number six is to compare it to previous numbers.

Five is the number of change and unpredictability, which means chaos, disruption, loss, and pain. Five disturbs the peace and harmony of four, reminding us that growth cannot take place in a stable, static situation. But the pendulum swings, and in six, the trials have been overcome; unpredictability is replaced with regularity; equilibrium, peace and harmony have been regained.

Six is another number that implies completion. The form it takes in six is that of perfection and inclusion, or wholeness. Think of the six directions that surround you: left, right, front, back, up, and down. You are completely enclosed.

Six is the third day of creation and the completion of the sixth day. Six completes the second cycle of threes.

Five is a number that focuses on the self, on desires and needs and the pain of loss. Six take the focus back to others: it is the number of love, compassion, and social responsibilities. Rather than the ego-centrism of five, six is about co-operation and reciprocity.

Just as three integrates unity (one) and duality (two), six balances the stagnation of four and the upheaval of five. Having integrated the lessons, six offers healing and love.

Temporary peace?

One problem with the beauty and peace found in six, is that it might be a temporary peace, an unstable balance. This is especially true in the suit of volatile Fire.

We have seen that Tiphareth balances the Tree just as the sun holds the planetary forces in balance. But in both cases the forces are immense, and it might take little to upset the balance.

The divine energy becomes less pure the further it travels down the Tree. In seven the weakness of six becomes apparent.

And thirdly, if six is a yearning for perfection, something must change for the journey to continue, and when balance is upset, chaos takes over.

Astrology

You may not be surprised: astrologists do no all follow the same tradition either. Most tarotists follow the example of the Golden Dawn, who assigned the second decan of Leo (Jupiter in Leo) to the Six of Wands.

Picatrix describes this decan as one of quarrelling, ignorance, pretended knowledge, wrangling, victory over the low and base, and of drawing swords. The Golden Dawn ignored Picatrix, decided on more positive associations for Jupiter in Leo, and added beauty, balance, and harmony associated with Tiphareth.

Both Jupiter and Leo are good-natured natural leaders (as long as they are admired). Both like to be in the limelight, and want to be appreciated. The decan can be described as one of big dreams and aspirations which (with Jupiter throwing some luck into the mix) may have come true.

With two such egos, however, the moment of triumph may not last long, and could descend into quarrels and wrangling. Jupiter could bring out both the best and the worst in Leo.

Tradition

In the West, ‘tradition’ is mostly either—or a combination of—the Golden Dawn, Waite, and Crowley. In turn, they often used Etteilla’s interpretation as a base.

Clearly, for the Six of Wands the Golden Dawn did not agree with Etteilla: only Waite incorporated one of Etteilla’s suggestions, that of courier or messenger.

Etteilla thought that the Six of Wands signified servants and housework.

Etteilla’s interpretation does, however, pick up Virgo’s qualities of service and social responsibility.

McGregor Mathers (the Golden Dawn) used Etteilla’s reversed meanings: attempt, hope, desire, wish, and expectation, for the upright meanings.

The Golden Dawn called the card Lord of Victory, and added victory after strife, avoiding of strife, success through energy and industry, pleasure gained by labour, carefulness, and sociability. It seems they chose to combine the meanings of Tiphareth and the characteristics of Virgo to form an interpretation.

Waite merged some of these meanings: in addition to ‘great news,’ he agreed that the card is one of triumph, expectation (crowned with its own desire), and crown of hope.

The image

You might want to throw the whole lot into the fire and rely on the image alone for inspiration. The most popular deck in the West is the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (the first illustration in this post), so this is the image I used here. You might have seen from the other card images I have used that there are more, and very interesting, ways to illustrate the card.

The cards designed by Pamela Colman Smith are, in their simplicity, highly evocative. Most of the people in her designs have neutral expressions, which means that we can project whatever we want on them.

What is your first reaction when you look at the the Six of Wands? Is the rider arrogant, relieved, proud, tired, determined, task-oriented, serious? Look at the faces of the two people in the background. Are they rejoicing, admiring the rider, bored, angry, expectant, afraid, exultant?

The rider has the horse under firm control. What does this mean? Is he a good horseman; keeping a tight rein on his emotions; sure of where he is going; letting his instincts guide him?

Is he returning, or setting out?

Newly crowned (as a winner, or a king?)

Setting off to war or coming back victoriously?

A braggart showing off?

On his way to a fancy-dress ball, or a play?

Is that a celebrity surrounded by an adoring crowd?

A proud, arrogant man who demands admiration?

A famous wizard? (Wands are tools in magical practices)

A healer? (Fire can be healing and purifying; six is a number of community service)

A messenger? Bringing good news or bad? Are the crowd of people around him waiting anxiously for news?

A groom on his way to the wedding?

A politician who won, or is campaigning?

A king or king’s son about to be sacrificed to ensure a good harvest? It was the fate of many divine sons, or the sons of kings, to be sacrificed, in the place of the king, for the good of a community. These sacrificial victims were often decked in garlands. Jesus was given a crown of thorns and a robe to wear.

Corresponding major arcana cards

The two major arcana cards with the same number are Trump VI, the Lovers, and Trump XV, the Devil (1+5=6). These two cards are in many ways mirror images of each other, and demonstrate the extremes of two possible interpretations.

In most interpretations, the Six of Wands is a triumphant, joyful card. The strife in the Five of Wands has been resolved, and the victory is celebrated.

An interpretation of the Six of Wands that reflects the Lovers is one of triumph, celebration, beauty, and hope. The right choice has been made, and victory is the result. (In this version of the story of Adam and Eve, Eve has not succumbed to temptation).

In the Lovers, two people are blessed by an angel; in the Six of Wands, the victor has been crowned with laurels. In both cases, peace and harmony can be assumed.

Because the card is numerically linked to the Devil, we should take different interpretations into account, especially if the card is reversed or falls in an unfavourable position.

The image on the card has no context, which means the victory depicted by the Six of Wands is ambiguous. We don’t know what kind of victory this is, or what happened to the vanquished. Or was it perhaps a pyrrhic victory, with many soldiers lost?

Is the rider filled the joy and love of the Lovers, or the pride and arrogance of the Devil?

Is this man perhaps not returning, but setting out for war, with the possibility of defeat and even death?

We can also look at the scene with the eyes of those standing around the rider. For the spectators, there may be no celebration, no beauty, and a sense of hopelessness. Are they sharing in the joy of victory, or filled with fear and hate?

In the Devil, the blessing is that of the Devil, not an angel. The Devil is about slavery and imprisonment, the losers in a fight, or the wrong choices made.

What is interesting, is that Etteilla saw service and even slavery in the Six of Wands.

Corresponding minor arcana cards

According to Crowley, because six is associated with Tiphareth, the four sixes represent the practical best of their element.

The titles that the Golden Dawn gave to these cards reflect this: Lord of Victory (Wands), Lord or Pleasure (Cups), Lord of Earned Success (Swords), and Lord of Material Success (Pentacles).

Crowley titled the Six of Swords ‘Science,’ suggesting clarity of thought, discrimination, and research.

The four ‘six' cards all display the qualities usually associated with six: beauty, virtue, completion, practical deeds, success, service, and balance restored. Each card portrays these qualities according to the nature of its suit.

In the fire suit Wands, the beauty of Tiphareth is conveyed in courage and a hard-won victory. In Cups, the suit of emotion and relationships, Tiphareth is expressed in pleasure, love, and generosity. Swords, the suit of rational thinking and communication, shows a relief of mental anguish and a victory over fear, or—if you prefer Crowley’s interpretation—clear thinking and the fruits thereof. Pentacles, the suit of practicality and material matters, display practical generosity and sharing of wealth.

All four cards demonstrate practical help to others, a deed intended to improve the life of others.

The cards also depict more than one person, emphasizing the aspect of community and teamwork.

At the same time, all four cards can be interpreted less favourably. The Wands card may depict a victory that came at a high cost; the soldier and fortress in the Six of Cups suggest danger of some kind; the Six of Swords has a sense of defeat and hopelessness; and the Six of Pentacles shows poverty and perhaps a patronizing attitude. And could the man be giving money to one beggar, but not the other?

The sequence

Victory (Six of Wands) follows strife (Five of Wands).

From the Five to the Nine, the Wands suit is associated with fighting and war. In typical Wands fashion, battles are fought (and won) with courage and determination.

The Fire suit is not about long-term victories and success; a fight (Five of Wands) disturbs the domestic peace (Four of Wands). The fight is won and celebrated (Six of Wands), but in the Seven of Wands, a new battle starts. The Six of Wands is about victory, but not lasting peace.

Related posts

Fighting fair: The Five of Wands (Part 1)

Time out! The Four of Wands (Part 1)

First fruits: The Three of Wands (Part 1)

Personal power perplexed: Two of Wands (Part 1)

So, you drew the Ace of Wands in a reading?

Making meaning: The wand as a symbol

Fighting fair: The Five of Wands (Part 2)

The concepts in Fighting fair: The Five of Wands (Part 1) can be combined and recombined in various configurations. This post lists some of the possibilities:

A Five of Wands person could be …

This card is about …

An action, event, or situation … 

In creativity …

… business or career matters …

… relationships …

… and spirituality 

A Five of Wands person could be …

• aggressive, violent, a volcanic personality
• easily angered, hot-tempered, impulsive
• fighting change and reacting to fear or frustration in an aggressive way
• repressing anger or fear (but not very successfully)
• frustrated, “kicking against the pricks”
• someone who represses the creative instinct willingly (out of fear), or unwillingly
• restless, bored, and dissatisfied with the status quo
• stirring things up deliberately, looking for a fight to release tension; a troublemaker
• hyperactive
• wilful, ego-centric, stubborn
• a nit-picker
• unable to focus energies and/or attention where it belongs
• a scatterbrain
• assertive and competitive, highly motivated
• creative, open to new ideas, willing to take risks
• someone who enjoys a challenge and who sees problems and obstructions as opportunities for growth
• someone who likes mock fights, for example war games or paintball
• a sportsman (or woman) who particularly likes competitive sport
• competitive
• a team-player
• a “sport”
• the one who is always questioning the way things are, and challenging assumptions
• impulsive, generous, charismatic, hot-tempered, and high-spirited

The card is about …

• conflict and strife
• disruption
• changes
• constraints, boundaries, limitations, and the struggle against them
• restlessness and frustration
• repressed feelings about to explode
• ego-centricity or stubbornness that leading to arguments
• justice, rewards and punishment

An action, event, or situation

• a violent fight
• violence bubbling just beneath the surface, tension about to explode
• repressing anger
• violence erupts
• a sham fight, war games
• skirmishes
• looking for a fight, stirring things up deliberately; a troublemaker
• releasing pent-up energy or tension
• playing a prank, or having one played on you
• being deliberately child-like to enhance your creativity
• throwing out a challenge
• feeling restless
• kicking against the pricks
• losing your temper, quick on the draw; tempers flaring; losing your cool
• attending an anger-management course
• changes, disruption
• coping with change, adapting
• challenges, obstacles, constraints
• struggles, strife
• quarrels and arguments
• fearing change
• struggling with a decision
• prepared to face all the challenges that tomorrow will bring
• scattered energy, losing focus
• encountering resistance
• determined, refusing to give up
• conflicting ideas
• little irritations, niggling worries, nit-picking
• worried about your bad memory
• changing your lifestyle
• leaving your comfort zone
• getting out of a rut
• fiery debate; openly disagreeing
• dissatisfied with the status quo
• questioning the status quo; challenging assumptions and beliefs
• finding a new way to look at things; new perspectives
• great potential for growth
• health, vitality, energy
• building a campfire
• survival of the fittest
• wilfulness and ego-centricity lead to arguments
• fight for your right to party
• fighting your way through
• taking part in a game or team sport; competition
• self-defence techniques
• fighting for what you believe
• boys playing at being men; contests and fights between young boys to prove themselves “men”
• gang war
• waking up sleeping dogs
• puberty
• PMS
• peri-menopause; feeling irritable and out-of-sorts due to hormone changes
• conflict between the old and the new
• talking at cross-purposes
• too many irons in the fire; workaholic
• an opportunity to prove yourself; running with an opportunity
• loss of energy makes you irritable
• a lawsuit
• conflict between justice and mercy
• fighting for justice
• psychotherapy or life coaching
• integrating various aspects of your personality
• an unexpected growth spurt
• sudden, frantic, but purposeful activity
• impulsivity brings problems
• facing reality
• struggling with consequences
• finding it difficult to accept responsibility
• getting what you deserve
• combatting fear with action
• putting out fires
• picking up speed
• losing your balance (figuratively)
• laughter turning to anger
• excited and anxious at the same time
• halfway there!

In creativity …

• brainstorming, coming up with ideas
• lateral thinking and other techniques to stimulate ideas
• being creative in overcoming obstacles and constraints
• disruptive innovation
• radical ideas
• unconventional thinking
• defining the problem
• finding the heart of the problem, the essence of the matter
• questioning your assumptions
• getting out of a rut
• giving your imagination free rein
• play; a playful or fun attitude can make your more creative
• changing your perspective; looking with fresh eyes
• stifling your creativity by refusing to consider idea-generation techniques; considering play rather childish
• severe, restrictive environment that stifles creativity
• working to a deadline, with inadequate resources, or with other constraints can enhance your creativity
• the “mad genius;” volatile personality; acting “crazy;” eccentricities
• exploring other domains for inspiration
• restlessness, desire to create but feeling blocked or indecisive
• fear and self-doubt is affecting your creativity
• struggling to focus
• welcoming change as fertile ground for creativity
• stirring things up to see what happens
• accepting a commission
• finding it difficult to express your own style while working to another’s specifications
• on fire with ideas
• reviewing someone’s work, or having your own reviewed
• a mixture of good and bad reviews
• sending your manuscript to a publisher
• having your work evaluated by experts
• trying out new ideas or techniques
• struggling to be organized, set priorities, and schedule work and appointments
• forcing yourself to think about the long-term; setting goals
• breaking through a creative block
• losing a commission (perhaps because you tend to be disorganized)
• combining ideas or objects for inspiration
• trying to restrain the creative spirit
• free to be yourself
• making good use of artistic freedom to express a point or idea
• a new idea or thought changes everything
• feeling excited, inspired, creative, raring to start

… business or career matters …

• a teambuilding exercise
• teamwork
• a team consisting of a mixture of race or gender; diverse team
• clashing personalities in the team
• brainstorming session, throwing ideas in the air
• looking at a problem from various perspectives
• examining various options
• evaluating ideas
• unconventional ideas
• open to new ideas
• trying to find the cause or the essence of a problem
• changes, feeling unsettled in the workplace
• the possibility that you might be retrenched or fired
• fighting to keep your job, an employee, or a cherished project
• a takeover
• making changes to “how we’ve always done it”
• exploring other domains for ideas
• the balance of power has shifted
• improving existing products, methods, or processes; innovation
• new responsibilities
• attending or conducting a workshop in anger management
• attending or conducting a workshop on creative problem solving
• change management
• disruptive innovation
• producing something new that affects the organization
• experiencing resistances from your colleagues, your team, or your manager
• gathering different opinions and suggestions
• multitasking; the ability to shift your focus rapidly
• losing focus
• re-examining your goals; setting clear, long-term goals
• tackling a challenging project with vigour
• renewed enthusiasm for a project that is going well
• struggling with distractions
• needing to manage your time so that most of the important work gets done, instead of just the urgent jobs
• troubleshooting
• a strike; negotiating salary, benefits, etc.
• negotiations bring mixed results
• disciplinary action
• a new competitor
• a management meeting
• trying to make your mark
• working hard for the money
• disagreement
• a new business opportunity
• a workaholic
• a project is taking on a new dimension
• time is money
• trying to push your ideas through
• a creative environment
• a restrictive environment that does not encourage creativity
• nit-picking a report or piece of work

… relationships …

• a volatile or stormy relationship
• passion getting out of hand
• going through a rough patch
• rekindling a romance
• feeling restless, dissatisfied
• losing a relationship due to anger or the inability to handle changes
• dealing with changed circumstances
• personal growth can disrupt a relationship
• a new dimension to your relationship
• going to the heart of the matter
• picking a fight
• going on a couples’ retreat
• marital therapy
• strife, family quarrels
• harming a relationship by being stubborn or self-centred
• not seeing eye to eye on the nature or the future of the relationship
• a need for greater spontaneity in the relationship
• an argument clears the air
• make-up sex
• group sex
• men who have sex with men
• rough sex
• doing something new sexually
• sex magic
• desire
• an affair that threatens to destroy a family
• the honeymoon is over
• the first quarrel in a new relationship or marriage
• divorce or break-up
• struggling to maintain your own identity in a relationship
• new addition to the family
• routine disrupted by guests or by someone moving back home
• at cross-purposes with each other
• power struggles
• sibling rivalry
• an impulsive gesture of love
• fighting temptation
• making amends
• compromising
• handling relationships with instinct and charm
• male bonding

… and spirituality

• fighting temptation
• struggling to reconcile faith and intellect
• anger issues
• strife in the community or group is stifling spirituality
• an acrimonious meeting
• group study
• questioning your faith
• feeling on fire with love or belief
• finding additional room for growth
• “muscular” Christianity
• prepared to fight for your beliefs
• new ideas
• rebelling against traditional forms of worship
• finding your religion or spiritual practice restricting
• feeling your faith is being smothered
• preferring spontaneous expressions of faith, not silent contemplation
• power struggles are disrupting the community
• struggling with forgiveness
• tempering justice with mercy
• expiation
• acknowledging that you are a mix of good and bad
• doing penance
• celibacy may not be a good idea for a Wands/Fire person

Fighting fair: The Five of Wands (Part 1)

From the peace and harmony of the Four of Wands, we move to the fights, struggles, irritations and contests in the Five of Wands.

Let’s take a look at the elements that often go into the interpretation of the Five of Wands.

Suit and element

Suit: Wands

Element: Fire

Both Wands and Fire have been discussed in previous posts (see ‘Related Posts’ below). In summary, Wands are about direction, control, power, intent, and will. They are associated with effort and hard work, and with its phallic shape, masculine characteristics such as drive, ambition, energy, and action.

Fire, on the other hand, implies heat, light, energy, and growth. It is also associated with purification, desire, destruction, sacrifice and divinity. Being pure energy, Fire has no form of its own, and left without fuel, will soon burn out (but maybe not until it has destroyed everything that can burn). It signifies both the spark of life and the spark of inspiration.

In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the life-giving power of Fire is represented by growing leaves on the Wands.

In combination, Wands and Fire represent ideas and creativity, magic, and transformative power. The Wands personality is charismatic, passionate, enthusiastic, optimistic, and dynamic. When the power of Wands and the all-devouring energy of Fire combine, there is change, action, conflict, struggle, and suffering, but also celebration, victory, and strength in adversity.

The Suit of Wands usually represents creativity, business and career matters, and spirituality.

* Some Tarotists prefer to associate Wands with Air, in which case you will combine the characteristics of wands with those of air. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, whose teachings still have a major influence on Tarot, associated Wands with Fire.

The number

All meaning in Tarot is associative, that is, all elements and symbols take on the meaning(s) most often associated with them. When card meanings differ from and contradict each other, the cause is often different interpretations of one or more symbols. The number five is a good example of divergent associations.

Tilling the soil

Four represents a world of structure, order, control, and security. Everything changes, however; all things grow and decay. And so four gives way to five; to chaos, destruction, and loss.

Four represents a successful harvest. Before new seed can be sown, the soil needs to be prepared. Five is the upheaval and disruption of tilling, but also the possibility of fertility and growth, and therefore health and vitality. It is the transitional phase to an even deeper balance and harmony.

It brings with it freedom, but also disruption, instability, and alteration.

Creativity

If seen as change and unpredictability, Five is a number of creativity. Creative inspiration is stifled in the unchanging world of four, but flourishes where everything is in flux. Times of transition and uncertainty open new possibilities and expanded horizons.

Time

Where four defines a three-dimensional shape (the pyramid), five represents the fourth dimension, which is time. Time brings change and growth, but also endings, loss, and decay.

To Christians, the number might suggest the five wounds of Christ, another image of pain and violence. It is also an image of sacrifice.

The pentagram

Just as four is the square, five is the pentagram, or five-pointed star. When the star is upright (one point upward and two down), the pentagram signifies humanity: we have four limbs, and the head makes a fifth protrusion. (See the image below, from Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's Libri tres de occulta philosophia. Agrippa was a sixteenth-century German physician and alchemist.)

Five also indicates humanity because humans have five fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot, and five senses.

Because five is the number of humanity, it signifies that humankind is a mixture of good and bad.

5 = x + y

The Pythagoreans saw five as the number of marriage, of mystic harmony, the joining of heaven and earth and the union of male and female in marriage. Five is the sum of two and three (5=2+3); two represents the earth and the feminine, while three stands for the sacred (see the post on the Three of Wands). Three is also the first odd number, and therefore male. (Remember that the Pythagoreans did not regard one as a real number.)

Five can also be written as 4+1, which is the union of the material (four) and the divine (one).

If Five is written as 2+1+2, with two signifying duality, we can say that five is the balance between opposing forces, and that it can mediate and negotiate where there is conflict and opposition (two). It can also mean that man and woman are equal, with God as the balancer in between.

The Pythagoreans regarded five as a circular number, because when squared, 5 is always part of the solution: 5² = 25, 5⁵ = 3125.

Three and four both signal completion, the end of a cycle. Five is completion in a different way: that of totality, holism, a whole. This is because five fingers make a hand and five toes make a foot. (Sort of.) Five points make a ‘man’ (see Agrippa’s diagram above). Five senses let us form a picture of the (material) world around us.

‘Whole’ and ‘completion’ mean comprehensiveness, and from there we go to comprehension and understanding.

Moving on

In the fire suit, five is about movement, constant activity, and restlessness; movement not only because five is a circular number, but also because the pentagram is an infinite shape. You can trace the lines over and over, without coming to a stop. (See Eliphas Lévi’s Pentagram on the right, from his Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, 1855).

Unlike the Four of Wands, which looks to the past, five focuses on the future.

On the Tree of Life

The Kabbalistic system assigns significance to numbers according to the ten sephiroth on the Tree of Life.

The fifth sephirah on the Tree is Gevurah (or Geburah), often translated as strength, judgement, power, restraint, severity, or discipline. Where Chesed is mercy, Gevurah is perfect justice.

Associations that flow from “justice” include difficult decisions, duty, rewards and punishment, sowing and reaping, morality, and fear.

Mars, the god of war, is assigned to Gevurah, where he strengthens the severity of the sephirah with power and authority.

As counterpoint to Chesed—the Expressed Father—Gevurah is the Expressed Mother. This means that five is both female and, as an odd number, male. Again we can say that five expresses the equality and union of man and woman.

The heart of the matter

Five can be a turning point or a pivot. Why? In the sequence of the single-digit numbers, five is the middle number: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. It stands between beginning (one) and completion (nine), which means five is a significant number. Whatever happens in five, choices and actions will influence the rest of the suit.

Five goes to the heart of the matter, the very centre of attention.

Five can therefore also represent mediation and negotiation between parties.

A spiritual number

Five can be a spiritual number because there are five books in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament, that is, the Law); Jesus received five wounds on the cross, and 5=2+3, in this case with two referring to the twofold command to love God and your neighbour, and three to the Trinity.

Mediaeval alchemists added aether to the four elements fire, water, air, and earth. They believed that aether was the same or a similar substance to what heavenly bodies are made of. Aether is also often associated with spirit.

William Wynn Westcott, co-founder of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, muses that five can refer to a demi-goddess, for five is half the decad (10), which is divine.

Twins?

Westcott also suggests that five can refer to twins, because it divides the decad into two equal parts (5+5=10). (Numbers: Their occult power and mystic virtues.)

Astrology

The Golden Dawn assigned the first decan of Leo (Saturn in Leo) to the Five of Wands. Picatrix described this decan as one of boldness, liberality, victory, cruelty, lust, and violence.

Saturn, as the furthest planet that could be seen with the naked eye (that is, the planet was seen as the boundary of the universe), is the planet of restriction, boundaries, limits, discipline, duty, and the rigid enforcement of the law. Saturn is the Roman equivalent of Cronos (a titan), often confused with Chronos, the personification of time. Due to this confusion, Saturn is also the master of time (or Father Time), and therefore growth, loss and decay.

Saturn is in detriment in Leo, which might mean that fiery, wilful Leo has to suppress his enthusiasm and impulsiveness. The result could be explosive, turning Leo’s natural authority and courage to cruelty, lust, and violence.

Tradition

The Golden Dawn’s interpretation is a combination of characteristics of Gevurah and Saturn in Leo. They agree with Picatrix’s view (cruelty, violence, lust), and add rashness and wastefulness. Their title for the card is “Lord of Strife.” Crowley agreed.

Waite, however, seems to give the energy and competitiveness of five and the exuberance of Wands greater emphasis. He sees “mimic warfare” and “sham fights,” and the “strenuous competition and struggle of the search after riches and fortune” (The Pictorial Key to the Tarot).

The bit about riches and fortune is probably Waite’s attempt to reconcile Etteilla’s interpretation with his. Etteilla perceives gold, riches, luxury, and fortune (and, for some reason, the physical, philosophical, and moral sun) in the card.

The image

Are the boys fighting, or are they trying to form a pentagram with the wands? How serious is the fight?

Corresponding majors

The corresponding major arcana cards are Trump V, The Hierophant, and Trump XIV, Temperance (14=1+4=5)

Five means trouble in the suit of Wands, and therefore spiritual and sexual problems. And so the Hierophant depicts everything that the Five of Wands is not. The Hierophant shows harmony and a common purpose; In the Five of Wands there is conflict. Instead of loss, the Hierophant suggests “found.”

Spiritual power turns into the fight for temporal power. Perfect peace has become restless movement; eternity, the loss and decay of earthly time.

The Hierophant stands for convention, tradition, morality, the tried-and-true, conventional wisdom, social norms, formal education, and marriage. He also represents perfect justice—tempered by mercy and forgiveness—and appropriate expression of sexual desire.

The Five of Wands depicts the struggle against rules and conventions. The card could also suggest a loss of the inhibitions and restraints necessary in a civilized society. Depending on how violent you see the fight, this struggle could free creative inspiration, or remove the social restraints that keep us civilized.

Temperance is another foil for the aggression displayed on the Five of Wands. Trump XIV shows the most positive aspects of five—moderation, balance, successful combination, blending, and harmony—while Wands turn to violence and, depending on how aggressive you think the card is, cruelty and lust.

Corresponding minors

The fives in the suits are about hardship and loss, and the worst that the suit could bring. In the Five of Cups we find emotional pain; in the Five of Swords, despair and mental anguish; in the Five of Pentacles, poverty and illness.

Like the Four of Wands, the Five of Wands can be seen as the most positive of the four cards. The exuberance and enthusiasm of Wands could result in not much more than lost tempers and perhaps the ‘aggression’ of a war game. On the other hand, if repressed anger boils over and the boys lose their inhibitions, the fight could lead to bloodshed and depravity.

Sequence

The Four of Wands suggests perfect peace and domesticity. Change is inevitable, however, or growth will come to a complete standstill. In the Five, peace is disrupted, harmony becomes a fight, order becomes disorder. Peeking ahead, we can see the victor riding triumphantly away. But what happened to those who lost the fight?

Related Posts

Making meaning: The wand as a symbol

So, you drew the Ace of Wands in a reading?

Personal power perplexed: Two of Wands (Part 1)

First fruits: The Three of Wands (Part 1)

Time out! The Four of Wands (Part 1)

Time out! The Four of Wands (Part 2)

The divinatory meanings most often applied to the Four of Wands are home, completion, reward, celebration, and rest after hard labour. These concepts derive from the elements discussed in Time out! The Four of Wands (Part 1), in particular a combination of number, suit, element and decan.

These are, of course, not the only interpretations of the Four of Wands. Even when the same elements are combined, each tarotist will have her or his own interpretation of these concepts. Each tarotist may further use different esoteric systems with the cards, or combine the concepts with a specific theme (such as feminism)—or a storyline (such as the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the round table)—or prefer to emphasize one or two aspects over the others.

For creative problem solving, the more you can see in the card, and the more the card evokes, the better for stimulating ideas.

Below are suggestions of keywords and phrases for the Four of Wands, based on various combinations of the concepts, and divided into several categories. You will see that some concepts contradict each other as much as others complement each other. Choose the ones that seem the most appropriate to the situation, or that engage your imagination the most.

A Four of Wands person could be …

The energy of the card is …

A place such as …

An event or action such as … 

In the field of creativity …

… business or career matters …

… relationships …

… and spirituality 

A Four of Wands person could be …

• friendly, warm, helpful
• compassionate, nurturing
• feeling secure
  • a homemaker; someone who makes you feel at home
• an extrovert who enjoys socializing
• a generous spirit
• active and energetic, with a sense of purpose
• feeling motivated and energized
• a free spirit, but not remarkably unconventional
• well-balanced (the masculine and feminine well integrated)
• aware of her/his own limitations
• secure in her/his identity, complete in her/himself
• a hard worker, productive
• a rational, clear thinker, a well-ordered mind
• good at solving problems if the solution lies in what has worked before
• someone who does not rely on intuition, but accepts it when it comes
• reliable, honest, trustworthy, loyal, “a salt of the earth” person
• conservative, but with an open mind
• wise, having integrated lessons from past mistakes
• deserving a rest
• in a responsible position
• a leader who is firm, but fair 
• someone who follows the rules, but not blindly
• someone who loves gardens and nature reserves
• someone who loves putting photos in an album, creating scrapbooks, or recording the history of the family
• a perfectionist

The energy of the card is …

• celebratory, festive
• restful, a picnic or other fun outdoors event
• safe, secure
• orderly, organized, but not rigid
• expectant
• exhilarating
• motivating
• peaceful, harmonious

A place such as …

• home
• a shelter
• a kitchen
• a guest house, holiday home, or cosy “family” hotel
• an outdoor party or wedding venue
• a picnic spot
• a holiday resort
• an outdoor place of worship or sacred site
• an outdoor museum
• your “happy place”
• a garden, nature reserve, zoo (where nature is ordered and controlled)
• a circus
• one with a solid foundation
• the pyramids of Giza, Peru, etc.
• a well-designed building

An event or action such as …

• a ‘welcome home’ party
• an arrival
• a reunion
• entertaining visitors
• having a sense of security, feeling at home
• ‘bon voyage,’ the start of a holiday or adventure
• launching something
• a bar mitzvah, coming-of-age party, or other induction into a group or society
• a celebration, festival, carnival
• an engagement party, wedding, housewarming
• the start of a new phase in life
• an enjoyable social event
• a picnic or a barbecue with friends or family
• gardening
• a charity ball, fundraising event
• an award ceremony
• reaching a milestone, anniversary
• enjoying small victories; “goal!”
• receiving recognition for work done
• completing a project, or part of a project
• using your expertise in aid of the community
• enjoying the fruits of your labour
• reaping what you sowed
• “Well done!”, “good job!”
• finding safety, shelter
• getting over a bad mood
• receiving support from your community, family, or friends; a social network
• enjoying nature (the controlled kind, e.g. garden, reserve, picnic spot)
• sharing the joy, displaying a generous spirit
• peace restored, successful mediation, order regained
• a successful lawsuit, or judgement in your favour
• experiencing prosperity, good fortune as a result of hard work
• enjoying the bounty of the harvest, a good harvest
• enjoying the moment—tomorrow is back to work
• completing a project
• reaching the end of examinations
• receiving a good mark on an assignment or test
• the preparation for an event
• a well-deserved rest
• taking time out to celebrate what has been achieved so far
• attaining balance between work and relaxation
• finding motivation and energy for a task
• harnessing energy
• setting something free, letting go and feeling the relief, breaking free
• forgiveness after a long struggle
• the first day of spring
• the calm before the storm
• after the storm
• all’s well that ends well
• counting your blessings
• buying property
• conserving what has been created in the Three of Wands
• preserving the past, putting photographs in an album, scrapbooking, capturing happy memories
• reflecting on past successes
• reaching (favourable) conclusions
• finding answers
• the end of a play
• controlling impulses
• focusing on your goals

In the field of creativity …

• dreams becoming real; realizing your dreams
• gathering the tools and materials you will need

• preparing, consolidating, refining, or perfecting a creative project

• creating order, de-cluttering, preparing a work surface

• constraints such as deadlines or a tight budget

• a project completed, or parts of a project done
• spending time on a hobby
• achieving ‘flow’ (complete absorption in, and enjoyment of, a creative project)
• making a breakthrough
• breaking through a creative block
• finding the perfect solution; “Eureka!”
• defining a problem carefully, outlining what is needed
• completing an outline for a book, or making a preliminary sketch
• mapping out a new project
• preparing the layout
• “It works!”
• starting a new project based on how well a previous one turned out
• a book proposal; an advance from the publisher based on a proposal
• quoting or tendering for a project
• a new commission based on your work so far
• compiling a portfolio of your best work
• receiving recognition for your work
• an award or bursary
• decorating a new home or office
• balancing work and family life
• combining or reworking existing ideas into something creative
• launching a project; opening night; an exhibition of your work
• good reviews; a successful launch
• feeling creative; finding inspiration
• feeling confident in your abilities
• donating your work to charity
• scrapbooking or putting photographs into an album; capturing and displaying happy memories
• listening to music that makes you happy
• working on a creative project with a team

… business or career matters …

• an award or recognition for you work
• being recognized as an expert in your field
• celebrating the completion of a project
• a job offer; landing the ideal job 
• moving into your own office
• working from home; telecommuting
• a promotion, a bonus, or well-deserved raise
• your quote or tender accepted
• end-of-year function, retirement party, celebrating a colleague’s birthday
• a project that is going well
• reaching a goal or objective
• taking a well-deserved rest
• going home after work
• planning your leave
• feeling well rested
• balancing work and home life
• spending time with family or friends
• attending a conference or workshop
• a productive meeting
• feeling productive, finding ‘flow’
• resigning from a frustrating job
• a partnership that is working well
• a team that works well together; team members with complementary skills
• a teambuilding exercise
• working towards a common goal
• setting realistic goals
• project planning; strategizing
• breaking through a deadlock
• gathering information from various sources
• launching a product
• pitching a sale
• a marketing or public relations exercise
• drawing up a CV; ‘branding’ yourself
• Finding the perfect solution
• reworking an old idea to create something new
• committing to a job, company, or goal
• networking
• gathering all you will need for the project
• de-cluttering the office or work surface
• working in a creative environment
• incubation, letting your subconscious work on the problem while you relax for a while
• successful negotiations
• compiling a report on the project, preparing the company’s annual report
• reminding yourself of successes in the past
• working outdoors
• sharing ideas
• improving an existing product or process

… relationships …

• a relationship built on a solid foundation
• rediscovering the fire in a relationship, rekindling a romance
• a friendship turning into a romance
• a wedding, engagement, or other public declaration of love and commitment
• a long-term relationship (romance or friendship)
• making time to attend to a relationship
• sweet memories
• genealogical research; researching the history of a family
• creating a home for your family
• a romantic holiday or a honeymoon
• a rite of passage or initiation into society or a group
• settling down, buying a house together, putting down roots
• freedom rediscovered after a divorce or break-up
• ending a restricting or abusive relationship, and feeling a great relief
• a passionate romance turning into a stable relationship
• a support network
• making up after a fight; make-up sex
• giving your love generously
• a “complete” family
• extended family
• a group of friends that have been through much together
• birth
• forgiveness

… and spirituality

• manifestation
• prayer answered
• living your faith
• feeling secure in your faith
• a celebration
• worship
• creating a sacred space, building a shrine
• generosity, “it is better to give than to receive”
• charity from a generous heart; charity starts at home
• visiting the poor, elderly, and sick
• knowing you are blessed, feeling gratitude
• grace
• receiving or giving forgiveness
• returning from a retreat
• feeling spiritually refreshed
• starting a new spiritual practice such as yoga or meditation
• finding a spiritual home
• a church picnic, fête, or other social event
• forgiveness
• letting go, setting something free
• harnessing spiritual energy
• preferring the more traditional ways of worship
• not a seeker anymore
• a team, bible study group, or congregation
• your spiritual family
• committing yourself to your faith
• baptism or other initiation ceremony
• observing feast days
• using your talents or skills to the advantage of the community

 

Time out! The Four of Wands (Part 1)

The Four of Wands is a card of joy, celebration, and reward. It is also a card of home and the warmth of the fireplace.

It comes after the completed cycle of Ace, Two, and Three of Wands, but acts like a bridge between the first and the next cycle. The Four of Wands both celebrates what has been achieved, and starts the Four, Five, and Six cycle.

Suit and element

Suit: Wands

Element: Fire

Wands are symbols of control, order, direction, intent, and healing. Wands usually depict hard work or effort, not least because the suit has in the past been associated with the farmer class in mediaeval feudal society. Wands therefore represent labourers and peasants.

Wands are also associated with ideas. The suit tells the story of ideas, from the spark of inspiration to the effort and reward of implementing innovative ideas.

These elements are often combined with the qualities of Fire: passion, energy, and action. Fire is associated with heat, light, energy and, in the Tarot world, life and growth.

The two elements are more fully discussed in First fruits: The Three of Wands (Part 1), Personal power perplexed: Two of Wands (Part 1), So, you drew the Ace of Wands in a reading? and Making meaning: The wand as a symbol.

Number

Four was an ideal number to the Pythagoreans and their followers. The number signifies the material world, solidity, order, stability, security, and permanence. It also indicates justice (“a square deal”), balance, and wholeness.

Here is why:

A tangible number

Four is the first number to create a three-dimensional shape: the pyramid or tetrahedron. (Remember: one is a point, two a line, and three a triangle.)

A tetrahedron is solid, tangible, and real. The Pythagoreans regarded four to be the source of all that is three-dimensional.

Justice

To the Pythagoreans, four signified justice, because it is the first evenly-even number. An evenly-even number is one that can be divided into two equal numbers (in this case, 4=2+2).

Four therefore became associated with honesty, trustworthiness, and reliability. We acknowledge this when we say “square deal,” “fair and square,” and “square play.”

Twice two

As 2+2, four is twice as balanced as two.

Being perfectly balanced, four is a point of stillness, of catching breath before moving on.

Four unites and resolves all dualities signified by two, resulting in a unity and harmony that surpass those of three.

Four also contains twice the wisdom ascribed to the twos.

“Twice as” is not necessarily a good thing. A four can be still to the point of stagnation; unity and harmony taken too far can result in passivity, apathy, and sluggishness. Wisdom gained is useless if it is not carried out into the world. For the fours, the danger is withdrawing from the world, feeling bored and dissatisfied with what has been gained, and trying to cling to what may seem to give security.

A square

Four lines form a square, a shape traditionally associated with Earth and the material world.

A square represents a rational division of space, all parts being equal. It contains four equal sides and four right angles, symbolizing perfection, precision, regularity, exact measurement, and order. It epitomizes symmetry, and therefore perfection.

A square defines an enclosed space which, taking all above associations into account, represents a safe haven or home.

Stability

Four is more stable than three, the way a chair with four legs is more stable than one with three. A pyramid is also unlikely to fall over.

However, four sacrifices energy for stability. A square stands securely, almost “planted.” Four has the lowest energy of all the numbers so far, and the Fours in the Tarot suits mostly reflect this.

Four is “grounded,” but is in danger of becoming stuck. As a foundation, however, there is none to equal four.

The material world

As the first number that can create a three-dimensional object, four has traditionally been associated with the material world. We talk about the four corners of the world and the four winds. There are four phases of the Moon, four seasons, four (classical) elements, four directions.

In the astrological scheme of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the number four is associated with both the planet Earth and the Sun.

The tetraktys

The Pythagoreans regarded the number 10 as signifying the universe, the source of everything. From 11 onwards, all numbers can be reduced to 10. For example, 12=1+2=3, 251=2+5+1=8.

Ten is one again (1+0=1), but at a higher level. One, of course, is the ultimate symbol of unity and wholeness, the unity that was before two brought division and polarity. One is the source of everything, and is equated with the divine.

The number four carries some of the potency of ten. If you add all the numbers preceding four to four, it creates 10: 1+2+3+4=10.

The tetraktys, a sacred symbol to the Pythagoreans, is a visual representation of this expression. It is a triangular arrangement of ten points arranged in four rows. The tetraktys shows that ten evolves from the first four numbers:

The tetraktys, which means “a set of four things,” embraces physical reality: the four elements, the four seasons, the four directions, etc., and all three dimensions of the material world.

Kabbalah and the Tree of Life

The fourth sephirah on the Tree of Life is Chesed, which can be translated as “mercy.” It can also mean grace, gentleness, and loving-kindness. These qualities can exist only once wisdom (two, or Chokmah) and understanding (three, or Binah) have been assimilated.

Chesed starts the second triangle on the Tree of Life. It falls in the second of the four worlds, Beriah, usually translated as “World of Creation”.

According to the Kabbalists, Chesed signifies the first day of creation, when God separated light from darkness. In Chesed the divine enters creation.

The six sephiroth that follow Chesed represent days two to seven of creation.

The space between the first two triangles on the Tree of Life is called the “abyss.” It is what separates the divine from creation. Chesed is therefore the first sephirah after the abyss and the first hint of solidification and materialization.

In the Tarot, the fours in the suits represent the first concrete manifestation of the suit.

Chesed, as the first day of creation, brings order, and thus organization—arrangement, government, the law.

Male and female

The Pythagoreans divided numbers into male (odd numbers) and female (even numbers). Because they did not consider two to be a real number*, four is the first of the female numbers.

However, Chesed is located on the right (male) pillar (the Pillar of Mercy) on the Tree of Life.

Chesed sits beneath Chokmah, which is called the Supernal Father. In turn, Chesed is called the Expressed Father, a step away from divinity and slightly more accessible to us.

Both Fire and Aries (the sign of the zodiac assigned to the Four of Wands), have masculine qualities; on the other hand, grace and loving-kindness seem more feminine.

As four is about balance and unity, we can say that the masculine and feminine energies are well-balanced in this card.**

Measurement

Four, as the symbol 4, consists of a triangle (the top part) and a t-square (the bottom part); these are tools used for measuring, planning, surveying, and building. These practical, hands-on activities, done to precision, result in well-constructed structures and precisely defined boundaries.

The Kabbalists called the number four the Measuring Intelligence.

As measuring intelligence, four gathers, measures, weighs, analyses and classifies the material world. It is careful and conservative, measuring each action before carrying it out. It judges, assesses, distributes and limits according to what is fair.

Reluctance to move towards the future

Three is the end of a cycle; four starts the next. Four looks back towards the past, however, to what has been achieved. Look at the symbol 4: it seems to point back to 3. The triangle in the upper part is also a symbol for three.

Four is the number of memory, of gathering, classifying and recording the present and the past.

Because four is a rational number, focuses on the past, and represents memory, it can signify a breakthrough in a problem. Once you have gathered all the significant facts, and combined them with your knowledge and expertise, the answer becomes clear.

Too much focus on the past can lead to boredom, stagnation, insecurity, and materialism. Four can warn you that you are stuck in a rut. It is not a creative number; it is practical and reliable, but relies on “what has worked before.”

Astrology

Venus in Aries, (21° to 30°)

The Golden Dawn assigned the third decan of Aries to the Four of Wands, a decan that Picatrix described as one of beauty and subtlety. (Picatrix is the astrological source the Order used.)

Aries is ambitious, driven, domineering, energetic, a pioneering spirit, and almost aggressively confident. Aries is assigned to the Emperor.

Venus, goddess of love, represents attraction, desire, sexuality, beauty, luxury, femininity, and sensual pleasure. Although she is in detriment in Aries, she is not overwhelmed, and her influence is apparent. Venus is assigned to the Empress.

Tradition

The 18th-century occultist Jean-Baptiste Alliette—better known as Etteilla—was the first to give divinatory meanings to all 78 cards (including reverse meanings).

Like the Golden Dawn, Etteilla seems to have based his interpretations on astrology and the four elements. We know that Etteilla and his students strongly influenced the Golden Dawn, in particular Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and Arthur Edward Waite. In turn, many of the meanings ascribed to Tarot cards today are based on those of Golden Dawn members Waite and Aleister Crowley.

Etteilla saw a strong social or communal element in the Four of Wands.

The Golden Dawn called the Four of Wands “Lord of Perfected Work,” emphasizing hard work (Wands), the ending of a cycle (Four), and beauty (Venus).

Arthur Edward Waite emphasized safety and domesticity.

Crowley named the card “completion”.

The image

Even though many modern decks are based on those of Waite and Crowley, there is no need to stick to their or any other deck creator’s explanations. You may see something in the image that is different from what the designer wanted to portray, or you may find personal associations arising when you look at the image.

On Waite’s Four of Wands, the image is based on Waite’s interpretation, “country life, haven of refuge, a species of domestic harvest-home, repose, concord, harmony, prosperity, peace, and the perfected work of these.” Can you see that in the image?

Perhaps, to you, the card portrays a “welcome home” party. Or “bon voyage.”

The image is festive, which might make you think of an engagement, wedding, or family reunion. Or perhaps the town is celebrating the end of a siege or a successful harvest. They could be performing a sacred ritual to thank the gods or goddesses for a good harvest.

Suppose the people are not celebrating, but chasing away demons with some ritual? Or the two people in the foreground might be cheerleaders (in funny clothes), and the people are rejoicing over a win.

Look at the four staves. They form a symmetrical structure, reflecting the order and structure of the number four. Could the staves perhaps form a doorway or window? Are we looking at the scene “with blinkers on,” with tunnel vision? Or are we invited to step through the opening to join the fun? Or maybe the staves form a goal post.

What about the walls and towers in the background (a city? a castle?): to Waite they represent a haven or refuge. You might see a prison, or a symbol of patriarchy.

Look at the bottom third of the image (Rider-Waite deck): are the women on a wall, or perhaps on a stage?

Corresponding majors

The pip cards—the Aces through Tens—reflect aspects of their corresponding major arcana cards, that is, those cards that bear the same number.

The major arcana cards corresponding to the Four of Wands are Trump IV (the Emperor), and Trump XIII (Death, 13=1+3=4).

Trump XIII, Death

Death is a conclusion: a reckoning and an ending. Like the Four of Wands, however, Death also signifies the start of a new cycle.

Death is often associated with judgement; the number four represents justice and mercy.

The Four of Wands therefore carry the judgemental and the regenerative aspects of Death. The old life forms the foundation (Four) on which the new life is built.

The dance of Death is a mediaeval allegory to remind people, no matter how rich and important they are, death comes for everybody. In the Four of Wands, whatever has ended is celebrated with dance. If it is a harvest the people are celebrating, the reaping has been done, and the fruit of the harvest is celebrated. Having done the reaping, Death with his scythe stands just off-stage even in this happy card.

Trump IV, The Emperor

Like the Emperor, the Four of Wands is associated with order, structure, and control. Nature has been tamed, and the walled city reflects both security and civilization. (You might, of course, see the castle or city as a place of imprisonment, in which case the shadow qualities of the Emperor as patriarch—even if he is benevolent—come to the fore.)

The Golden Dawn assigned the Hebrew letter Heh to the Emperor. Heh means ‘window’ or ‘opening’ (literally ‘wind-door'.) The Four of Wands reflects this “window” through the four staves in the foreground, which seem to form an opening for us to enter. The shape formed by the Wands also recalls the shape of Heh, ה.

Both the Four of Wands and the Emperor embody Aries qualities. In the Emperor, the masculine Aries reigns unhindered. In the Four of Wands, we see the influence of Venus in the dance and the impression that ‘home’ is just behind the castle walls.

The fact that Venus, assigned to the Empress, shows up in the Four of Wands is interesting! Could it be that the energy of the Empress—freedom, fecundity, untamed nature—has been carried into the logical, rational, regulated world of the Emperor? Perhaps the joy depicted in the Four of Wands only becomes possible once the masculine and the feminine have been integrated and found balance?

Corresponding minors

The four suits each have their own character, depending on their suit symbol and element. Each one has a distinctive way of expressing the characteristics of their number.

The threes, especially the Three of Wands, show energy and passion. In contrast, the fours slow down considerably. All the fours demonstrate the aftermath of excitement: the ‘crash’ after the high, the hangover, the too-full feeling after a delicious meal, the need to clean up after the event. The fours are sulky, withdrawn, listless, and insecure.

It is difficult, however, to tone down the exuberance of Wands. You almost literally have to hit them over the head to bring them to a standstill. (Look at the Nine of Wands!) In the four, the Wands energy is still present, but much quieter. It is the only one of the fours to show more than one person, and activity instead of withdrawal. It is also the only four that seems to think there is something worth celebrating.

The sequence

The first four cards in the Wands suit tell the story of success, and of ideas.

The Ace represents the spark of an idea and the energy to go for it.

The Two draws back to take stock and to make decisions. It weighs the pros and cons before making a move.

The Three suggests that the correct choices had been made, or at least that things are looking good (depending on whether you see the ships going out or coming in). The Three also suggests that the ideas have been established and taken root.

The Four joyously celebrates the success of the first three cards. Ideas and hard work have brought their reward.

In the five, the energy turns to irritation and competitiveness, but in the four there is still a communal, celebratory spirit.

_______________________________________

* One is the source of all numbers, therefore it is not a real number; two is likewise not a real number, as it comprises two ones.

** The words ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ refer not to male and female, but to qualities traditionally seen as ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’. They represent duality, each part with its distinct energy.

Related posts

Making meaning: The wand as a symbol

First fruits: The Three of Wands (Part 1)

Personal power perplexed: Two of Wands (Part 1)

So, you drew the Ace of Wands in a reading?