The Tattler does Tarot: Five of Wands
Tips on the Devil’s Deck from Ms. Marilyn Minter
While the stars are my bread and butter, I’m of course not going to leave a wonderful tool like the Tarot just sitting there. Over the next 72 issues (if the Tattler offices can keep paying their rent that long), I will be taking you, my darlings, through the deck and letting you in on a little know-how.
The first lesson of the Tarot is that to be a successful reader, you need to be one part psychic, one part charlatan and one part storyteller. Here’s a tiny secret, darlings: I don’t take the cards quite as seriously as I take the stars. Their magic is not so inherent. Their effectiveness lies in the sacradity of the Tarot table, where people find connection, using timeless symbols and stories to work through all of the things their soul already knows. The symbols just help the brain catch up. The things I will write in this column are a guide, but they are not law. The Tarot is a cloudy mirror.
Today, my dears, we will not be starting with one of the sexy Major Arcana cards (for Tarot rookies, know that those are the first 21 cards of the deck, and likely the iconic ones you already recognize: The Lovers, The Fool, Death, etc.). No, today we’ll start with one of the Minor Arcana, or one of the suit cards. These cards can be more difficult to read than Major Arcana in some ways, because their meanings are less self-evident. Remember though, darling, whatever deck you’re working with has clues to the card’s meaning in its own art. You’ll find some decks you understand better than others. Treasure the good ones. It’s best to work from inspiration first, rather than flipping through your little mental rolodex trying desperately to remember all the card’s key words.
Two things to notice about a suit card first are the suit — obviously — and then, to a lesser degree, the number. The Wands are the suit of creativity, inspiration, and work. They’ll often pertain to hobbies, skills, arts, and sometimes the economics or workplace environments around those things.
The number “Five” always has me pouring a glass of sherry, darling. In each of the suits, the “Five” card has some element of strife, trouble, or conflict associated with it. The Wands’ version is not so bad, however. It’s more a sign of professional competition or rivalry. In a spread, it signals that the querent (Tarot rookies: “querent” is a sweet little word meaning “the person who the spread is for”) is probably good at what they do, but are feeling like it’s a crowded field and the pressure is on to rise above the rest. They might feel like they’ve been treading water for a while, or fading into mediocrity, but this card is a sign that they have potential, and progress is being made, even if it seems like they’ve been stuck for a while, or overshadowed. Each Tarot suit is a journey, from One to Ten. Five is naturally the middle.
The Five of Wands is more a conflict card than a cooperation card, but remember that conflict doesn’t need to be vicious or unproductive. Others can bring out the best in us, even if we aren’t explicitly working together. Greatness can inspire greatness.
As a last tip, darling: remember that both the Wands and Coins can often be rigidly applied to money and material/professional endeavors, but inflexibility is the death of Tarot. The Five of Wands might most easily map onto office dynamics or creative rivalries, but it can also apply to social lives. Our friends and family can influence our drive and success just as much as a coworker.
Barnard Street Tattler 