Five of Wands: Problems To The Front And Problems To The Back Of You

This is the Five of Wands card. As you can see, five people are each holding a wand with which they jostle one another. No one has the upper hand. I've always thought that this card referred to competition in the workplace. You know, cause wands represent our skills and talents. And also cause work feels like this don't you reckon? There's always office politics. Stuff going down.

But right now I'm experiencing a different shade to this card.

I got the Five of Wands in a Tarot spread I did on my birthday. It's one of three cards which represent the overall themes for the year. (Yes, yes, I'll teach you how to do this one day if you like.) I thought it referred to the ongoing argy bargy that I find myself getting so caught up in my job. Even though I personally don't have much to complain about I find it hard to emotionally disengage when the people around me are unhappy.

But I haven't been at work for the last couple of months because of an illness in the family. And I've been feeling jostled in a different way. What I'm experiencing is like a bushfire. As soon as I put out one blaze another crops up. As soon as I resolve one issue another rears its ugly head. It's forcing me to be resourceful. To use all my skills. Bring my A game.

So I'm calling it. I think the Five of Wands can refer to having a lot of issues to deal with at once or sequentially. Not big life changing issues. More the little day to day ones. It's like when you're a working mum (or dad, this blog tries to be non-genderist) and have to make sure you get the kids out the door, dressed and fed with their school bags packed and notes signed, drop the children off at the right spots at the right time, then go to work deal with a load of shit there, pick the kids up, shop, make dinner, get baths and homework and stories done before bedtime then start the whole rat wheel again the next day. That kind of pressure.

It's not necessarily bad, just busy, demanding. I could as easily have called this post 'Challenges to the front and challenges to the back of you' but we tend to think of the issues we deal with on a daily basis as problems, don't we?

Have a look at the picture. Does this explanation gel with what you see? Go on, have a think about it. Don't just take my word. That's how you learn to read the cards for yourself. Feel free to add your own interpretations below.