Five of Wands
i. The Nutshell
Upright
The Five of Wands reflects inner conflict with competing parts of you wanting different things and pushing up against one another. You may feel tension, restlessness, or pressure to act without knowing which part of you should lead. This can look like second-guessing, overreacting, or needing others to agree with you before feeling able to move forward. These parts aren’t wrong; they each hold a role from your past and maybe even your generational lineage. One might want approval, another safety, whilst another freedom. They fight for control when they don't feel heard, and when you side with one and silence the rest, the conflict gets louder. Trying to suppress or push through all the internal noise often leads to frustration or burnout. This card suggests noticing which parts of you are clashing and why. What are they protecting? What do they need from you now? Shifting your perspective can reveal that you're divided and when you acknowledge each voice in turn, a unified sense of direction emerges.
Keywords: Inner conflict, competing agendas, pressure, frustration, protection, multiple identities, generational lineage
Translation: The tension you feel is between parts of you trying to guide your direction. Listen to hear - then choose.
Reversed
Reversed, the Five of Wands often reflects turning inward to avoid conflict, where instead of addressing what’s happening inside, you pull back, suppress your emotions, or stop engaging. The tension remains just beneath the surface, while overthinking replaces action and nothing gets to be resolved. This pattern often starts early within conflicting and unsafe environments so to cope, parts of you took on roles - some fear conflict, others take control, and some stay silent to avoid rejection.
These roles can still shape how you handle tension now, especially in relationships where self-expression feels risky. You may avoid honest conversations because you're unsure how to speak without losing connection to yourself. Suppressed parts often resurface as fatigue, irritability, or emotional distance whilst other parts may be antagonistic and aggressive causing you to question everything about yourself or how you communicate your values. When you acknowledge all parts of yourself, your inner stability returns, you become less frustrated and self flagellating, and decisions come from cooperative self acceptance.
Keywords: Avoidance, internal shutdown, rumination, inner tension, fear of conflict, silence, aggression, self bullying
Translation: If you're avoiding conflict to keep the peace, ask which part of you is being left out and what it needs to be heard.
ii. Illus-traits
A look at the symbolic language of the Five of Wands in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck:
Five figures holding wands in conflict – This shows competition and tension, where different energies push against each other creating struggle. This can be inner or outer tension or voices battling to be heard.
Overlapping and crossed wands – Represent the tangled nature of disagreement; highlighting how intentions and desires clash and complicate the situation.
Rocky, uneven ground – Suggests instability and difficulty finding balance, and reflecting that conflict often happens during uncertain or transitional times.
Open sky above – Offers space for growth and change, indicating that the conflict is temporary and can lead to new understanding if approached with awareness.
Youthful figures in varied postures – Represents different voices with varying emotions causing conflict, each with its own worries, showing inner or group complexity.
Overall composition – Shows the energy of conflict and struggle, encouraging awareness of problems and the chance to work together to understand them better.
iii. Influences
Planetary Influence
The Five of Wands is influenced by Mars and Mercury, where Mars represents drive, conflict, and assertion that often triggers inner or outer struggle. Mercury rules communication and thought patterns, highlighting tension between impulsive action and mental processing. This combination reveals life path patterns of competing inner voices, causing rumination and scattered effort, and calls for shifting perspective from reaction to understanding these parts as trying to protect or express themselves.
Natal Houses
Mars rules the First and Eighth Houses, relating to identity, willpower, transformation, and shared resources, while Mercury rules the Third and Sixth Houses. Linked to thought, communication and daily habits, this mix can create conflict between self-assertion and the need to process or express clearly that can lead to rumination over recurring relationship patterns. So the lesson is to balance impulsivity with thoughtful responses by bringing awareness to these competing parts.
Astrological Signs
Aries, Gemini, and Scorpio show this card’s energy. Aries is assertive but can be impatient or aggressive whilst Gemini, ruled by Mercury, is curious but easily distracted. Meanwhile Scorpio, ruled by Mars and Pluto, is intense and can cause power struggles. If not balanced, these traits can cause conflict and overthinking so the lesson is to use tension to understand different sides for a clearer understanding and to make values-aligned choices.
Numerology
The Five of Wands corresponds to the number five, representing change, conflict, and movement. It marks a phase where existing patterns break down, creating tension and instability that can feel uncomfortable but also drives growth through challenge. Common patterns include internal or external struggle, competition for control, and rumination over conflicting desires. The lesson is to see these tensions as an opportunity to gain perspective and avoid getting stuck in repeated conflict cycles.
Element
The Five of Wands is linked to the restless side of the Fire element which fuels energy, ambition, and assertive action but can also lead to impatience and conflict when unbalanced. This energy encourages engagement with challenges and testing limits but can cause frustration or scattered effort if change is resisted or common ground isn’t found. The challenge is to use this fire to utilise constructive action and open communication rather than allowing it to become unnecessary conflict or avoidance.
iv. A Day in the Life of the Five of Wands
Well That Escalated Quickly
What started as a group effort, shared goal, or personal direction has turned into confusion or friction. You find yourself reacting more than responding; internally pulled in different directions, externally clashing with others, or feeling like no part of you can move forward without being opposed by another. Even simple decisions feel heavy because different parts of you are arguing; each convinced it knows best. You begin to question your own judgement or feel blocked by others' opinions or expectations. Unresolved tension is building… old wounds resurfacing… and you don’t know how to deal with any of it.
Adjusting the Knobs
You begin to notice the difference between healthy debate and internal sabotage. Some parts of you want to lead, others hold back, and none seem willing to trust one another. You might also see how much of your outer conflict mirrors your inner state; how often you project disconnection or resistance onto others instead of exploring its origin. There’s frustration in this awareness but also relief, because the frustration is starting to make sense. What felt like failure becomes an opportunity to stop and pay attention to what’s competing inside you and more to the point - for what reason.
Unsubscribed from Self-Sabotage
Rather than choosing sides or trying to shut one voice down, you begin listening to each one and take notes to see the coral patterns and Venn diagram. You recognise that conflict doesn’t mean something is broken - it means something needs to be heard. By acknowledging the needs and fears behind each part, you create space for cooperation. Externally, you’re experiencing fewer arguments and upholding your boundaries. Internally, it feels like a pressure valve has loosened as you’re no longer reacting to prove something; you’re responding because you’ve done the work to understand what’s really at stake.
Writing the TED Talk
You no longer see conflict as a problem to avoid but as a signal of something meaningful trying to emerge. You’ve learned to navigate disagreement without abandoning yourself or overpowering others. The parts of you that once fought for dominance now take on clearer roles with each contributing without needing to control. Whether in your relationships, work, or daily choices, you’re operating from a deeper alignment because your energy isn’t scattered across competing agendas. What felt divided now feels integrated and from that place, new possibilities have presented.
v. Working with these Energies
The Five of Wands signifies competing agendas or internal struggles causing tension. Though perhaps manageable on the surface, frustration, comparison, or uncertainty may lurk beneath. This card urges awareness of clashes between people, plans, or beliefs, and invites reflection on what these conflicts reveal.
Notice the noise
Pay attention to moments where things feel scattered or reactive. Are you pushing ahead without agreement from all parts of you? Do you replay arguments in your head or rehearse a row in preparation? Are others mirroring dynamics you’re unaware of? This kind of conflict is often the result of pressure building where something hasn't been acknowledged. Slowing down allows you to see what's actually driving the resistance.
Ask who’s speaking
Inner friction often comes from different needs competing for space. One part may seek validation, another wants independence, one feels afraid, another wants control and the fifth wants to take risks. These aren’t flaws, they’re fragments shaped by earlier experiences - either yours, or otherwise inherited. Instead of shutting them down, start listening. What fear is beneath the frustration? What belief is fuelling the urgency or defensiveness? What wants to be liberated?
Interrupt the reaction
Tension is easiest to spot in your reflexes so observe where you’re snapping, withdrawing, over-explaining, or trying to prove something. These reactions often mask the deeper fear of not being seen, heard, or understood. This card marks a stage of noticing these reactions without making them define your identity.
Choose a different response
Staying present in conflict means choosing to listen to understand rather than escalate a disagreement. Let the disagreement reveal to you what you value and what no longer works. It may be time to restructure how you relate to yourself or others. The lesson here is not so much in the resolution itself, but in learning to stay engaged without abandoning your perspective or silencing someone else’s.
vi. Building Skills
The ACT framing below supports the psychospiritual work of the Five of Wands, helping you identify inner conflict, respond to fragmentation with curiosity, and learn how to engage rather than avoid when competing parts of you create tension.
Contact with the Present Moment
Notice how your body responds when you're caught between tension, urgency, or competing demands either internally or externally. Pause and bring awareness to the part of you that wants to act quickly, fix, withdraw, or control. Let yourself feel where that impulse lives in the body. Stay with it. The discomfort might signal a younger or protective part seeking safety or approval.
Cognitive Defusion
When thoughts arise like, ‘I must be a bad person’, or ‘I’m screwing this up again,’ or ‘No one listens to me,’ or ‘I have to get this right’… etc., name them as thoughts rather than facts. Often they belong to parts of you that carry the burden of criticism, perfectionism or rejection. So step back and ask who’s voice it is you’re hearing. Who told you what narrative to replay? What does this part of you who’s repeating this script need you to know? This makes room for reflection before reaction.
Acceptance
Let conflict, frustration or scattered energy be there without needing to suppress or resolve it immediately because these signals can hold valuable information. You may feel irritated, overwhelmed, or competitive because different parts of you don’t yet feel heard, but allow each feeling to exist without rushing to choose sides or fix anything as this openness invites integration.
Self-as-Context
It’s important to understand that you’re not the conflict itself. You are the one observing it. From this broader space you can hold multiple perspectives at once. I know right?! You might feel simultaneously defensive, uncertain, eager and afraid. But by staying with the part that feels threatened without merging with it, you create space to respond with more compassion and choice.
Values
Ask what matters most in this moment of internal or external tension. Is it being right, being seen, or staying true to yourself? Identify the values you want to embody and communicate such as honesty, growth, courage, or respect - and notice where these values can guide your next step, even if the situation remains unresolved.
Committed Action
Take one step toward resolution that honours your nervous system. That might mean pausing to hear what a reactive part needs, speaking from a grounded place rather than a triggered one, or letting others know what’s true for you without needing them to agree. Acting from your unified self, not just a part of you, changes the result and feeling of the conflict.
vii. Embodiment
When conflict arises it can be yet another challenge to know what you feel or need. This card invites you to observe where your energy gets scattered and practice small moments of self-contact that help you stay present without becoming overwhelmed.
Scent – Inhale a grounding scent that slows the breath and brings you back to yourself. Let it remind your nervous system that you don’t need to react right away.
Body – Notice where urgency shows up in your posture. Relax the jaw, lower the shoulders, and release held breath. Let the body feel supported by the ground beneath you.
Sound – Listen for low, steady sounds that don’t demand your attention like the wind through the trees or a distant movement. Let these soften your focus and reconnect you with steadiness.
Action – Choose a small task that brings order or calm to your space. Organising, tending, or repairing something can restore a sense of internal alignment through action.
Nature Cue – Watch branches in the wind. Some sway easily; others resist and snap. Flexibility supports strength. Let this remind you that adapting under pressure keeps your centre intact.
viii. Your Impressions
Look at the Five of Wands in your deck or the image above. Let your first impressions come without trying to interpret or adjust them.
What do you see first – the movement, the faces, or the distance between the people? Notice any feelings or memories this scene brings up for you.
Bring awareness to your physical state. Is there tightness in your jaw, restlessness or a quickening in your breath? Notice where your attention lands - on others, on comparison, or on trying to make sense of what’s happening.
Reflect on how you usually respond to conflict, competition, or misalignment - whether real or perceived. Do you engage, withdraw, shut down, or try to fix it? What happens when you don’t try to manage it, but simply observe what’s activated in you? Consider what it means to stay connected to yourself without needing to win, agree, or resolve.
ix. Intuitive Meaning
Use this space to reflect on what the Five of Wands means to you personally:
When you feel tension in a group, workplace, or relationship, how do you tend to react - do you try to fix, avoid, prove, or withdraw? What forms of 'easy' in your life are now creating friction - habits, stories, or roles that once kept the peace but now keep you stuck?
What consistent thread of behaviour, reaction, or belief has followed you from place to place? What responsibility might you be ready to take for how your part in that pattern plays out?
Are there situations where your identity or worth feels tied to being understood, right, or recognised? How does that impact your ability to stay grounded in your own direction and consistently communicate from a place of your core values?
Where do you confuse struggle with growth, or mistake constant effort for meaning? What would it feel like to engage without needing to dominate or disappear?
Applied insight with a three-card reading using the Five of Wands as your anchor:
What five voices of inner or outer conflict are asking to be heard now for clearer boundaries or re-alignment?
Where am I mistaking tension for purpose, and how can I create space to reassess what really matters?
What action would help me respond with presence rather than reaction in the face of difference, pressure, or confusion?
Let your cards talk and note your feelings as your answers unfold, writing your own words below:
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x. Closing Reflection: Track Your Evolving Lens
Your relationship with each card will grow over time because it’s meant to shaped by your life. Consider the prompts below to revisit and reflect.
What I thought this card meant when I first pulled it: —————————————————
A recent experience that changed how I see it: —————————————————
How I feel about it now, in my body or life: —————————————————
What surprised me as this card kept showing up: —————————————————
One way this card is living in my life right now: —————————————————
If this card visited me today as a guide, what would it want me to remember? —————————————————
Revisit these after a week, a moon phase, or a meaningful moment. Let the card evolve as you do.
If you feel a quiet sense of recognition, curiosity and want to explore it, browse the sessions page for what feels right.