FIVE OF WANDS - Astrological Associations

Once again we set the blog on fire with another set of Wands cards! This time, it's the FIVE OF WANDS.

Thoth Tarot by Aleister Crowley
For Crowley (and the OGD), the Five of Wands represents the energy of the planet Saturn and the zodiac sign Leo. Crowley titles the card "Strife." He writes: "Leo shows the element Fire at its strongest and most balanced. Saturn tends to weight it down and to embitter it. There is no limit to the scope of this volcanic energy." Hajo Banzhaf and Brigitte Theler (in Keywords for the Crowley Tarot) use keywords to describe the energy of the card: "Courage (Leo) to be responsible (Saturn) and persistent (Saturn) development (Leo)."




One World Tarot by Crystal Love
Crystal Love associates the Five of Batons with the first subdivision of the sign Leo, with the Sun as the natural ruler and Saturn as the subruler. She writes: "Leo is a powerful and creative sign, usually with a 'sunny' disposition. However, with Saturn subruling, there is a tendency toward poverty and trouble, and a lack of sympathy in the nature, which is austere and proud. . . Either there will be much restriction and delays in creative endeavors and personal affairs, or one will have to work unusually hard to achieve one's aims."

A.E. Thierens, PhD. (Astrology & the Tarot)
Thierens describes the Five of Wands as having the energy of "Air on the Fifth house." This makes sense in that the Five is the Fifth card in the suit of Wands. In astrology, the Fifth house is associated with the zodiac sign Leo, ruled by the Sun. Based on this association, Thierens writes: "It is a house of Fire, and the combination of Fire and Air makes warm air, which may be used to heat rooms, in the same way as words, that contain warm feelings of the heart, will do good to other people, and on the other hand hot speech will arouse lively contradiction." (Note: The system devised by Thierens is radically different from that of the OGD. I will not go into detail here, but will simply provide the astrological associations for the card under discussion. If you are interested in learning more about this system, I recommend the book referenced above.)

The Mandala Astrological Tarot by A.T. Mann
Like the OGD, Mann's deck associates the suit of Wands with the element Fire. Mann describes Wands Five, Six, and Seven as "The Suns of Leo." Wand Five is assigned to the Firs Decan of Leo -- Sun in Leo. On the King Scale of Color, the colors linked with the Sun are orange and gold; the color linked with Leo is yellow. Mann's keywords for the Sun are "Spirit, consciousness, individuality, masculine principle, dignity, honour." For the sign Leo, his keywords are "Ripening; summer heat; full energy; extroversion; harvest; power; self-expression; personal love; games; pleasure; ruling; vanity; proudness."

The Whispering Tarot by Liz Hazel
Liz Hazel's suit of Wands is the suit of the Fire element, embodying "ambition, vigor, creativity, travel, high spirits, and energy." Her use of the colors red, yellow, and orange is a lot more subtle than what we see in the other cards in this set. Like most of the others, Hazel associates the Five of Wands with Saturn/Leo. Included in her keywords are: "competition, drive for status and recognition, a greater demand than available supply, hot tempers, excessive pride." Keywords for the ill-dignified Five of Wands include: "unsound business practices, losing one's balance in a situation, intimidation, heated arguments, sexual abuse or degrading circumstances."

This time, Thierens is basically in step with the others with his association of the Five of Wands with the Sun (the others associate it with the sign Leo, ruled by the Sun). There is a real sense of conflict and tension in the Saturn/Leo mix. Leo is exuberant and impulsive; Saturn is sober and cautious. No wonder the RWS version of the card shows people at odds with each other.

I welcome your comments!

Zanna