Intuitive Tuesday -- Five of Wands (Reversed)

Every Tuesday I select one tarot card and give you my interpretation of it. See how it applies to your life and ask, "What messages are here for me ?"

As I shuffled the cards to select this week's Intuitive Tuesday tarot card, I said, "Tell me what messages I need to bring to my readers this week."  I selected the Five of Wands (reversed) from the Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti and Barbara Moore.

As I shuffled, I realized that my pattern of shuffling reflects my mental and emotional state. My shuffling today was erratic at first. The cards didn't neatly fold in next to each other. It's as though they were fighting with me as I poured my energy into them.

But then I realized that the cards weren't fighting with me. Their unsettledness was a reflection of MY unsettledness. And by the time my shuffling energetically felt complete, the cards were falling into place, like soldiers coming to attention. I was grounded and ready to select a card and interpret the intuitive impressions I was to receive.

I've written about the Five of Wands (reversed) previously. Some of the key meanings mentioned in the previous post were feeling relief after facing a conflict, possibly feeling deceived, and being careful not to take things at face value.

A personal example:

It's no wonder the Five of Wands (reversed) was today's card.  To summarize what situation it is reflecting for me, I can think of five words:

***parenting***teenage***deception***conflict***frustration***

Without any of the messy details, that probably sums it up.

After talking to a couple of other parents of teens recently, they seem to be facing the same types of conflicts.  It must be a time-of-life situation. That is, many of my friends have kids about the same ages as mine.

So what is the important message of the Five of Wands (reversed) today?

In a positive sense, the Five of Wands (reversed) can indicate that the struggle is over and it's time to move on. No matter what the conflict, there is always relief knowing that you are moving away from it and are on the road to recovery.

What I'm experiencing with my teen is a series of Five of Wands and Five of Wands (reversed) situations. It feels like we take one step forward and two steps back. Just as we are recovering from the last conflict, a new one appears, which can be exhausting.

But what I said in the last post about the five being a disruption, is a great reminder that no matter how disruptive or frustrating the energy of the Five of Wands is (and no matter how many times you repeat it), it is just one step along the way -- part of the cycle. Here is the quote from my last post on the Five of Wands (reversed):

The Five of Wands (reversed) feels like a relief at this point in life. You can now look forward to the energy of the Six of Wands which is the "victory" card. After a tough battle (Five of Wands), the taste of victory (6 of Wands) and holding your ground (7 of Wands) are just around the corner. Remember that this too is a cycle, and with the five, you are about halfway there. 

My question is, "How many times do you have to repeat the energy and lesson of the Five of Wands before you get to move on?"

This repeating pattern brings another popular saying to mind: The definition of the word insanity is, "Repeating the same thing over and over again...and expecting different results."

I guess my lesson is to pull out some new tools, try something different and see what happens.  Instead of trying to logic through this and figure it out, I'll just set an intention by adding another word to my list above.

***RESOLUTION***

What intention do you want to set with any Five of Wands (reversed) energy you are facing?