Six of Wands :: The Flame of Inspiration Arrives Home to the Body

Six of Wands ~ Wild Unknown Tarot ~ Kim Krans

My card for this month is the Six of Wands, the card of 'Victory.' This depiction from the Wild Unknown Tarot speaks quite naturally to the movement and direction of Fire. From the Sufi perspective Fire rises, Earth moves horizontally, Water flows downwards to find its level and Air is unpredictable movement and the space within. Ether is the stillness out of which they all arise.

The base of the card is a tangle of menacing Wands, so dense that no light shows through. Gradually individual Wands appear as the eye travels upwards into white light and then to the butterfly itself. Its colors of green and blue connect to the elements of earth and water and as it's a creature of flight the air element naturally comes into play, the wands themselves are fire. The backdrop of white space very much has a feeling of ether about it, stillness, silence, expanse.

What does this say about the traditional meaning of this card? That freedom/victory is balance, that it rises above? The butterfly's two antennae mirror the sign for victory and peace both but more interesting to me is that they mirror the Wands below. As if victory and peace require us to assimilate in a skillful, conscious way that which we wish to master, to overcome. This reminds me of Chöd practice, the Tibetan buddhist practice founded by Machig Labdrön in the 11th century in which one offers oneself up to the demons, which is to say to anything that obstructs the achievement of freedom which generally comes down to an attachment to egoic thinking.

Machig Labdron ~ Artist Unknown

Lama Tsultrim Allione has translated this into an accessible practice for the western mind while maintaining the traditional form in her Feeding Your Demons work. It's a valuable tool to use at any time but it feels particularly resonant for the current and fraught-with-demons, our own, that we find ourselves in. I wouldn't have associated this card with Chöd work but as this is what has presented itself to me and it's my month card I've decided to follow up and attend a class towards the end of the month with one of Tsultrim's students on this very work.

In the RWS deck the image is that of a warrior returning from battle carrying the carrying the wreath of victory. He is surrounded by a crowd to welcome him back. His victory is applauded, acknowledged by his community. Success as an interdependence. And while that is less explicit in the teachings of Mächig Labdron it is the foundation of any buddhist practice, that it be for the benefit of all beings.

I particularly like the version from the wonderful Tarot de St. Croix by Lisa de St. Croix. I have found this deck to speak so clearly for me and was a bit surprised by its clarity as the color palette of predominate orange is not one I'd normally gravitate towards but it is a stellar deck for me.

Six of Wands ~ Tarot de St. Croix by Lisa de St. Croix

In this depiction we see Brigid, Celtic goddess of the sacred flame, of inspiration and creativity. Her robes flow around her like fire and her head is crowned with a greening wreath echoing the vibrant ground she stands upon. I love the way her flame is the one that everyone is lighting theirs from, she is the source of light from which others may succeed, might carry their own torch of victory.

The two women in the background with their head coverings add another layer of mystery to the card. They remind me that 'victory' can be quiet, it can be humble, can take place in the background. The quiet connection of these two women around the candle makes me think of Jesus's words, "where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there." Which is another way of saying the Beloved begets Herself. S/he IS the communion that arises out of love's flame. The body as place of arrival.


In the Thoth deck the card is called, Victory. We see a representation of Jupiter, planet of expansion, in Leo the astrological sign of expression and assertion, with the purple background overlaid with fiery orange Wands. Thoth system has its own details and perspectives that don't always appear in the RWS or Marseilles systems but looking at this card I do get a feeling of majesty, of one-pointedness, of vision and mastery.

Thoth Tarot ~ Six of Wands ~ Victory

The Eye of Horus on the tips of the top two Wands speak to that clarity of vision, that clear-seeing that is needed to forge ahead. I like the inclusion of this symbol as it brings in the feminine in the form of Wadjet, who personified the Eye of Horus. She was the tutelary deity of Lower Egypt and later associated with Bast, Sehkmet, Mut and Hathor. The lotuses on the bottom two Wands mirror this feminine energy with the Phoenix on the tips of the center two Wands.

This blending of masculine and feminine energy echoes the Major associated with this card numerologically, The Lovers and this gives me a further clue as to its nature. As in the beautiful card of the Tarot de St. Croix it says the heart must be involved, engaged, there must be a union of opposites of some kind for victory to arise. In many ways this card is the result of the two preceding cards, the celebratory feeling of the Four and the friction of the Five. It is a card of great personal power.

Rosetta Tarot by M.M. Meleen

Rosetta Tarot gives a nice rendering of this card with a slightly more pronounced feminine slant. The creator includes Sehkmet as two golden Wands. She has folded hands and a headdress with the symbol for Jupiter and the lion tails on either end further this feminine leonine energy. The Wands are shaped like the Olympic torches to signify that sense of triumph and victory. The central Wands are flanked by phurbas, a ceremonial knife symbolizing the cutting away of illusion. These are topped with triple vajras another buddhist symbol associated with the thunderbolt. The lotus Wands towards the base of the mandala complete the balancing feminine element.

As in the Thoth representation there are nine flames here which the creator links to the card of the same suit entitled, Strength. Nine also relates to the Moon numerologically and that lunar, reflective, feminine energy is brought forth. It reminds me of the Tarot de St. Croix version with its feminine receptivity to the sacred fire.

We're about half-way through the month now and so far it has definitely had elements of creative breakthrough which I suppose is a form of 'victory'. I've felt quite inspired the past couple of weeks and was acutely aware of this recent Full Moon as it was in fiery Leo. Being a Fire sign myself this confluence seems to have impacted me in a productive and positive way. My Full Moon ritual was rich in a way that I've not experienced before being more of a New Moon woman. I'm interested to notice how being aware of the card's energy generates the energy. Or perhaps it narrows my lens to focus on how that energy shows up in my life. I shall have to be on my toes for next month's Five of Wands theme but for now, as this card suggests, I'm content to enjoy this sense of mastery.

Egyptian Goddess Wadjet ~ 'The Green One' ~ Eye of Horus