Six of Wands Tarot Card Meaning

Six of Wands upright

The Six of Wands is the card of victory after effort. You come out of a period of struggle and you have triumphed: the drive of the Five has won out in the end. Your situation is that of someone who succeeds, who moves forward and who is recognized, most often thanks to her own competence and courage. You may receive public recognition or a reward for what you have accomplished. You may be entrusted with leadership, or you may support a person who holds that place.

The card is a Six: it corresponds to the central sphere of the Tree of Life, that of balance and harmony. It corresponds to Jupiter in Leo, which gives a generous, broad success. The Six is also a card of hope: when it appears in the position of hopes and fears, your attitude toward the future can contribute to success. You may announce good news or see what you hoped for come true.

Your strengths

You have self-confidence and an attitude that motivates others: it can bring a team along behind you. You show competence and courage. You have a sense of sociability, you are careful, and you know how to avoid quarrels while winning. You work in harmony with others, in an exchange where the leader and those who follow all gain.

What holds you back

You may take pride in your success and your wealth, and become insolent.
Your place depends on other people's goodwill: if their support changes, so does your position.
Fire, even at its best, is not perfectly stable: your dominance is less solid than it could be.

What helps

Looking for agreement with those who follow you, so that everyone finds their advantage in it. Avoiding needless conflicts.

Six of Wands reversed

The upright Six of Wands speaks of victory, pride and recognition won through your skill and courage. Reversed, it speaks of a success that may not last. Your victory or success is likely to be short-lived, and short-term gains or superficial advantages are possible. The situation can be all facade, with no substance behind it. You may also find your actions held back, with delays, and victory can slip away.

This card speaks a great deal about trust and loyalty. You may be disappointed by people who let you down, or by disloyal employees or subordinates who do not back you. Betrayal, infidelity or a lack of loyalty are possible. News or shipments can get lost, and misunderstandings can arise in communication. You may feel apprehension, fear, anticipation, and you may feel like crying. A hope can be postponed.

The card also speaks of how you carry yourself toward others. You can be proud, haughty or condescending toward those who depend on you. This pride can make you stumble and lead to an embarrassing fall. Leadership can be missing or ineffective, and an admired figure can turn out to have weaknesses. You may try to free yourself from a commitment, or refuse to take a position of responsibility. If you have projected victory onto someone else, you can become jealous, doubt their abilities or try to undermine their efforts. You may also have secret ambitions and inner successes that you keep hidden.

Your strengths

You have real ambitions and inner successes.

What holds you back

Your pride can make you fall or distance you from those who work with you.
You are jealous or you doubt the abilities of those to whom you lent your own victory.
You resist taking the lead, or you try to withdraw from a commitment.
You fear waiting, delays and rewards that do not arrive.

What helps

Acting with caution when you depend on others, without letting distrust turn into a break.
Not hiding your successes: you do not need to conceal your laurels.

What the card shows

He carries a staff decorated with a laurel wreath, and men on foot, armed with staves, surround him. The scene is a victory parade: the hero is crowned and followed by his supporters. He has not yet reached the end of his route, he moves forward taking victory for granted. The card bears the title Victory.

In another version of the card, two hands come out of clouds, one on each side, and clasp at the center. They hold six wands crossed three by three, with flames where the wands meet. Above and below, short flaming wands carry the signs of Jupiter and Leo, which give the card its correspondences. In the esoteric-inspired drawing, the wands are arranged in order and the flames burn steadily, like lamps, instead of bursting in all directions. No circle encloses the figure: it supports itself, like the Sun.

Six marks a turning point in the series of Wands: the struggle of the five is over and the movement passes from difficulties to joy and from defense to optimism. A victor or leader emerges, and the others gather around him. The card also stands for rallying around the project that wins out. It says success, victory, pride, self-assertion and progress, most often thanks to your own competence and courage. It announces public recognition and rewards for what you have accomplished, or a position as leader, or supporting someone who holds that position. It can also mean good news, an expectation fulfilled, hope crowned. Like every six, it describes mutual advantages for the leader and for those who follow him, because everyone acts in common agreement. It can also point to a gathering of people who work, and to public opinion that makes or breaks a popularity.

Six corresponds to Tiferet, the balanced center of the tree of life, and to the element of fire: the energy there is completely balanced. The violence of the five has finally won out, and the success is secured. The card is tied to Jupiter in the sign of Leo, between August 2 and 11: Jupiter, expansive, generous and exuberant, is in a powerful sign, and this union makes a full victory. All the sixes are good cards, whatever their planet. Fire nonetheless keeps a weakness: it is not perfectly balanced, and this dominance is a little less stable than if less energy had been spent.

Your strengths

You have confidence in yourself and you get results through your competence and courage. Your sincere belief in yourself gives you the energy to accomplish what you want, and makes others want to follow you. Your optimism is real, and it attracts the success it expects.

What holds you back

You can become insolent and proud of your success or wealth.
You can hide your doubts under bluster or illusion: you then become fragile and fearful.
When your optimism does not hold, you tip into defeatism and feel that enemies will crush you or that life or certain people will betray you.
Your distrust can itself provoke the betrayal you fear.
Your position depends on the goodwill of those around you, and your popularity depends on public opinion.