Six of Wands At A Glance
Keywords: Victory, public praise and recognition, returning home and celebrating, reunited, acknowledgement of achievements, feeling ignored, achievements going unnoticed, isolation, public shame or apathy, imposter syndrome
Season: Summer
Element: Fire (creativity, passion and will power)
Six of Wands Tarot Card Description
The Six of Wands is the sixth card within the suit of Wands and a minor arcana card within tarot. The traditional artwork of the Six of Wands depicts a regal but travel-weary man on horseback returning home to public celebration.
A wreath is strung to the wand he carries and he also wears a laurel crown- which according to the ancient Greeks both were symbols of victory and given to winners of prestigious games and sports.
As a whole the imagery invokes feelings of the victorious warrior returning home after successful victory in a great battle. There was hard work, blood, sweat and tears spilled throughout this man’s journey and the crowd gathers around him to praise him for his efforts.
Six of Wands Upright Meaning
To see the Six of Wands upright in a card reading is a very auspicious sign for tarot readers. It suggests that the period of hard work we are currently in is coming to an end soon and we will be showered in praise for all our efforts. The focus of this card is on where the well-deserved praise is coming from.
Often this can mean popularity within social settings, an increase in traction on our social media accounts or our superiors at work recognizing our skills.
The effects can look like compliments, opportunities or promotions which all stem from the results of our hard work being viewed by the right people at the right time.
“Through my education, I didn’t just develop skills, I didn’t just develop the ability to learn, but I developed confidence.” - Michelle Obama
Six of Wands Reversed Meaning
However when the Six of Wands is reversed it is quite a different story. It can imply that our hard work may instead go unacknowledged or otherwise without any kind of praise or recognition at all. It could also suggest we are working unnecessarily for praise and may need to ask ourselves is praise even needed?
Are we doing the work for the right reasons or should we question our intentions and motives?
The Six of Wands reversed could signify the public misunderstanding our intentions, or we may have inadequately explained ourselves which leads to unfavorable public reactions. These can vary from apathy to outrage or any emotion in between.
When reversed this card suggests a misunderstanding or an element that has been lost in translation between ourselves and the social sphere we inhabit. It asks us to look at our work critically and take any constructive criticism given to us and use this to improve whist we patiently continue to strive for what we believe is right.
“You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
Six of Wands: Yes or No
The Six of Wands is definitely a yes card when upright and suggests our hard work will be worth it and the rewards will come in tenfold.
However when reversed it is a no and indicates that it would be a thankless chore that will not help us as much as we imagine it might.
Let’s Break Down the Six of Wands In Our Lives
How the Six of Wands changes when asking different questions relating to specific areas of our lives and the advice it has for us.
Six of Wands In Love
Receiving the Six of Wands in a love reading indicates that our lover or close friends will bestow love, gratitude and praise upon us soon and that we should accept it gracefully. Though we may have an initial reaction to deny their words or push away their compliments to do so is to reject them and invalidate their feelings. So instead we are being called to accept all the ways people around us show us their love and return it in kind.
Reversed the Six of Wands suggests we are feeling under appreciated in our relationships. We feel as if no one understands us or values what we bring to the relationship.
Often this is valid and should be communicated yet occasionally this can be because we are seeking love and validation externally from others which we may need to instead gift ourselves internally. People can only love us as much as we allow them to.
Six of Wands With Money
When we see the 6 of Wands in a money reading it is a very good sign. This is the universe saying this business venture or idea we have would be a very successful step for us. Either directly by improving our finances in the short term or indirectly by opening doors and making connections for us which will positively affect our future finances.
Reversed the Six of Wands urges us to consider what we are working for. Praise doesn’t pay the bills so we may need to question if a venture we have taken is worth it for us or is it more hassle than it’s worth in the long run. Seeing the Six of Wands reversed in a money reading guides us to question our intentions and expectations and course-correct if these are not aligned.
Six of Wands At Work
The Six of Wands in a career or work reading is a clear indicator from the universe that we will receive public praise and celebration for our work. This can look like the following examples: a successful graduation for a university student, a well-deserved promotion for a hard worker or public praise for a doctor or teacher and any social, financial or other reward for hard work well-done.
This card encourages us to keep going and keep the image of this praise, the feeling of pride when we accept the reward, firmly in our minds to motivate us to continue.
Reversed however it suggests that aiming specifically for praise itself may not be the best motivator for our particular situation. This could resort to vanity and work which takes up a lot of our time yet doesn’t actually fulfill its intended purpose.
The Six of Wands reversed asks us to find a deeper connection to our work than just social praise. This card wants us to ask the tricky questions like: “How can we help others with our work?” “How can we leave this world better than we found it?
Six of Wands With Others
Receiving the Six of Wands in relation to readings that are about others or the world around us can mean we are entering a period where our work/message/words are easily connecting with others and we are quickly able to make connections and deep relationships with ease.
It feels very carefree and easy for us because what we are doing is so in-line with our real selves that it takes almost no effort to express it. Life isn’t always this easy so we are being asked to simply savor this period of time whilst we are within it.
Reversed it can mean we feel that social endeavors are currently an uphill battle for us. We constantly feel a deep disconnect with what we wish to say and how it is understood. Despite trying our best we don’t seem to be able to get our point across clearly and this results in a waning of our social circle as making new friends feels challenging for us at this current time.
The advice of the Six of Wands reversed is to be the friend we need right now and to turn to the good friends we have instead of seeking new ones. Though we may feel alone or awkward in truth we are surrounded by people who love and accept us exactly how we are.
At this time we should be with them and relax without the need for that initial ‘best behavior’ found within a new relationship because they truly know us and love us unconditionally.
Six of Wands With Self
When we ask introspective questions and receive the Six of Wands it is reminding us that sometimes praise and compliments aren’t going to knock on our door and invite themselves in for tea. Of course they are nice when we can find them but if they are in short supply we have the power to generate them ourselves.
We can be our own cheerleaders and tell ourselves kind things daily. In reality what we believe isn’t objective truth but instead what we tell ourselves often. Or in other words, repetition makes it our truth. So by putting in mental effort to make this internal chatter positive and self-loving we can motivate ourselves instead of waiting for others to do this for us.
Reversed the 6 of Wands is suggesting we may feel bombarded with negativity but upon closer inspection this is not coming from the external world towards us but its instead due to our own mindset which has shifted to more pessimistic over time.
Therefore our perception of everything that we see has become more negative. This is known as a negative spiral. The Six of Wands reversed reminds us that our minds are the most powerful magical tool we have and that they are not set in stone but actually merge and form different thoughts and opinions that shift over time.
We can do this consciously by making the choice to empower ourselves with optimism and watch our confidence grow as we enact this.
Six of Wands As Feelings
The Six of Wands feels like pride because we received a high grade on a paper we worked very hard on. Receiving a promotion or other rewards that are recognized and praised by people everywhere.
It can also feel like imposter syndrome if we (wrongly) believe we are not deserving of the rewards we have been given.
