Riding Bareback Through The 6 of Wands

6 of Wands, Legacy of the Divine Tarot by Ciro Marchetti

In some respects I can see this card as the song 'What have you done today to make you feel proud?' by M People.

Generally viewed as a positive card of victory, triumph and success, the 6 of Wands looks like a pretty good place to be.

There he sits triumphant on his horse, people around are cheering and celebrating the victory.  Just what has the rider done to deserve the acclaim he receives? 

Maybe its something that will serve others, like the union rep fighting for a pay rise for his members  and winning,  or something less society based, and more personal, like the family member that has successfully organised a surprise get together for loved ones.

Whatever the card means personally to the querant, it is a sign that they can feel they have done something  to make them hold their head up high and enjoy the congratulatory cheers.  However the 6 of Wands is usually a short lived triumph as it gives way to the 7 which can (in brief) mean challenge, defending your position or fighting off the competition. 

For now however it is all about success and being able to enjoy that success for just as long as the party lasts, because admittedly the figure in the card is sitting proud on is horse but saddle soreness will eventually kick in.  Remember that 'pride comes before a fall'.

Every card has a good and bad side though and I feel the 6 of Wands is ripe for this exploration (actually it just happened to be my daily draw for today).

Sometimes  when I see this card I feel like saying it's time to get off your high horse.  It may be that the querant or someone in the querant's life is going along blowing their own trumpet, it could symbolise that uncle who has been in the same job for 27 years with no prospect of promotion but tells anyone who will  listen just how the company would collapse if it wasn't for him.

  

It could be that they are over embellishing their success, bragging and boastful in an attention seeking manner or  they are taking credit where they shouldn't be.

We are allowed to be proud of our achievements, we are allowed a certain amount of praise for our achievements, that is natural.  It becomes a problem when constant ego stroking is needed to validate us.  It hides the deep insecurities and low self esteem which can in turn develop into grandiose behaviour and exaggerated claims.

Another aspect of the card, to me, speaks of someone spouting the moral high ground.  'Look at me, I am such a darned good person, everybody needs to listen to me and my ideals because I am right'.

We all know someone like this, whether in real life or through the media.  

I know someone exactly like this, they feel the need to voice their opinion  (and frequent disapproval) of others life choices so everybody can tell this person how wonderful she is, so wise and knowledgeable and yet, when it comes to her life choices, she doesn't practice what she so loudly preaches, then wonders why the admiring crowd have dispersed and she is left to stable her own horse.

So when you see this card come up, try and see how the rider is sitting in that saddle and just which way the horse is heading