The Five of Wands as How Someone Sees You: A Challenge, or a Rival

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Five of Wands as how someone sees you means they see you with a stick raised. Here is what the picture includes, upright and reversed.

If you want the short answer, the Five of Wands as how someone sees you means they see you as a challenge: someone to spar with, compete with, push against. It is an energetic picture and an unresolved one. There may be attraction in the friction. There may just be friction.

This is you as one of the five figures waving sticks. They see a contest. They have not decided what it is about.

The Five of Wands upright as how someone sees you

Tina Gong's the Five of Wands guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with conflict, competition, disagreement and scattered energy. When the card lands in a position that asks how someone sees you, I read those meanings as the image the person holds of you, which is not the same as who you are and not the same as what they feel. the Five of Wands as feelings covers what they feel; the Five of Wands as intentions covers what they plan. This page covers the picture. The general card meanings at Biddy Tarot are a useful second reference.

Upright, I read the Five of Wands as a person who sees you as stimulating and difficult: someone who argues back, who keeps them on their toes, who they cannot quite leave alone. The picture has energy and no settled shape.

What I would not read into it is tenderness. The Five of Wands sees a match, not a partner, until the sparring softens.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm the friction is attraction, or that you are the only one they are sparring with. No card lets a reader see inside another person's head. What a card can do is describe the kind of image that fits the person's behaviour toward you, and give you something to check against how they actually treat you.

The Five of Wands reversed as how someone sees you

Reversed, the Five of Wands as how someone sees you means the contest has stopped: they now see you more calmly, or they have stopped engaging and see you as not worth the fight.

In your own question, ask whether the person has become easier with you, or quietly resentful. A reversed card here is a prompt to notice whether the picture the person holds has gone sour or gone wrong, not a verdict on you.

The Five of Wands as how an ex sees you

Asked how an ex sees you, the Five of Wands suggests they still see you as an opponent, someone to score points against. That is engagement, not affection. My guide to asking a psychic whether an ex will come back explains what a reading can and cannot say about that question.

The Five of Wands as how a new person sees you

For someone new, this card means they find you a lively challenge. Watch whether the sparring ever softens.

How to check the picture against reality

Look for combative attention: they seek you out to disagree. If there is never a soft moment between rounds, the picture is just a contest.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the question you asked, what you spar about, and whether there has been one gentle moment.

For comparison, the Seven of Wands as how someone sees you and the Knight of Swords as how someone sees you describe different pictures. The the Five of Wands card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Five of Wands as a yes or no and the Five of Wands as timing cover the other questions people most often ask of it. For a personal interpretation, my guide to a love psychic reading online explains how I work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.