I keep telling myself I need to stop making assemblage pieces because I have a busy weekend coming up, and I keep not listening. Perhaps I’m at war with myself, something that the Five of Wands could certainly portend!

Like the Seven of Wands, I had to figure out how to make long bones have some personality in a small space. I admit that the Rider-Waite-Smith version of this card was a strong influence, and I hope the sense of striving without serious malice came through in my version. The conflict of the Five is not the serious business of the Seven; the Five can be playful in nature, or denote friendly competition; the Seven, on the other hand, says that someone is under attack. A reversed Five of Wands may suggest that what was once a friendly competition has turned into a bitter rivalry that no one really wants to be in any more; or it could signal the end of the conflict and a time to lick one’s wounds.

I’ve already started the next assemblage piece, but it’s doubtful I’ll finish it before I leave town. If nothing else, I’ll pick it up again upon my return later this month. I do know I’ll miss this project while I’m gone, but when I get back I’ll have a few unbroken weeks of home time–hurray!