The Fives in the Tarot: Meaning of the Number Five and the Four Fives

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The Fives of the tarot speak of conflict, loss, upheaval and adjustment. Here is the traditional meaning of each Five and the mistakes to avoid.

Key points

Number	5
Keywords	Upheaval, trial, change
Cards	Five of Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles
Sephirah (Golden Dawn)	Gevurah, "severity" or "strength" in the Kabbalah
Nearby major arcana	The Hierophant, number 5
In the Marseille deck	Repeated emblems, no figures
In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck	One scene per card

The number in tarot tradition

Five sits in the middle of the series running from one to nine: it breaks the stability of four. In traditional numerology it is the number of movement, of instability, of rupture with what was established. Five also evokes the standing human figure with arms and legs outstretched, the five senses, and the quintessence.

The Golden Dawn (an English occult society of the late nineteenth century) links it to Gevurah, the "severity" or "strength" on the severe side of the Tree of Life in the Kabbalah. In tarot, the four Fives are often seen as the most uncomfortable cards of each suit: a crisis, a loss, a conflict. Yet they also mark a necessary passage: without this jolt, the Sixes would not come. The tarot does not announce misfortune; it gives images to difficult moments.

The four cards at a glance

Suit	Image (Rider-Waite-Smith)	Traditional meaning	Question to reflect on
Wands	Five young men brandish staves, somewhat out of order	Rivalry, agitation, competition, disagreement	Where do I want to compete, and where am I scattering myself?
Cups	A figure in black cloak looks at three overturned cups; two stand upright behind him	Regret, grief, disappointment, but also what remains	What can I still save?
Swords	A man gathers swords while two others walk away with bowed heads	Bitter victory, conflict, a balance of power	At what cost am I winning?
Pentacles	Two people in rags walk through snow in front of a glowing stained-glass window	Precarity, exclusion, lack, possible help	Who can I ask for help?

The scenes described are those of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (1909). Other decks offer other images, but the number keeps the same tone.

Marseille or Rider-Waite-Smith?

In the Tarot de Marseille, the Fives are pip cards: five wands, five cups, five swords, five pentacles, arranged symmetrically, with their ornaments. The layout is stable, almost calm, which contrasts with the traditional sense of trouble: some Marseille readers use them to show that there is always a "centre" at the heart of the storm. In the Rider-Waite-Smith, the scenes are more dramatic: a brawl, mourning, humiliation, cold. The Five of Cups is famous there: the figure looks at the three overturned cups without seeing the two that still stand.

Both approaches are legitimate. One leaves room for interpretation; the other guides the reading toward the theme of crisis.

The number and the major arcana

Five is the number of The Hierophant, major arcanum number 5: rule, tradition, teaching. The link may surprise, because the Hierophant is a card of structure, while the minor Fives are cards of crisis. One can see two faces of five here: the order one teaches and the order one questions. For the major arcana in general: the guide to the major arcana.

Reading this number in a spread

A Five in a spread invites you to look at what is shaken: a relationship, a project, a belief. What is coming undone? What must I let go of? What can I keep? Several Fives in the same spread often suggest multiple tensions, but this is neither a bad omen nor a fate.

If you read reversed cards, a reversed Five is sometimes seen as a crisis that is resolving, or one that is being held back. These are conventions. Always keep in mind that the tarot is a tool for reflection: it announces neither breakups, nor bereavements, nor catastrophes. To practise: the three-card spread.

Beginner's mistakes

Reading a Five as a "catastrophe": it is a crisis, which can also be a turning point.
Believing the Five of Cups necessarily speaks of real grief: it is mostly a regret.
Interpreting the Five of Wands as a real fight: it is more a rivalry, sometimes a playful one.
Forgetting the light of the stained-glass window in the Five of Pentacles: help is close at hand.
Looking for someone to blame: the Five shows a dynamic, not a fault.

Practice

Look at the four Fives side by side. In each, look for a detail that leaves an opening: the two cups standing upright, the luminous window, the path leading away. Note them down. Then think of a difficulty in your life right now and ask yourself: "What opening is already there?" This small exercise is a way to soften a view that is too dark, without denying the difficulty. The next number, which brings calm, is in the Sixes.