Six of Wands
Sorrow nimbley wanders the path through the old rose bush thorns. Eventually you find the courage to climb back out onto the mountain. Dream images carry you up, and hope circles your neck with yellow roses, lit by the fire of your passions. A victory wreath and a better understanding are your momentos.
Usually titles come easily to me, like a line of poetry, but not this time. Perhaps you can help me? Let me explain whats going on in the painting. Normally with the six of wands Tarot card image (RWS) we see a soldier on a horse. He has just won a battle, a victory mid war and he is in a victory parade. He wears the victory wreath made from laurel leaves, and the townsfolk are cheering him on. He may also be going home or delivering that message of victory. Although battles and soldiers are certainly good metaphors, I really wanted to get away from something so...fight-centric, for lack of a better phrase. Its not been an easy time in my life of late (case in point, I just had to paint the card of Sorrow), and this image is the feeling of raising out of that difficult time. So my person rides uphill, out of the thorny rose bush and through the foggy mountains. Certainly not there yet, only a small battle won. And the hands of humanity, copied from our ancient cave paintings (which reference my Fool painting), support their progress forward. But my person rides a tiger, like the Chinese god of wealth, Tsai Shen Yeh. The tiger symbolizes self-confidence, ambition, and vigor; all messages this card embraces. But I honestly chose the tiger because my little orange tabby cat lay dying and I wanted to bring him in with his larger cousin. This tabby kitten became my three of swords sorrow, and he passed away while I was studying the six of wands. So instead of people below holding long poles of prickly rose wood, I brought him into the image. He wanders through the rose thorn bush, the 3 of swords icon on his collar, looking up at the powerful tiger above, who then turns back to look at us (like the original horse from the Rider Waite Smith deck). What is he trying to tell you? The tiger wears a wreath of yellow roses, a symbol of hope and joy and worthiness (which harkens back to the all yellow Joy painting, the Sun). And lets not forget this is a card of the wands- so our hero holds forth his torch, his passion, as a literal flame leading them forward, looking ahead. The future is unclear in the mist. And the five other wands rise out of their tangled mass and are shooting out, the new growth of a rose in early spring, its leaves unfurling like small flames themselves! Eventually they will make their own yellow roses of hope.
Oil on wood in upcycled frame. 22" x 33" original available
