Leo II: Shantay You Stay

Ah the sweet victory of Jupiter in Leo--just take it all in: fame, glory, and recognition for a superlative performance. The hard work and struggle of the V of Wands has finally paid off. You're the winner baby.

"Hey, guy in the audience, yeah you with the funny hat. You aren't allowed to touch the horse blanket. There's absolutely nothing to see under there. Why is it so big? Well that's none of your business."

But of course there is something under that unusually large horse blanket. That's where the bodies of the fallen are stacked like cordwood. In order for someone to win, others need to loose. Victory for one requires defeat for others. All those combatants from the V that didn't make it, they are swept into the horse-blanket-crawl-space where their grizzly tableau can't spoil the celebration.

The VI of Wands has a "history is written by the victors" kind of feel to it. That's not always true, of course, and celebrating victory isn't an inherently shady thing to do. However, behind every recognition of success lies a messy path of conquest. This is true even when (or maybe especially when) that path is a conquest of self-mastery.

I feel like people that write about tarot card meanings have a tendency to skew "negative" cards positive, and positive cards even more positive. So yeah, it's a good card meaning success and recognition, from one perspective in this moment.

So let's celebrate the victor, but let's also remember the fallen and recognize that every conquest has losers as well as winners.