IN SHORT
UPRIGHT: Discord & Diversity. Competition, Sectarianism, Social tensions and petty forms of aggression.
REVERSED: Conflict avoidant. Shyness. Suppressed emotions or opinions. Internal conflict. Displaced tension release.
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IN DEPTH:
In the Five of Wands, we see five activists crowding the frame of this image. Some of the gestures might evoke the frontline of a protest, but upon closer inspection they stand in front of a backdrop and some have the distinct posture of a ‘pose’. Just as their shared cause gains steam, the sectarian schisms begin to bubble.
Each one competes for your attention. Each one competes for the narrative of the moment. Each one competes for the title of ‘the radical’. It’s absurd really and in most other settings they would see it too. In theory they are allies, maybe even comrades. But here, they are captured by the discordant dynamic of the group. Here solidarity is feigned but ultimately impossible, because of an underlying distrust of the others. Each one has an assembled flag, outfit and stance on ‘the Left. The approaches towards class, race, and gender vary as widely as do their backgrounds and life experiences. Half of them don’t think these categories are useful, and yet, they use this rejection of categories to distinguish themselves above the others.
However, if the competition for recognition could be taken out of the equation–they might discover the shared front on which they struggle— with and for themselves and one another.
…..
“But things got worse. It started with a debate over authoritarian practices at a disorganized general assembly. The crowd, the biggest yet, was full of excited newcomers who were ready to join in. But they were totally silenced, reduced to receiving instructions that had not been democratically discussed.”
-Asad Haider, Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump.
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