Rev. Colleen Irwin

The Sixes of Tarot: Finding Balance After the Storm

After the upheaval and challenges brought by the fives, the sixes bring a sense of balance, resolution, and return to harmony. Where the fives represented disruption, the sixes signify the movement towards recovery, reconciliation, and the restoration of peace. They illustrate the importance of finding equilibrium after conflict and the process of bringing together what was once torn apart. It’s a time of integration and making progress after difficult times, with an emphasis on balance in the mind, heart, and spirit.

The Major Arcana’s Sixes:

The Lovers (VI):

The Lovers card is the most direct embodiment of the number six. It speaks to relationships, choices, and the union of opposites. While the Lovers represents love and harmony, it also highlights the importance of personal alignment and making conscious, thoughtful decisions. The “balance” here is in how we relate to others, whether that’s romantic, familial, or even with our own inner dualities. This card also invites us to reflect on the role of commitment and how we balance individual needs with collective goals.

Upright Meaning: harmony, union, deep love, alignment, meaningful choices
Reversed Meaning: imbalance in relationships, misalignment of values, difficult choices

Ask yourself:

• Am I making choices that reflect my core values and truth?
• What are you desiring to experience?
• Are you becoming more self reliant? How is that affecting your relationships?
• Where in my life am I being asked to integrate dualities or opposites?

The Devil (XV):

Numbered fifteen, which reduces to six (1 + 5 = 6), The Devil card, while seemingly about restriction and bondage, can also point to the lessons we learn when confronting our limitations. It is a card of shadows and often represents unhealthy patterns or dependencies that need to be released in order to regain balance. The “balance” here is in how we address our personal struggles and move beyond those things that trap us in a cycle of self-imposed restriction.

Upright Meaning: bondage, addiction, limiting beliefs, materialism, temptation
Reversed Meaning: freedom, release, reclaiming power, breaking cycles

Ask yourself:

• What unhealthy attachments am I ready to release in order to restore balance?
• Are you choosing to be ignorant about something?
• Where am I giving away my power, and how can I take it back?
• Are you afraid of seeing yourself more truthfully?

The Sixes of the Minor Arcana:

The sixes in each suit represent a return to balance and harmony after the turbulence of the fives:

Six of Wands

The Six of Wands represents triumph, victory, and public recognition. After the conflicts of the Five of Wands, the Six of Wands shows a return to stability and success, often with the support of others. It’s a moment of celebration and acknowledgment of progress, where the energy has shifted from competition to accomplishment. The “balance” here is in the sense of public victory and personal achievement.

Upright Meaning: success, public recognition, confidence, victory
Reversed Meaning: lack of recognition, insecurity, delayed success, fall from grace

Ask yourself:

• How can I celebrate my progress while staying humble and grounded?
• Are you becoming aware that success is a team effort?
• How could you be more responsive to others’ needs?
• What steps can I take to maintain my success while ensuring continued growth?

Six of Cups

The Six of Cups represents nostalgia, memories, and emotional harmony. It brings a sense of emotional balance and peace, often through reconnecting with the past. The Six of Cups invites us to reflect on the good moments from our past, to bring them into the present for emotional healing and warmth. It’s a reminder that balance often comes from honoring where we’ve been and bringing that wisdom forward.

Upright Meaning: nostalgia, memories, emotional healing, innocence, joy
Reversed Meaning: clinging to the past, emotional stagnation, unrealistic expectations

Ask yourself:

• How can I bring the lessons and joy of the past into my present?
• Are you living in the past?
• Are you experiencing emotional give and take?
• Am I holding on to something from my past that needs to be released for emotional growth?

Six of Swords

The Six of Swords signifies a journey, transition, and moving from rough waters to calmer shores. After the emotional challenges of the Five of Swords, the Six of Swords offers a sense of mental clarity and progress. It represents the movement from confusion or pain to a clearer, more peaceful state. The “balance” here comes in the form of intellectual and emotional clarity as we navigate our way forward.

Upright Meaning: transition, healing, moving forward, leaving behind, mental clarity
Reversed Meaning: resistance to change, emotional baggage, stagnant energy

Ask yourself:

• What changes am I avoiding that are necessary for my healing and growth?
• Are you changing direction based on clear thinking?
• What tension is being released?
• How can I embrace the transition that will bring me peace?

Six of Pentacles

The Six of Pentacles represents generosity, balance, and fairness in material and physical realms. After the hoarding energy of the Four of Pentacles and the insecurity of the Five of Pentacles, the Six of Pentacles highlights the importance of giving and receiving in equal measure. It shows a balance of resources and the mutual support that leads to prosperity for all. This card calls for fairness and equality, ensuring that wealth (in all forms) is shared and distributed wisely.

Upright Meaning: generosity, balance, fairness, sharing, charity, support
Reversed Meaning: imbalance in giving and receiving, inequality, selfishness, dependency

Ask yourself:

• How can I bring more balance into my relationships and exchanges?
• Is money putting you or another in a powerful position?
• Who is taking advantage of your generosity?  Or are you the one taking advantage?
• Am I open to receiving as much as I am to giving?

The Sixes are about Harmony

The sixes in Tarot represent a return to harmony, a time to regain balance and find resolution after the challenges of the fives. Whether through victory, healing, or fairness, the sixes call us to integrate our experiences, find peace, and rebuild. In the Major Arcana, The Lovers offers a direct embrace of this balance, while The Devil prompts us to confront and release the things that hold us back from achieving it.

Up next: The Sevens—What happens when balance leads to a new phase of self-exploration and expansion?