Kyle is a foodie who loves Tarot. Theresa is a Tarot reader who loves food.
Together, we host Tarot by the Mouthful: a mouthwatering, multi-media culinary tour through the world of Tarot.
Sublime recipes. Soulful stories. Essays, videos, interviews and delicious surprises.
Join us every Sunday for a new installment — and get ready to sip, slurp, crunch and savor your way through the entire Tarot deck!
This week: Five of Wands
Five of Wands: Change and conflict. The players in the card seem to be engaged in a sport or fight so often this card symbolizes competition. Infighting and squabbles are possible. Who are you fighting with – or what are you fighting? How are you dealing with competitors or changing circumstances? Are you leaning in and going for it – or feeling squeezed out? Whether you are in a conflict or in the midst of a new challenge: all in.
This week, Kyle is dealing with some family matters so it’s all me.
Theresa – All in
The Five of Wands represents competition. It can also symbolize a new element being introduced into a situation – a catalyst that brings about a change.
Think about how many times new things have been introduced in the cooking world. Things that shook up the status quo for good or, in some cases, ill.
The first fast food restaurant changed the way many of us eat today (I would say that this was not a good development but many people would disagree with me on that).
Jello and aspic salads created jiggly desserts – and monstrosities. Mom’s orange jello with carrot shreds? The most hated dessert, ever.
Canned meat products like Spam came about during times of economic stress. It’s wildly popular in Hawaii to this day. Still scratching my head over that one.
Julia Child launches Mastering the Art of French Cooking and a television show follows. Home cooks elevate their dinner plates. Thank you, Julia!
Recently “cronuts” got pastry lovers buzzing and looking to make other hybrids. Here in Wisconsin, a local bakery has a kringle that is kinda like a “crongle” with a puffier texture than the usual flatter ones you find around here. Uh…let’s just keep calling it a kringle, please.
Fondue. Tex-Mex. Gastropubs. Vegan. Raw foods. Farm to table. Nose to tail. Slow food. Foam. Molecular gastronomy. Food trucks. Frankenfoods.
Yep. Food is constantly evolving, both in the restaurant world and for home chefs. If you’re like me, you enjoy the comfort foods of days gone by but you also like to shake things up. I like reading about food trends and exotic fare. I also try a lot of stuff out at home.
I like to challenge myself in the kitchen not just because I like to eat but also because I want to embrace new things as much as possible rather than resisting like an old stick-in-the-mud that refuses to investigate what else might be percolating. When it comes to food and cooking, I lean in. I go for it. I’m in to win.
Of course, there are some trends that I’ll never get into. The Five of Wands has some resistance, after all. For example, I have no interest in bugs, brains, guts, testicles, or bungs. I’ve seen them on the Food Network and it’s just not my thang. Oh perhaps I might be tricked into it one day and who knows? Once I stop letting my mind get in the way, I may just enjoy it. Or maybe not.
Latest thing I’m trying: cooking classes. It’s been a long time dream of mine to take a few and so far, I’ve been loving it. I’ve taken a class on croissants (best left to the experts) and one on barks + brittles. This is helping me to grow as a cook and a person. Because that’s a huge part of the Five of Wands energy: jumping right into a challenge, even if it feels like a stretch way out of your comfort zone. The biggest growth happens in that space.
And there is no better place to do that than in the kitchen. I’m all in.
Bon Appetit!
Theresa and Kyle
© Theresa Reed | The Tarot Lady 2015
photos from personal collection and Jessica Kaminski
Hungry for more? Click here to explore the entire Tarot by the Mouthful series, from the very first card… right up to our latest installment. Bon appetit!
I’m Theresa Reed (aka, The Tarot Lady). I’ve been a full-time tarot reader for 30+ years — which, in my industry, makes me pretty badass.
I’m definitely not your average Tarot expert — I drop the F-bomb, I quote rappers, and I’m obsessed with pop culture + reality TV. Folks come to me for straight-talk + tough-love — without the woo-woo fluff. 
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