Because I read primarily for myself, and because my background is in psych and it is where I 'live' so to speak, I see the upright 5 of wands as aspects of myself, or competing needs at 'war' with one another. It is nothing major ... they are 'kid' things in the range of stress events internal or external ... it is just "daily hassles" stuff that I need to take control of, prioritise, deal with, whatever.
When reversed, I see this as an indication that the wands, which can't (maybe?) defy gravity, and have fallen 'up, up and away'. So, either I have let go of the niggling stuff, worked it through, or I am like a paper tiger fighting myself for no reason at all except that it has become a habit pattern. Time to 'play nice' or go home for tea.
Now for the real answer ... there are probably as many possible variations of meaning on this (or any) card upright or reversed as their are readers... they will have much commonality and some difference depending on the individual, but they will differ. So, given that, what do you do? Well, look at the context. What are the other cards around it ... are they peaceful, struggling, what?
If there is no context, i.e. a single card draw (or even if there is one, - the context here being other cards), look as well, at the context of the question being asked, or the position's meaning ... or ... or ... or
Then, go with your gut feeling about it. Try to stop thinking, and let it's message just bubble up into your mind. It really isn't an 'either/or', but more about what it is in this time and place, here and now.
That doesn't mean, of course, that you just throw every book you've read out the window ... just remember that they are only a part of your learning. Just because something is written down, doesn't give it ultimate authority ... as you have already found out. Sometimes one of those possibilities will apply, sometimes the other, sometimes neither. Trust your intuition. That doesn't mean that you will always get it right, but the more you listen to it, and then apply your mind to what has come up, the more you will learn and trust this process, and the more accurate it will be.
I'm still way too untrusting of my own process ... still too dependent on book learning ... still having difficulty determining when a message I receive is for me, or for the person for whom I am reading. But hey, that's part of the process too!
Enjoy
mythos