Ten of Wands
Now it can happen that the individual clings too tightly to the form he has built and is trapped under the weight of worldly responsibilities. The excitement has vanished and alternates with boredom and depression. This card indicates all dualities and opposites. And the state of oppression, new obstacles, difficult engagements and exhaustion can no longer function; imagination must have fresh stimulation to awaken again with a new idea, a new goal and a new gamble. The cycle may begin again.
10 of Fire: Suppression
The figure on this card is quite literally "all tied up in knots". His light still shines within, but he has repressed his own vitality trying to meet so many demands and expectations. He has given up all his own power and vision in return for being accepted by the very same forces that have imprisoned him. The danger of suppressing one's natural energy in this way is apparent in the cracks of a volcanic eruption about to take place around the edges of the image.
The real message of the card is to find a healing outlet for this potential explosion. It is essential to find a way to release whatever tensions and stresses might be building up inside you right now. Beat on a pillow, jump up and down, go out into the wilderness and scream at the empty sky–anything to shake up your energy and allow it to circulate freely. Don't wait for a catastrophe to happen.
Tarot of the Ages - Mario Garizio ©1988 U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
It may seem odd that the suit of Wands ends not with the same fiery energy that it started out with, but with almost a complete opposite of that energy. The Ace of Wands was quick and unrestrained, but the Ten shows the weight of burdens upon one's shoulders. Where the rest of the Wands dealt with the creative expression and use of one's willpower, on the Ten this power is blocked, and you are forced to live under someone else's will rather than your own. But there is a logical explanation for this card's appearance at the end of the Wands suit.
We must always keep in mind that fire is, at its basest level, a force of destruction. And when you wield the power of fire for long enough, you are going to get burned, as inevitably as the fire will spend its fuel and be reduced to a few glowing embers. The wise rule and well-used power of the previous cards have gone out of control and have become tyranny; the desire to succeed and the determination to go forward with your head held high has left, and now you must stumble or crawl. In a more Qabalistic sense, the energy has been detached from its spiritual source and has become corrupt.
However, sometimes this process shown in the Ten of Wands is a lesson that you must learn. Responsibility is a great character-builder, and by bearing physical burdens you often find that emotional burdens will fall away. You will lose your ego when you ask for help, and you will lose your limitations as you reach and surpass them. But you also have to learn when enough is enough, and when it is time to get out from under your burdens. When your creativity starts to suffer it may never regain its original dimensions again, and once creativity is gone, the will is next to go.
Sometimes the Ten of Wands is a good card to appear, because it can indicate where you are spinning your wheels and wasting your energy. It is often a sign that, no matter how long you stick to a task, victory is unlikely or even impossible. In these circumstances the best advice is to simply walk away. Leaving responsibilities unfinished is not a notion that appears to coalesce with the overall morality of the Wands suit, but sometimes doing what you have to do is far more necessary than doing what you'd like to do. So go out there, do what you have to do, and hopefully you can get a little closer to those things that you want to do.
Tarot of the Dream Enchantress ©2009 Lo Scarabeo