What does the Ten of Wands card mean in Tarot?

Ten of Wands, Minor Arcana, Wands X

The Ten of Wands represents an overwhelming situation with a lot of details and important responsibilities. It’s true, life can feel like a whole big series of tasks, only to meet our vast variety of endless needs. While taking care of key things is important, it’s just as equally important to make time for ourselves – no matter what.

In many cultures around the world, doing nothing is an honored “activity.” It’s considered a good, beneficial thing, and not a waste of time. If you live in a first-world, industrial nation, chances are you’re part of a culture that puts hard work before everything else. It’s like, even your hobbies need to serve a purpose – to get into college, to put another line in your resume etc.

If you get Ten of Wands in your reading, you’re probably overworked, overwhelmed, and in great need of taking a break. Your life has become all about paying bills, thinking about to do lists, and organizing your time around tasks. Most likely, these days you are not able to develop a healthy long-term vision for yourself because with so many details it has become difficult to see the big picture.

If your reading is about your career and finances, the Ten of Wands might mean you need an assistant! Or have fewer responsibilities. Learn to say no when your boss asks you to take on another project. If your finances aren’t good, get expert help to put them on the right track. Find ways to automate your financial responsibilities, such as using automatic payments and savings.

If your reading is about your social circle and friends, the Ten of Wands points at the very lack of it! You have so much going on to be able to relax, make plans, and actually enjoy them!

If the reading is about your wellbeing, the Ten of Wands shows a dire need to stop! Can you go on vacation for at least a week? Or get weekly spa treatments? Maybe the people around you can help with some of the tasks. You must find ways to relax.

What does the Ten of Wands Tarot card mean for love?

For singles, having Ten of Wands in your reading might show an inability on your part to give your dating life the attention it deserves. You might be putting your work first, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if your work has taken over all aspects of your life, it might be time to take a step back. You’ve busied yourself with so many chores, almost trying to forget that such a thing called love exists. It’d serve you to reevaluate what you truly need and make time for matter of the heart.

For couples, the Ten of Wands might point at an ability to make quality time for one another. You’re either always running errands, doing things, or planning the future. You’re almost never in the moment, in the here and now, to enjoy each other’s company. It would be a good idea to go for a walk and really try to enjoy the walk, without thinking or talking about the broken light fixture at home or the new furniture you want to jointly buy. DO things together just for the fun of it, nothing more.

What does Ten of Wands reversed in Tarot mean?

The Ten of Wands reversed points at the total opposite of everything we said above! The tasks have piled up, chores have gone awry, the house is a mess, and you’re behind at work, too. You’re spending your time on useless pursuits, maybe on things like social media and mindless television watching. Maybe you’re sleeping too much (to avoid having to do those tasks). You might also feel depressed, just from thinking of all the things you have to do (without actually doing them). Whatever is happening, it’s not helping you put your life in order.

A Zen proverb says, “after enlightenment, the laundry!” Even if you’ve decided that you shouldn’t be the one doing the dishes or cleaning the floor, because you believe you have more important things to do, you’re still a human being who eats and dirties the dishes. Someone needs wash them. Get hired help if you can afford it, or find ways to make these activities feel more fun – such as playing music and singing when you cook and clean.

Astrological association

All wand cards in the Minor Arcana are associated with the fire element, which is associated with the signs of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. Because the Ten of Wands is about the relentless focus on getting things done, it indicates “fixed” energy – therefore, this card is most associated with Leo – the fixed fire energy that will burn things until there’s nothing left.

While the card might mean you finding your own inner Leo energy, it could likely also indicate a Leo in your life, depending on where it is in your reading. Your psychic Tarot reader would know this by looking at the spread, at the cards’ positions, and the other cards in the reading.

If the card indicates a Leo in your life, notice if the card is upright or reversed. If it’s upright, this Leo will help you accomplish your tasks efficiently, but will also nag or even stifle you about them. Show them you know what you’re doing, that you’re responsible, and with or without them, you can get things done.

If the card is reversed, this Leo person will cause you to get lazier – maybe the two of you will decide to enjoy life, and in the process, forget that the toilet paper doesn’t renew itself and the laundry doesn’t fold itself either. Don’t feel guilty about wanting to enjoy life – it’s your birthright, for sure. But we live in a world where even the animals work for their food – by hunting, by looking for it, by building webs etc. And plants too make their food using carbon dioxide and sunlight – every single day.

So, whether you’re working too much or lazying up all the time, what you need to remember is that there has to be a balance between the two. Work and play are both necessary and good for you, and what the Ten of Wand suggests is that in your case this balance has been lost for a good while and needs some thorough, sound recalibration.