Ten of Wands Tarot Card

Card Name: Ten of Wands, 10 of Staves

Category: Minor Arcana, Suit of Wands

Position: 10

Keywords: Responsibility, Endurance

Active element: Fire 🔥

The Ten of Wands is a fundamental link in the system of Minor Arcana of the suit of Fire. It all starts with her, and therefore the vibrations of the card are too intense and comparable to the Ace itself. This is a huge blazing fire of energy that makes you dance around you. It is impossible to resist the impulse – you want to jump out of your seat and start doing something. The Arcana Ten of the suit of Fire contains the strongest motivation, the desire to move forward without regard to the complexity of the task. The upright and inverted positions are two aspects of the same flame. But if in the first case it warms, then in the second it leaves a burn. Like everything in the world, this card has two sides of the same coin.

Symbolism and Key Ideas of the Ten of Wands

The Rider-Waite Ten of Wands tarot card depicts a hero carrying a whole armful of long poles. His posture reflects the complexity of the task – his back is hunched, his staves are drawn close. The man is a well-built blonde, most likely of a young age. He is dressed in a white shirt, a red frock coat with a belt, and a mustard-colored pantyhose. Shoes are light, with an elongated toe. The protagonist on the Ten of Wands card is shown walking towards a castle with a scarlet roof. In the distance you can see a green field, tall trees. The sky is bright blue, contrasting with the earth tones used to illustrate the figure of the hero and the outline of the house.

Pamela Smith – the artist of this deck, worked as a designer in the theater. This is partly why the figure of the hero on the Ten of Wands is depicted grotesquely – the burden is not heavy, but it is not easy for a man to cope with it. A bent back, a lowered head indicate the difficulty of moving the load. In the distance, the final goal is visible – the castle, which reappears on the Four of Staves. The Ten of Wands shows the beginning of the construction of a garden lattice – a symbol of success and triumph. The main character carries the necessary materials. Therefore, the Arcana in question is fundamental. Further, the following cards show the development of the plot.

Meaning of the Upright Ten of Wands Card

• The presence of motivation, a strong desire to do something, to create.
• Passion, willingness to take responsibility and move forward.
• Jerk or impulse to advance along the path, self-discipline.
• A vivid manifestation of oneself, proof of one’s strength in practice.

Ten of Wands upright signifies a huge amount of energy. The element of Fire gives it the quality of speed, mobility. This is the readiness to immediately get down to business, to do a lot. The card denotes endurance, the ability to take responsibility for oneself. The meaning can be compared with Atlas from ancient Greek mythology. The titan held the entire heavenly vault on itself, striking with the strength and strength of the spirit. His burden is compared with the wisdom that Atlas later passed on to people. This comparison emphasizes the importance of preserving what is available, and then correctly conveying and expressing it.

In any spread, the Ten of Wands assumes the role of a certain volcano crater full of fire. This is a huge energy resource that needs to be thrown out somewhere. The upright position of the card speaks of a positive side – even anger, rage, the querent can be melted into constructive actions. Motivation is overflowing, despite the complexity of the goal. A person is ready to move towards happiness and independently take any action. However, he does not wait for a better time or help. Now is the only right moment for a breakthrough, and your own strength is a worthwhile guarantee of the result.

Love and Relationships (Upright)

• Strong family, reliable partner, mutual respect, happiness.
• "Adult" relationships without quarrels, swearing and deliberate selfishness.
• Focus on creating a family and long-term relationships.
• Ignoring fleeting connections, refusing to spray yourself.

For a love spread, the Ten of Wands that has fallen out takes on a positive meaning. The partner is ready to move forward, develop relationships. Despite the difficulties, he still wants to be with the querent. A love affair leads to building a family, the birth of children. Both people are serious, not used to playing with feelings. At the same time, a strong passion is clearly visible, and not just a fleeting hobby. The questioner can be confident in his beloved, rely on him.

For lonely people, the Ten of Wands predicts a chance to build relationships. It won’t be soon, but the path is already marked. The querent has accumulated an internal resource, perhaps realized in other areas. Having experience will help you make the right choice and not exchange for relationships without a future. A fortuneteller knows clearly which partner he wants to see next to him – reliable and responsible. Those who do not fit these criteria are not even looked at by the querent.

Career and Finance (Upright)

• Adding responsibilities, tasks at work or in business.
• Creating your own business, investing maximum effort.
• Moving towards a major goal – buying an apartment or car.
• Focus on long-term well-being.

In the spread for career, the Ten of Wands symbolizes the presence of many responsibilities. The querent will have to work hard in the near future. However, his work will bear fruit – in the future, a reward in the form of a bonus or promotion is expected. As a significator of activity, the Ten of the suit of Staves shows professions in the field of construction or entrepreneurship. For those who are thinking about creating their own business, the card promises further success.

Finances on the Ten of Wands card become a kind of burden. Perhaps a person works a lot and has no time to spend money. Indirectly, 10 Clubs speaks of investing in real estate or simply saving money. A situation is also likely when the questioner is not used to spending finances on fleeting desires. Rather, it is more convenient for him to systematically save and increase money. The querent sees the goal and will never deviate from the path of achievement. Often the card falls on those people who alone solve their financial problems.

Health and Spirit (Upright)

• Strong trained body, playing sports or athletics.
• A healthy spine or a well-developed muscular system.
• Fortress of spirit, hardened character, or the presence of willpower.
• Ability to solve problems on their own without outside help.

In terms of health, the Ten of Wands has a correspondence with the back, the spine. The upright position of the card shows the fitness of the body, readiness for any external conditions. A person boasts strength and dexterity. Often, the Arcana falls as a significator on weightlifters. These are people who know how to work with superheavy weights. The card also shows a period of complete rehabilitation, a surge of vigor and energy. A person feels that he wants to do something, to invest his strength.

From a psychological point of view, the Ten of Wands symbolizes the will and temperament of the spirit. The querent can deal with absolutely any problem alone. He is not used to asking for help and showing his weaknesses. Rather, the questioner will learn what he does not yet know how to ask for help. The Arcana of the Ten of Fire shows the presence of experience in the past, as well as the ability to quickly mobilize forces if necessary. The questioner is psychologically closed, it is difficult to convince him or stop him on the way to achieving the goal.

Situations and Questions (Upright)

• A weighty reason to move forward, self-realization.
• A test of strength or a challenge for oneself, a crisis.
• Willingness to cope with any problem and obstacle.
• The emergence of a factor that encourages action.

The meaning of the Ten of Wands from the standpoint of spirituality will be positive. In this regard, the card indicates a serious approach to one’s mental growth. The person has come to the point where he believes that development is simply necessary. The old life is disgusting, and you want to radically change everything. However, the key to understanding the situation lies within. Changes first occur at the level of reactions to what is happening. In order to radically rebuild, a person must accumulate an internal resource – resentment, dissatisfaction with himself, rage and other conditionally negative feelings.

The Arcana asks questions: “What will make me go forward?” and “How do I use my experience in new ways?”. You can look at the poles on the Ten of Wands as a kind of past that must be transformed and become a wonderful future. This hope for the best is given by the outlines of the house in the background of the card. Now the querent feels heaviness, but inside he is already driven by the desire to change everything. The driving force activates the mechanism of encouragement and self-support – it is easier to survive any crisis.

Meaning of the Reversed Ten of Wands Tarot

• Lack of strength to overcome problems, hopelessness, despondency.
• The need to obey the will of chance and accept your fate.
• Self-confidence without practical evidence, inconsistency.
• Excessive workload leading to burnout, identity crisis.

When reversed, the Ten of Wands becomes an unbearably heavy burden. Once a strong impulse, a huge motivation turns into a problem. Man cannot do anything, the obstacle is insurmountable. He knows to move forward, but the poles in his hands are constantly falling apart. Loss of composure and self-confidence. The protagonist on the reversed Ten of Staves card does not see the road, he moves as if by touch in a dark tunnel of space. The house is still somewhere ahead, but there is no longer any hope of getting there. This is the moment when hands give up under the weight of circumstances.

The Ten of Wands reversed symbolizes a stop halfway, the inability to bring what has been started to the end. Perhaps, having met with the first difficulties, the querent immediately refuses to continue moving. Either the initially wrong method was chosen, a serious mistake was made. The inquiring person is overly self-confident, but when he has to take responsibility, he immediately shows weaknesses. According to this provision of the Ten of Wands, there are impossible obligations, problems that are difficult or impossible to solve at all. The querent is unable to help himself or anyone else on his own. All attempts to change the situation will be crowned with a complete collapse.

Love and Relationships (Reversed)

• Weak partner, giving empty promises without concrete steps.
• Lack of support, understanding from a loved one.
• Closing eyes to problems in a couple, going to work, everyday life.
• Non-compliance with their own established standards, inequality.

Love relationships according to the Ten of Wands reversed have serious problems. The couple cannot cope with any factors – for example, age difference, domestic troubles. There are cases when one of the partners is ready to take responsibility, and the second does not allow it. As a result, lovers are marking time. It is a pity to end such relationships, because too much time and effort has been invested in them. Love becomes like a suitcase without a handle, which is inconvenient to carry, but scary to throw away.

For singles, the Ten of Wands in the opposite sense also shows the presence of insurmountable obstacles to happiness. The personality is unnecessarily closed and focused on inadequate claims to the world. The querent wants a lot from a potential partner, but he himself does not meet the set bar. For example, a man who is accustomed to leading a wild life is looking for a conservative good Samaritan as his wife. Or an uninteresting girl wants only a billionaire as her husband. In the first and second cases, there is a mismatch. Despite the exceptions to the rule, like attracts like.

Career and Finance (Reversed)

• Hard physical work or thankless slave labor.
• Overwhelmed tasks that cannot be completed alone.
• Failure to pass the probationary period, reduction, dismissal.
• Life "from paycheck to paycheck", poor financial situation.

In terms of work, the reversed Ten of Wands indicates tasks that the querent is unable to cope with. Perhaps this is a consequence of his empty promises. In fact, a person does not have the declared competencies. You can compare this to a situation where jobseekers provide fake training certificates to an employer. There is a chance to get a job, but the very first problem will remove the mask of competence from the liar. A reversed Arcana shows the lack of necessary knowledge, skills, and practical experience.

The finances of the Ten of Wands in the opposite position also become a problem. The querent has too many tasks piled on at once. This fact is disorienting and leads to making mistakes in behavior. Money goes out from under your nose, despite the good chances to improve your financial situation. The questioner is simply unable to take on additional work or take on a new project. He cannot cope with the difficulties that he has at the moment.

Health and Spirit (Reversed)

• Diseases of the spine, problems with the back, cervical region.
• The stage of healing after a surgical operation.
• The habit of accumulating negativity and being offended, but not showing it to anyone.
• Outbursts of aggression for no reason, inappropriate behavior.

In terms of health, the reversed Ten of Wands symbolizes problems with the spine. It can be a torn back, the presence of intervertebral hernias. Often, ailments are dictated by lifting unbearable weights. This also includes the prolapse of the pelvic organs, rupture of the spleen. For those who are currently seriously ill, the position of the Ten of Wands card predicts a difficult period of rehabilitation, a long recovery time. The body does not cope with vital functions. Perhaps the artificial maintenance of some organs or systems.

The mentality according to the Ten of Wands reversed has serious violations. It is difficult for a person to open up to the world, to express himself. At the same time, passions rage inside, unexpressed emotions accumulate. This is a dangerous situation, because everything repressed comes out sooner or later. Further, a strong surge of aggression with unpredictable consequences may follow. The querent should sometimes allow himself to relax, learn to splash out the negative in a constructive way.

Situations and Questions (Reversed)

• Failed attempt to jump a few steps forward.
• Statements unsupported by experience, arrogance without reason.
• Situations in life that were originally doomed to failure.
• A losing strategy to prove its importance, the strength of the spirit.

The inverted Ten of Wands in the Tarot spread for spirituality gives meaning to some emerging difficulties. If, according to the upright position of the card, they can be overcome, then now the querent has no chance. He chose too heavy a burden and was unable to reach the goal. The process of spiritual growth is a gradual movement. When a neophyte declares himself as an enlightened guru, the Universe will surely put him in an unpleasant situation. This is necessary so that the questioner independently determines at what level he is now.

The Ten of Clubs Arcana asks the questions: “Am I living up to my self-image?” and “Why can’t I advance in spiritual development?”. Often the problem is the lack of problems. The inverted Ten of Wands is a test of strength, without any justification, logical sense. A novice athlete knows that he will not lift the heaviest barbell and, as a result, breaks his back. But now the athlete has accurately determined from his own experience what he can do and what is not. The same principle of knowledge can be transferred to any sphere of life.

Ten of Wands: Combination with other Tarot Cards

Advice and Warning of the Ten of Wands Card

As advice to the situation, the Ten of Wands upright speaks of the importance of taking responsibility. It is possible to advance in the conceived sphere only through the application of one’s own efforts. This is the case when water does not flow under a lying stone. However, if the querent takes control of the situation, then success is inevitable. As a warning, the Arcana says the same. But now it is necessary to act even faster, otherwise you can lose a good chance. Also, the Ten of Wands card indicates that the outcome of the whole matter depends on the querent. If he does not take concrete steps, then people will suffer from this – work colleagues, relatives or business partners.

When the Ten of Wands is rolled upside down, then it advises to create the appearance of vigorous activity. It is necessary to show that the querent is very busy, and he has no time to take on additional workload. Such a move will help get rid of people who want to use the querent for their own purposes. As a warning, on the contrary, the position of the Ten of Wands speaks of the failure of the plan. Right now, it’s better to do nothing at all. All attempts to correct the situation will only aggravate the current state of affairs. Perhaps the situation is set up in such a way as to end up blaming the questioner for failure.

Ten of Wands: Daily Card Meaning

In the spread of the card of the day, the Ten of Wands takes on the value of gravity. The querent will have to urgently address a problem. At the same time, you can not expect help from someone and rely only on yourself. In a positive aspect, the Arcana simply speaks of doing hard sports, testing the body and spirit for strength. This is development through a constant increase in workload. However, the factor under consideration can also concern mentality. The people around seemed to set themselves the task of testing the psyche of the querent for strength. There may be controversial points that require diplomacy from the questioner.

If the card lay upside down, then the day will be wasted. According to the Ten of Wands in the opposite sense, it is better for the querent today not to make promises and not to take on any important business. All the measures taken will not have the desired effect. In addition, a fortuneteller can be labeled an idle talker or an incompetent. On this day, relatives will talk about problems, ask for help. However, at the moment, the questioner is unable to do so. In the head, there may be a desire to change everything dramatically, but this is only a momentary weakness. Reality put the querent in the framework, but for now they should be adhered to.

Suit of Wands