Bohemian Gothic Tarot

TEN OF WANDS

Lighter or more conventional meanings

Weighed down by too much work * Being burdened with too many responsibilities * Being weighed down by responsibilities * Wishing you hadn't taken on so much * Trying to do far more than you should.

Darker, shadow or more hidden meanings

Busy, busy, busy - doing something altogether nefarious * Feeling burdened by your sins and misdemeanours * Getting drawn into a whole heap of dark deeds * "The devil makes work for idle hands".

An old woman walks along a dark street, heavily burdened by the huge load on her back. We feel sorry for her until we notice a curious feature of her shadow; the head has horns. Is this really an old woman struggling with some foodstuffs or firewood? Or is it the Devil in a deceptive form, off to hell with a sackful of lost souls?

The Ten of Wands is generally about over-working, taking on too many responsibilities and generally feeling weighed down by all the duties and tasks that fall on your shoulders. As a Ten, and therefore the ultimate expression of the suit, it indicates that the excitement, activities and opportunities that we can see in the other suit cards have finally reached their ultimate point and now they've become too much - there's a moment at which you can find that you've taken on far too much and what initially seemed stimulating and full of promise has become boring hard work.

But in our version, there is an altogether more wicked twist on the card. For the Devil spends his time on earth trying to catch the souls of evil-doers and those unwary enough to sign an agreement with him. The image implies that the sheer numbers that fall into his grasp every day are quite a weight to carry.

When this card comes up in a reading you can take it in a straightforward way, as a warning against overburdening yourself with too much. But you can, depending on the context, choose to read it instead as a reminder that we may have to pay a high penalty for any misdemeanours. That old lady looks innocent enough, but oh my, she's the Devil in disguise. So watch out, you might not be able to get away With your transgressions in the way you hoped!

Some further ways to consider this card

Ask yourself exactly what is in the sack.

Now consider who is in the room with the lighted window; do they know this old woman? There are several cards in this deck that show lighted windows in a castle or tower - for example the Seven of Swords and the Nine of Swords. Does this link these cards together in any way; and could this feature impact on the way you'd read them if more than one appeared in a spread?