10 of Wands - Is More, More?
A person is positioned in the foreground, facing away, and striding toward a large building in the distance. They lean forward on a 45 degree angle as they walk with head cast downwards. They wear clothes of red, orange and brown tones, and carry ten sprouting wands in a v-shaped bundle in their arms. The ground they walk on is flat, and in the distance there are trees, along with the building, and a large expanse of bright blue and clear sky.
X of Wands from the Rider Waite Smith Tarot
This is one of those cards that for many people there's an immediate understanding of what’s being signified. That the person is carrying too much, and carrying it awkwardly or inefficiently. A classic case of over-doing.
Where in your life are you feeling the burden, or drag, or fatigue of doing more than is healthy for you?
It’s pretty easy to be self critical in these moments - “Somehow,” you reason, “… it’s because I’m not enough”.
But there's so much that can be automatic or mindless about this kind of efforting, that has nothing to do with your value.
Wands in the tarot relate to the element of fire, and suggest themes around energy, vitality and passion, as well as action, drive and motivation.
It can be hard to catch the moment when action that feels energising, slips into forcing. Because there’s a lot of healthy pleasure and beneficial ego development to be gained from achieving something. A favourite quote from Dr E is this one.
“There's burning that goes with joy and there's burning that goes with annihilation. One is the fire of transformation, the other is the fire of decimation only.” ( in WWRWTW pp. 228)
It’s when pleasure and desire turns addictive, the scales tip out of whack. A “more-is-more” ideal falsely reasons that because yang feels good, then more yang can feel even better!
The bigger-faster-more aesthetic belongs to the toxic and ego-driven grind that’s venerated and perpetuated by hustle-culture - the death-rattle of late capitalism.
Many of us internalise and so personalise this ideal, (e.g. “There must be something wrong with me if I can’t do it”) triggering a conditioned defence to push harder, which becomes amplified by personal wounds or trauma, creating a messy complex of harsh self-criticism, a fear of failure, a fear of mediocrity, and extreme independence and self reliance.
Unsustainable, and a recipe for burnout. Oooofff!
What are the beliefs you hold about achievement, motivation and goals? Where do these beliefs come from? an inner drive? externally sanctioned (i.e socio-cultural) expectations? old wounding?
How might a need for perfection contribute to physical, energetic and psychological burnout?
How is your creative life suffering? or benefiting? from how you use your energy.
Often when this card comes up in a reading or session with clients, the image acts like a mirror, or a slap.
There’ll be immediate eye-rolls of knowing. “Yes I’ve been working too hard”, “yes that’s why I’m sad, anxious, mad, and fucking tired to my bones … But I don’t know how to stop, or change”. The ingrained beliefs do require active working out. But the image itself inspires a clue, if not the whole solution to the ‘how’ question.
Practice: Imagining the scene forward
Imagine yourself as the person awkwardly holding all 10 wands, and striding forward. As you become awakened to what you are doing, what wants to happen next?
I'm always amazed by the range of solutions, and the level of creativity and imagination of people. From making a bonfire of the wands, or dropping the lot and walking on with pride, to laying out the wands to decide which few to pick back up, or turning around to the “viewer” and asking for help.
In each case, there's an awakening to the disconnect between where you're going and what's fueling you. This becomes an opportunity to reflect more consciously on deeper core desires that help build a sustainable and transformative inner fire. .
Much love,
Mendy
🖤If you’d like to explore your questions using symbol and depth - Book a tarology session with me.