Ten of Wands – It’s okay to say No

Today’s card is the Ten of Wands from the Druidcraft Tarot.  It is a card of feeling obligated and overburdened.  An old man is carrying his ten wands uphill. His destination is not yet in sight, so we don’t know how far he has yet to travel before he can lay down his heavy wands.

When we often feel like this it can be a sign that we need to change our behavior and/or our attitude towards the need to do it all by ourselves. This is easy to write down but so much harder to establish in real life.

Lately, since I’ve started my journey towards more spiritual freedom,  I find my wands to be so much lighter and easier to carry. Also, my wands don't  hurt my back as much as they used to. And when I do feel tired, I don’t mind tossing them on the ground and take a nap on the side of the road. Life isn’t all about work and fulfilling (often self-imposed ) obligations and expectations. If only we were taught that play and having fun are just as important as doing our job and,…. most importantly, that it is okay to say NO once in while.

“The Beauty of Letting go” tarot spread

A few days ago I came across a small but powerful tarot spread on IG. It is called “The Beauty of Letting go” tarot spread (from Arcane Mysteries) and yesterday I tried it for myself, using the Original Rider Waite tarot:

1 What must I let of? Queen of Swords. 

Now that was a major disappointment to begin with. How could I release the Queen I identify the most with but then I realized she is can also be the embodiment of my less positive traits:

I see her sitting on her throne, all high and mighty. She is been through a lot and it only has made her stronger and more willed to survive. She will make sure her people won’t have to go through any of her own ordeals so she is determined to advise them and guide them even push them into the “right” direction.

Yes I can relate to that: The hovering mother, the meddling mother, the know it all mother. At least I can acknowledge these parts of me and that will be the first step of letting them go

2 What will I gain and accomplish as result of this release? Ten of Wands

No, I don’t think I will get overburdened by this. Rather I feel this card means that I can lay down all these self imposed responsibilities and lift up my head to see the beauty of the clear blue sky and enjoy life as is comes without the burden of having to control everything and everybody. So I will lay down these ten wands and stroll leisurely to that lovely little house in the distance. There I will pour myself a cup of freshly brewed coffee and dwell some more on the liberated feeling of letting go.

Ten of Wands: Feeling confident instead of overburdened

Today’s card is the Ten of Wands from the Mary El Tarot. Instead of a figure weighed down by ten wands here we see a rider on his white horse with a bow in his hand. He is robed in fiery orange and is radiating confidence and inner strength.

The rider has reached the end of the cycle of wands. He is the victorious hero wearing his wreath proudly. But don’t be mistaken his victory isn’t due to the fact  that  he has been successful all the time. No it is because he has accepted each challenge presented to him. Failing is as much part of this cycle as winning and they are both part of the fabric of life. It is not so much whether you win or lose but more about how you conduct yourself  in the process. 

Do you rise above the petty ups and downs of life or are you struck down by each obstacle found on your way. This rider rides his horse high up in the clouds looking at his life in a birds view and he only notices its grand design instead of the tiny frays here and there. The Ten of Wands in this deck urges us to connect our to inner strength, our stronghold deep within us, where we learn what really matters and where true hero’s are born.

The Knight of Wands – My new best friend

Yesterday I’ve received the Raven's Prophecy Tarot by Maggie Stiefvater in the mail and because we have been quite busy decorating for Christmas, these two cards are the first ones I pulled from the deck.

The Knight of Wands, my least favorite card for ages but recently it has become one of my “sigh cards”. Whenever he shows up I get the feeling I am Brave enough  to do whatever I set my mind too. Up until now this card has always been mainly about overcoming my creative fears. So when I asked in what area of my life he would be willing to help me I was very surprised I got the Ten of Wands. This is the card of burdens and burn-outs. So soon in December and already I’ve pulled Ten of Wands. Together these two cards are telling me not to be afraid of whatever comes my way this month. They assure me I will be able to find the energy and courage to engage any challenge ahead and they also remind me I don’t have to do everything on my own. I have the tendency to believe “Ellen knows best” but I also know I have two very capable loving daughters and a darling SIL who are always willing to do one’s bit whenever this is needed and/or asked.  Also I will remember the almost magical soothing effect of making art. So whenever my head hangs low from anxiety and fear caused by the burden of feeling overly responsible, my paints and pencils will always be ready for action.

Runes, Druidcraft Tarot, and Celtic Lenormand in one reading

Today I’ve done what I’ve been dreaming of ever since I've heard that Will Worthington was doing the artwork for the Celtic Lenormand by Chloe McCracken: Combining this deck with the Druidcraft Tarot from the same artist. And of course I had to include my beloved Runes. Recently I've found a second hand wooden set of Runes on the online thrift store in the Netherlands. I thought it would be nice to combine them with these two decks. 

I pulled one rune for the general energy of the day: Ingwaz. This is the rune of fertility. Not so much the creative fiery action but more the peaceful slumber afterwards. The quietness of the sown land; patiently waiting for the first sprouts to appear. This requires a harmonious balance and inner piece.

Very promising indeed but how do I really feel about all this? This answer was given to me by the Ten of Wands from The Druidcraft Tarot: “Not so good. So much to do, so many responsibilities, no time to rest or to be quiet. Always busy.”  Mind you, this is about feelings; not about the actual situation. Often our minds are so busy and chaotic it seems like we have too much going on and so little time to accomplish everything. This feeling can be so overwhelming, we have to fight the urge to throw away all the wands from our back, sit down and do nothing at all.

Although this last option can be very  tempting it is not the most healthy thing to do. So what can we do now in order to feel the peacefulness of Ingwaz and heal our emotional overload?

I pulled two cards from the Celtic Lenormand and they couldn’t have been more fitting: Child + Heart.

We could try to engage in one thing with the openness and trust of a child. Putting in all our love and devotion to this task or project and really feel connected to what we are doing.

Yes, this is a difficult one, when you feel like the Ten of Wands. But when you look at this little boy playing with his boat in the trough, you can almost feel how his heart is traveling  to the ocean where one day he will sail his own ship to far away shores. This intent is patiently waiting, gently growing stronger….. this too is Ingwaz .

So for today I will do one thing, choose one Wand and I will love what I do with all my heart. This way I will experience inner peace, patience and quietness.

New moon in October - be careful with your egg

I've been skipping my New Moon reading for a few times but for this month I thought let's give it another go to make this a monthly habit again. I like to have a kind of theme for the coming lunation and drawing tarot cards is a wonderful way to determine this.

I drew two cards from my deck; one for the Release and one for the Embrace position. Just a simple spread. No ritual and no meditating beforehand, just a thorough shuffle and an open mind should be enough for today.

The deck I've used is the Tarot of the Hidden Realm and the cards are:

Release: Eight of Pentacles:

This cards invites me to release the need to be disciplined and structured in my writing and other creative outlets. Practicing can wait for a while. Just do what you like when you can find the time. And stop being so hard on yourself and try to stop obsessing about slacking

Embrace: Ten of Wands:

In this card we see no burdened man with ten wands on his back but instead a little boy with the huge responsibility of carrying a Phoenix egg. He is destined to merge with this egg which is full of possibilities of drive and fiery passion. It feels to me this card already contains Ace potential. As long as you can be patient and vigilant, this egg will hatch and you can be filled with all its strength. This is a promising energy to Embrace.

Conclusion: When I am able to let go of the need to create regularly, I can focus on this fiery energy of the Ten of Wands, which can fuel my creativity when everything settles down in this household. In the mean time I can scribble, doodle and play a bit, but no pressure is to be applied because we don’t want to break the egg!

Ten of wands – Prioritize

For today I've drawn the Ten of Wands from the Original Rider Waite Tarot.  This is the culmination of the suit of wands which can be an over load of tasks and responsibilities but also an overload of plans and idea’s and creative projects: the fun stuff. Look at the wands he is carrying; all of them have budding leaves. Every idea and project is viable, so how in G’s name can we leave one behind.

This man, although his back hurts, is determined to go on. He is almost home where he can store some of his wands in his shed.

Sometimes life’s choices can overwhelm us. So many options to go for, so many great opportunities to try. One seems even more attractive than the other.  Just recently  I had  pulled for myself the Ace of Wands which I’ve read as a boost to get more things on the go and now in my enthusiasm I have  taken on to many projects. This is not the balanced life I was searching for J

So for today I will make a list of everything I want to do or create during the coming weeks and sort out what I really want to do now and what can wait a little while longer. Also it is a good thing to realize I cannot be in control of everything around me. Sometimes I have to let go of some things and trust they will be able to survive on their own for a while in my shed.

Don’t overburden yourself when you leave the Ten of Scrolls behind

Look at this poor kitty behind his paper bars. He is so pathetic. This is the Ten of Scrolls (swords) from the Chrysalis Tarot. It looks like the tiger has been sitting there for a long time and has forgotten all about his own inner strength. He is defeated and held captive by his ongoing crippling thoughts. In the upper corner a butterfly it symbolizing his option for change much like the sunrise in the Rider Waite version of this card. The tiger is finally about to access his fiery passionate nature and to break free at last. But then what?

I pulled the Ten of Spirals (Wands). Here we see the overburdened centaur carrying his heavy load. He is standing at the crossroads, not sure which way  to go. When you break free from a difficult situation, you are still much the same person inclined to repeat the same cycle again. 

The Centaur in the Ten of Spirals is advising us to leave some of our past regrets and quilt etc. behind at the crossroads and to choose the highroad. “Don’t play the blame game. Put the past behind you and don’t look back”

This reminds me of my theme of this lunation: release. How freeing it can be to leave excess weight behind. I wonder why this is so difficult. Are we so defined by our sad stories. Are we afraid of writing new ones, being unsure about the ending or perhaps afraid for our own greatness…

“Every morning is a new beginning. A new chance for you to rewrite the story of your life.” Tina Su

Ten of Wands – enough is enough

My card of the day is the Ten of Wands from the Druidcraft Tarot. The depiction is following the Rider Waite  tradition: a man carrying Ten Wands uphill which is obviously a heavy load. In this card however there is no house at the end of the road; in fact there is no house at all. We know nothing of his destination. The man is walking on a road with no beginning and no end and for me this enhances the severity of his exhaustion. There is no where else to go than uphill and we don’t know how much longer he has to carry this load. 

Maybe he should sit down for a while and enjoy the flowers on the side of his path. Who knows he might be able to leave a wand or two behind…..

I have the tendency to pick up the wands of those who are more tired, more stressed and more busy than me. As I've stated before that is very often the case since I underestimate my own need for rest. Perhaps this is a bit of a martyr mentality???

Anyway I see this card as an advice to pick up only my own wands today and be very cautious to pick up other's too. Because my path is very steep these days and I don’t know yet when I will reach my house where I can lay down my wands, I need to prioritize and be mindful of the beautiful flowers along the way

“It is sometimes good to stop and ask: 'Do I really need to do this?'

Warrior Ten – The great Task

For today I've drawn Warrior Ten, the equivalent of the Ten of Wands. After  three Major Arcana Cards finally I've got one from the Minor Arcana and here we can see they have a short phrase to clarify the meaning of the card. Usually I read the Ten of wands as a warning about getting burned out,  or as a sign I am almost done but here the emphasis is put on responsibility and the dedication to bring the task to an end.

Ten of Wands - Overloaded

I couldn't have drawn a more fitting card for today: the Ten of Wands from the Original Rider Waite Tarot. After all the anxiety of the last week and everything that had to be done because life just goes on (although you would love to be able to push the pause button), I am so to speak dog-tired.

The guy in the picture is carrying his ten wands home. He doesn't watch where he is going anymore. He is just putting one foot in front of the other and is stumbling forward. But in the distance we can see his house; he is almost there. I hope he will make it. I am sure I will make it. I am sort of a workhorse and when I smell my stable,  I tend to run a bit faster; determent to get home even though I am already exhausted. So when I do get home, there is not much energy left. Perhaps just enough to make some coffee J

The advice for me today is to unload my wands at the doorstep, go inside, sit down, relax and restore my energy, because I think I have deserved it.