The tenth card in each suit can be considered as one step beyond the full completion of a cycle of that suit. Let’s consider the nines which, of course, precede the tenth card that we are focused on today. In the ninth card of any suit we find a kind of perfection of that element. Think of the nines as three sets of three and imagine that this configuration of numbers is highly valuable to the Tarot world. The suit of wands, then, finds this perfected balance in recognizing the wounds or battles or traumas of the past and accepting that these continue to affect the present. The nine of wands is associated with Chiron, the wounded healer, but let’s be cautious in how we interpret this idea.
The ten cards can be seen as having both an entrance and an exit, so two distinct actions happen inside the ten cards. We enter the ten of wands with a heightened sense for harm caused to us and harm caused by us. The wands themselves are ideas, they are what Plato referred to as thought forms, he considered these to be “the thing before the thing” or the original form of an object. These differ from the swords in that the swords represent mental processes, meaning how we connect and utilize our thought forms.
As we enter the ten of wands, we are laden with a series of thought forms that are moving into processing mode even if we have not quite figured out how to begin that journey. We might experience a good bit of overwhelm when we first enter the ten of wands, especially as the suit progression leads us to believe we are likely to be encountering a new understanding on the nature of wounds. In general, we can see this card as being “in the weeds”. This is the thick of the situation be it one that happens in the mind or on the playing field of life.
When we exit the ten of wands, we exit a specific cycle of work and begin again back at the ace to work another cycle because that is the nature of our existence. The key will be to put into play what we learned carrying all those sticks or to simply recognize and enjoy our new strength. There is an end even if it is not always in sight.
May we forgive those who carry the weight of the wound.
By Michelle Embree
Author of Daydream Tarot: A Basic Guide for Visionaries
Read Michelle’s monthly Tarot column in ANTIGRAVITY
Listen to Michelle’s podcast SECRET ANTENNA
About Author
