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The Ten Of Swords Tarot Card Meaning

The Suit of Swords, as in all suits, is a story of progression.

There are different levels of growth, opportunities for change that are presented to get you through the story from the beginning, middle and then to the end. The Ten of Swords is a culmination of all of the negative aspects of the Suit of Swords. Either you are just going through a cycle of having to survive through desolation or you have actively chosen to refrain from following the advice of those who know you in your life or even the advice presented in the cards or through higher source energy. Whatever the case may be, you are experiencing a really challenging cycle where you feel as though you have been utterly destroyed.

This card is symbolic of despair, of lack, a metaphorical death of an aspect of your life. This is usually the card that presents itself when you have been participating in something like a relationship that makes you feel victimized and instead of looking at the signs to get out of it when you had the time, you let it destroy you. Now you must figure out how to get out of this mess so that you can start anew in the form of the Page of Swords immediately following this card. Try not to be too discouraged: No matter how far we have fallen, there is always room to get up, brush yourself off and try again.

The image that is shown on the card is that of a person who has actually been pierced by ten swords. Up until this point, the swords were always present in the background or surrounding the individuals in the card, however these cards have actually thrust themselves through flesh to symbolize how deeply and integrally you are feeling this pain and this hurt. The sky above this seemingly dead person is black. This card symbolizes the defeat found in war, a disruption of home life as well as the ruin of plans or projects. Despite the violent imagery in this card, this is not a card of violent death. This is simply a card depicting the absolute end of something. Often times when the Ten of Swords is in your life, you feel as though you have been horribly and miserably abused, the end of this cycle is hard for you so the pain of the swords is how you feel.

One way to push through this time of your life is to spend a whole bunch of time giving. This may sound almost obscene given your current circumstances. But there is a need to rebuild in your life, and to do so you need to have a new perspective. You need to see that others may either also have it bad or maybe even worse then you. When you give over of your nurturing and compassionate self, not only does healing come faster for you, but you will be genuinely bettering the circumstances of those around you. This kind of fellowship and brotherhood, caring for your fellow man is going to help pick you up off of that metaphorical floor.

Remember that tomorrow always is capable of bringing new hope. You literally cannot fall any lower then you have fallen, and, in a sense, there is hope to be found there. Let go of the fears that have led you to this negative thinking, the ones that helped to create your conscious choice that things would not work out. Consider what the active role you played in this situation was and then seek to not repeat the same thought processes again. Allow yourself the freedom to learn from this lesson and to not get stuck in the same bad situation over and over again. Fighting pointless battles will never get you anywhere, so stop trying.

The lessons that you are learning at this time are going to move you closer to harmony, a balance between the material and spiritual things of the mind. Through living through this devastating experience to its unfortunate conclusion, you have been released and are allowed to start over, free of the old Karma. The old self is actually, metaphorically dead. You were killed as a result of your own thoughts. Consider the role of your creative mind and do what you can not to allow yourself to get stuck again. You have matured in multiple levels and from this point on will find that decision making that brings you toward ultimate emotional health will be easier to make than ever before.

The Ten of Swords in Love

The Ten of Swords only presents itself in a love reading when you have been completely obliterated by a love situation. You will get no more from this relationship, and you must start over. This is often a card that appears after a bad break up. You were so attached to the unhealthiness of your relationship that you had become accustomed to it, and you structured your whole life around it. It wasn’t a happy life, but it was a living situation that you perpetuated daily and so it became routine. The Universe knows that you simply cannot stay unhappy and unhealthy and it presents ways for you to get out of it, the Ten of Swords is this way. You would not listen to reason, so, the Universe had to pull the rug out from under you causing you to fall flat on your face to shake you out of your addiction to bad and unhealthy relationship pursuit. Now you must be grateful, allow for the change, and be alone for a little while to get yourself back on track.

The Ten of Swords in Health

When the Ten of Swords shows up in a reading about health, the news is not generally good. This often comes up as a result of accidents that have caused broken bones or other random injuries that make you feel as though you are completely inept and broken, as well as destitute. If you are not injured at this time, consider this a healthy warning to keep track of your thoughts so that you do not accidentally create room in your life to become injured. Take time to slow down, to relax, and to ponder your next move before making it. Do not get caught up in busy-ness and if there is anything that is making you feel victimized or frustrated on a consistent basis then you must treat this as a potential disease or injury, you must eliminate it from your life right away before you create something that you can’t get out of.

The Ten of Swords in Work and Wealth

The Ten of Swords in Work and Wealth is referring to a time in which you allowed yourself to mess around with your finances, jumping through financial hoops or making poor judgments or investments and now you are feeling the repercussions of this. You must start over again. You will find that your finances will not get better until you learn how to handle your money. Many of us gamble away our finances every month by using more credit than we could ever pay back and we find that every month we are doing a balancing act. And many of us can keep this up, however your balancing act is no longer working for you. This card cautions you to not make any more random purchases until you can feasibly put aside some money for emergency purposes and can afford comfortably with no guilt, to buy something else. Break the cycle and gain financial freedom.

Ten Of Swords In Reversed position

When you have received the Ten of Swords in the reversed position then you are going to be experiencing a time of overthrowing of evil forces. The devastation of the Ten of Swords is a passing phase and is cycling out of your experience. Now you are moving on to acquire some success and profit. You have begun to rebuild and have found the courage to start over again.

Upright Ten of Swords Meanings in Keywords

• Low point in life
• Preparing for happiness
• Hitting rock bottom
• Accepting darkness
• Better days coming
• Feeling numb to pain
• Fresh start

Reversed Ten of Swords Meanings in Keywords

• Sacrifice for a greater good
• Neglecting yourself
• Putting other's needs first
• Lack of motivation for success
• A puppet on strings
• Hidden potential
• Accepting your 'fate'

The Ten of Wands has appeared in your reading to tell you that you have taken on far more then you can handle.

The image of the young man carrying ten wands seems like so much, yet he continues to walk, heavily burdened to the city. In this the pressure that you have been under is clear. Your plate is too full, and you are overburdened by the expectations that you have placed on yourself. Now you feel utterly blocked both emotionally and physically, and your spirit is downtrodden. At this point, the idea of making a change might seem impossible for you, because the load that you are carrying is so heavy. However this is the time in your journey where you must complete a major spiritual initiation. Initiation periods in life are extremely uncomfortable, but if we didn’t have to experience them, we would never make any progress. These are the times that feel the most constricted, the most painful, and the most difficult to work through.

The initiation phase for the Suit of Wands is placed in this part of the tarot because you have traveled through the suit, making different choices and have ended up here. Now you have put so much on your shoulders that you have set yourself up for failure. You simply cannot continue on trying to carry all of these sticks across the entire desert nor should you try. You are making life too difficult on yourself. Consider this lesson that the Ten of Wands is preparing for you: Do you enjoy living this way or are you afraid to change?

As of now you have no time for yourself, you are helping too many people at once and you are stuck in a cycle of perpetual self sabotage. Just because you are busy, does not mean that you are functioning in a healthy, productive manner.

The initiation period of the Ten of Wands tells you that it is time for you to begin the process of reconnecting to your inner self through meditation and direct communication or prayer to a higher source energy. The reason for this is the situation you have gotten yourself into, carrying the burdens of everyone else; you require time in the presence of the sacred energy of reverence and prayer to help you through.

The merging of God inside of you and the God that is all around you is necessary so that you might recognize the importance of slowing down, and letting go of that which does not truly belong to you. You deserve to have a fruitful life. The cycle that you are in right now will not help you do that. You must put the wands down, stretch out your body and drink a glass of cool water from the Fountain of Wisdom.

The Ten of Wands is asking you now to consider the quality of life that you have. Has your willingness to help others proved to make it impossible for you to do much for yourself? Do you feel at this time that you have the freedom that you would like to travel or venture out and pursue new things? When you are in a relationship, do you take on the entire burden alone? If so, why do you do this? Do you feel that you are living a full life for yourself?

Take some time to yourself to start breaking out of the limits of these boundaries that you have placed on yourself. Work through the fear that you have of acquiring success in your life and release yourself. Allow yourself the pleasure of experiencing the unfamiliar so that you can move to the next phase. If you do not give yourself this time to learn from this lesson, you will continue to repeat the cycle over and over again. Better to let yourself move on. Practice makes perfect!

Ten of Wands in Love

In love the Ten of Wands is telling you that you have taken on too much in your relationship and that you are not appropriately communicating your needs or expressing yourself and you are creating a passive aggressive spiral that would be avoidable if you would only allow yourself to open up and be honest. You need help, everyone does. In the pursuit of love, vulnerability is of key importance. You cannot continue to be the only one taking on the responsibility. You are robbing yourself and you are robbing your loved one of the opportunity to be there for you. If you are single, this card is telling you that you are too busy and therefore setting yourself up for failure. You want what you are not willing to create for yourself. The first step is to start to make room in your life for a valuable person. Seek counseling if the concept of letting go or being vulnerable with someone in a real healthy relationship is too hard for you. Having a third person, an outsider’s perspective can help tremendously in letting go, one step at a time.

Ten of Wands in Health

In health the Ten of Wands is depicting you as someone who is a tense ball of nerves, whose immune system could be breaking down leaving you open for all manner of sicknesses and diseases. If you want to live a long and healthy life, you must remove all that causes you tension in the center of your being, usually felt the most in the solar plexus. If you feel tense more then half of the day, then you are not pursuing a healthy life and this is going to catch up with you fast. Learn to let go via meditation, gain freedom from what burdens you and you will live a long and health life.

Ten of Wands in Work and Wealth

As we have mentioned, the Ten of Wands represents a time in your life that is overburdened. In work, the symbolism is the same; you are doing too much and are not getting enough reward. Let go of some your work load, a little bit at a time. Keep in mind you are not being asked to negatively affect your financial stability but could evaluate your life style and may want to see if you can live with less. Even if you will have some adverse repercussions, you need to have more free time so you can relax and get to you know yourself. Anything that makes you work more than the required amount of time and is not paying you appropriately is something that should be let go. If you are the type to work overtime without getting paid: stop it right now. Try going home and sitting in silence for a half-hour and see what happens. Can you do it? Was it uncomfortable? Question your work-a-holic ways. If you are looking for work, question what thoughts/chores you are doing that stop you from attracting work because you are too emotionally overburdened.

Ten of Wands As An Action

In love, as action, the ten of wands means you need to keep the love afloat rather than do nothing. It means your the one who has to do all the running in order to change it into the relationship that you want and need. The success of love does carry a price and you need to ask yourself if you are ready to do all the chasing. If it is worth it, go for it. If not, move onto someone else. In other parts of life the ten of wands represents that you need to do all the work to chase the goal, it may be worth it or it may not.

Reversed Ten Of Wands In A Reading

When you have received the Ten of Wands in the reversed position, this means that you are ending a phase in which you were overburdened, thankfully and are finding your way out. You learning what freedom is and you are beginning to delve into a life of self reflection and joy. The card is still showing up in your reading, because there are still elements from this phase that you are purging. This card is telling you to check in with yourself to make sure that goals you have set for yourself are being accomplished. If so, great, if not, fine-tune the process so that you do not add more then you can handle and will get in the way.

The Ten of Wands Card Keywords Upright

• Irresponsibility
• Two-way success
• Fake ambitions
• Uselessness
• Being overwhelmed
• Repression
• Suppressed fear
• Insecurity
• Obstacles
• Backstabbing
• Breakup
• Emotional

The Ten of Wands Tarot Card Reversed Card Keywords

• Self-love
• Improvement
• Making progress
• Promotion
• Taking it slow
• Honor
• Having faith