Renaissance Tarot (Jones / Lyle) - 10 of Wands

Sulis

I love the image on this card.
I think it's one of those very simple images that conveys it's meaning really well.

Against a deep orange-red background we see a man climbing some steps which are made of wands. There are 9 wands in the steps so far but the guy carries a 10th over his shoulder. We presume (or I do) that he is going to build the next step with this wand.

He's going up hill, it's hard work and on top of that he has a burden to carry and a task to do.
I love the way this card says that he's making his own hill to climb. He has so much on his plate, so many responsibilities that he's making his life harder for himself.
This card also shows that sometimes we have to go uphill, sometimes we have to work hard and take on those extra responsibilities to get to where we want to go.

Poor little guy :)
 

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Papageno

Sulis said:
This card also shows that sometimes we have to go uphill, sometimes we have to work hard and take on those extra responsibilities to get to where we want to go.

Poor little guy :)

yes, no pain no gain.
but notice that he isn't hurdling or vaulting over the final barrier from the lowest point.
we see a foundation built layer by layer and each layer advances this figure like steps. it's not as if each achievement dissipates without leaving something behind to build upon. even though the bar is raised the effort required to get to the next step is equal to the energy that was previously expended.
it goes back to what you were saying about before about what you get out of something will be equal to the energy you've put into it.
each step is a different task but in fact is no more difficult than the last.
 

Debra

I like that the wands have leaves. They aren't just sticks.
 

Papageno

Debra said:
I like that the wands have leaves. They aren't just sticks.

yep. I've always had a problem with Wands depicted like cave man clubs or logs of firewood.

I'm not sure who started the trend of slender staffs with leaves, maybe it was Pamela? so much more meaningful.......and aesthically pleasing.
 

Enchanted

Poor little guy indeed! The first thing that came to mind was an uphill battle, he seems to be make things harder for himself. Like he is putting obstacles in his path that perhaps need not be there, like a kind of self-sabotage in a way.

The wands don't appear to be secured into position with anything, just resting on top of one another. I don't know why but I had this image of them all come rolling down and the poor guy on his backside.

When I noticed that the wands were all stacked in an ordered fashion, I began to think that maybe this is all part of a plan. He has planned and organised everything.

To me it looked like he could use this last wand as a pole vault to leap across. It is like he is choosing to take the stairs instead of the lift (elevator). He is taking the long way round, the scenic route.

But then I thought about what happens when you take the literal scenic route... you discover things that you wouldn't have ordinarily. This made me think that he is capable of a whole lot more than perhaps he even realises, his undiscovered treasures.
 

WooMonkey

Papageno said:
yep. I've always had a problem with Wands depicted like cave man clubs or logs of firewood.

:D Reading this made me laugh out loud (at work), bringing to mind all the cave man wands I've seen! Perhaps someone should design the Thag & Ogg deck.

The figure on this card doesn't seem nearly as overworked as on others, since he's only carrying one instead of all ten. He seems just as determined though, to get to the top no matter how heavy the wand becomes.
 

Little Baron

Interesting slant on the traditional.

I like the observations that he has made this obstacle himself; like someone that puts more into work and with work comes even more responsibility. Until they can not handle it anymore. It is an uphill [or upstep] struggle to do everything with each step that is added.

And he has one more stick left. Does this suggest that this is nearly all over for him? For good or ill? His hand reaches out as if to secure a space for the final stick. This card might be advising someone that they are overdoing it and can not handle any more late nights at the office, parties out every night or a certain kind of lifestyle. They have pushed things to their limits. I would be very concerned about someone if I saw this - more so than the usual bloke carrying the bundle. They are climbing dangerously high, and if not warned, like someone else said, that whole load of sticks could just fall from under them. They are headed for a fall.

What a great card.

LB
 

Bernice

I don't see this image as 'heavy labouring' or any sort of struggle or burden.

It strikes me quite differently!
Morph is steadily creating, and ascending, an upward path for himself. He's doing it in a very measured way, one stick at a time (by the look of it...). All the sticks are being positioned in an attentive & orderly manner. He appears very intent on his task.

Looks to me like someone pursueing an objective in a resolute way.
Other inferences could be drawn from this, like for instance; oblivious to what else might be going on around him - not seeing if there's an easier or less tedious way to ascend - questioning the need to ascend! etc.
Probably needs other cards to clarify.

I think this cards' reversal might be the negative 'labouring for nothing' meaning.

Bee

EDIT: One other thing occurs to me. The 3 x 3 steps already constructed are Nine (completion?). And he's carrying the 10th stick to the top. What's he going to do with it? Wield it? Proclaim something (his achievement)?