10 Wands Archives • Still Small Voice Tarot

Tarot Decan Walk: Sagittarius III ~ 10 of Wands

by StillSmallVoiceTarot | Dec 15, 2024 | Decan Walk 2024/25

Decan: 20°- 29° Sagittarius

Dates: 12-21 December 2024

Ruling planet/luminary: Saturn

Zodiac sign: Sagittarius ~ Mutable Fire 🜂

Tarot card: 10 of Wands

Golden Dawn Title: Lord of Oppression

Associated Major Arcana:

The World (Saturn) & Temperance (Sagittarius)

And just like that, we’ve reached the end of our decanic journey through the Wands.

Sometimes it feels like the whole World is watching

Doesn’t it though? The World is watching and waiting for you to ‘drop your basket’. Or in this case your bundle of sticks.

Except that is not really what the World is about. Not really. The World, powered by task-mastering Saturn, doesn’t want you to fail… she (if you are ok with that) wants you to succeed – in all the ways, on all the levels.

But you’re gonna havta do the work to get there. And that may take time, and that’s what Saturn has in spades: time.

The number 10 suggests that you are close to getting there, but you are going to have to try and fail. Mix and match. Wait and watch. Muster some f**king Temperance in the Tarot sense of the word.

Motherhood – an act of temperance (judged by the world)

The 10 of Wands is often associated with strength but also oppression and tyranny.

Hmm.

So anyone who has ever ‘mothered’ can attest to the strength it takes. Not just the physical act, though that, of course, is IMMENSE and MIRACULOUS, but also the emotional act of mothering.

And, alongside the joy, there are also elements of oppression and tyranny in motherhood. Freedom lost. Responsibilities. Sacrifices. Loss of self. The weight of expectations. The tyranny of new routines and the constant demands on your body, that has already given so much. The oppression of judgement… imposed by others and, worse, yourself. Sometimes the judgement and expectation come from those closest to you (including your children) which hurts. All this may be real or imagined.

(And let’s leave aside the appalling judgement reserved for women who exercise their right to choose not to mother in one way or another).

So, at some point, you have to put all that down and be ok with being less than perfect. Let people think what they are going to think – if they are thinking anything at all. Do what you can. And let that be good enough. Let the rest go. Put down your bundle. Free yourself from the weight of it all.

Motherhood is an act of Temperance – a long game of love and patience. Finding the balance between setting boundaries and allowing your kids the freedom to stretch the cord. Hoping they will always find their way home.

As with previous Decans, I have found it useful to look at some keywords to see what ideas they may spark about the current Decan of Sagittarius III.

Saturn ~ attributes

Taskmaster
Teacher
Authority
Disciplinarian
God of Time (Cronus)
Periodic dissolution & regeneration
Challenges/life lessons
Growth & self-mastery
Dedication
Destiny
Limitations/boundaries
Responsibility
Structure & order
Patience, planning & pacing
Constriction
Ruler of ambitious Capricorn
Element of Earth

Sagittarius ~ attributes

Free thinking
Free-spirited
Adventurous trailblazer
Independent
Open to change and discovery
Curious
Optimistic
Energetic
Passionate
Honest (at times, brutally so)
Bold
Brave
Courageous
Restless
Impatient
Planet of excess
Resistant to rules and structure
Fire sign
Ruler of the 9th House – travel, learning, philosophy
Mutable Fire sign
Ruled by the Jupiter

Can’t see the wood for the trees? Delegate.

It’s almost impossible to look at this card without wondering at how uncomfortable this person in the RWS 10 of Wands looks carrying their burden. It looks back-breaking and the way ahead is obscured. Maybe they should lose some of those sticks or work out a less awkward way of transporting them… ask for help even.

Ach. Delegation.

Sometimes you have to pass shit off to someone else. But often, when you feel under the cosh, you can’t see the wood for the trees. Delegation takes time and effort, more time and effort than you might feel you have in you (can you see Saturn hoving into view as we speak?) and so you continue to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Getting in your own way.

Prompts for 10 of Wands ~ Saturn in Sagittarius

When you are feeling burdened, or judged, like you have the weight of the World on your shoulders…

Ask yourself:

What is weighing you down?
Why? Is it really your responsibility?
Is it someone else’s judgement?
Or your own?
Can you put down some of what you are carrying? Let someone else…
And how would that feel?
Or, if this really is the thing that only you can carry, how can you bear it?
Who can you ask for help?

Observations and synchronicities ~ Sagittarius III

I’m making space here to return to over the coming days of Sagittarius III to add any thoughts, ideas and synchronicities as they arise…

Looking back over the entries for this Decan Walk in 2024 to find the other cards under the rulership of Saturn, they all seem to hold a challenge or a lesson: 3 of Swords, 5 of Wands, 7 of Pentacles. There is a requirement for understanding, patience, and perseverance in all of these. Saturn appears like the parent who will always be there for you when you fall and get back up again, but not bail you out. Not to bubble-wrap you. Saturn will let you make your own mistakes, and find your own way so the lessons are truly learned.

The next and final time we meet Saturn on this trip through the Zodiac will be the 8 of Cups where we see someone step on a new path and away from those things, people, or patterns that no longer serve them. Lessons learned, finally?

Notes on the Decan Walk 2024/25

For more information on Decans, Astrology and Tarot and how they all synchronise please read this Substack article by Rebeka Kulcsar-Kurdi and T. Susan Chang’s 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.

And, if you care to join me for this continuing solar return, you’ll find me on Facebook and Instagram hanging out on the corner of #decanwalk2024 and #decanastrology And I will be following @astroco_op and @tsusanchang

Here’s to another trip around the Sun!

Mistrust, overwhelm, retreat

by StillSmallVoiceTarot | Jun 2, 2022 | Daily Tarot

3-Card Draw

Today, another 3-card spread. A quick temperature check.

1.
What question should you be asking today?

2.
What is the answer to that question?

3.
What energy can you draw on to assist you?

4 of Swords reversed, The Rider Waite Tarot

7 of Swords ~ the question

It’s a question of trust… or a lack of trust. Who or what do you trust?

In what ways might you be sabotaging yourself or others? Or are you the victim of skullduggery here?

The 7 of Swords has a reputation for being tricky and skullduggerous. Keywords include deceit, betrayal, malicious intent.

But I often look at this card and see someone who is simply doing what they need to do to survive. Is he really a robber in the night, or is he actually taking back what is rightfully his and leaving what’s not?

Whatever the answer, whoever the victim, the situation here is indeed a tricky one. There’s a lack of transparency.

10 of Wands ~ the answer

There’s too much information, responsibility, pressure… and it’s causing overwhelm. Put something down. Give it up, give it away, delegate it.

If it’s not yours to carry, don’t.

It’s hard to see where you’re going when you’re carrying such a burden. This guy looks like he could fall at any moment.

Perhaps the lack of trust we see in the 7 of Swords is contributing to this need to do it all, carry it all, yourself.

Sometimes, we must surrender a little bit of control and just trust.

4 of Swords {R} ~ the energy

It might be time to take a break from it all. Get some respite from the information overload and the survival response.

Take a mental break. Take a step back and away to restore your mental, physical and spiritual energy.

What form would that kind of break take for you? A long walk, meditation, a weekend away, an actual retreat?

Do what you need to do to lighten your burden and restore your energy.

And how did that all work out for you?

I did a quick scan of these cards and how they spoke to me came through loud and clear. Time for a mental break… so, I went for a walk. Walking is a really important way that I find to clear my head, calm myself and to energise.

I’m in the process of buying a flat at the moment. I’m a single mother so I’m kind of doing it on my own. I have support ~ and lots of it ~ from family and friends, but when it comes down to it there’s only going to be one name on the mortgage. Mine.

There’s a lot of trust and distrust involved in buying property. You have to assume the worst and hope for the best. Assume that the other parties involved are only looking out for themselves and their best interests ~ vendors, conveyancers, solicitors, surveyors, estate agents all 7-of-Swordsing ~ and hope that you aren’t making a huge mistake putting your life’s savings on the line.

I have a mountain A MOUNTAIN of paper on my desk. Hundreds of pages of survey, searches, contracts, insurance information and Godknowswhatelse. I neither understand nor really trust the process and there seems to be a whole load of arse-covering going on with every turn of the page.

And it’s overwhelming. Information overload. The 10 of Wands. Not only do I not have the mental energy to read it word for word, from front to back to front again, but I don’t think I’d understand it all even if I did.

Now, if I look again the 10 of Wands ~ particularly this one from The Light Seer’s deck ~ I am reminded that I might be being a little hard on myself. I’m strong, I’ve come a long way and I’m nearly over the finish line. So close now.

Also, I don’t have to carry the burden all alone. I have a solicitor who I am paying to root out any and all the problems for me. But, do I trust her to do her job, or just to cover her arse?

Argh… back to 7-of-Swordsing!

Moving on.

I have a friend who has offered to go through some this stuff with me. She’s my Yak (see yak on Light Seer’s 10 of Wands)*. Like the one in the card carrying the baggage. I should accept that help. Take a little bit of the load off. I don’t have to do it all on my own.

With all that in mind I’m off to see that friend, who lives by the seaside, for some fun as well as paperwork. I’m taking a break from the responsibility of it all, just for a couple of days…

… and to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Now there’s a strong woman who knows a bit about responsibility… and property.

*This, of course meant in the nicest possible way. But I’m not sure how much she would appreciate this term of endearment.

Today’s post was brought to you by 10 of Swords, 10 of Wands and 4 of Swords from The Light Seer’s Tarot by Chris-Ann.