Ten of Wands.
Art by Vivien Stewart-Jones, from the
Excesses and exhaustion
Meaning: Trying to do too much and refusing to say no. Doing the lion’s share or taking all the blame. Excessive overtime or bearing an extra load. On a treadmill and assuming responsibility. Labour, but inability to rest. Threatening one’s health and doing things the hard way. Always having to work hard for what one has.
Reversed: Buckling under the strain of workload. Self-inflicted and refusal to delegate. Abuse of power. Colleagues are unhelpful. A romantic affair may come to an abrupt end leaving confusion.
Description: Exhausted at the end of the breeding season, the stag sheds his antlers. Some artistic license was used for the sake of symbolism here as brambles do not have ripened blackberries at this time of shedding in Britain: Red deer shed in February to March, Sika in March to May, Fallow in April to May, Muntjac in May to June and Roe in November to December.
On the other-hand Blackberries ripen in late Summer until October, but they symbolise secret wisdom, medicine and healing so fitting to the scene. Some say the deep colour of the fruit represents Christ’s blood and the bramble represents flexibilty, vigour and tenacity. There is the charming fable about ‘A Bat, Bramble and Cormorant’ who went into business together but lost all their investments due a violent storm at sea, and since then the bracken forever strives to catch the clothes of passers-by, hoping to recover some of his cloth; but here the brambles catch the stag’s antlers.
Tori