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Introduction

The Ten of Wands is a card of burden, responsibility, and overwhelm.

Something has grown — a commitment, a role, a situation — to the point where it now requires more energy than it gives back.

This doesn’t always happen suddenly.

Often, it builds gradually:

• saying yes too many times
• taking on more than originally intended
• becoming the one who “handles everything”

Until one day, it feels heavy.

In these exercises, you’ll work with situations where your client is not just dealing with effort — but with excess.

Your role as a reader is to help them understand:
👉 what they’re carrying
👉 why they’re carrying it
👉 and whether all of it truly belongs to them

Exercise 1

📝 Fictional client email:

Hi,

I’m at a point where I don’t even know how to explain what I’m feeling anymore.

I’ve been in a relationship for a while, and from the outside, it probably looks stable. We’ve built something together, we have routines, shared plans… all of that.

But lately, I’ve started to feel like I’m the one holding everything together.

I’m the one making sure things are okay, initiating conversations, smoothing things over when something feels off.

And it’s not that the other person doesn’t care — it just feels like if I stopped putting in that effort, things would slowly fall apart.

I didn’t notice it happening at first. It kind of built over time.

Now I feel responsible for the connection in a way that feels… heavy.

And I don’t know if this is just part of being committed to something long-term… or if I’ve taken on a role that was never supposed to be mine alone.

I don’t want to give up on something I’ve invested in.

But I also don’t want to feel like I’m carrying it by myself.

So I guess my question is: is this something that can be balanced again, or am I holding onto something that’s already too heavy?

– Lara

💬 Let’s look at what’s happening here:

Lara isn’t dealing with a lack of connection.

She’s dealing with imbalance of effort.

The Ten of Wands often appears when responsibility has slowly shifted — until one person carries more than they should.

As a reader, your role is not to immediately tell her to leave or stay.

It’s to help her see:
👉 how this weight formed
👉 and whether it’s still shared… or has become one-sided

🎯 Your Exercise:

For this reading, you draw The Ten of Wands.

Write your response to Lara as if you were answering her professionally.

• Acknowledge the weight she’s carrying
• Help her understand how this situation developed
• Don’t remove her agency, but don’t normalize the imbalance either

When you’re ready, compare your answer to mine.

Exercise 1.2

Now we deepen Lara’s situation.

This time, the cards are:

The Ten of Wands + The Justice card + The Two of Cups

Explore:

• Where is the imbalance most clearly visible?
• What would fairness look like here?
• Can this connection return to mutual effort?

Write your answer, then compare it to mine.

Exercise 2

📧 Fictional Client Email — Daniel

Hi,

I’ve reached a point where everything I’ve been working on feels like it’s piling up.

I have multiple responsibilities — work, side projects, personal commitments — and at some point, I stopped questioning whether I could handle it all and just kept going.

Now I feel like I’m constantly behind, even when I’m doing everything I can.

There’s always something unfinished, something I should be doing, something I forgot.

And the strange part is… I chose most of this.

These are things I wanted, things I worked toward.

But now that I have them, it feels like too much at once.

I don’t know if I should push through this and manage it better… or if this is a sign that I’ve taken on more than I can realistically carry.

I don’t want to drop things that matter to me.

But I also don’t know how long I can keep this pace up.

– Daniel

💬 Looking at the Bigger Picture

Daniel isn’t failing.

He’s overloaded.

The Ten of Wands often appears when:
👉 success has created responsibility
👉 and responsibility has turned into pressure

As a reader, your role is to help him understand:
👉 that this isn’t just about effort
👉 but about capacity and limits

🎯 Your Exercise:

You draw The Ten of Wands for Daniel.

Write a response that:

• acknowledges his effort and responsibility
• helps him understand why this feels overwhelming now
• guides him toward clarity without simply telling him to “do less”

Then compare it to my answer.

Exercise 2.2

Now we expand Daniel’s reading:

The Ten of Wands + The Two of Pentacles + The Ace of Swords

Explore:

• Where is he overextending himself?
• What needs to be prioritized or simplified?
• How does clarity change his situation?

Write your answer, then compare it.

Closing the Ten of Wands Exercises

The Ten of Wands reminds us that effort has a limit.

These exercises show how often people don’t struggle because they’re doing too little — but because they’re carrying too much, for too long.

As a reader, your role is to help them see what they’re holding — and what they no longer need to.

If you’d like to receive a reading like this for your own situation — one that helps you understand your limits, your responsibilities, and your direction — you’re welcome to book a personal session at www.empowering-spirit.com.

And if this course is helping you grow, you can also support it through the tip jar in the sidebar (desktop) or footer (mobile).

Thank you for practicing with me.

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