BURNOUT.
I have been experiencing burnout lately. The combination of shipping out a huge volume of decks, plus the oppression of winter, plus the general exertion of Being a Human had all been piling up on me, Ten of Wands style. And I know it’s not just me. Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to lately is going through some degree of burnout!
So when I drew the Ten of Wands again today, it got me pondering what this card can teach us about burnout. Here are some of my thoughts.
Burnout is cumulative.
Sometimes burnout is caused by one major factor. But more often, it’s the result of many factors which might not seem like a big deal when you consider them individually. But when you’re dealing with them all at once, it’s too much.
That’s what we see visually in the card. Just a few wands, okay, this is manageable. But ten of them?! Now you can’t even see the path forward.
The road to burnout is paved with good intentions.
When I think about the suit of wands, I think about the forces that drive us. Zest! Momentum! So the Ten of Wands shows that burnout is often caused by being too optimistic, choosing to pick up all those metaphoric wands before realizing, oh. This is actually a lot to carry and what used to seem exciting has turned into a proper burden.
So one lesson of the Ten of Wands is to say NO. Or at least, don’t automatically jump to yes! Pause and assess before you add anything else to your energetic field. And maybe even find the courage to back out of something you previously said yes to that is no longer sustainable.
Burnout isn’t rational.
I’ve noticed that when I get burned out, one of my first impulses is to tell myself all the reasons I can’t actually be burned out. I point out to myself that lots of people have it worse than I do. And that I don’t deserve to be burned out. I try to convince myself the burnout isn’t real.
But of course, this is the suit of wands not the suit of swords. Burnout isn’t rational. I can usually identify factors in burnout, but the truth is that sometimes it shows up not for any particular reason, but just because.
Burnout is normalized and glorified, but shouldn’t be.
One of the (many) fucked up things about our culture is that we accept burnout as a fact of life. How many of your conversations with friends center around how busy and tired you all are? Burnout is the norm for so many people, and it’s even worse for people at the margins of society.
So, we simply must make changes big and small to transform our burnout glorifying society into one that prioritizes the wellbeing of all creatures. That should be easy! Nah. I know there’s a lot to unravel here but maybe it starts by just agreeing that burnout is a problem and should be treated as such, not just accepted as a fact of life.
Fighting fire with fire doesn’t work.
Oh goodness, this is a big one for me. Like, my adrenals are shot so my solution is to drink way too much coffee and make myself even more jittery. Yikes. Or my soul is exhausted so instead of genuine rest I scroll mindlessly through my phone and then feel even worse. Double yikes.
What I need when I’m burned out is soothing, not another blast of fire. A step away. Quiet. Deep breaths. Something gentle and flowing. When I give myself these things, I find healing.
Hmmm! There’s a lot more to say, but let’s leave it here for now. Take care of yourselves out there. Put some of those wands down. Be well.
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I pulled this card today in a mind,body soul spread. Death Empress and 10 Wands. Synchronicity…then I read your thoughful post. Thanks for you insight.
Great timing!
Hi Carrie,
The sad thing is that as a society we don’t prioritize rest and slowing down as a necessity. Self-care is a “thing” now, another item in the to-do list which often gets put to the bottom and treated like its a luxury. Overwork is something people might wear as a badge of honour, but seriously, that’s messed up. We’re human not machines and that’s what it ends up feeling like when we are on the road to burning out: that we are doing all the things in a mechanical way, just to get them done. I left my career a few years ago because of burnout. As an introvert, empath, HSP it became a necessity to put rest on the agenda and that is what makes all the difference for me. Rest (which for me takes the form of journaling, pulling tarot or oracle cards or reading), helps me to come back home to myself, access my creativity and also helps me to show up for the people who need me.
I hope you take some well-deserved rest after the busy season you have had birthing your tarot deck and getting it out into the world!
Totally agree with you on all this. It’s pretty sad that self-care is thought of as a luxury!
Excellent post! Your interpretation of Ten of Wands is spot on. This card has shown up at the times in my life where I am feeling that I have, figuratively, have lit the candle at both ends. I notice, when I read for people, this card has shown up for people that have one too many things going on. As you mention, burnout is normalized and a lot it has to do with the fact that we have access to our email and media 24/7.
Dorothy, you bring up a really good point about email/social media/etc. I definitely feel like I’ve been more burned out since I got a smartphone a few years ago!
This is such a timely reading for me, I have a lot going on and “balls in the air” per say trying to regroup my journey after misfortune in my personal life… I love your version or keyword of burnout since I have been getting the Ten of Wands as well but have been stuck on “Burdens” and that has such a negative undertone,… wanting to be at the finish line already has me impatient and burnout is closely following me around. Thank you again, I have been following you since I discovered this blog when I was learning the Wild Unknown, I very much like seeing your weekly emails pop in my inbox and you are one of a few tarot women I plan on learning from for years to come, Many Blessings, Tiffany
Hi Tiffany, I appreciate your kind words so much! Sending you good vibes to replenish yourself from burnout <3 🙂
Thank you for this post. I think the glorification of busyness is a disease that we all suffer from, no matter how we try to pull back time for ourselves there’s always a smidgeon of guilt attached. So what you have to say needs to be said over and over until more of us can say proudly ” I’m taking downtime for myself and my soul” instead of “I’m sooo busy!!” (with some kind of pride there too, because that’s what we are *supposed* to be in order to be successful) .
You are totally spot on! I need to remind myself of this constantly.
Thank you for your beautiful insights on this card and also a wonderful demonstration of what to do when we see the same cards appearing in our readings again and again.
You’re so welcome, I appreciate your kind words!
I’m always teetering on the edge of burnout, so I just wanted to say thank you for this post.
I feel you Judy! <3 🙂 Take good care.
Hi Carrie, what a great post, I originally read it in your email. I too have had the ten of wands show up in my spreads for myself lately and for whatever reasons had not thought to associate it with the term “burnout” – but that is definitely what I’m feeling. Thanks for all the great and insights and tips here…
Hi Shona, you’re welcome! I appreciate the feedback 🙂