Universal Fantasy - 10 of Wands

Ok, this is is probably the card giving me the most trouble in the deck. Every time it comes I go 'aargh you again'. What I see:

A painter is painting a nude, light streaming through the tall windows. There's a sheathed sword, a battle axe and a shield next to her, flowers behind her. The painting is half-done, it looks slightly different with her holding a bigger (unsheathed?) sword. Is he holding something like a wand or measuring stick in his left hand? It looks great, but what does this have to do with the 10 of wands? What's the deal with the stick? What, if any, is the significance of the difference between real life and painting?

My thoughts: A different take on this card. Painter:The culmination of wands energy, mature, harnessed and controlled, highest expression of creativity in art. Mastery. Or: His inspiration has fled, he can't finish the painting, but the client has already paid and now he must do it, whether he wants to or not. The model: She has been sitting there for ages, she's numb, cold and bored, but can't get up before he's done, lol. Or: She really fancies the painter and enjoys displaying her beauty fro him, her own self is her work of art

Not much, I know, hence posting here and hoping you great people can shed some more light

I have a hard time with this one too. I'm kind of leaning towards the bored model theory, but I don't get the same feeling of battle weariness and duty that I get from the RWS Ten of Wands card. Probably the model has to sit there when she might rather be somewhere else or need lunch or something. I've been told it's not a fun job.

I don´t have this deck but had a look at a site and find it sooooo beautiful... I don´t get a Ten of Wands feeling with it. What it suggests to me is that you can change your work and, consequently your destiny through your imagination and throughout time. that´s just a crazy interpretation . the model posing is not the same as the one being painted. There are differences. the canvas reminds me of a portal, something of a "stargate" movie. So, great card but a bit unusual...

What I got with this card is a feeling of the model being captured by the frame of wands.

It took me on a mental journey of what happens to make someone able to capture us in their own ideals, and I came to the adage of "Being all things to all people".

I feel like the model is trying too hard to fit into the role that the painter envisions for her. She is losing her sense of self. Her posture is vulnerable, stiff, uncomfortable, like a deer in the headlights.

Consider this also: To me, it looks like the painter is observing his sitter through the canvas and superimposing his own interpretation. So, if I may be permitted to move entirely away from the "traditional" 10-Wands interp, this card says to me that

a)the painter is allowing his own judgements to cloud his work or the impression he gives the rest of the world. I see his position as one of some responsibility, and in colouring his work with his own opinions or preconceptions, he is falling short of his duty.

b) the sitter is trying too hard to be that which is expected of her. Consequently, she is losing her own ability to be herself, and her power to assert her will upon the world - her will is subjugated to the painter's. She is allowing him to portray her through a filter of his own prejudices. She is beautiful as she is, but he has changed her to look more fierce and haughty in the picture.

\m/ Kat

Hmmm...all juicy meanings.

I'm having issues with this as compared to the traditional meaning as well.

However, my first, literal thought of this card was "overstretched" which could relate to the traditional "oppression" meaning.

Other thoughts:

Light/knowledge illuminates the subject, casts her in a different light to be captured and idealized.

Many ideas, thoughts, inspirations (the 10 wands holding the canvas) come together to represent/hold together a whole, an ideal.

My partner is doing a documentary on nude models. The range of thoughts running through their heads runs the gamut of focusing on the pose, to focusing on what laundry needs to be done, to focusing on not showing their "stimulation" at being nude.

I think this is such a beautiful card. I see it as even though there are many distractions in the world, a true artist can focus on the bigger picture. Literally. The woman in the photo looks quite different than what the man is painting.

As she's posing for the photo, she looks a bit nervous, sitting down. But the man paints her as someone strong and powerful. He gets to see her in her most vulnerable state but still paints her as she appears to the world.