What does Ten of Wands mean in love?

A relationship that has become a chore, or one person carrying all the emotional labour.

That second reading is the one that matters and it is worth being precise about. The labour in question is invisible: remembering birthdays, noticing when something is wrong, managing the calendar, keeping in touch with both families. It is real work and it is very rarely counted.

Reversed, the load finally shared, which usually requires it to be named first, because the person carrying it has generally not mentioned it and the other person has genuinely not noticed.

As somebody's feelings, it reads as overwhelmed rather than uninterested: this person has nothing spare at the moment, and it is probably not about you.

Overwhelm, overcommitment, carrying more than is yours.

The goal is in sight and you are too loaded to enjoy reaching it, which is the particular cruelty of this card: nothing has gone wrong, and that is why it is so hard to justify complaining.

In an advice position it is direct: delegate or drop something. Not reorganise, not work harder, not get up earlier. Reduce the load.

Putting the load down, delegating, or refusing to take on more.

The good reading is genuinely good and usually follows a long upright period: somebody finally saying no, or asking, or letting a thing fail that was never theirs.

Sometimes collapse under the weight, or offloading responsibility onto somebody else unfairly, which is the same relief obtained at another person's expense.

Upright: burden, overwhelm, overcommitment, responsibility, strain

Reversed: delegating, release, collapse, shirking

• What am I carrying that belongs to someone else?
• If I could drop exactly one thing, what would it be, and why have I not?