Hail Fellow Tarot Students and Enthusiasts,

Well here we are at last – The Four Tens of The Minor Arcana  , The Ten (X) of Wands, The Ten (X) of Cups, The Ten (X) of Swords and The Ten (X) of Pentacles  have eventually crossed the finish line and completed their journey.  It has been a long and often exhausting journey.  So much has happened to each Suit along the way; drama, excitement, tension, travel, conflict, happiness, pain, suffering, disappointment, elation, success, failure surprises, shocks, scandals, intrigue and so much more.  For certain there is the making of several Soap Operas, Movies and Books, with all the interesting experiences they have been through.

The Journey for each Suit has not been the same, yet they all started out in The Ace, on equal footing, and with high hopes for their mission ahead. In the Ace, each card looked similar enough, a hand extending from a cloud, as it presented each Suit with their Elemental Gift for their journey or life.  Each Gift was pure and untainted, and we were given our first introduction to their symbolic associations in the card imagery.

When you compare the imagery of The Aces to The Tens, The Aces appear so simple and straight forward, while The Tens looks complicated and complex.  It was all so easy when they started off in The Ace, they had a blank sheet of paper and could write their own script. The Wands went for an Action Packed Adventure story while The Cups preferred a Romantic Fairytale one.  The Swords inevitably chose a Psychological Thriller, while The Pentacles opted for The Self-Made Man Biography type.

We found The Wands exciting, inspirational and great fun, but they  exhausted us at times with their constant activity, high energy and overly competitive nature.  We loved The Cups for their kindness, compassion and wonderful artistic abilities, but often became tedious with their ‘lovey dovey’ outlook on life and their bouts of moodiness and depression.  We listened attentively to the articulate and intelligent Swords and the logical advice they gave, but drove us to tears and frustration with the constant stress and conflict in their life. We all wanted to be as sensible and practical as The Pentacles, with their down-to-earth approach to life, and strong commitment to personal goals, but this sometimes caused us to feel envious of their success, wealth and ability to do what we could only dream of.

The Four Suits are now at a stage of completion. Their use and handling of their Elemental Energy throughout their journey has culminated in delivering them to where they are now, for better or worse. They have gone as far as they can on this particular cycle and must now walk through the doorway of transition which will lead them from the past into the future, where a new cycle is ready and waiting for them to hop on board.  As they pass through the doorway of transition, they will all find themselves back at The Ace once more, where they will once again be presented with their Elemental Gift of Wand, Cup, Sword and Pentacle.  However, this time they will not be as innocent and naive as they were the first time they received their Gifts.  They have now been around the block once and will be expected to be a little more street-wise and aware.  Direct and first-hand experience from their most recent cycle from Ace to Ten will have taught them a thing or two, and they must now apply any acquired wisdom, methods and approaches to ensure they use their Elemental Gift to its maximum positive potential.

All will be eager to add to their previous successes while avoiding any repeats of past failures. They will have the upper hand on those who are only starting out on their first cycle, and like the elderly man depicted in The Ten of Pentacles, will acknowledge that they have yet a lot to learn. The elderly man also knows that this kind of knowledge cannot be found in books. It is mostly learned the hard way, and through direct experience of life. The Suits will continue this cyclical style of living, and when they live no more, and their final cycle has been complete, they will return to the Source. Some may choose to stay with the source while others will return. Regardless, more like them will follow and take up where they left off, maintaining the laws of the Universe and entering upon their own cycles, but carrying in their souls and Universal Memory, the knowledge of all who have gone before.

The Four Tens of The Minor Arcana, The Ten (X) of Wands, The Ten (X) of Cups, The Ten (X) of Swords and The Ten (X) of Pentacles  are now ready for viewing.  For continuity purposes, I have continued the fictional storyline for some of the Cards in The Card Imagery Section, but do also include their basic description.  Just Click on the Individual Images below to go straight to the Individual Pages. Don’t forget to read The Tens Introduction first.

These Cards will also be found in Lesson 9 of Part I of Course. They are also listed in the Section The 78 Cards – Detailed.  Don’t forget to read The Tens Introduction Page first before moving on to the individual Cards.

As with all the other Cards, there is detailed information on the Card Imagery and Description along with the Keywords and Meanings for both the Upright and Reversed versions.  Should you only require the Keywords and Meanings, then they can be found in the Section, The 78 Cards -Brief which is being created as I finish re-working each Card. There is still a great wealth of information available in this section and is probably most suited to those who just want to find out what their Cards mean rather than an in-depth study.

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The Cyclical aspect of the Suits Journey in the Minor Arcana from Ace to Ten and back to Ace, can be applied to anything in life.  It can relate to our own personal journey from birth to death and then rebirth, the different stages of our life, relationships or the cycle of an issue or situation. Everything that happens or occurs in life, and to us, has a beginning, a middle and end. We are surrounded by cycles in our life and never finished with them. Just think of the seasons of the year, the cycle of day and night as the most basic of examples.  Just when we have one cycle completed and sorted out, a brand new one will present itself to us and we must go through the process once more.

And so that brings us to the final Cards in The Minor Arcana, The Four Tens, and I do hope you have enjoyed accompanying them on their Journey, for they were an interesting bunch.  The Ace to Ten in each Suit depicted the stories and dramas that each went through; the ups and downs of daily life, their successes and failures along with their happiness and heartbreak.  However, we must now turn our attention to the individual personalities behind all the stories to gain further insight into the nature of each Suit.  It is through The Court Cards we shall get to know the people who have brought the story of their Suit to life.

The Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings look forward to meeting and getting to know you, just as much as you do them.  They want you to understand the reasoning behind their actions, behaviour, feelings and thoughts, and how they interpreted the role they played in their Suit’s Journey.

I will be working next on re-formating The Court Cards and giving them a little tidying-up here and there.  I have some interesting stuff to post in the coming weeks such as Tarot Card Reading Analysis Charts which will help you break down a Reading in a methodical and thorough manner, as many students have difficulty relating surrounding Cards when interpreting a Reading.  There are many well-known Card Combinations in Tarot which give immediate information, and I will be covering those too, but the Analysis Chart will help you to make connections you would not normally see.

So, until then, happy Reading and good luck with your continued studies.

Blessings Be,

Vivien Ni Dhuinn (Your Tarot Teacher)