Focus on Family and Home: The Ten of Cups and the Ten of Pentacles

Original photo, Waite-Smith Tarot images, needlepoint by my mother, Diane Hamblin.

Recently, a conversation sprung up in one of my favorite online tarot groups about the Ten of Cups and the Ten of Pentacles.  Many of the tarotists who commented felt these two cards to be very similar, even to the point of being interchangeable in a reading, or for magickal purposes.

I have taught beginning tarot students that these two Tens both speak of happy families and happy homes, but the Ten of Pentacles has more material wealth than the Ten of Cups. This mirrors what I took to be consensus in the group.

For beginning students, this is not a bad way to get a handle on these two cards. Advanced tarotists, however, are likely to see the significant differences between these two cards, as well as their similarities.

It’s true that many tarot cards have similarities one to another, these two cards included. These similarities are helpful in readings. If similar cards appear in a reading, their message is strengthened and affirmed. If similar cards appear differently aspected, there may be a clear decision to be made, or a struggle involving the energy of the cards.

At the same time, the more we can derive from each card, the more information we have. The more key words we have for each card, the more precise our readings will be.

The Ten of Cups and the Ten of Pentacles are the two “feminine Tens” of the Minor Arcana. Their esoteric titles are fairly similar. The Ten of Cups is “The Lord of Perfected Success”, while the Ten of Pentacles is the “Lord of Wealth.”

From that perspective, we might ask ourselves this. What is the difference between “perfected success” and “wealth”? Is the “wealth” in the Ten of Pentacles material wealth alone? Does the “perfected success” of the Ten of Cups include financial security? For me, the wealth in the Ten of Pentacles includes the kids, the dogs, and the coat of arms. Often, we see our greatest wealth as our children, rather than our bank accounts. Likewise, I don’t see poverty in the Ten of Cups, but I also don’t see a focus on financial gain or worry.

We can find a clue when we look at the astrological associations of the cards. The Ten of Cups is Mars in Pisces, balancing an active energy within a passive energy. The Ten of Pentacles is Mercury in Virgo. This can speak about order and organization. Here we begin to see some clear differences between these two cards.

In the Waite Smith deck, the Ten of Pentacles has a specific distinction. Regardless of the deck I am using at the moment, I will always remember and honor the fact that the Kabalistic Tree of Life appears on the Ten of Pentacles, and on no other card in the Waite Smith deck. This fact gives the Ten of Pentacles a lot of extra juice for me.

What does that extra juice look like to me? It goes back to the idea of structure and organization. In the Waite Smith Tarot Ten of Pentacles, we see the grandfather, two generations of his progeny, his dogs, his castle and his coat of arms.  We see what has come before, and what will come next.

This helps us understand two keys words for the Ten of Pentacles that do not really apply to the Ten of Cups; “legacy” and “ancestry”.  The Ten of Pentacles can speak of bloodlines, family wealth and genetics; the things that are passed from generation to generation. This mirrors the energy flow of the Tree of Life for me, in an “as above, so below” sort of way.

The Ten of Pentacles is also traditionally known as the “castle card”. A picture of a home is featured in both cards, and both cards can refer to a happy home. However, the Ten of Pentacles, being the card of structure and order, more clearly refers to the physical structure of a house, or a “castle”. In this way, the Ten of Pentacles becomes the card of real estate.

From that perspective, the Ten of Pentacles can be a career indicator for those people who work selling, building or designing homes. During the housing market crash I saw this card ill-dignified quite often, for my many clients who were underwater or in foreclosure, or whose housing-related businesses were tanking.

The Ten of Cups, on the other hand, may speak more to the emotional dynamics of a happy home. Often, for me, the Ten of Cups speaks of true love, romance and marriage. Certainly, an actual house can often be part of that scenario, but not necessarily the focus of the card’s energy. There is a fairy-tale quality to the Ten of Cups, promising the possibility of living happily ever after.

Overall, in my tarot practice, the Ten of Cups speaks more of the emotions of the family, while the Ten of Pentacles speaks more of the structure of the family.  The Ten of Cups speaks of immediate nuclear family, while the Ten of Pentacles speak of many generations of family. Both astrologically and elementally, there are clear reasons for this to be so.

When these two cards appear together, the focus on family can be the most important aspect of the reading.

As Above, So Below

Hermes Mecurius Trismegistus, By Sdelodder (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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It’s Tarot Blog Hop time again. At this turn of the Wheel, we are celebrating the wheat harvest of August, observed as Lammas (loaf-mass) or Lughnasadh, Celtic festival of the God Lugh. Lugh is related to Mercury, and the sun.

Our wrangler this time around, Joanne Sprott of Cosmic Whispers Tarot, has asked us to expound on those seasonal themes, Mercury and the sun, and ways that they connect to tarot  or divination for us.

I had not known of the connection between Irish Lugh and Roman Mercury. I did know the connection between Mercury and Greek Hermes. I also knew that Hermes was conflated with Egyptian Thoth, and became, in Egypt, Hermes Trismegistus, the God whom at one time was thought to be the author of tarot.

I have a particular love of Hermes, and for a weird reason. One of my longest-standing friends from high school is Craig Hermes. Craig is a spiritual guy, and ponders the significance of his name.

So much wisdom has been attributed to the Thrice-Great Hermes. Some of that hermetic wisdom has found its way into tarot. Whether that was by design or by a happy accident doesn’t matter to me.

The tarot card that I connect most to Hermes/Mercury, is the Magician. Traditionally, we relate the Magician to the planet Mercury, and the element of Air.

One of my favorite graphic aspects of the Waite Magician is the hand position that indicates “as above, so below,” a simple principle that is, for me, the driving force behind everything.

A deeper meaning of the Magician for me is the directive to embrace and understand this principle, and incorporate it in to daily life.

What are ways to incorporate “as above, so below” into daily life? For me, it’s about recognizing that prayer, magick and energy work are a half of the whole it takes to get something done. Our attention, energy and action on the mundane level must match our spiritual work, and vice versa.

Another aspect of “as above, so below” is that above and below reflect each other. A Mercury retrograde doesn’t cause your computer to break. Your tech troubles during Mercury Rx are the reflection below of what is happening above.

This concept helps us understand the value of sacred objects. When we take a mundane item and connect it to something spiritual, that spiritual energy really is bestowed upon the mundane item. The “below” becomes like the “above”.

In this way, the Four Tools of Magick, once passively in the Fool’s pouch and now actively on the Magician’s table, can become actual tools to harness the power of the Four Elements.

When we understand “as above, so below”, we become able to do little things to affect big changes. We become able to see cause-and-effect, and plan our actions accordingly.

I think this is what we call “magick”. How appropriate for Key 1 of the Major Arcana, the Magician!

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An Open Letter to Spiritual Seekers: Disillusion is Part of the Path

Often on social media I am witness to the disappointment of spiritual seekers who have discovered the “dark side” of whatever modality or community they had previously embraced.

It might be a Roman Catholic who is fed up with abusive priests. It might be a tarotist who is disappointed by infighting. It might be a yoga student who got groped by the teacher in class. It might be a Wiccan who is tired of an ego-tripping High Priestess.

In each case, in each rant, blog post or tweet, I hear the same sentiments. “This is someone who should have known better.” “I expected more from someone in their position.” “Given the doctrine, this behavior is hypocritical”.  In most cases, I agree. There are a lot of posers in every spiritual community, and most of them should indeed know better.

So often, the spiritual seeker goes away mad. They leave a path that has provided them something important, something vital, because they are disillusioned.

Sometimes, walking away is the right thing to do. Not every spiritual path is for every person. Not every community will resonate for you. Sometimes, tastes change, and that’s OK. Some leaders and teachers truly are frauds, and should be avoided.

But if you are thinking about walking away from a path that you love, because of people whose behavior you don’t love, please think again.

Whether we are talking about dance class or drum circle, any community that forms around creativity and spirituality will draw unto itself a wide variety of people, all of whom need healing.  From those folks, teachers and leaders will emerge. Generally, those who show the most talent and find the most healing are the ones who take on leadership roles. Sometimes, however, the ones who have the largest egos, or the biggest insecurities, will be the ones with the drive for leadership.

Our leaders, our teachers, our priests and our gurus are human, too. The ones whose service is based on ego probably won’t serve you very well. The ones whose service is borne of a true desire to serve may still irritate and disappoint you, but they will serve you nonetheless.

The same is true of the dogma, doctrine and practices of our various modalities and traditions. Sadly, most of everything we are and do is in some way borne of something less than our desire for a great origin myth would prefer. The “ancient and mysterious” tarot began as a game only five hundred years ago. You probably won’t find much authentic Hindu practice in the yoga studio on Main Street. Wicca has been pretending to be an ancient religion since the 1950s.

But does any of this make tarot, or yoga, or Wicca, or any other creative, healing or spiritual pursuit less worthwhile? The answer depends completely on the seeker.

When you set out on your journey as a spiritual seeker, you enter into a contract with the Universe. You will find human teachers along your path, but your ultimate advisor on this course of study is the Universe itself.

The disappointment and disillusionment that you will inevitably find along the way is not meant to deter you from your spiritual path. The disenchantment that you experience is a necessary part of your spiritual path.  Your disillusion may drive you away from a teacher or tradition that doesn’t appeal to you, or doesn’t feel ethical or appropriate. Your disillusion helps you define your path and your identity.

When you become frustrated with your teachers because they’ve let their humanity show, an opportunity for growth has presented itself.

When you see the mistakes your teacher is making, you recognize your own growth, and your own skill. Sometimes our most helpful teachers teach us what not to do, by example.

How you react to those mistakes is another opportunity. Can you gracefully step up and make a difference in your community, without disrespecting your teacher?

Can you accept your teacher’s authority, despite their capacity for error?

Can you break ties with a teacher or a community without drama or bad feelings?

The energy with which you take your next step will determine whether you have taken this opportunity for spiritual growth.

If a leader is clearly breaking the law, abusing people, or something equally heinous, react with the full weight of your anger and indignation, and contact the authorities.

If a leader is simply demonstrating their humanity, enjoy your opportunity to demonstrate your growth by acting in a way that honors people for where they are on their own path.

No human is perfect. Too many of us try to deify particular humans, so that we can place our trust in them. We mistake our spiritual journey as one where we must find our perfect teacher, or our perfect path, or our perfect community.

Progress on the spiritual path comes when we realize that those things can never exist.

Then comes clarity, where we can find value in our teachers, traditions and communities, even when we know the best and the worst about them.

So often, I hear people saying, “I think I have found the teacher (or path, or community) that won’t disappoint me.” My answer is, “I hope not!”

The only reason you would never be disappointed is if you never truly explored, never truly thought for yourself, and never truly grew. Exploration, introspection and self-determination are the goals of the journey. When we stop looking for perfection in others, we start finding peace within.

When we are disappointed with our teachers, it may be a sign of our own increased skill and knowledge. A good teacher knows this, and appreciates when it happens. A smart teacher will learn from her students, and let them pick up the tasks where they excel.

Disillusionment is the gift that replaces false expectations with true understanding., and allows us to embrace the nature and purpose of our humanity. Aren't those things all spiritual seekers are hoping to find?

A Three-Pronged Approach to Court Cards: Rank, Element and Dignity

The sixteen Court Cards of the Minor Arcana can indicate significant people in a querent’s life. Court Cards can also indicate the querent. Court Cards can give advice. Court Cards can also be read as any other card may be; as indicative of important thoughts, feelings or happenings in the querent’s life.

This is the reason so many tarotists are perplexed by the Court Cards. These sixteen cards can mean so many different things! What’s more, they can mean so many different things all at the same time, in the same reading.

The versatility and flexibility of the Court Cards make them particularly valuable in a reading. A great deal of information can be found in even one Court Card, if you know where to look.

Each reader has their own ways of interpreting Court Cards. Different tarot decks, and tarot traditions, depict and name the Court in different ways. As with all tarot, each person must find the truth they will in each card.

My approach to the Court has developed on the spot and in the field. Over the course of more than twenty years of professional reading, I have learned how these cards speak to me. Perhaps they will speak to you in similar ways.

The Court as People

Traditionally, Pages are young girls, and Knights are young boys.  In my many years, I have seen Pages and Knights come up for children, teens and young adults. I’ve seen Knights as the older siblings, and Pages as the toddlers. I have not reliably seen Pages and Knights conform to their traditional genders (Page/female, Knight/male).

Often, I can tell the gender of the young person the Page or Knight is referring to simply because, at that moment, the androgynous image on the card looks a little more masculine, or a little more feminine. In the next reading, the same card may appear differently.

Pages and Knights may appear to represent a querent’s children, even if they are now adults. Pages and Knights can represent love interests, especially in younger people. In this case, Knights will usually be a male love interest, and Pages a female love interest.

Pages and Knights can represent friends, co-workers and family members, but we must remember their youthful energy. Sometimes, in older people, the Pages and Knights can communicate their enthusiasm, passion and vitality. Sometimes, these cards will describe an older person as immature, or even senile.

Pages and Knights can also be older people who are doing things that Pages and Knights do. An older person returning to school may be a Page. An older person in determined pursuit of something might be a Knight.

Typically, Queens are adult women, and Kings are adult men. Sometimes, women in business with a great deal of leadership and authority will appear as Kings.

Queens and Kings can represent friends, family members, co-workers or love interests in a querent’s life.

What do these People Do?

In my system of understanding the Court Cards, we can ascertain something about the individual’s personality or circumstance by traits associated with both the card’s rank and element.

While each rank may classically denote age or gender, the ranks also have certain traits that can help us understand the motivations and priorities of the people in our querent’s’ lives.

Pages are students and communicators. A Page may represent a person of any age who is going to school or studying something. A Page may represent a person of any age who is actively communicating, or sharing a message.

Knights are travelers and pursuers. Knights have a goal, or a destination, in mind. A Knight may be a person of any age who is motivated and director to pursue a goal. A Knight may also represent a person who travels a great deal.

Queens are nurtures.  While, in my experience, Queens typically denote adult women, a Queen could represent anyone in a position of nurturing something or someone.

Kings are leaders. While Kings are very often adult men, I have seen Kings appear to represent women who are strong leaders.

Each Minor Arcana suit is associated with one of the four elements. The Court Card ranks describe the way in which the individual works with their element. For instance, the Page of Cups may be a young person who is learning or communicating about love. If this were a child, we might see the child as sensitive and loving. If this were a teen, we might see the teen as dreamy and romantic.

Let’s look at the way the elements denote the behavior, attitude and circumstance.

Cups people will be sensitive, romantic, compassionate, emotional and dreamy.

Pentacles people will be grounded, stable, responsible and practical. The Page of Pentacles may be a five-year-old with a lemonade stand, while the King of Pentacles may be a CEO.

Wands people will be creative, passionate, inspired and quick-tempered.

Swords people will be honest and intelligent, but sometimes sharp-tongued.

There are three factors to help determine the pertinent nature of a person represented by a Court Card in a reading. One is rank, the second is suit, and the third is dignity.

When a card is well-dignified, we read it’s most direct possible meaning. When ill-dignified, we may see a delay, a lessening, an opposite, or the energy of the card may be in the past.

Readers can determine dignity in a number of ways. We may use reversals, elemental dignities, the context of the surround cards or our own intuition to tell us the dignity of the card.

When a Court Card is well-dignified, I assume the individual the card describes is basically well-adjusted, and living the most positive aspect of their element. When a Court Card is ill-dignified, I see the negative aspects of the element in the character or circumstance of the individual.

Ill-dignified Cups people may be depressed, or shy, for instance.

Ill-dignified Pentacles people may be irresponsible, unemployed or ungrounded.

Ill-dignified Wands people may be boring, unmotivated or lazy.

Ill-dignified Swords people may be stupid, confused or dishonest.

Court Cards as Advice

We can often interpret Court Cards to give advice to the querent. Again, the rank, element and dignity can help us clearly see the needed advice.

What do the ranks advise?

The Pages may direct the querent to learn something, study something, or communicate something.

The Knights may advise setting a goal, taking a trip or being more proactive in pursuit of something.

The Queens may advise nurturing something, perhaps a home, a project or a business.

The Kings may advise taking a leadership role in a particular area.

The suit will give you an idea regarding the arena to which the advice pertains.

For instance, the Knight of Pentacles might say “You need to look for a job.”

When reading Court Cards as advice, consider an ill-dignity to indicate a specific deficit in this area of the querent’s life that needs to be corrected, or a reluctance on the part of the querent to address the issue.

Predictive Interpretations and Specific Advices from the Court Cards

Pages can predict that you will receive an important communication. That is, a letter, a phone call, a text or an email. The nature of that communication will be denoted by the suit.

Pages can also predict or advise education. That is, taking classes or getting a new certification.

Pages can also indicate the World Wide Web, and might refer to finding or starting a specific web page.

Knights can advise goal setting and predict travel. The nature of the goals, or the travel, is determined by suit.

The four Queens can each predict or discuss a particular issue, action or situation. The Queen of Pentacles may relate to business or motherhood. The Queen of Cups may predict a romance. The Queen of Wands may promote creativity. The Queen of Swords may describe loneliness, or the need to speak a hard truth, or make a hard choice.

Kings often predict career advancement and success in business. The nature of the business will relate to the suit.

Of course, as with any card, intuition may point the way to an unusual or unorthodox interpretation in a reading that will be significant to the circumstance.

What follows are some quick concepts and questions for discussion and journaling.

Court Cards

Court Cards can represent people in the querent’s life, the querent, advice, situations or predictions.

Court Cards can represent more than one thing at the same time in the same reading.

Court Cards as people won’t always neatly fit in to their positions in a spread.

A Court Card may be a permanent significator for an individual, or may describe who they are at the present moment.

Dignities

Dignities are determined based on reversals, elemental dignities, context, intuition, or a combination of all.

When Court Cards are people, well-dignified cards are happier, healthier and more helpful than ill-dignified cards. Ill-dignified cards will be people with problems.

When Court Cards are not people, ill-dignities may change a prediction, or indicate a resistance to the advice of the card, or a deficit of the energy of the card.

Elements

What are the metaphysical properties of each element?

What are the character qualities of each element?

What happens to the energy of each element when it is ill-dignified?

Rank

Just like the numbers of the pips and Majors, each rank has a particular value.

What key words do you associate with each rank, as people?

What key words do you associate with each rank, as energies?

Specific Personalities and Predictions

Which Court Cards have specific personalities or meanings for you?

Other Questions

How do age, gender, sexual orientation and astrology show up for you in the Court Cards?

What might multiple Court Cards in the same reading mean?

Tarot, Decision-Making and Inner Guidance

So often people want a tarot reading to tell them what they are going to do in the future. While tarot can be amazingly predictive, we each have control over our future actions and decisions.

Rather than predicting what our future selves might do, tarot serves to help us find our core truths.

Tarot is an effective tool to help us when we’re struggling to find inner guidance and make the best decisions in life. The stakes are high; no one wants to choose something they will live to regret.

Often, we have a hard time finding our inner guidance. Many times, the well-intentioned advice and not-so-well-intentioned judgements of others are part of the problem.

We often make the decisions we believe we should make, rather than the ones that will really make us happy. We fear ridicule, judgement, and lack of faith from others. We forget that, usually, those things are rooted in fear and jealousy, rather than in a lack of belief in our abilities.

Nonetheless, we often give the advice of others more weight than we do our own inner knowing, or our own genuine happiness. Sometimes, that is because it’s hard to know the difference between anxiety and intuition, and between good advice and judgement based in fear.

Whether we chose to consult the cards for ourselves, or to work with a competent reader, a session with the cards can help us sort out truth from fear.

Tarot, and a good tarot reader, can’t make decisions for anyone. Tarot can help discern our innermost desires, fears and motivations. Armed with that knowledge, we have an easier time tuning in to our inner guidance, and making the authentic choices that will create the future we desire.