Exploring Tarot: 10 of Pentacles

An older man sits in a chair with his dogs at his feet wrapped in a quilt full of symbols that depict his life. As he looks at his family who stand under an archway with symbols of tradition on its side, he sees the future expressed in his children. Beyond the archway, the man’s home (castle), or the town or village is visible.

The 10 of Pentacles describes the passage of legacy and a life well-lived. A ten numerology reinforces this idea by reflecting endings and beginnings. The arrangement of the ten coins on the card’s surface is in the shape of the Tree of Life from the Kabbalah and illustrates the spiritual principles one moves through to achieve completion. However, the completion found in the 10 of Pentacles is more earthly given that the older man and the young family reflect three generations: grandfather, child, and a grandchild, and a pattern of continued existence via the generations to come.

Reversed, the 10 of Pentacles may involve dissatisfaction with how one’s life has progressed and the lack of continuity that family brings. Or it could signal issues with inheritance.