The Minor Arcana in Tarot tells a dramatic story that unfolds from Ace to King across the four suits in a Tarot card deck. Many secrets are hidden within a deck of Tarot cards. In this series, we are exploring Minor Arcana Tarot card meanings in a way that is easy to understand for your Tarot card readings.
Minor Arcana Tarot Card Meanings
When learning the Tarot card meanings of the Minor Arcana, it helps to understand the structure of the deck.
The Tarot card deck has 78 cards, 22 of which are the Major Arcana. The 22 Major Arcana cards are believed to be the original Tarot deck and hold the deepest secrets of the Tarot. They talk about the journey of the human soul, include universal archetypes and esoteric meanings.
The other 56 cards were added later and make up the Minor Arcana. They come from a deck playing cards that were used for cartomancy, and have the same 4 suits and numbers (the Tarot also has Pages in addition to Knights, Queens and Kings).
An effective way to learn Minor Arcana Tarot card meanings is to learn about the numerology of each card and then interpret it in the context of the suit. We've already described the Tarot meanings of the Aces, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, Sixes, Sevens, Eights and Nines. Now, we have finally reached the Tens.
The Tens
Keywords: the peak, the finale, the culmination, the objective outcome
The Tarot card meaning of the 10s can be quite extreme. It is the final outcome of the story that has been unfolding in the suit. The energy has been building upon itself since the Ace, and has reached the inevitable outcome, which can be either very pleasant or very unpleasant, as we'll see later on.
Unlike the 9s, which show the subjective culmination of the suit (such as the inner anxiety we feel in the 9 of Swords, or the battle-weary state in the 9 of Wands, the enjoyment of our hard work in the 9 of Pentacles and the self-satisfaction of the 9 of Cups), the 10s show the objective, irrefutable outcome that is not only experienced internally, but is also seen from the outside.
10 of Pentacles - this card is the smooth transition and logical result of our hard work and accumulated wealth from the past. The 10 of Pentacles indicates our legacy for the future, generational wealth, as well as shows how the past affects the future. There is a big emphasis on inheritance, be it ancestral history, genetics, wealth or education and knowledge that has been passed on through time. While this card shows abundance and material comfort, it also highlights the ability to influence future generations by sharing what we have built and developed over our lifetime.
10 of Swords - the suit of Swords highlights the destructive and harmful outcomes of mentality, conflict and strife. By the time we reach the 10 of Swords, we see total annihilation. The swords have turned on themselves, ending the stress and pain once and for all. This is undoubtedly one of the harshest cards in the Tarot deck, however it doesn't come without a hidden blessing--that a painful situation has finally come to an end, and we can move on from this to a more peaceful future.
10 of Wands - the nature of Wands is enthusiastic and ambitious. The Wands want to do it all and prove that they can. Unfortunately, in the 10 of Wands we see that too much has been taken on, too many burdens (not all of them ours), too much work and responsibility that has become a heavy weight, threatening to break us. It would be wise to take a break, lighten our load and start saying "no" before we burn out.
10 of Cups - after a series of right decisions in the pursuit of emotional fulfillment, we arrive at the 10 of Cups. Over the story of the suit, the Cups have matured by loving (2 of Cups), sharing love (3 of Cups), contemplating true fulfillment (4 of Cups), grieving (5 of Cups), remembering (6 of Cups), recognizing illusions (7 of Cups), leaving unfulfilling things behind (8 of Cups), and reaching happiness (9 of Cups). In the 10, we are full and content enough to have become a stable foundation from which more love can grow in the form of a loving family and true emotional maturity.
Thank you for following this numerological journey through Tarot with us!