Minor Misunderstanding | 10 of Pentacles
It’s not just about abundance.
The 10 of Pentacles always reminds me of a hexagram from the Yi Jing (Book of Changes) translated as “Possession in Great Measure.” It’s a cryptic message because I often see this card (and the hexagram) appear in times that feel like just the opposite, when we find ourselves in an environment or situation that is not of our choosing.
Perhaps this is not surprising because at close inspection, the scene is layered in paradox. The figures are vignetted under mundane, stone structures while magical symbols coalesce all around them - from the pentacles forming the points on the Tree of Life, to the planetary glyphs on the old man’s shawl (echoing the quilt from the 9 of Swords). Even Pamela Coleman Smith’s signature, located in every single card toward the bottom right of the image, instead appears to be carved into the stone cornice, like a sigil.
Like the 9 of Pentacles, there is a feeling of being cloistered, insulated from the outside world, but this time, absent of fulfillment. Material wealth abounds, but as with all pentacles, has been acquired through exchange of resources. Was it worth it? Despite being domestic the scene is uncomfortable. The figures either have their backs to the viewer, or are gazing at something else. Even the central couple, though interacting, are not relating, their bodies turning from one another. Everyone except the two dogs is distracted. Like Odysseus’ trusty hounds, they alone seem to recognize the elder in the foreground.
The 10 of Pentacles in the context of grieving
Like the 6 of Cups, the 10 of Pentacles relates to the passage of time. We can read the separate vignettes as different periods. Perhaps the elder in the foreground is recalling an earlier period of life, played out by the trio before him.
I see this card appear when the familiar has become alien. This is so often the case with grief. We see the world we once knew, but now from the outside. We can no longer return to what once was and this is its own special loss. Because grief is such a personal, private experience, it can be intensely isolating, but that doesn’t mean there is not still magic in the world. When we are ready to see it, it will be there.
This post is part of the Minor Misunderstanding series by The Moon Unfolded. In this series I delve into some of the most perplexing and misunderstood cards of the minor arcana. To learn more about The Moon Unfolded and using tarot for creative grief work, click here.
