Journey Through My Decks: 10 of Swords

In this series of posts, I plan to discuss all of the Tarot cards in order, using a different deck for each card. Today I'm exploring the TEN OF SWORDS from  Tarot of the Origins (Sergio Toppi /  LoScarabeo).

Tarot of the Origins (LoScarabeo)

In the four suits are as follows:

• The Soul suit (blue) - refers to the traditional Chalices (Cups) suit
• The Jewels suit (yellow) - refers to the traditional Pentacles suit
• The Nature suit (green) - refers to the traditional Wands suit
• The Blood suit (red) - refers to the traditional Swords suit

In the little white book (LWB) that comes with the deck, Pietro Alligo and Manfredi Toraldo write:

"The Blood suit was defined in place of Swords as the last suit, developing the meaning of energy, movement, and in some cases, aggressiveness and representing every action tied to survival: hunt, war, etc." The Ten of Blood is called "Environment of Blood." The LWB describes the image on the card as "a piece of meat cooking on the fire and a man seemingly self-satisfied for the meal which he is about to prepare."

The keyword provided for this card in the LWB is Satisfaction -- which could be seen as the opposite of the meaning given to the Ten of Swords in Book T*: Ruin.

Thoth Tarot (U.S. Games)

In his Pictorial Key to the Tarot  (WeiserBooks) A.E. Waite allows that the Ten of Swords reversed can suggest "advantage, profit, success, favour" then hastens to add "but all of them transient." Bummer.

Rider Tarot (U.S. Games)

For the moment, however, let's dwell on the obvious satisfaction and joy we see in the face of the man on the Tarot of the Origins card. He seems to be very much "in the moment," pleased that he has made it through another day and that he knows where his next meal is coming from. That's all that matters to him right now.


* Book T   The Tarot, Comprising Manuscripts N, O, P, Q, R, and an Unlettered Theoricus Adeptus Minor Instruction. A Description of the Cards of the Tarot with their Attributions; Including a Method of Divination by Their Use. A public domain manuscript.





------------------
About the deck: Llewellyn, the publisher that distributes Tarot of the Origins, describes it as "the perfect expression of raw, primal archetypal conditions while maintaining the complexity of the modern human experience. . . . allowing the reader to reconnect with humankind's shared spiritual origins."