Journey Through My Decks: 10 of Pentacles (Disks)

The Haindl Tarot

Ten of Stones

"Hermann Haindl has created a sacred Tarot, one which reaches back to 
ancient spiritual traditions of many cultures. 
The Haindl Tarot ... opens our minds. It leads us to see the world
 in a new way (or perhaps a very old way), 
as a vessel filled with spiritual power and truth."

~ Rachel Pollack ~

My study of this complex deck is ongoing, aided by Rachel Pollack's two volumes of commentary. My goal here is simply to provide what insights I have been able to gather on this card to date. The suit of Stones is associated with North America (west); Wands are associated with India (east); Cups are associated with the Celtic countries (north); and Swords are associated with Egypt (south).

Stones in general deal with work and nature. Indeed, the Stone is the only suit symbol in the deck that comes from nature (Wands, Cups, and Swords are made by human beings). Associated with the element Earth, the suit of Stones is considered "feminine" yet Pollack tells us that Stones (along with Swords) have a "dark" or "yang" quality (as opposed to Cups and Wands, which are seen as "light" or "yin.")

In her Introduction to her book on the Minor Arcana of The Haindl Tarot, Pollack notes that in many Tarot decks, the Minors refer to aspects of everyday life. The Haindl deck follows this pattern, but the Minor Arcana cards are also considered "communal." We are looking at the realm of daily life, work, money, and the physical world on a large scale. The suit of Stones teaches us how to create a new foundation for progress in our lives and encourages us to *work* not just for our own personal reasons but for the restoration of the world.

Titled "Richness," The Ten of Stones in this deck features ten stones that form the same pattern as the cups in the Ten of Cups card B titled "Success." In both cases, we are being encouraged to examine what constitutes true "riches" or "success." Pollack tells us that Haindl wanted the Ten of Stones "to go beyond the traditional meaning in order to show the richness of an abundant nature, a sense of both the world and the individual person healthy and alive."

The hexagram on the Ten of Stones reflects the spiritual origins of wealth. It is number 48, which Wing calls "The Source." In addition to culminating the suit of Stones, this card could be seen as the culmination of the entire Haindl deck. A transformation has been completed.  Pollack writes: "In a deep valley water rushes forth, white and foaming, like mountain snow melting in the spring. Above the cleft of rock we see a bright sky."

Pollack tells us that the Ten of Stones "refers to a good life, to health and a sense of solid reality. . . the materialization of the person's hopes and desires." Reversed, the card can suggest that "a potential good development has not yet occurred" or that "material wealth and security are there but the person does not appreciate their value."

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Sources:

The Haindl Tarot. Created by Hermann Haindl. U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
The Haindl Tarot, Volume I: The Major Arcana by Rachel Pollack. Newcastle Publishing, Inc.
The Haindl Tarot, Volume II: The Minor Arcana by Rachel Pollack. Newcastle Publishing, Inc.