Old English Tarot: 10 of Cups

In today's blog entry, Helen Howell continues her exploration of cards from the Old English Tarot by Maggie Kneen (U.S. Games Systems, Inc.)

Old English Tarot

5 of Coins

by Helen Howell

The Old English 10 of Cups has a sort of tranquility to its image but the one thing it doesn’t show us like its traditional brother the Rider-Waite, is any connection to relationships.

In the Rider-Waite we see a man and a woman together and two children playing happily to the side of them. This image hints at happiness and harmony within relationships or family life. Emotionally, because that is what the Cups suit represents, this is a time for contentment. Everything in your world is working as it should be.

Now although the Old English does not show us that combination of harmony within relationships, it does show us harmony. A woman sits playing a harp. I can just hear those notes floating into the atmosphere, soothing to the ear. The player and her music are in harmony with each other. If you look closely at the image you will see a dove sits on the top of the harp. Doves very often are associated with spiritual matters or seen as messengers, but they can also represent peace and here in this image, it does seem to appear to me to symbolise for us inner peace.

Now when I look at this image and put those symbols together I get the feeling of contentment and the joy the music can bring. I’m left in no doubt that the message here is one of emotional peace, happiness and contentment with life as it is.

For me this was one of the easier images in the Old English Tarot to lend an interpretation to.

LWB says:
Happy home and family life, pleasure, contentment, love.
Reversed: Loss of friendship, unhappiness, quarrel.