Meditations on the 10 of Coins (Pentacles)

There is newness in the air, with all the completions indicated by the appearance of 10’s, pages, and aces around the past few weeks.

As things complete, new things begin. But let’s talk about completion in the form of the 10 of pentacles.

This isn’t just a card of financial abundance. It’s a card about such abundance that you can use it to create a legacy. In the card you can see the older man, younger family members, and dogs gathered around an ornate garden to celebrate just such a legacy. It’s about gaining abundance and allowing that abundance to nurture others. The 10 of pentacles describes having more than enough for this generation, and passing it to the next — it’s about long-term wealth and not just wealth gained through short-term successes. The 10 of pentacles speaks to a sense of longer term accomplishment. It’s also traditionally indicative of the importance of family — as within the card itself you can see that lineage.

This card invites you to think of what abundance and legacy mean to you. If you have abundance now, how are you using it? Are you becoming reliant on it? Is there stagnation hiding in the opulence? This is one of those cards (okay, all of them are) where position is very key. With the 10 of pentacles in the present position, it’s best to be grateful for the abundance you have right now.

It was studying the 10 of coins (pentacles) that helped me realize how to read reversals in the tarot — reversed, the 10 of coins might mean financial setbacks — or it might mean that you are realizing the darker side of success. Maybe it’s not the way you want to live. Maybe realizing all of your dreams still leaves you miserable.

Patrick Valenza’s version of this card for the Deviant Moon tarot really drives home the that sometimes the stability that the 10 of pentacles shows us is something we don’t want — something with a price too high to pay. Notice the servant holds the king piece from the cheesboard, and contemplate where the power in the 10 of coins is within your reading.

The 10 of pentacles is a signal to pause and reflect on everything that your skill has given you, and what it means to you. It shows that legacy means reaching beyond just your own needs to help educate, mentor, and support others. When I see the 10 of pentacles, I take a moment to ponder where my work has lead me, and if I can see the impacts of that work beyond myself.