If you’ve reached a 10 in the Tarot, your path is coming to a close — it’s now just time to see how.
Maybe it was the 7 of the Tarot that tired you out, or it was the conflict of the number 5 that really knocked you off of your feet. Maybe you’ve come a long way, but it was actually smooth-sailing overall for you because of how much Tarot informed you of what to expect!
No matter what your experience has been like up until the point that you reached the 10, this is the true culmination of everything on the path that’s been tread thus far. Let’s see what your 10 has in store for you as either a final lesson… or perhaps the ultimate reward.
What Does a 10 Represent in the Tarot?
As a representative of final culminations, lessons, and rewards, a 10 is both a callback to your humble origins and an offering of something new. As you reach a 10, you must simultaneously prepare yourself to start over at a 1, just with all of your lessons and rewards now in your back pocket supporting you.
Given how everything connects, it is unsurprising that we can correlate the energy of the 10 to astrological associations.
In October, the 10th month of the year, we celebrate both Libra season and the budding beginnings of Scorpio season. Libra, the mediator, and balancer can embody the energy of the 10 with its need to re-balance and finalize with meticulous detail. And Scorpio, ruled by Pluto, the planet of rebirth and transformation, is like the next step in the journey once the loose ends are tied up neatly.
In other words, a 10 in the Tarot is like the closing of a book while also reaching for the next good read. The path may be concluding, but a journey is still ahead.
The 10’s of Tarot Through Each Suit
We now know that if you have pulled a 10 in the Tarot, it is likely that you’re about to witness, as well as experience, the conclusion of something in one way or another. As awesome or daunting as this may sound, something a little more specific can better inform us as to what end, and thus beginning, that we should be anticipating.
As we look through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot, we will explore what each 10 means throughout the different suits.
10 of Wands
As a suit of sheer willpower, passion, strength, and speed, the culmination of the suit of Wands is expectedly dramatic.
A true representation of what it means to hold onto too much at once, the 10 of Wands is a card of burdens and difficulty. It often manifests when we are struggling to juggle our responsibilities and stressors.
This card truly asks you to remember what has been learned throughout the suit so far — the benefits and risks of planning, working with or against others, how raw passion can carry, or hurt you in the long-term. Perhaps the situation at hand has all or some of these components as well.
It may not present you with a solution. On the contrary, this card is a callback to those difficulties and reminds you of the strength you have collected from them — thus reminding you that you also have the strength to get through this right now too!
10 of Swords
Life can’t always be all sunshine and rainbows. So if there was always a fairy tale ending in every suit, the Tarot wouldn’t be quite so realistic.
The 10 of Swords is where we meet that not-so-optimistic fate. This is a path that has ended in tragedy, defeat, and loss — mentally, spiritually, and perhaps in some ways even physically. As one of the more intense suits, this is unsurprising to see in the suit of Swords.
Remember, though, that a 10 is not just an ending but an opportunity for a new beginning. Perhaps this particular path did not end in a desirable outcome, but it can now be put to rest in order for a much brighter tomorrow.
Read this next for more Tarot insights: What is the Tarot Trying to Tell You During a Love Reading?
10 of Pentacles
The bountiful suit of Pentacles is the suit of the physical. So far, it has wrestled themes like poverty, lack mindset, teamwork, goal-setting, and much more.
In the 9 of Pentacles, rewards were seen and received already. At that point in the journey, much of the hard work had been completed and fulfilled. In the 10 of Pentacles, however, you are able to see what long-term rewards and successes look like.
Often, this card speaks of big-picture goals like having a comfortable home life, perhaps a family, or other more long-term physical pursuits of interest.
10 of Cups
Much like the 10 of Pentacles, the 10 of Cups is about big picture goals as well. It sports a similar relationship to the card before, the 9 of Cups, wherein wish fulfillment has often already come to fruition.
Unlike the 10 of Pentacles, however, being in the suit of Cups, this card is much more about what fulfills us internally. It speaks to us at an intuitive, heart, and soul level versus something rooted too much in the physical. For many, this can be a long-term relationship or a set of friends with strong platonic love between all parties.
When you see the 10 of Cups, in other words, think big-picture and don’t settle when it comes to your heart’s desires. They’re already on their way!
Closing the Book
The path has come to a close, and it’s time to put another finished book on the shelf. When we have finally met the 10 in the Tarot, you can safely say that you’ve to tread the path to its final moments. However, that doesn’t mean that you’re quite done with whatever else is to come.
After all, when one door closes, another opens.
In other words, you’ve just seen a 10… but who’s to say that another Ace isn’t right around the corner?
Need a refresher? Catch up on the other numerology-themed Tarot articles in the series below!