… And a partridge in a pear tree!

As we reach the last of the Pentacle pips (not to be confused with Gladys Knight and her Pips), there is a sense of completion, of fulfillment.  The promise of the Ace has been made true and brought to earth.  No longer merely a hand in the sky, the abundance has been made flesh and given actual form so that we may enjoy it on a physical level.

The shape formed by the pentacles is commonly referred to as the Tree of Life.  I don’t want to delve deeply into Qabalah here… pictures do just fine.  There is another shape here also.  The circle of pentacles on top sits atop a cross made by connecting lines between the lower pentacles in a ‘T’ shape.  Draw yourself a circle sitting atop a cross and you will instantly recognize the symbol for Venus (or maybe the ankh if your circle isn’t quite so circular!).

Venus traditionally rules the zodiac signs of Taurus and Libra.  Summing up quickly (and I’ll admit, not terribly thoroughly), Taurus is quite strongly tied to physical manifestation and wealth, while Libra is tied to harmony and balance, often in relationships.  Both of these are manifested in this card.

From the standpoint of Taurus, the card demonstrates a firm foundation, something that has stood the test of time.  We see stone archways, several generations of humans all looking stable, protected, comfortable.  Even the animals are taken into the beneficience of the reality in the card.  The card also demonstrates the Libran points of balance — man and woman and the child that demonstrates their fertility, the balance between the wise older man and the child, balance between human and animal kingdoms.  There is harmony here in this card, and wealth.

Taurus is the traditional second house in astrology and is linked to self-worth and that which one gains through personal effort.  Libra is the traditional seventh house in astrology and is linked to relationships.  What is TRUE wealth?  A positive relationship with your self (both the wise higher self — the grandfather — and the animal self — the hounds), formed through your own work and effort, is one vital form of wealth.  Your connections with other people and the life you build with them is the other form of wealth that is golden, yet not gold.

There’s another virtue we’ve yet to name that manifests clearly here:  peace.

The work done to achieve the wealth is complete, but wealth was not the ultimate goal.  The people in the card seem to be fertile, connected, happy, and at their leisure, protected by walls, guarded by men on the tower lookout.  It is preparation and hard work that allows this peace.  And the grapes are here in this card as well, showing that while wealth may come to us individually in our private spaces (as in the Nine of Pentacles), true wealth — true abundant accomplishment — requires that more than just we ourselves benefit.  Just as the Eight of Pentacles required the craftsman share his creations with the world, so the Ten of Pentacles shows that abundance at its highest vibration benefits all mankind at any station of life, with no regards to gender or age.

When you measure your success in the world and what your success has brought you, do not stop with the bottom line in your checkbook.  That is not always the place that the Universe pays dividends!  Ask yourself if there have been other “payouts” with your craft.  Who have you inspired?  Who has benefitted from your efforts?  Who feels safer?  Who has brought forth their own fertility because of your work?  What have you built that will stand the test of time?  These are as much evidence of wealth and accomplishment as the pentacles in their pretty array.  However, how often we fail to see these as signs of our greater success!!  Wealth, in the end, is not measured as solely benefits the human ego, but rather is measured by the sanctuary made of the world through the work of our own hands.

Lessons From The Ten: The epitome of wealth lies not only stability and comfort but also in harmony and balance, work hard for the wealth of self-knowledge and the wealth of connection with your human brothers and sisters, peace is one of the most valuable things you can create for yourself, true wealth is not meant for one person and one person alone, abundance and success are measured in their highest form by the way they raise the standard for everyone and not just the person who has done the work.

Read about the Page of Pentacles…

Photo of Ten of Pentacles card, art by Pamela Colman Smith under direction of A.E. Waite, originally published by the Rider Company, 1909.