The Ten of Pentacles has the triumphant sobriety of a victory achieved with consistency and humility.
The ten gold coins are arranged in several identifiable groups. On the periphery, a square of coins forms the quadrature of a circle (oval) of six shields. In its upper and lower halves, the card features two sets of five coins each, with their centers being the vertices of the central hexagon. Colored orange, a sign of active intelligence, each set contains 11 petals, totaling 22. This pair, a mise-en-abîme of the major arcana series, clearly marks an achievement.
The blossoming tree of the Eight of Pentacles has both expanded and flourished in the Ten. Its plant branches have extraverted to create an abundant and generous Latin X. At the center, the flower spreads its spiritually active petals outward. Its centrifugal energy is all the more vivid as four underlying red tongues manifest matter sublimated by the spirit. The central bud is marked with a small fish: the Hebrew letter Nun, the fourteenth letter of the alphabet and synonymous with increase. Finally, the vertical branch of the cruciform tree crosses the two pivotal coins. Its whiteness reminds us that matter is destined to spiritualize in the Ten of Pentacles.
Perched on the floral horizon, Romulus and Remus suckle from the universal she-wolf. Animal maternity is the gift matter gives to humanity. Her milk is the fundamental essence through which the wisdom of the World is transmitted.
