← Encyclopedia of Tarot · lesson 74/121
Ten of Pentacles
The Ten of Pentacles is the suit's completion: security that has outgrown one person and become something shared and lasting. It describes family, home, roots and legacy — not only money, but the traditions, values and ties that carry from one generation to the next.
The image
Under an archway leading into a town, a man and a woman talk, a child at their side. In the foreground an old man in a richly patterned robe sits with two dogs, which the child reaches to touch. Ten pentacles are laid out across the scene in the shape of the Tree of Life. The three generations are usually read as continuity; the archway as the threshold of a household.
Upright
Upright, the card is read as stability, belonging, family support and long-term security. Waite gave "gain, riches; family matters, archives", and "the abode of a family". It can describe a settled home, a shared enterprise, or a sense of being part of something larger than oneself.
Reversed
Waite's reversed meanings were chance and loss, but also "gift, dowry, pension". Modern readers often see family tension over money or expectations, a foundation that feels shaky, or the weight of tradition. Some readers do not use reversals.
Correspondences
A Minor Arcana card, the Ten of Pentacles, element Earth. In the Golden Dawn's attributions, which most English-language decks follow, it is the Lord of Wealth: Mercury in the third decan of Virgo, 20°–30°, in Malkuth, the tenth sephirah.
In a reading
Waite said it "derives its value from other cards", so it often shows where a matter settles. As an outcome it points to something durable; in the past, to roots and upbringing. Beside the Ten of Cups it reads as a home that is both secure and happy.
In astrology
The Golden Dawn's correspondences, which most English-language decks follow (French, Marseille-based tradition differs for some Major Arcana).
Decan: Mercury in Virgo, 20°–30°
Element: Earth — the element of Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn
Mode: Mutable — Virgo is a mutable sign