X, Suit of PentaclesTen of Pentacles tarot card meaning
Upright and reversedTen of Pentacles in shortIn short
The Ten of Pentacles is the family house. Under a stone arch an old man sits with his dogs while a young couple and a child stand by: three generations in one place. Lasting wealth, home, and what gets passed down.
- Wealth
- Family
- Legacy
Piece oneThe archway
A stone arch frames blue sky, a tall tower and red-roofed houses. Waite says it opens onto a house and domain: the family estate. Ten gold pentacles are spread across the scene.
"...an archway which gives entrance to a house and domain."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe arch is the door to the family. It frames the house, the tower and the town, so the wealth on this card is a place you can live in. The old man sits outside it and the couple stand under it. Each generation has its spot at the gate.
Piece twoThe couple
A man in a blue cloak, back to us, turns to a woman in red. Waite puts them beneath an archway that leads into a house and its land. They're the middle generation, the ones who will carry the house on.
"A man and woman beneath an archway..."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe couple are the present. The old man is the past and the child is the future, so they stand in the middle of the picture as well as the family. Her face turns to him, his back to us. They're busy with each other while the house goes on around them.
Piece threeThe old man
An old man with white hair and a long beard sits in front, wrapped in a patterned robe. Waite calls him an ancient personage, greeted by two dogs. He's the oldest in the family; the house and its wealth come down from him.
"...two dogs accosting an ancient personage seated in the foreground."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereHe is where the wealth started. He sits in front, wrapped in the richest cloth, and the dogs come to him first. The couple and the child stand behind, so the line runs from him toward them. The pentacles over the scene began as his.
Piece fourThe ten pentacles
Ten gold pentacles lie over the scene: wall, arch, sky and people. Waite reads gain and riches, family matters, archives, the abode of a family. No one figure owns them. They are the house's wealth, passed down through each generation here.
"Gain, riches; family matters, archives, extraction, the abode of a family."Waite, 1911
Why it is hereThe coins are spread over everyone and owned by no one figure. They sit on the wall, the arch and the people at once. That's the meaning of family wealth: it belongs to the house. The old man, the couple and the child each stand inside its pattern.
Colour, and where else it appearsEchoes
-
The archway
Grey stone in front, clear blue sky behind: the line between the family's walls and open land. The Ten of Cups also ends on a family and a house, with a rainbow of cups instead of a stone arch. In the Six of Cups a boy hands a cup of flowers to a girl in front of an old house. Here the house holds all the ages at once.
Also in -
The couple
Blue for him, red for her, the two colours that run through the whole family. In the Ten of Cups a couple stands with arms raised, the man in red and the woman in blue, two children dancing beside them. Same pair, colours swapped. There the joy points at the sky. Here it stays in the house.
Also in -
The old man
Dark red, olive and gold in heavy patterns, the richest cloth on the card. The Hermit has the same white hair and long beard, but he stands alone on a peak. A white dog jumps at the heels of The Fool as he steps toward the edge. Here two white dogs greet the seated old man.
Also in -
The ten pentacles
Warm gold over grey stone: wealth built into the walls. In the Nine of Pentacles nine coins belong to one woman in her garden. In the Ten of Cups ten cups make a rainbow over a family. Here ten coins sit over the family's home, the end of the suit's count.
Also in
Colour notes are ours, read from the picture; Waite does not explain the colours.
Ten of PentaclesUpright
Wealth that outlasts one life. Waite's meanings: gain, riches, family matters, archives, extraction, the abode of a family. Inheritance, family property, a settled home, the traditions that hold a family together.
Think long term. The things you build now can carry the people after you, and the things you got from those before you deserve care.
Ten of PentaclesReversed
Waite's words: chance, fatality, loss, robbery, games of hazard, and sometimes gift, dowry, pension. Security turns into a gamble, or family money turns into trouble.
A fight over an inheritance, a risky bet with what should stay safe, money that lands by chance. Protect what's shared. Keep the house off the table.
Yes or noYes.
Yes. Gain and lasting security. The answer will hold.
Ten of Pentacles in your lifeIn your life
Love
Commitment, marriage, family. A relationship built to last, with a home at its centre.
Work
A family business, a stable company, long-term security. Good for work that builds a future.
Money
Property, inheritance, savings that grow. Plan in generations.
Health
Family support and good habits passed down. A card can't diagnose you; if something's wrong, see a doctor and ask about family history.
Spirituality
Ancestors, tradition, belonging. Old family customs carry weight now.
Advice
Build for the long run. Honour the people who came before you.
As a person
Settled, generous, family-minded. Tradition and security matter to them.
Past, present, future
Past: family roots and what you inherited. Present: a stable home, shared wealth. Future: a legacy that lasts.
Written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
Symbols and correspondencesAt a glance
- Suit
- Pentacles
- Element
- Earth
- Astrology
- Mercury in Virgo
- Sephira
- Malkuth
- Upright
- Gain
- Reversed
- Chance
QuestionsCommon questions
Yes. One of the best cards for money, home and family.
Commitment, marriage, a shared home. A relationship that turns into family.
Yes, and it's a lasting one.
Waite calls him an ancient personage seated in front, greeted by two dogs. He's the eldest, the source of the house and its wealth.
Mercury in Virgo, an earth sign, in the Golden Dawn system. Its sephira is Malkuth, the kingdom, the last on the Tree of Life.
Waite puts a man and woman beneath an archway into a house and domain, with a child, and an old man greeted by two dogs. Elsewhere he says the card stands for house or dwelling.
The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911Card meanings and quotes: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1911. Element, decan and sephira: the Golden Dawn's Book T. Colours, life situations, yes or no and questions: written by us, from Waite's meanings and the picture.
All 14 Pentacles