Name: Soldier
Italian Name: Militare
Playing Card: 10♠
Polarity when Upright: Neutral to Negative
Core Meanings: strength, force | arguments, violence | wearing a uniform | the army | effort, an uphill battle | secrecy
Polarity when Reversed: Neutral to Negative
Reversed Core Meanings: a secret | the night | weakness | controversy

Card Description: a fit young man in a uniform in the act of walking up a slope to conquer a citadel.

Suit and Number: all tens in the Vera Sibilla are associated with the idea of will, willpower and the ability to materialize it. The Soldier card, the Ten of Spades, signifies struggle and the need for toil and stregth to avoid being overwhelmed by obstacles. It is the opposite of the Ten of Hearts, which shows the will conquering reality. The Ten of Spades shows an uphill battle that may end with reality conquering you.

UPRIGHT 10♠

General: this card has two broad strands of meaning, one to do with physical stregth, the other with secrecy. The former tends to appear when the card is upright, the latter when it’s reversed, so I will discuss them as such. However this is not a rule: the Ten of Spades may signify a secret when upright and physical strength when reversed, albeit more rarely.

Love and Relationships: the meaning varies greatly depending on the surrounding cards. With positive cards it shows the ability to solve struggles and arguments. It can also show that a person will fight to the bitter end to help us and protect us. Note that Ten of Spades can be a face card, representing a young man, usually muscular and good-looking. With negative or neutral cards it shows arguments, despotism, violence (this latter never when alone, though) and a relationship that is “difficult” and forces the person to constantly fight and be on their guard to maintain. It can signify lies and being guarded.

Work and Money: the Ten of Spades is associated with works in uniform (broadly) and for the armed forces. It can signify a difficult, tense work environment and implies the need to constantly fight. With cards pointing to financial difficulties it shows the struggle to survive. Conditions are usually not ideal in any field of material realization and they require a lot of effort.

Other: the card is associated with difficult environments, especially mountains and woods. Psychologically it points to being guarded and diffident and somewhat gruff. It also represents sports (especially physically taxing ones). Spiritually it is connected to the material plane, so its meanings can vary from manifestation to materialism and being diffident toward ideas or belief. It can signify atheism. The card is also associated with the concept of “abroad”, “foreign” and “unknown”, both when upright and reversed.

Important Combinations:
10♠ + K♠ = a policeman, the armed forces
10♠ + A♥ = lies, arguments, being guarded in what you say depending on the context
10♠ + A♠ = possible violence (especially with other cards)
10♠ + 10♥ = winning after much struggle
9♠ + 10♦ + 10♠ = the arrest of a thief

REVERSED 10♠R

General: reversed, the Ten of Spades becomes primarily the card of secrets, of the unknown and of the night (meanings which it has also when upright, but which are less prominent in that position). Just as the Ten of Hearts represents the sun of personal victory after the darkness of the night, the Ten of Spades is the darkness. In some contexts, the card can signify the opposite of the strength of the upright version, thus giving weakness.

Love and Relationships: it often shows hidden relationships and hidden practices in general. It is an almost sure symbol of cheating. However, always look at what is being hidden, as it may be something other than a lover. Since the card is connected to the night, it can simply show an evening out, depending on the combinations. It can also show, quite simply, that a person is not yet known. It retains the connotation of hostility if accompanied by cards of struggle and arguments.

Work and Money: it can show works done by night and is connected to all professions to do with secrecy (secret services etc). It can also imply hidden schemes and tactics, and it often points to less than loyal colleagues.

Other: psychologically it can signify that a person is a weakling or a coward. It can also simply mean that one is lost or feels lost and doesn’t what direction to take anymore.

Important Combinations:
10♠R + A♦ = a secret meeting
10♠R + K♦ = working by night
10♠R + J♠ = a private detective
10♠R + 3♥ = spying
7♠R + 10♠R + 4♠ = physical collapse

Card combinations: Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Tens