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Cartomancy with Playing Cards | Ten of Clubs

In cartomancy with playing cards, the Ten of Clubs (10♣) is the card of travel.

All tens relate to the idea of goal or destination, but because the suit of Clubs is concerned with work and physical movement, all of which are means in the reaching of something, the Ten of Clubs signifies travel, which is the means for reaching a destination.

Most of the times, the Ten of Clubs signifies exactly that: physical movement. The context of the question and the presence of other cards will clarify its meaning further. In general, the Ten of Clubs indicates more distance than the Two of Clubs, which can indicate walking, but in itself it doesn’t necessarily indicate a long distance, unless the Nine of Clubs falls nearby. It can simply indicate a trip to a neighboring town, or even to the other side of your city. Metaphorically, the Ten of Clubs also stands for vehicles of all kinds.

Sometimes the Ten of Clubs will come up in situations where it doesn’t make sense to interpret it as travel. In those instances, it indicates metaphorical travel, i.e. a method for reaching an aim. It stands for pathways and courses of action. For instance, if the querent asks if a new business strategy will turn out to be good, you would want the Ten of Clubs surrounded by good cards.

Broadly, the Ten of Clubs stands for the querent’s path in more than one sense. Spiritually or intellectually it can indicate deepening your understanding of a topic, for instance. However, four times out of five, the card will indicate literal travel (for instance, spiritually it can indicate a literal pilgrimage)

Psychologically, the Ten of Clubs is a card of transformation and evolution. In itself it is positive, but watch out for bad cards nearby that might indicate involution.

Some Combinations:

10♣ – 8♣ = traveling for work or a work connected with travel (flight attendant, taxi driver…) It can also show a commute
10♣ – 2♥ = short trip
8♦ – 10♣ – 9♦ = a business trip that will go well or a good business strategy
10♣ – 3♠ – J♠ = theft of car, traditionally
5♣ – 2♣ – 10♣ = walking long distances, running a marathon, sports connected with travel/movement across space

Playing Cards and Numerology – The Tens

The tens in playing cards represent goals and destinations.

The Ten of Hearts is another lucky card in the deck, signifying happiness and well-being. Just like the Nine of Hearts, the Ten has the power to greatly reduce the negative impact of other cards. It represents lasting joy and a sense of not needing to look further. It is a great love card. It is also connected with the querent’s city or homeland.

The Ten of Clubs is the card of travel. Clubs are cards of action, but the aim of the action is represented by Diamonds. By themselves, Clubs are just a means, and travel is the means to get from where you are to your destination. Likewise, the Ten of Clubs signifies metaphorical pathways, the course of action.

The Ten of Diamonds is the card of success, and broadly speaking of accomplishment of aims. It is a generally material card, and can signify a large sum of money, or at the very least that money is not an issue. It also represents cities other than the querent’s, seen as goals or destinations to travel toward.

The Ten of Spades has a variety of meanings. Some are neutral. For instance, it represents unknown destinations, stranger places and destinations abroad. It is also a card of negative goals, illegal aims and, more generally, of secrets and silence. It is connected to night time, just as the Ten of Hearts is connected to day time. Broadly, it is a card of failure, but only if together with other cards that point in that direction.

Vera Sibilla | Ten of Clubs – Levity (Leggerezza)

Name: Levity
Italian Name: Leggerezza
Playing Card: 10
Polarity when Upright: Neutral
Core Meanings: Carefreeness, Recklessness | A little of something | Things of a passing nature
Polarity when Reversed: Positive
Reversed Core Meanings: Lucky moment | Positive Chance

Card Description: a butterfly flying from flower to flower in the lazy afternoon.

Suit and Number: All tens in the Sibilla are connected to the idea of will and its concretization. Here we have a lack of the willpower that allowed the Ten of Hearts to be named Perseverance. We have lack of perseverance, carefreeness, fluttering from flower to flower without trying too much.

UPRIGHT 10

General: It’s a card of recklessness, which can lead to mistakes, and disengagement. It represents all things passing and fleeting, things not rooted permanently in reality or in the querent’s destiny. A specific function of this card is that it diminishes the import of the cards around, for better or worse. A disappointment will be small, but also a joy.

Love and Relationships: the Ten of Clubs represents acquaintances, people you know in passing, but relationships that are not serious or strong. It shows flighty people and fleeting bonds that probably won’t last (unless the cards show the relationship evolving). For those who dip their toes into more than one pool, this card can act as a warning of getting caught due to recklessness

Work and Money: the card stands for small amouts of money and very slight improvements. It shows that someone is incapable of saving up money and tends to spend it rather recklessly. The types of employment this card refer to have to do with the element of air (aviation, hostess, etc.) but it also stands for all types hand-to-mouth situations and all those situations where you show up, work for someone without contract and you are gone at the end of the day.

Other: psychologically it’s a card of carefreeness. It can mean that the person does not concentrate or try hard. It can signify that the querent leaves anything (a relationship, a job, a religion) as soon as things become too serious and require them to make a commitment and to persevere. It can also point to stepping into situations without forethought. The card symbolizes the element of air and the direction north. With positive cards and preceded by negative ones it can signify that something that had been thought to be a tragedy will be less serious. If followed by negative cards and preceded by positive ones, it’s the opposite.

Important Combinations:
10♣ + J♥ or Q♥ = not the most reliable lover
10♣ + 6♥ = small amount of money
10♣ + A♠ = a passing disappointment
K♣R + 6♦ + 10♣ = the doctor is wrong in downplaying the symptoms

REVERSED 10♣R

General: it becomes a positive card. If the upright card is chancy and risky, the reversed card is a chance, and favorable opportunity.

Love and Relationships: the reversed Ten of Clubs does not have many specific meanings connecting it to relationships. However it can show a change for the better especially for single people. It could imply a chance meeting. It is also a card that signifies a person can be relied on.

Work and Money: the reversed Ten of Clubs is very positive. For one it implies the ability to save money. Secondarily, it shows investments and speculations, mostly in a positive sense (but pay attention to the following cards). Furthermore, this is an excellent card for gamblers, though in itself it does not represent a huge about of money, being akin to the Fortuna Minor of the Geomancers.

Other: the card is connected with electronics and technology and all sciency things. Psychologically it shows someone who is capable looking at his own actions with enough detachment to see where improvements are to be made.

Important Combinations:
10♣R + 6♥ = a financial opportunity
10♣R + A♥ + 4♥ = meeting a new love
10♣R + 2♦ = a web page | receiving positive messages
10♣R + 7♠ + 9♦ = squandered chance
4♠ + 10♣R + 8♣ = unexpected chance to heal (e.g. new treatment available etc)

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

Vera Sibilla | Examples of Combinations – The Tens

In this article you will find some examples of combinations using the Vera Sibilla. Most of these combinations are handed down by tradition. Studying and decoding combinations is a very good way to improve your cartomantic vocabulary, but bear in mind that the exact meaning of a combination depends on many other factors, such as the context of the question and the other cards in the spread, so I would encourage you to keep an open mind. As a rule, you will find that if you do not pose a question and these combinations come up, they will mean what the tradition says they mean 3 times out of 5. Also, keep in mind that it’s useless to try to combine every card with every other card beforehand so that no surprises will ever come up in a spread, just as it is useless to try to combine every word in a dictionary with every other to study a language. That time is best spent actually practicing.

NOTE:
R = Reversed
U/R = Upright or Reversed (doesn’t matter)
* = This combination has to come up in this specific order
3♦ = The Gift (Omaggio)
8♦ = The Handmaid (Donna di Servizio)
C = Cuori (Hearts)
F = Fiori (Clubs)
Q = Quadri (Diamonds)
P = Picche (Spades)

Ten of Hearts (10♥) – Perseverance (Costanza)

4♥ + 10♥ = enduring feelings of love
5♥ + 10♥ = long-lasting engagement
8♥ + 10♥ = realization of hopes with effort
Person + 10♥ = person can be relied upon
3♣ + 10♥* = traveling out of town


A♣ + 10♥ = a long-standing contract or marriage
A♣R + 10♥ = great wealth
4♣R + 10♥ = the decisive bit of help that will solve the problem
5♣ + 10♥ = lasting good luck
10♥ + 8♣* = reconcilation after much insistence


10♥ + 10♣ = among many possible readings, a city to the north of where you are | little endurance
K♣ + 2♦ + 10♥ + 8♣ = doctor or professional that solves an issue or health problem (instead of 8♣ you may find other positive cards. 10♥ here shows that it’s likely not a minor issue as it implies effort)
5♦ + 10♥ + A♠ = a lasting cloud of depression
8♦R + 10♥ = can point to expenses piling up over time
8♦R + 10♥ + J♦R = you are the talk of the town


9♦ + 10♥ = constant setbacks
K♦ + 10♥ = permanent job or, with other positive cards, economic realization over time
2♠R + A♥ + 10♥ + 8♣ = putting your differences behind you after much talk and compromises
10♥ + 3♠ = abandoning your town | someone who is without a fatherland (especially with 10♠R)


9♠ + 10♥ = a long prison sentence
10♥ + 10♠U/R = a strange town or country
J♠ or Q♠ + 10♥ = someone whose enmity you can count on
K♠ + 10♥ = victory in a court case

10♥R + A♥ = angry words
10♥R + 3♥R = blind rage
5♥U/R + 10♥R = family-related trouble or an engagement going belly up
6♥ + 10♥R = sharp economic downturn
3♣U/R + 8♥U/R + 6♠ + 7♠ + 10♥R = shipwreck


A♦R + 10♥R = enraged by a confession
10♦ + 10♥R = a situation going belly up due to third party interference
K♦ + 10♥R = loss of business, among other things
A♠ + 10♥R = violent arguments (with 10♠ it could mean the same)
4♠ + 10♥R = among other possibilities, it can point to an unemployed person who has lost all confidence to try to find something new

Ten of Clubs (10♣) – Levity (Leggerezza)

A♥ + 10♣ = words said without thinking too much, small talk | on a more sinister note, these cards usually show up to remind the person to mindful what they say and to whom
2♥ + 10♣ = among many possible readings, a momentary accomodation

3♥ + 10♣ = one reading would be an oversight or blunder (3♥ is connected to the eyes)
4♥ + 10♣ = a flirt
6♥ + 10♣ = a little sum of money | little experience (little past) | it’s also a symbol of the inability to save money (especially if 6♥R)
7♥ + 10♣ = person whose intentions are not very serious | lack of great talent or recognition | contract that is probably best to avoid signing


8♥ + 10♣ = flirt (but the following cards may show that it turns into something serious, like 3♣R + 4♥ + 9♥ or something like that)
6♣ + 10♣ = small gains
8♣ + 10♣* = a reconciliation that won’t last
A♦ + 10♣ = careful who you reveal your secrets to


A♦R + 10♣ = being busted for lack of foresight or a revelation made by accident
3♦ + 10♣ = something of little value
4♦ + 10♣ = again, many possible readings, among which a wrong and unrealistic standpoint or a negative situation that the querent walks into lightly and unknowingly
5♦ + 10♣ = passing sadness


7♦ + 10♣ = lack of experience or childishness or naivety
8♦R + 10♣ = burning through your money
A♠ + 10♣ = small, passing disappointment
10♣ + 3♠* = one reading is lack of levity
4♠ + 10♣ = mild ailment
10♣ + 5♠* = a lack of foresight that can have serious consequences
7♠ + 10♣ = small accident

10♣R + A♥ = a lucky meeting | can be meeting online
10♣R + 6♥ = financial opportunity, resourcefulness, good for people waiting to get back loaned money
10♣R + 5♣ = chance of a lifetime
10♣R + 9♣ = a good chance | can be one’s internet buddies | good for gamblers


2♦ + 10♣R = a scratch card | an email (+J♠, spam)
10♣R + K♦ = a traditional combination of getting back the money you loaned, but more in general it’s good for work situations too
4♠ + 10♣R = can be that you chance upon the right treatment or doctor

Ten of Diamonds (10♦) – Thief (Ladro)

4♥ + 10♦ = cheating
6♥ + 10♦ = loss of money, theft with other negative cards
7♥ + 10♦ = losing a contract | negative plans
8♥ + 10♦ = robbed of your hopes
10♦ + A♣ = someone trying to come between two partners, usually marriage partners


3♣ + 10♦ = auto theft, theft during a journey or loss of something during a journey
K♦ + 6♣ or 7♣ + 10♦ = someone else gets your raise or promotion
10♦ + K♦ + 10♠R = may represent moonlighting or being paid off the books or not at all, illegal work
A♦ + 10♦ = again a symbol of betrayal, can also mean loss of prosperity, among other things
A♦R + 10♦ = confessing to something illegal


2♦ + 10♦ = loss of document
4♦ + 10♦ + J♠ or Q♠ = swindlers (+K♣R, they may be higher ups in society)
10♦ + 4♥ + 7♠ + 5♦ + A♠R = your last story ended due to cheating and it’s going to happen again
7♦ + 10♦ + 9♠ + 7♠R + 6♥R = kidnapping of child for ransom
8♦ + 3♦ + 10♦ = loss of jewels (+J♠ or J♣R it’s more clearly theft)


2♥U/R + 9♦ + 7♠ + 10♦ = burglary of home (+A♠, violence is involved)
9♠ + 10♦ + 10♠ = arrest of a thief (+6♣, the stolen goods are retrieved, +10♣, only part of them)
10♦ + positive cards = unless the 10♦ ends the sequence, it shows that the situation may develop positively but unforeseen things will force you to change or adapt your plans
Positive sequence + 10♦* = the 10♦ negates the previous positive cards

10♦R + 2♥ = a home you hate (if 2♥R it’s more likely another building, like a prison or hospital, + 9♦ a psychiatric facility)
6♥ + 10♦R = difficult financial situation (if 6♥R it’s dire, + 8♠ it’s the type of bankruptcy that one seldom comes out of, especially +7♠R, in which case extreme actions may take place)
7♥ or 6♦ + 10♦R = a plan that won’t come to fruition due to insurmountable obstacles
10♣R + 10♦R + 6♣R = heavy losses while gambling
4♠R + 10♦R = no

8♠ + 10♦R = no | disastrous financial loss | a place with a negative aura due to someone taking their life there
5♠ + 10♦R = no | a graveyard, especially an old, dilapidated one
7♠ + 10♦R = no
9♠ + 10♦R = oh my god, no | a prison
K♠ + 10♦R = insurmountable legal issues or loss of a case | traditionally, a church (+4♠R may be present)
10♦R + 5♠ + 9♦ = traditionally, a haunted place

Ten of Spades (10♠) – Soldier (Militare)

10♠ + A♥ = fights, arguments, guardedness in expressing yourself
10♠ + A♥ + K♣ + 9♦ + 2♣ = it could mean passing a psychometric test or aptitude test, for instance to own a gun
10♠ + 4♥ = love arguments | with other cards, cheating
10♠ + 9♥ = a symbol of lying and cheating  and not being completely transparent
10♠ + 10♥ = success after much struggle, if positive cards follow | a foreign city (especially if 10♠R, but not necessarily)


10♠ + 2♣ = success, conquest
10♠ + 7♣ (+ 2♣)= for a soldier it could be a promotion or being honored (like with a medal)
9♣ + 2♥ + 10♠ = a nightclub (but with cards of arguments or violence the 10♠ could mean a brawl)
10♠ + 3♣ + 9♣ = a trip to the woods or mountain, or any other difficult environment
J♣ or 8♦ + 10♠ = can be a young man or woman in uniform


A♦ + 10♠ = cheating | among the other possible explanations, not feeling comfortable in your intimacy
2♦ + 10♠ = traditionally, a draft card
3♦ + 10♠ = again, many possible interpretations, from an object of dubious origins (especially if 10♠R) to a broken object or a proposal to be wary of, and so on
9♦ + 7♠ + 10♠ = can be a riot
10♠ + 7♠ + 5♠ + J♠ = an assassin (+9♦ and/or 9♣R, might be a terrorist attack)


10♠ + J♠ = among other things, a private investigator or a member of the secret services (+3♥, a spy)
10♠ + 3♥* = police investigation
10♠ + K♠ = the police or armed forces
10♠ + 9♠ = an arrest, among other interpetations

A♥ + 8♣ + 10♠R = secret convene
4♥ + 10♠R = secret love (usually adulterous)
9♥ + 10♠R = same
10♠R + 10♥ = foreign city | the break of dawn (if they come up in this order, otherwise at dusk)
2♣ + 10♠R = can be occultism


3♣ + 10♠R = traveling in secret or to a place you don’t know (+9♦, might mean drifting)
6♣ + 10♠R = can be earning money off the books
10♠R + 7♣R = can be subconscious hang ups | for a soldier, demotion or dishonor
A♦ + 10♠R = secrets, secret meeting of an intimate nature
A♦R + 10♠R* = the unpleasant revelation is done in secret or you still don’t discover the whole truth


2♦ + 10♠R = secret correspondence or anonymous calls (+J♠ or Q♠)
4♦ + 10♠R = a well covered lie that won’t be discovered
6♦ + 10♠R = a secret plan | spinelessness, in a character reading
6♦R + 10♠R = evil secret plan (+7♥R being Machiavellian about it)
4♠ + 10♠R = can be an undiscovered illness (+4♦ + K♣ or K♠, the doctor is wrong about it)

Reading – Will the University Go Bust?

Here’s a reading from some time ago, which I recreated using my new Sibilla Originale 1850. The querent’s problem was: Will the university I work for go bust?

A pyramid spread on the question “Will the University I work for go bust?”

The first line is pretty interesting, as we get a chance to see the power of the Peacock card in action. The Two of Clubs is the best card in the deck, capable of lessening the blow of any negative card. And boy do we need it, as right before it we have the worst card in the deck, the Seven of Spades Reversed. Aside from being the card of tyranny and overbearing power, the reverse Seven of Spades talks about ruination and utter and final capitulation.

Why is the university going toward ruination? We have the Ace of Clubs, Marriage, and the Ten of Clubs, Levity. The Ten of Clubs is the card of “just a little”, while the Marriage card is about contracts and legal agreements. So, the university is at risk of going bust because there’s not enough students signing up, but the worst will be avoided thanks to the Two of Clubs, which can be visualized as a sort of divine hand grabbing the debris falling from a collapsing building and putting them back in place before they manage to fall on someone’s head.

The second line tells us something a bit more specific about what is going to save the university from the worst. The Seven of Diamonds, the Child, is about new things, and the Jack of Clubs, the Servant, is, among other things, the card of students, an interpretation which is confirmed by the Two of Diamonds, the Letter, which is one of the cards of studying and books, and when near the Servant it can identify a student. Here we are not talking about a specific student, but about students in general. There will be new (Child) students. At least enough to keep the whole thing going.

In this instance, we may also see the Child as falling between the Ace of Clubs, Marriage, and the Two of Hearts, House. Ace of Clubs + Two of Hearts is the card combo that, in job-related issues, represents a firm or a business. Here we are talking about a university, but the meaning still applies: universities don’t pay their employees in wisdom. They, too, need to make money, just like a business.

The presence of the Child inside this combination of business tells us that the university is preparing something new, perhaps new courses or maybe some new marketing ploy. The querent confirmed that they are looking to concoct some new study course that will make the university he works for more alluring.

The final three cards tell us that, although the university will manage to stay alive, it probably won’t be thriving, at least not in the next period. We need to understand “the next period” in the context of the question: we all know how public institutions tend to suck as much money as they can for as many years as they can without profit before actually being left to their fate, so in the context of a public institution, which this university is, the next period means the next few years, or at least that’s what I think.

The Two of Hearts, the House, shows the place itself, while the Nine of Diamonds, The Fools, and the reversed Three of Hearts, the Balcony, tell us something that seems to contradict the presence of the Peacock in the first line. It would be easy to interpret this combination as one pertaining to violent groups, but this wouldn’t mean anything in the context.

Aside from its usual connotations, the Nine of Diamonds talks about things proceeding irregularly, or without really looking where they are going, while the Three of Hearts is connected with sight, whether literal or figurative. Reversed, it becomes a lack of insight, so whatever it is that the university is coming up with is not going to be that good of a product for potential students to buy into.

Finally, let us look at the angles of the pyramid: Marriage, Peacock and Balcony Reversed. The business (Marriage) will stay open for the foreseeable future (Peacock), but this will not necessarily be a good thing, as the Balcony Reversed is also the card that points to a lack of positive developments.

Vera Sibilla and Numerology – The Tens

The Tens in the Vera Sibilla have a lot to do with the concept of materiality, matter and physicality. Each of them shows how the suit relates to the notion of an external reality that needs to somehow be conquered, or that the Self and the Will needs to enter into contact with. As the final number in the sequence, it shows how the suit materializes.

The Tens in the Vera Sibilla deck: The Ten of Hearts (Perseverance), The Ten of Clubs (Levity), The Ten of Diamonds (The Thief) and the Ten of Spades (The Soldier)

The Ten of Hearts, Perseverance, is known for its general meaning of success after toil and, well, perseverance. This is a result of the combination of the positive meaning of the suit of Hearts with the rather challenging notion of materiality.

It represents the hard, unyielding surface of external things bending to our patient effort, being incorporated into our picture of how things should be and therefore being beaten into shape. Note how the image on the card shows the young lady confidently resting on a column at the break of dawn, having withstood the long night. She may be living in a material world, but, just like Judge Judy, they definitely don’t keep her there because she’s gorgeous. She means business!

At the same time, the other important meaning of the card, i.e. a long duration, is derived from the fact that once matter has been beaten into a particular shape, it has a tendency to retain it until a strong counter-impulse is given.

Finally, the third important meaning of the Ten of Hearts, i.e. the querent’s city (but, in general, it can also represent the homeland) is derived from the fact that the realm of Hearts is concerned with what is closest to us, and which therefore we are intimately connected with. The physical, material space we are connected with is our city or homeland, because it is immediately around us. Incidentally, Perseverance is also connected with the patrimony, the drowry and accumulated wealth, again, showing the positive side of materiality.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Ten of Spades, the Soldier, shows materiality overwhelming the Self and the Will, engulfing it into its morass of inert darkness. That is why, at its best, the Ten of Spades represents the physical body’s ability to fight or to react, but no victory is automatically shown. Alternatively, this is another card that can show violence, arguments etc., i.e. negative physical contact.

It is also why this card represents impervious places, like mountains and deserts and, in a metaphorical sense, all uphill battles. It’s the card of darkness and the night (and, as an extension, of secrets), which is an obvious contrast with the sense of liberation coming to us as we see the Sun peeking from under the horizon in the Ten of Hearts.

Finally, it’s why this is one of the cards connected with strangers and strange cities and countries -though, usually, not by itself. If, in the Ten of Hearts, we were dealing with familiar physical spaces we are intimately connected with, with the Soldier we are faced with people, situations and places that remain outside of our sphere of familiarity, and that therefore remain outside of our control and sense of security.

With the Ten of Clubs, Levity, and the Ten of Diamonds, The Thief, we are shown gradations on the spectrum. The Butterfly is a simbol of everything that is light, impalpable and indefinite, as shown by its association with the element of Air. It represents a strong departure from the commited consistency of the Ten of Hearts. In the Ten of Clubs we have the self gliding from flower to flower, aimlessly wandering and always avoiding leaving a permanent mark in any direction.

The compromise is that we don’t get much in terms of results, but we are not crushed by the weight of matter either. All the main meanings of the Levity card are derived from this, including the idea of lack of focus, of carelessness and of “just a little”. Note that, in readings where physical death is shown, the Ten of Clubs might appear to show the soul leaving the body and flying away, i.e. relinquishing its ties to the material world.

With the Thief card things start to get ugly. Here we have the Self and the Will very much focused on doing something with the physical world. Unfortunately, it’s not anything that will win them a Nobel prize for peace. The Suit of Diamonds has a lot to do with material values, so the idea, here, is that the Self is hell-bent on appropriating physical things, and it has no moral compass to tell him where a line should be drawn. 

Note that, for their connection with the concept of matter and physical space, the four Tens are also representative of the four directions: the Ten of Hearts is assigned to the South, the Ten of Clubs to the North, the Ten of Diamonds to the West and the Ten of Spades to the East.