Ten of Swords

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The Ten of Swords in the Sola-Busca tarot deck 10swords.jpg
The Ten of Swords in the Sola-Busca tarot deck

The Ten of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot card.

Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games . [1] In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. [1] [2]

Contents

Meaning and symbolism

Ten of Swords from the Rider-Waite tarot deck Swords10.jpg
Ten of Swords from the Rider–Waite tarot deck

In the upright or positive light, the ten of swords represents destruction, being pinned down by a multitude of things or situations. The person lying on the ground, defeated and bleeding, may also represent a feeling of hopelessness and being trapped by emotions or mental anguish, since the suit of swords represents strife and the mind.

Dark clouds hovering above the person signify despair and a bleak situation. However, upon closer examination of the images in the Rider–Waite card, any death or destruction, like all things, may not be permanent. There is hope in spite of the situation; the golden sky in the distance suggests that the current situation is bad, and things will improve.

In the reversed state, the card indicates a troubling situation that will continue for a significant amount of time. The card suggests that the subject should not despair in difficult times, to avoid ruining future prospects for success.

There was a Bob Dylan bootleg compilation called Ten of Swords released on ten 12-inch vinyl records, which consisted of various unreleased material of the artist. [3]

A track off the Arsis album Starve for the Devil is entitled "The Ten of Swords". [4]

The final episode of AMC's television series Halt and Catch Fire is titled "Ten of Swords"; it is a reference to Lee Pace's character Joe MacMillan bottoming out in his career and being "reborn" in the final scene as a college professor.

The 2020 X-Men event in Marvel Comics is called X of Swords, and features tarot cards and themes.

The 2021 release All Things from Antagonist A.D. features a track titled "Ten of Swords". The track discusses feelings of hopelessness, despair, and self-loathing.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarot</span> Cards used for games or divination

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minor Arcana</span> Type of occult tarot cards

The Minor Arcana, sometimes known as Lesser Arcana, are the suit cards in a cartomantic tarot deck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rider–Waite Tarot</span> Tarot deck

The Rider Waite Smith Tarot is a widely popular deck for tarot card reading, first published by the Rider Company in 1909, based on the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Also known as the Waite–Smith, Rider–Waite–Smith, or Rider Tarot, the deck has been published in numerous editions and inspired a wide array of variants and imitations. Estimates suggest over 100 million copies of the deck circulate across 20 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Magician (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Magician (I), also known as The Magus or The Juggler, is the first trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing and divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playing card suit</span> Categories into which the cards of a deck are divided

In playing cards, a suit is one of the categories into which the cards of a deck are divided. Most often, each card bears one of several pips (symbols) showing to which suit it belongs; the suit may alternatively or additionally be indicated by the color printed on the card. The rank for each card is determined by the number of pips on it, except on face cards. Ranking indicates which cards within a suit are better, higher or more valuable than others, whereas there is no order between the suits unless defined in the rules of a specific card game. In most decks, there is exactly one card of any given rank in any given suit. A deck may include special cards that belong to no suit, often called jokers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian playing cards</span> Playing card decks used in Italy

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarot of Marseilles</span> Standard pattern of 78 cards

The Tarot of Marseilles is a standard pattern of Italian-suited tarot pack with 78 cards that was very popular in France in the 17th and 18th centuries for playing tarot card games and is still produced today. It was probably created in Milan before spreading to much of France, Switzerland and Northern Italy. The name is sometimes spelt Tarot of Marseille, but the name recommended by the International Playing-Card Society is Tarot de Marseille, although it accepts the two English names as alternatives. It was the pack which led to the occult use of tarot cards, although today dedicated decks are produced for this purpose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace of Cups</span> Tarot card of the Minor Arcana

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two of Swords</span> Minor Arcana tarot card

The Two of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Five of Swords</span> Minor Arcana tarot card

The Five of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eight of Swords</span> Minor Arcana tarot card

The Eight of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nine of Swords</span> Minor Arcana tarot card

The Nine of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot card, also known as the Lord of Cruelty. In many countries around Europe it is used as a game card. This card has the numerical value of nine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knight of Swords</span> Minor Arcana tarot card

The Knight of Swords is a card used in Latin-suited playing cards which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the "Minor Arcana".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen of Swords</span> Minor Arcana tarot card

The Queen of Swords is a card in the suit of swords, part of the Minor Arcana set of the tarot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suit of coins</span> Tarot playing card suit

The suit of coins is one of the four suits used in tarot decks with Latin-suited cards. It is derived from the suit of coins in Italian and Spanish card playing packs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suit of wands</span> Tarot card suit

The suit of wands is one of four suits in tarot, collectively known as the Minor Arcana. Like the other tarot suits, the suit of wands contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page and knight, queen and king. When Tarot cards are to play Tarot card games, where wands corresponds to the suit of batons. Tarot cards came to be utilized for divinatory purposes by esotericists such as Eliphas Levi and were regularized into the divinatory form most known today by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Rider–Waite Tarot, created by a Golden Dawn member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suit of cups</span> Suit of tarot cards

The suit of cups is one of four suits of tarot which, collectively, make up the Minor Arcana. They are sometimes referred to as goblets and chalices. Like the other suits of the Minor Arcana, it contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page, knight, queen and king. Historically, the suit represented the First Estate. Tarot cards were originally designed for card play and are still used throughout much of Europe to play various Tarot card games. However, in English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. In modern card games, the equivalent suits are Hearts or Cups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suit of swords</span> Tarot card suit

The suit of swords is one of the four suits of the Minor Arcana in a 78-card cartomantic tarot deck. It is derived from the suit used in Latin-suited playing cards, such as Spanish, Italian and Latin-suited tarot decks. Like the other tarot suits, it contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page, knight, queen and king. Occultists claim that the suit represents the Second Estate.

The Tarocco Piemontese is a type of tarot deck of Italian origin. It is the most common tarot playing set in northern Italy, much more common than the Tarocco Bolognese. The most popular Piedmontese tarot games are Scarto, Mitigati, Chiamare il Re, and Partita which are played in Pinerolo and Turin. This deck is considered part of Piedmontese culture and appeared in the 2006 Winter Olympics closing ceremony held in Turin. As this was the standard tarot pack of the Kingdom of Sardinia, it was also formerly used in Savoy and Nice before their annexation by France. Additionally, it was used as an alternative to the Tarocco Siciliano in Calatafimi-Segesta, Sicily. Outside of Italy, it is used by a small number of players in Ticino, Switzerland and was used by Italian Argentines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sola Busca tarot</span> 15th-century Italian tarot deck

The Sola Busca tarot is the earliest completely extant example of a 78-card tarot deck. It is also the earliest tarot deck in which all the plain suit cards are illustrated and it is also the earliest tarot deck in which the trump card illustrations deviate from the classic tarot iconography. Unlike the earlier Visconti-Sforza tarot decks, the cards of the Sola Busca are numbered. The trump cards have Roman numerals while the pips of the plain suits have Arabic numerals.The deck was created by an unknown artist and engraved onto metal in the late 15th century. A single complete hand-painted deck is known to exist, along with 35 uncolored cards held by various museums. The deck is notable not only for its age, but also for the quality of its artwork, which is characterized by expressive figures engraved with precise contours and shading. Various theories have been suggested about who created the deck, but its authorship remains uncertain.

References

  1. 1 2 Dummett, Michael (1980). The Game of Tarot. Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd. ISBN   0-7156-1014-7.
  2. Huson, Paul (2004). Mystical Origins of the Tarot: From Ancient Roots to Modern Usage. Vermont: Destiny Books. ISBN   0-89281-190-0.
  3. Goldberg, Michael (April 1986). "Bootleg Bob Dylan Set Creates a Stir; CBS Not Amused". Rolling Stone.
  4. Freeman, Phil. "Arsis Starve for the Devil". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 May 2017.