The Ten of Cups, in the astrological
correspondence system I follow, is linked to Mars in Pisces, and the final
third of Pisces (10th-19th March this year). First
of all, what qualities does Mars bring to Pisces? Fire and Water... Mars is assertive and
determined, and takes the initiative – so in Pisces, we could be looking for
assertiveness in terms of ideals or ideology. Assertive, but at the same time
compassionate and kind. The initiative
and drive we associate with Mars will be softened by the sensitivity of
Pisces. Desires and dreams are achieved
by following instinct, or those moments of inspiration. The shadow side of this
could manifest in emotional vulnerability.
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| Thoth Tarot |
And in the Ten of Cups? I’m going to start with the Thoth deck,
because – being a visual person – I like to see the astrological symbolism in
the card’s image! If you look carefully at the cups, you can see that the
handles are actually rams’ horns, giving us the Mars (through its rulership of
Aries) connection. Gerd Ziegler writes, in his Tarot: Mirror of the Soul (published by Weber Books, 1998), Mars in
Pisces provides “the apparently fragile being with the decisiveness needed to
bring forth into the outer world the beauty which it holds within.” So we have the drive of Mars, but not the
drama of Aries – instead, Pisces allows those qualities to gently radiate. That helps me to see the more permanent sense
of contentment that we’ve come to associate with the Ten of Cups – as opposed
to the moment of ‘bliss’ of the Nine.
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| Sharman-Caselli Tarot |
With the Ten, we have a sense of completion – emotional fulfilment in
relationships, be they romantic, familial, platonic. To achieve and maintain this sense of
fulfilment (Crowley used the word ‘satiety’ to describe this card), we need the
effort and drive of Mars, allowing us to turn our dreams into reality, rather
than let them stay a Piscean vision. But we still have that Piscean flow of
feeling running through the card – symbolized in the Sharman-Caselli image by
the river off to the side, as well as the contentment represented by the happy
family.
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| Wildwood Tarot |
The Wildwood shows that unconstrained
happiness – compare it to the Saturn in Pisces Eight of Vessels. In the Eight,
the water is flowing but it’s being channelled – a structure has been imposed
on the flow. In the Ten, there’s no such constraint – the water is in
free-fall, splashing, overflowing...in full-on Mars flow!
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| Shadowscapes Tarot |
We can see that in the Shadowscapes' Ten of Cups too - the passion of Mars in the entwined couple, the free-flowing Pisces energy in the countless fish swimming through the boundless sea... the attainment of their hearts' desire.
Shadowscapes Tarot created by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn
Sharman-Caselli Tarot
created by Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli, published by
Connections
Thoth Tarot
created by Aleister Crowley, illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris, published by US Games Systems, Inc.
Wildwood Tarot created by Mark Ryan and John Matthews,
illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections
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