YOU DREW TEN CARDS:

1. Environment

   Nine of Cups

   Cups: Interacting. Emotions and relationships of all kinds. Dealing with people. Think of two people toasting each other with wine glasses.

   Nine: You deserve it. You receive rewards due to your own efforts.

   The goodly personage is feasting to his heart’s content, and abundant refreshment of wine is on the arched counter behind him. Divinatory Meanings: Concord, contentment, physical bien-etre; also victory, success, advantage; satisfaction for the Querent or person for whom the consultation is made. Reversed: Truth, loyalty, liberty; but the readings vary and include mistakes, imperfections, etc.

   There’s a place in our lives for material satisfaction, as well as spiritual happiness. Life should be enjoyed for its earthly pleasures, too. We should take steps to ensure our physical as well as mental well-being. Reversed: What at first seemed like happiness leaves you feeling empty and unfulfilled. Spending too much time enjoying the sensual pleasures at the expense of spiritual growth and development. Living life in the shadow of false values.

   For the first time in the series, leaves are turning down as if wilting. It is the end of flowering, the autumn of the heart; a period of mourning is required so that a new dimension of love can appear. This is a stage of wisdom where we accept the end of an emotional cycle and let go of what has already been lived. This sacrifice presumes a profound love of humanity present in each being, a detachment, a denial, produced by conscious love. Negative aspects are all states of emotional crisis, nostalgia, unwanted solitude, fear of lack, and despair.

    

    

2. Obstacles

   Knight of Cups

   Cups: Interacting. Emotions and relationships of all kinds. Dealing with people. Think of two people toasting each other with wine glasses.

   Knight: Focusing. Single-mindedness. Determination.

   Graceful, but not warlike; riding quietly, wearing a winged helmet, referring to the higher graces of the imagination which sometimes characterise this card. Divinatory Meanings: Arrival, approach — sometimes that of a messenger; advances, proposition, demeanour, invitation, incitement. Reversed: Trickery, artifice, subtlety, swindling, duplicity, fraud.

   Following your dreams or traveling down your intuitive path could lead to fulfillment and satisfaction. A time for mental stimulation. Live your vision. Reversed: Lost in a world of dreams, cut off from reality. Motives are insincere. Be on guard against duplicity, fraud, or trickery. Someone may tell you what you want to hear just to get the better of you.

   A knight riding quietly and wearing a winged helmet, symbol of imagination. He is contemplative, not warlike; he bears his cup firmly as the horse prepares to cross the stream and approach the distant peaks. Divinatory Meaning: A young man with light brown hair and hazel eyes, of high intelligence and romantic dreams. Love may come from him to the subject of the reading. He may also be the bearer of messages. May indicate advances, a proposition or an invitation. Reversed: Propositions should be carefully looked into. There may be subtlety, fraud, trickery, rivalry.

   A bright, cheery youth, possibly a lover.

   The way of love has reached its conclusion: it will now become a concrete force.

    

    

3. Above

   Three of Pentacles

   Coins: Obtaining. Providing for yourself. Establishing a comfort zone. Taking risks with resources. Think of the thoughts and feelings you experience when you buy a lottery ticket.

   Three: Having a plan. Formulating a strategy to accomplish a goal.

   A sculptor at his work in a monastery. Divinatory Meanings: Metier, trade, skilled labour; usually, however, regarded as a card of nobility, aristocracy, renown, glory. Reversed: Mediocrity in work and otherwise, puerility, pettiness, weakness.

   You can apply your knowledge, skills, abilities to great advantage. A time of positive, measurable achievement that will win you reward, notice. Others will be happy to assist you and also will respond to your lead. Reversed: Less than satisfactory efforts produce poor results. Disappointment. No gain. Not a good time to enlist others in your project or undertaking. There’s a lot you need to learn. You’re missing what you need to finish task.

   A sculptor is shown working in a monastery. This card should be compared with the Eight of Pentacles, where the worker was an apprentice. Here he has received his reward and is a mature artist. Divinatory Meaning: Skill and mastery in trade, art and labor. Sometimes means nobility, aristocracy, renown and glory. Card of construction, material increase. Reversed: Mediocrity in workmanship, commonplace ideals, pettiness, weakness.

   Business success will come soon.

    

    

4. Below

   Four of Coins

   Four: Making it happen. Your efforts result in concrete manifestation. Initial success.

   Coins: Obtaining. Providing for yourself. Establishing a comfort zone. Taking risks with resources. Think of the thoughts and feelings you experience when you buy a lottery ticket.

   Four of Pentacles: A crowned figure, having a pentacle over his crown, clasps another with hands and arms; two pentacles are under his feet. Divinatory Meanings: The surety of possessions, cleaving to that which one has, gifts, legacy, inheritance. Reversed: Suspense, delay, opposition.

   Seeking happiness exclusively from money. Putting material gain above all else. Also, solid financial foundation. Positive rewards are yours to enjoy. You’ll work very hard in business to achieve your goals. Reversed: Rewards are less than expected or less than fulfilling. Can’t hold on to your money. Your goals are being blocked. Don’t have the power or influence you require. Holding on to something when you should let go.

   A crowned figure has a pentacle over his crown, two under his feet, while he clasps another with his hands and arms. He holds on firmly to what he has. Divinatory Meaning: Clinging to material possessions. Love of earthly power. May indicate a miserly, ungenerous character. Possibility of inheritance, gifts, legacy. Reversed: Setbacks in material aspirations, chance of loss of earthly possessions. Obstacles, delay, opposition.

   Surprise inheritance, a peak of success.

   At the very heart of the greatest material stability, there is the perpetual renewal of the mythical bird that is consumed and reborn from its own ashes.

    

    

5. Behind

   Six of Pentacles

   Coins: Obtaining. Providing for yourself. Establishing a comfort zone. Taking risks with resources. Think of the thoughts and feelings you experience when you buy a lottery ticket.

   Six: Keeping it going. You’ve established a pattern or rhythm which allows things to run smoothly. Things are going well and you’re in a position to be generous with others or even to give up some of your goals for others’ benefit.

   One in the guise of a merchant weighs money in a pair of scales and distributes it to the needy and distressed. Divinatory Meanings: Presents, gifts, gratification; another account says attention, vigilance; now is the accepted time, present prosperity, etc. Reversed: Desire, cupidity, envy, jealousy, illusion.

   Your hard work pays you dividends. A bonus is coming. Business pursuits prosper. You feel generous, want to share. Feeling satisfied, in harmony. Others around you appreciate what you do for them. Reversed: Not getting your fair share. Someone is holding out on you. Not satisfied with the return on your investment. Possible debts. Not sharing with others, thinking only of yourself.

   A merchant weighs money in the scales and distributes it to the needy. He shares his plentiful riches with others, out of the goodness of his heart and a sense of justice. Divinatory Meaning: Philanthropy, charity, gifts. Alms dispensed with justice. Present prosperity shared with others. Reversed: Unfairness in business. Cause for envy, avarice, bad debt.

   Help is coming from an outside source.

   “I leave in search of everything that surpasses me and is already in me.”

   The Six of Pentacles celebrates the beauty of the world and feels as one with it.

    

    

6. Ahead

   Five of Cups

   Cups: Interacting. Emotions and relationships of all kinds. Dealing with people. Think of two people toasting each other with wine glasses.

   Five: Challenging yourself. A monkey wrench. Things don’t go as expected and you’re challenged to grow. Or you may be deliberately challenging yourself.

   A dark, cloaked figure, looking sideways at three prone cups; two others stand upright behind him; a bridge is in the background, leading to a small keep or holding. Divinatory Meanings: It is a card of loss, but something remains over; three have been taken, but two are left; it is a card of inheritance, patrimony, transmission, but not corresponding to expectations; with some it is a card of marriage, but not without bitterness or frustration. Reversed: News, alliances, affinity, consanguinity, ancestry, return, false projects.

   Unhappy endings, broken relationships. Time to pick up the pieces and start building again. See what you can learn from your losses. Turn your back on the past and look to the future. What’s gone is gone. Hold on to what you have, no matter how little it is. Reversed: Although a loss has been suffered, there’s no reason to feel hopeless about the future. Things will start looking up again. An old friend may hold the key.

   A mysterious figure in a dark cloak looks at three fallen cups, while two others stand upright behind him. In the background, a bridge leads to a small castle. Divinatory Meaning: Vain regret, loss, but with something left over. Inheritance, patrimony, but not up to one’s expectations. Can mean marriage, but may carry with it bitterness and frustration. Rejection of pleasure. Reversed: Hopeful expectations, a new alliance, return of an old friend.

   Love gone astray, loss, need for reassessment.

   The Five represents a temptation, an aspiration, a bridge, a transition toward a new world, but one that keeps part of its activity based in the old world.

   We turn our hearts toward God, yet without scorning human affections.

   Here the central cup decorated by glorious flowers marks the emergence of new feelings that can even go as far as fanaticism. It is the discovery of faith, a euphoria that carries us toward a higher being or someone we view as such. It is also the first time the heart opens to a solution that may be good for humanity. The negative aspects can be blind trust in any guide, an emotional imbalance, as well as lack of faith, disappointment, and bitterness.

    

    

7. You

   The Tower

   The abrupt end of an untenable situation. Freeing ourselves from the chains of appetite and desire for glory.

   Misery, distress, indigence, adversity, calamity, disgrace, deception, ruin. Reversed: According to one account, the same in a lesser degree; also oppression, imprisonment, tyranny.

   The Tower card is about breaking free, knocking down the walls that imprison us. It is not a subtle change, but a major transformation in our lives. It’s appropriate that it follows The Devil card. If The Devil card represents the darkness in our lives, The Tower card means we are ready to welcome some light in our lives — even if it descends upon us with the fury of a lightning bolt.  The Tower card is the process of transformation itself, not the steps leading up to it. This card says change is happening. A new door has opened in your life and you are going through it.

   The Tower card is also about inspiration. The way answers to tough questions that have eluded us suddenly break through our consciousness, usually when we least expect it. Sometimes after we’ve given up on finding those answers. On yet another level, The Tower card represents sudden spiritual enlightenment — knowledge that comes to us from deep within, without warning, and opens our eyes to the wonders and mysteries of the world.

   Reversed: The change is over and you’d better get used to doing things a new way. You are out in the open now, so don’t try to hide. The old ways are gone forever. Better brace yourself for a bumpy ride.

   Struck by lightning issuing from the sun, the crown of materialistic thought falls from the tower. The falling drops of light seen here, as well as in Key #18 and in the Aces of three suits of the Minor Arcana (Wands, Cups and Swords), are Hebrew “Yods”. They signify the descent of the life force from above into the conditions of material existence. The lightning flash represents the same power as that which is drawn from above by the Magician and which lights the Hermit’s lantern. It is Spiritual Truth, which breaks down ignorance and false reasoning.

   The Tower is only one of several titles that have been given to this card. Among them are “The Lightning-Struck Tower” and “The House of God”. The card suggests the breaking down of existing forms in order to make room for new ones. In terms of consciousness, the lightning flash also symbolizes the brilliant, momentary glimpse of truth. The crown on the top of the tower symbolizes the materialistic concept of life — shown as it is thrust from power.

   Divinatory Meaning: Overthrow of existing modes of life. Conflict, unforeseen catastrophe. Old notions upset; disruption that may bring enlightenment in its wake. Selfish ambition about to fall, bankruptcy. Reversed: Oppression, imprisonment. The same as above in lesser degree.

   This is another unfortunate card — a clear picture for ruin and destruction. Your hopes and ambitions will be torn apart. Out of distraction comes renewal, rebirth and a new understanding of the mysteries of life. The lessons may have been hard to learn, but are always worth it in the end. Reversed: Havoc and adversity that you bring onto yourself.

   Opening, the Emergence of What Was Imprisoned

   The message of this card is one of great spiritual comfort. Rather than a punishment, the destruction of the tower is a solution to a problem: the deluge now finally ended, the entire planet, abundantly irrigated, has become fertile. This is a blessing more than a punishment. Humanity starts off again to conquer the world and start tilling the fields. Sixth degree like The Lover, The Tower evokes the theme of union — here if we wish to accept the homophony of the original French — the union of the soul and its God.

   The Tower signifies the emergence of something that was imprisoned. This can be a residential move, a separation, a moment of great expression, the desire to leave for the country or for another country, or a secret revealed. Or even a lightning strike that causes a “catastrophe”. It refers to a dance of joyous separation; the figures are actually acrobats flying about in a theater. This can be giving birth to something that has long been gestating and takes dual shape here — the twinship of the animus and the anima, collaborating on a long-thought-out work.

   The principle message of The Tower could be:  stop looking for God in the sky; let’s find him on Earth.

   “I am the temple:  the entire world is an altar I make sacred. My life, like yours, proves at every heartbeat that the world is divine, that the flesh is a living celebration and life a never-ending construction. With me you will know the joy that is the key to the sacred. I am life itself, the transformation and the reconstruction, the flame and the energy of everything alive, of all matter and all spirit. If you wish to enter me, you must rejoice, cast into the fire the infantile whims of sorrow and fear, and ask yourself every time you awake:  What shall I celebrate now? I am the cataclysmic joy of living, the permanently unforeseen and marvelous catastrophe.”

   I receive the vibrating universal axis; I am no longer a tower but a channel. I am the central pillar of a cosmic dance. I am quite simply the human body in full reception of its original energy.

    

    

8. Others

   Ace of Pentacles

   Coins: Obtaining. Providing for yourself. Establishing a comfort zone. Taking risks with resources. Think of the thoughts and feelings you experience when you buy a lottery ticket.

   Ace: There’s a first time for everything. Beginnings. A seed that will grow.

   A hand – issuing, as usual, from a cloud – holds up a pentacle. Divinatory Meanings: Perfect contentment, felicity, ecstasy; also speedy intelligence; gold. Reversed: The evil side of wealth, bad intelligence; also great riches.

   Good foundation for increasing money, perhaps through new venture or enterprise. Fertile soil in which to plant your ideas and come back later to harvest what grows. A chance to better your financial situation through promotion, career change. Reversed: Move with caution before making major investments. Plan carefully, weigh the risks. Don’t succumb to greed. Possible loss on the horizon. Material gain may not provide the answers you are seeking.

   The familiar symbol of a hand issuing forth from a cloud here holds the pentacle, while lilies grow in the garden below. Divinatory Meaning: Perfect attainment. Ecstasy, felicity, bliss. Gold, prosperity, wealth. Reversed: Corruption of character by surplus wealth; the evil side of riches.

   Financial success.

   The Last Shall Be First

   This card signifies material energy in all its potential forms: body, resources, the position we hold in the world, territory. The fact that pentacles are always referred to in the plural shows that this energy is essentially collective. The Ace of Pentacles orients us on our relationship with incarnation, family life, the home, money, and health. It directs our questions to the concrete aspects of life. Its negative meanings can refer us to a financial problem or denial of matter; or, to the contrary, an excess of material preoccupations, illness, physical neglect, malnutrition, or poverty.

    

    

9. Illusions

   Seven of Pentacles

   Coins: Obtaining. Providing for yourself. Establishing a comfort zone. Taking risks with resources. Think of the thoughts and feelings you experience when you buy a lottery ticket.

   Seven: Going deeper. You become aware of deeper levels of meaning and hidden motivations. You’re no longer satisfied with superficial answers.

   A young man, leaning on his staff, looks intently at seven pentacles attached to a clump of greenery on his right; one would say that these were his treasures and that his heart was there. Divinatory Meanings: These are exceedingly contradictory; in the main, it is a card of money, business, barter; but one reading gives altercation, quarrel; and another innocence, ingenuity, purgation. Reversed: Anxiety about money.

   You have a lot to show for your efforts, but you are not sure if your achievements are what you want. Weighing your options about the future. Also, taking a moment to reflect on your gains. Reversed: Difficult choices facing you about finances. In doubt about which way to turn. Afraid wrong choices could lead to loss or debts. Be careful not to make rash decisions. You want to abandon project, undertaking.

   A strong young farmer leans on his hoe as he watches his crops growing. Is he indolent or just contemplative? Divinatory Meaning: Pause during the development of an enterprise. Possibly a stalemate with more energy needed before it can proceed. Growth or material possessions without effort. Reversed: Cause for anxiety over money. Little gain after much work. Unprofitable speculations.

   Career advances ahead; use caution.

   Spiritualization of matter and materialization of spirit have been achieved. Ideas move into action in the world and produce money.

    

    

10. To Come

    The Sun

    Well-being. Warmth. Security. Peace. Innocence. Optimism. Clear perception of that which was glimpsed in the Star and obscured in the Moon.

    Material happiness, fortunate marriage, contentment. Reversed: The same in a lesser sense.

    In The Sun we are free. Free of our burdens, our material concerns. We have traveled far since beginning the journey as a Fool, and yet we come to this stop along the way even younger than when we began. That’s because we are young in mind and spirit. Enriched by the past experiences of our lives, we begin a new stage in life on a higher plane, wiser and more confident. We have been reborn many times on this journey. And we will be reborn many times more.

    A naked child mounted on a white horse holds a banner aloft. The child rides without saddle or bridle because he represents perfect balance and control between the self-conscious and the unconscious. He seems to have emerged from the walled garden behind him into the glorious sunlight. Four sunflowers, corresponding to the four kingdoms of nature — mineral, vegetable, animal and human — are turned toward the child, signifying that all creation turns to man for its final development.

    Creativeness, life forever renewed. Nature, the mother of all growth and life.

    Attainment and material happiness. Good marriage and happy reunions. Achievements in art, science and agriculture. Studies completed, liberation; pleasure in the simple life. Reversed: Future plans clouded; possible broken engagement; loss of a valued object unless vigilance is exerted; voided contract.

    At the end of the long and dark night will always be the light. Let the sunlight warm you and give you strength to overcome any difficulties that may rise up before you. Wholeness and harmony can be achieved if you can keep the sun in your heart. This is a card of triumph and rewards greater than gold. Reversed: Complete failure, loss of hope. At best only minor success can be attained.

    The beginning of a new life in which past difficulties are left behind.